Day 99--I'm blaming it all on her!

Isn't it a great picture! There's something about black and white pictures that brings a feeling  of nostalgia and romance. This the 1943 wedding photo of my Grandparents Cliffford and Fern Conrad. I can't think about my love of shoes without thinking about my Grandma Fern. She's the reason I love them so much. It's not just about fashion or looking nice. To me it's a feeling of love and of home. Let me tell you about my grandmother. First of all she was just a little itty bitty thing. You can tell in the picture! Between the high heels and the big hair I can almost tell she is even standing on her tippy toes to even seem taller! She grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania in a strict Amish/Mennonite community. They didn't wear make up, wear jewelry, wear pants or even wear heals (gasp!). This was the kind of community where they still used hook and eyes instead of buttons. So I think when her family moved to Oregon and joined the more mainstream Mennonite church here her eyes must have burst open to all that was out there. To me she was always dressed like a lady. She always had jewelry on. She loved hats. She loved bright colors and she loved high heels. As a kid, the only time I remember her wearing flats was when she was working in the garden and then she would wear Keds. My fondest memory of my grandma Fern is of playing in her closet and trying on all her shoes. Lucky enough for a big footed girl like me, she had tiny feet! So as a 6-7 year old girl I could wear all of her high heeled shoes. And what kind of shoes did she like? Peep toes... Wedges....The kind of shoes I still gravitate to to this day. Funny huh? So there is a method to my madness. It has been passed down. I would like to think that she would have loved this blog. She would have laughed along with it. She probably would have liked some of the shoes. And I would wish that she would see some of herself in me. At least I hope there is...

Today's Shoe:

Day 99---Are you freaking kidding me?? I have been waiting 99 days to say that!! And I'm here...in my Amanda Smith patent leather stiletto heels. It's been a loooong road and I'm mixed with a bit of relief and sadness that it's over. Glad that I can go to my closet tomorrow and pick whatever shoes I want to wear or go barefoot all day if I feel like it! Truth be told I have new shoes I've been dying to wear!


Due some miscalculation I do have some shoes left over and I don't want them to feel left out and I really don't want to blog about Old Navy flip flops and Nike's anymore....So here are Shoezilla's rejects:

I had a few people ask me what my closet looks like and I thought that I had posted pics. I try to color group everything. It just makes it easier to find things. I keep all my boots in my closet. Here you go:

And all my shoes in my room:

Thanks again for making these 99 Days so fun. I really didn't know what to expect with all of this since I had not really thought it through and had never done anything like it before. I was was worried that I would get some mean remarks that I'm crazy and such....I really did have fun. That's really what this was about. I will have another blog going in a few days or so. Thanks again and remember, get those sexy shoes out and wear them!!