I have too many shoes

I decided on doing a weekly tweet nominating a shoe I've spotted online or in a magazine whilst window-shopping.  The shoe I pick might not be value for money, practical for work or even match any outfits, it just simply has caught my eye.  I'm going to use the power of Twitter to nominate the shoe of the week. You can check out my tweets via my blog, is anyone else using Twitter?

When I read this article it reminded me of the original Grimm fairytale of Cinderella, when the horrid ugly stepsisters forced or cut off their toes to fit that perfect glass slipper. The trend for cosmetic surgery to feet is popular in the US and now reaching the UK. Treatments from toe shortening to injecting fat into the balls of your feet (so those killer heels aren't so 'killer' by the end of a long day) are being requested to ensure that women can continue to be fashion forward in their shoe choices. It sounds too extreme to me, maybe we take our feet for granted and adapt them to fit our needs rather than take care of them. We should put our feet first and take care of them. After all they get us from A to B right?

Have you ever had one of the conversations with your husband or boyfriend, when you arrived back from a shopping trip with bags of lovely new things. Then he says the immortal line  "Not more shoes!" Whether its your money or his money that's been spent, it still manages to make you feel guilty and that you are beating Amelda Marcos at her own game.  That your shoes are taking over the house, spilling from every shelf or cupboard, that there is barely room to swing a pair of Louboutins, let alone a cat because of your addiction to heels.  But have you ever considered the man's addiction to footwear?  I've had the opportunity to establish the true number of my husband's footwear collection while doing up our house.  His trainers now housed in some great wicker baskets, his shoes (expensive and good quality I must add) stored like precious cargo on the shelves of his wardrobe, their numbers could rival my shoe collection easily.  Trainers are on par with...

Ever had one of those busy weeks, followed by a fab weekend but you will actually be glad to do nothing for the next few weekends just to recover? It's been hectic at work, working late and I had a full weekend of events to attend. First was a girls night out to celebrate my friend Laura's birthday and of course it had to start with cocktails. My sister Lady Tara and I brought the cosmo ingredients along and I think we cracked the recipe!  My friend Kath, who's been working in a luxury boutique hotel in Antigua showed us how to make some fabulous mojitos that perfectly complemented the Spotify playlist produced for the night - plenty of 80's tunes and of course Kylie's new single.  The night was the opportunity to try out my killer heels, I'm not sure if the print is leopard, but with the red heels, the shoes really stood out and received a number of complements.  They certainly lived up to their 'killer ...

A night with the girls with cocktails and cupcakes, I can't think of a better way to spend time with great friends and raise money for charity.   If you read my blog then you definitely know I love cupcakes, so the Ovarian Cancer Action's Cupcake Break sounds right up my street. They're encouraging people to bake cupcakes, arrange events and share their stories on raising funds for this important cause. As well as ideas on how to host an event, there are also posters and invitations that you can download and send out to your chosen guests.  I really like the suggestion to have a chick-flick night, with cupcakes and cosmos it might be a fab way to raise funds and great fun too! To get involved visit their site .

. . . Or is it? According to WikiAnswers the average women's UK shoe size is 5 and getting bigger.  So it makes sense that shoes in size 5 and 6 are the most likely to go first when the sales hit the shops.  That is why I, being in the average shoe size of the UK, struggle to pick up bargains unless I'm first through the door.  Next launched their sale last week, so I took a casual browse in my local store to see what possible shoe bargains I might find.  These lizard-look blue shoes, reduced to £15, took my fancy. Unfortunately only size 3 and 4 were left on the shelf, so no purchase could be made.  I'm not even going to look at the online site , I'd honestly be tempted to buy the shoes and other items I don't really need just to justify the added delivery charge. Perhaps that's not a bad thing, having limited choices on what I can buy, does mean that I spend less and that can't be all that bad can it?

I spotted this article in the Daily Mail (apologies but I find their online news pages a bit addictive!).  If you want a small taste of the celebrity life, you now have chance while helping raise funds for charity at the same time. A number of celebrities from Pink to Shirley Bassey have donated their footwear for an online charity auction.  Give Landmines the Boot is a campaign being run by Mag - Mines Advisory Group.  The shoes are from high street to designer and its not all for the girls, celebrities like David Walliams and Alan Shearer has made donations too! Bids can be made on ebay from 22nd July. For more information visit the Mag website

My good friend Sylvia is hitting two milestones in life in the next couple of weeks - retirement and her 60th birthday.  Rather than quietly slipping into retirement, Syl is going out with a bang with a big birthday party and also an afternoon drinks with all her work colleagues, just as our HRH The Queen - why have one birthday celebration when you can have two!  The first celebration is tomorrow with afternoon drinks in Poulton le Fylde , a cute village not too far from Blackpool with lots of nice bars and restaurants all with walking distance of each other.  So the afternoon is booked off work and jugs of Pimms all part of the plan. I'm just pulling together a potential out for the event, what do you think?

I had my wedding dress dry-cleaned and its now hanging up in my spare wardrobe.  With all the netting the dress does take up a lot of room and I don't think it's the best way to store it to prevent damage or the dreaded moths!  My friend also has a beautiful wedding dress that needs to be stored away too. Can anyone give me some tips on how to store the dresses, I've heard there is some special tissue paper I should be using but haven't got a clue!  Any suggestions are gratefully received. xx

Spotted this online, a great way to extend the life of your shoes from your LK Bennetts to your favourite pair of Ferragamo's.  The Save Your Sole online store sells coloured soles to match your designer shoe choices.  Its also building a database of cobblers to recommend for your shoe repairs. The sole stories section is worth a look at, with links to local shoemakers and all things shoe-related that you can buy.  You can also buy a shoe hotel to store your beloved shoe collection and emulate Carrie Bradshaws fabulous closet.  Hmmm, now I'm off to decide where I can house my shoe hotel . . .

I've been in self-exile while recovering from a lovely chest infection and I'm finally on the mend.  During my exile, I've realised a number of things. 1) I need to work, despite Sky+ recordings, magazines and DVDs I was still bored 2) I actually dislike the majority of daytime television 3) I have a slight addiction to Homes Under the Hammer. I love it when a neglected run-down property gives a complete makeover. 4) That Mary Portas is my new style icon, I'm hitting my forties next year and Mary has proved that older woman can still lead the way in fashion.  I've been watching her current series Mary Queen of Shops on BBC2 and its really good, both how she is helping small businesses and wears some fab clothes too!  There are a couple of items in my wardrobe that could emulate her style. 5) The need to declutter - with our house renovations, we've visited other friend's houses to get ideas for the flooring in our hallway.  They're at that stage...

I've been neglecting my blog for the past few weeks while I've been suffering from a horrible chest infection.  I've just not had the energy to research shoes and window shop the latest that the high street has to offer. So now I'm dosing up on medicine and determined to get myself back on track. To help kick start my research, I've treated myself to some magazines, including the latest InStyle magazine, with the fabulous Dannii Minogue gracing the front cover. She is one of my favourite style crushes, especially after last year's X Factor.  In my humble opinion, she definitely won the X-Factor fashion crown! In the Style Candy section, they've listed a lovely pair of shoes available at asos.com that meet the nude trend while tickling your fancy with a feather embellishment. These would be lovely for a summer wedding or perhaps a day at the races.  Although I would be quite happy wearing them while doing my ironing! I've learnt  ...