I have too many shoes

As the door to one year closes, another opens Well 2010 is coming to a close.  It's been a mixed bag of a year: a new government in place, Royal Wedding announcements and the plight on miners trapped underground gripped the world.  For me, there were two significant milestones - my first wedding anniversary and the first year since my sister underwent treatment for cancer with an all-clear (we will have five years of these yearly milestones to go through).  In addition, one of my best friends had her first baby and my cousin got engaged on Christmas Day so we have had a couple of great events, which has made a real change from the last couple of years! This has also been my first year as a blogger, so I wanted to say thank your for popping by my blog, leaving comments and all your support.  I've really enjoyed blogging and hope to continue developing my blog in the year to come. I'm not sure what the new year will bring but I can only wish tha...

It seems like everyone has had a snowy Christmas in the UK this year.  While its great to have a White Christmas (especially if you have placed a bet at William Hills, it has meant traffic problems, delivery issues, shortages of supplies and for some people a change of plans. Therefore not such a wonderful time of the year for some. As one of the only two drivers in the family, I'm finally glad the snow has thawed, no more ice to deal with, no more defrosting the inside of my car as well as the outside, no more ice-skating in the local Asda car park.  The final straw for me was my car skidding into a main road on Christmas Day, luckily I didn't manage to drive into a passing car so I think Father Christmas may have been looking out for me on that day!  The snow also plays havoc with my planned Christmas outfit, no glam heels or pretty dress for Christmas 201I 0, walking two Jack Russells home in sub-zero temperatures meant lots of layering, thick socks and Uggs! Pres...

Just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas, I hope the current bad weather in the UK doesn't stop your festive plans.  My Christmas was nearly cancelled this year as my external pipes were frozen solid meaning we have had no bathroom for two days!  My husband and I have managed to get it sorted through sheer willpower and a power shower spurting hot water down the loo for hours!  Not a great start to the Christmas week but Christmas is back on! I hoping to have a couple of relaxing days during the break to update my blog, I'm not sure if I've told you yet but my name is actually Clare, my username is CameronPoe but I haven't figured out how to change it yet but will figure this out whilst wearing my Christmas pjs and supping a Baileys!  Have a fabulous holiday xx

This week's nomination is from LK Bennett if any of you still can make it to the shops then these have been reduced from £175 to £110. The perfect colour for Christmas and wrapped up in a bow too!  I think these shoes would be perfect for Mrs Christmas, so I've wrote an open letter to Santa . . . Dear Santa If you're reading this, then these shoes would be perfect present for Mrs Christmas.  After all, she's spent this past year keeping you and the elves happy while you have been busy in the workshop.  And don't forget living in the North Pole has limited her fashion choices so she definitely deserves these as a little treat under the tree! Clare PS I have been good too, so I would love to see this shoes hanging out of my Christmas stocking on the 25th! xx

So we are now at the last weekend before Christmas, not many shopping days left till the big day! Friday was the day of our office Christmas Do, each day I'd been checking the forecast for snow just in case I'd had to make some urgent changes to my planned outfit. I'm usually so organised that I've got my outfit sorted by November! This year, I bought a black lace dress, a bit fifties-style for the festivities and with no sign of snow, I was good to go. The dress had a lovely lace pattern and I accessorized with red shoes, a black feather corsage and a sequin black shrug and of course, thick black opaque tights. We had a gorgeous meal at a local restaurant Go Greek where the majority of us had Mezze which was lovely. It definitely made a change for the normal hotel party fare of turkey and the trimmings. From homemade pitta and humous, feta and spinach parcels to succulent roast lamb that fell of the bone (we have over seven dishes to try), everything was yummy, washed...

So my Christmas Tree is up, my Christmas shopping almost complete, the Christmas TV Guide is bought and snow has arrived in Blackpool!  It means that I am 50% complete on my mission to get into the festive spirit! Now, I am hoping to watch one of my favourite Christmas films.- Miracle on 34th Street , just need to find out which channel will be showing it.  I'm sure by the 24th December I will be counting down the hours until Santa arrives!

Okay well I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but its a bit slow in getting here!  I need a good 24 hours with Christmas films on constant play and Christmas CD's playing in the background.  I'm not sure why I'm not feeling in a festive spirit maybe its the current economic climate or missing loved ones at this time of year.  It can be a really hard time for a lot of people, so I've managed to do a good deed for someone else.  A facebook friend's local church is helping a homeless person move into a flat today before Christmas and needed donations of crockery, bedding, generally things to make a home.  I managed to pull together some stuff to help.  It helped put into perspective about how lucky I am to have a roof over my head.  Its a nice thought that I may have contributed to someone else having a lovely Christmas and a fresh start for 2010. Now, continuing with a plan of action to locate my Christmas spirit,  I have put up my...

Now as this is panto season, my shoe of the week is dedicated to Cinderella to give her an update on the glass slipper.  These Office shoes  are for the modern-day Cinderella. This princess-in-the-making will set her own destiny and won't be waiting for her Prince to find her, she'll be seeking him out whether its on a speed dating night or posting a message on Facebook!  If she's leaving the ball at Midnight its not because her carriage will turn into a pumkpkin, oh no, her faithful carriageman or black cab driver named Bob is whisking her off to another glamourous party when she'll be hitting the dance floor till dawn breaks.  Just what will the Ugly Sisters say! PS In my role as Fairy Godmother, I did do a search for Glass Slippers but my results turned up more shoes suited for lap-dancing than a Royal Ball!

