1. 365: Day 52- (Mad Hatter), 2. world's worst hipster, 3. hand mirror wall art, 4. houndstooth not yargyle, 5. houndstooths, 6. With the shoes., 7. kimalicious!, 8. houndstooth stylin', 9. Sleepy pooch, 10. i obviously have a problem, 11. houndstooth, 12. Pair of Houndstooth Wing Back Chairs, 13. Cashmere Houndstooth in Black and White, 14. Houndstooth, 15. Houndstooth, 16. Bedroom
Okay, you guys... this review is waaaay long over due! I was obsessed with the Wave this entire weekend. It's too bad that my homework eventually got in the way though. But even as I programmed late Saturday night, I only longed to blog about the double buckle half back Mary Jane clog... which is why I'm happy to finally have some free time, even if only for a few moments!
Have any of you ever heard of aniline leather? Well, I learned that aniline leather is leather prized for its softness. It's the type of leather that undergoes the least amount of processing. What this means is that it will develop a rich luster (or patina) over time. What this also means, though, is that it will fade with prolonged exposure to the sun.
Well, I learned that the Catalina Wave is made of aniline leather. The pair that I received had a few scratches and at first, I thought that this was a flaw, but later learned that scratches are characteristic of aniline leather -- it's not processed to conceal such blemishes. As noted by the Wikipedia, this type of leather has often been called *naked* leather since it "allows the leather to breathe better, making the leather more comfortable in both hot and cold weather". So if you see scratches on a pair, don't be alarmed -- celebrate them instead.
Okay, enough about leather. You may be curious about colors! The sample I received came in Blue. The Wave also comes in Red, Black, and Cognac. When I requested a sample, I had asked for either Blue or Red.
Alright, already, so they're cute -- yada yada -- but are they comfortable? You know, when I got the package last Tuesday, after I recorded my "Hear My Nasally Voice" shot, I gently placed my camera on my kitchen table before violently ripping the package open. I paraded around the kitchen and loved the lightness that embraced my feet. I almost felt like I was wearing my Scutes!
When I first saw the Catalina Wave on OnlineShoes.com, though I immediately fell in love with its shape, there were two areas which I noted with yellow flags, or Sensitivity Factors, as I've called them. The first area was between the straps and the arch. I've had a couple of Mary Jane disasters, at least with shoes I've bought from Payless Shoe Source. The other Sensitivity Factor was located at the heel which protrudes up by less than half an inch. Depending on the fit of the shoe, I was afraid that my heel would bang against the protrusion, potentially irritating my poor feet.
It was time to put these babies to the test -- with a nice long dog walk. So Chico and I walked about for half an hour that late afternoon and you know, the two Sensitivity Factors I mentioned earlier never surfaced. I had a great walk wearing brand new shoes -- with no socks. :D
Where can you get the Catalina Wave? You can get them directly from SanitaClogs.com for $135.00 or OnlineShoes.com for $134.95. The size availability ranges from Sizes 35 - 42 and fits true to size.
The Catalina Wave is highly recommended by PuglyFeet. But, if your feet are very sensitive, given the opportunity, try them on first and make sure that the Sensitivity Factors aren't an issue with your lovely feet.
First and foremost, I apologize to those who stopped by on Monday for this second installation of In Living Color, but instead found no such post. No great excuse except to say that I gravely mismanaged my time. For what it's worth, the materialization of this post was always on my mind.
Okay, the first picture picture (Before picture) is how the dining room used to look. It's weird seeing old pictures of the dining room the way it was that day we signed our lease. I'll never forget that wet rainy day. I felt as though I had just won the lottery.
For those who are unfamiliar with our old housing woes on 19th Avenue, read more about it here. To make a long story short, we used to live above party teenagers who lived amongst themselves without adult supervision. So we kept our eyes peeled for rentals, but the hot San Francisco/Bay Area rental market and tight dog restrictions made our housing search close to impossible. But it all worked out very well in the end. As the wise old saying goes, "every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage."
As you can see in the *Before* photograph, the walls were neutral and very boring. We wanted to add a VIVA factor to this room in particular -- for the very reason that it's the room where we would partake of life's bounty -- yes, we're hard core foodies. Hence, our color choice of green.... but which one?
As I had mentioned in the first installation of In Living Color, Behr.com came to our rescue with their color previews. After about an hour glancing through what seemed like millions of variations of green, we chose Scotland Isle.
We chose this color over the other shades of green mostly because of its name. We have dreams of one day running up and down the moors of Scotland (with bagpipes blaring in the background) as William Wallace did in Braveheart. So it is with these romantic ideas of bounty, life and freedom that our walls are covered with the pigment of Scotland Isle.
Next Monday: In Living Color ~ Golden Cricket
My post workouts are usually spent web surfing -- aimlessly web surfing, that is. What I mean by this is that I get really tired after I work out, so much so that I become like a zombie almost and I find myself just aimlessly wandering about the World Wide Web, going wherever my mouse clicks may take me. It's addicting, too, this wandering about, and I almost find it hard to stop sometimes.
Anyway, in this zombie web surfer frame of mind, I queried *puglyfeet* on Google for the hell of it and page 6 of today's search pulled up something interesting. Remember the Reading Room from the first In Living Color installation, Highland Ridge? Well, that made it on Apartment Therapy's SF Spring Cure for Week 8! How cool is that?!? In the spirit of Larry David, it's "Pretty pretty pretty" damn cool.
After my last physics class next Spring, I plan to celebrate the end of my college days by buying myself a pair of Cydwoqs.
I intend to wear that special pair to the graduation commencement ceremony. Oh, I can see it now! In my purple cap and gown, with Pomp and Circumstance blaring in the background, light and afloat, my Cydwoqs will swoop me down the aisle where I'll pick up my well-earned Bachelor of Science diploma. Oh, how exciting -- I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it. I don't know what's more exciting -- the thought of receiving my diploma or walking down the aisle in my new Cydwoqs.
Sigh... For now, however, online window shopping will have to suffice. These styles are my favorites!
{ Photos courtesy of Cydwoq.com }