I'm combining my love of films with my love of shoes. Forget dramatic stunts, the introduction of 3d cinema and unnecessary remakes, for me its always been about the shoes. So here is my first clip, courtesy of a YouTuber. Unless you have been living in a Kansas storm shelter for all your life, then you must have seen The Wizard of Oz . The story of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas blown by a tornado to Oz, a technicolour world ruled by Wizards, tormented by wicked witches. Only those sparkly ruby slippers have to power to help her, repeat after me - there's no place like home, there's no place like home . . .

For my shoe of the week, I'm feeling inspired by Christmas baubles! Now I would definitely like miniature versions of these hanging on my tree. The Bordello Teeze Platform Shoes are available on the Viva La Diva website and priced at £72 (there's also a free delivery offer).  With a four inch heel and two inch platform I can't honestly say that you'd be dancing the night away but picture yourself sat at the bar, cosmopolitan in hand with this shoes sparkling away.  The shoes remind me a little of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, only these would be for a 21st century Dorothy where there's no chance of returning to Kansas due to snow, so she's dancing the Coyote Munchkin bar whilst planning to win the Oz-Factor and that gingham dress has been tailored Vivienne Westwood style!

have I met my match? . . . tottering! These were the other pair of shoes given to me as a present for my birthday.  I actually nominated them as a shoe of the week post over a month ago, so its quite nice to put 'my money where my mouth is' so to speak and actually purchase or receive something I nominated.  I've only just found out that they have this style in different colours but I think the cream and black would still be my first choice. They are really comfortable and very very high!  I wore these out for a birthday meal and to be honest I tottered rather than walked.  Good job I insisted on a taxi-to-venue policy for the night!  I wore these with some skinny black pants and a tweed jacket but I'm still not sure what other outfits would really show these off - any ideas are welcome. 

These shoes were a present from my mum for my birthday.  They are probably the brightest that I own, I just spotted them in a shop window and liked them.  They were in one of those little boutique style shops were everything is one size and never really have anything I like so these shoes really are a one-off purchase for me.  I'm hoping to wear these for one event over Christmas, keeping it simple with some khaki cargo pants and top.  My sister and I have already started planning our festivities and have bought some Wii dance games for a party night so this might be the ideal opportunity to break these shoes in! The heels are quite high so I think I'll have to practise walking in them before I actually wear them out!

Dad as popeye at a party in the mid nineties Today was my dad's birthday, our birthdays are exactly a week apart so often we shared a joint celebration. Any excuse to have a family get together.  He died seven months before his 60th birthday and regardless of the years that have passed he is still greatly missed.  His name was Jimmy Valentine, he was the kind of person that everyone liked, not a bad word was said about him. Every year we ensure that we are together on his birthday, that we visit and say a little prayer and tell him how much he is missed.  His final resting place is really pretty by a pond and today it snowed so everywhere was beautiful with that first touch of snow.  He loved nature and the fact that around 20 ducks followed us to his graveside, like they were paying their respects rather than looking for bread, seemed like a sign. Our grandmother, my mum, two of dad's sisters, me and my sisters went to put flowers on the grave.  My gra...

I wanted a pair of nude shoes for a planned Christmas outfit but needed to save the pennies to spend on Christmas presents.  Lucky for me then that I spotted this nude platform heels in my local Barratts shop priced at £13, with an extra instore discount I bought them for £10.97! These were part of their value range, no frills supplied with no shoe box but can you complain at those prices!  The range was quite simply consisting of these nude heels, the same in black, patent and peeptoe. I've not found the range on the website so in must be just an instore promotion but not bad if you need a quick fix to a party outfit.  The online site currently has a 20% off  everything promotion, so if you don't have chance to pop to your local store then you might find a bargain online. The shoes are really comfortable to wear and I hoping, snow permitting, to wear them for my first Christmas event on Sunday - a visit to Manchester for the Christmas markets, cocktails and kar...

I know with this current weather, that I should be nominating a sensible shoe or a sturdy boot. But in these times of snow, cancelled trains and difficulty in accessing the shops, I thought that I must brighten up our day with a shoe that will support you during the party season, with a online discount so you can purchase from the comfort of your sofa by a toasty fire! This shoe available at Dorothy Perkins has been designed by Alexandra Burke and each purchase provides a donation to Breast Cancer Care.  So you can be glamorous and support a good cause. They are currently priced at £40.50 and Dorothy Perkins currently have a exclusive 30% off everything online offer for a limited period so you might find a few more bargains.

I need to get baking! I've been very lapse in producing posts this month, I was really busy last week at work and then celebrated my birthday this weekend.  I've been really lucky, present and friend-wise, I've received some lovely gifts that are just what I wanted.  There's been a bit of a theme to my birthday too - cupcakes and shoes (possibly of no surprise to anyone that reads my blog).  I received two pairs of shoes (posts to follow). I also got a couple of new handbags ... My sister bought me a cake stand, pictured with a couple of cupcakes bought from my favourite Cupcake shop in Blackpool. I've also received a new baking cookbook so need to try out a few recipes for Christmas!  more presents . . .  I also received Blow by Blow written by Isabella Blow's husband, I've been reading a couple of articles about her so I'm really looking forward to reading this. I've also received some vintage look jewellery that will be perfect wit...