Shoe of the Week #3

My inspiration this week is the greenest and most Irish of days in the whole of the year- St Patrick's Day on March 17th.

Although if I'm really honest, poor old St Patrick is just an excuse to showcase my fabulicious green, cat print, wedge shoes, trimmed with gold and silver piping, and wantonly adorned with jewels and pearls of every shape and size. But actually,  it seems to me they're much more appropriate for honouring our dear patron saint than a leprechaun hat and a fake ginger beard anyway.

Now I know they're a little OTT, and I suspect not for those of you who appreciate the sensible nature of a sturdy pair of Hush Puppies, because these do have it all going on. But IMHO, these delightful offerings from Irregular Choice are absolute works of art. They're 'Shoe Art',  if you will.
(Late last night, I even rather cleverly-or so I thought- coined the term 'Shart' in their honour. In fact, my working title for today was to be ' A Little Green Shart'  before I realised that the term was actually already in use, and refers to something altogether less wholesome.)

I've noticed that I tend to wear these shoes when I'm feeling a little down, not because they reflect my low mood but because they act as an antidote to it. I only have to glance down at my bejeweled tootsies and my inner sadness begins to lift.
 They're not reserved, as you might expect, for special occasions either, but rather are worn with jeans for school runs, up and down supermarket aisles and even on trips to the park. Comfortable, yes, but not slippers either- that wedge is higher than it looks!  So I don't wear them every day... but then I wouldn't want to either.

And now to price. We-ellllllll,  these darlings cost £140 new, which really isn't bad, given their high level of finish, adornment and detail. But okay, let's just cut right to the chase, because you know me well enough by now to know that I didn't pay that for them. Nope, it was in fact, a quare bit less than that.. like £100 less. *sigh* I know- an absolute steal!

So what do you think of them yourself?  Too hot, too cold or just right? I'd love to know.....Emx


PS. Final call!  If you haven't nominated me for the MAD Blog Awards 2014 could you take a minute and do it now as closing date is this Friday 14th? The categories of Best Writer, Most Entertaining or School Days seem to be the ones I fit into best.
Thanks loveliesxxxx

Taking A Step Back

I'm off to London today, (or 'Londing England' as a friend of mine insists on calling  it!) . Yes indeedy, as my prize in last September's MAD Blog Awards, Loverboy and I will be living it large all weekend - nibbling on afternoon tea, taking in a West End Show (Mamma Mia-here I go again!), quaffing cocktails and inhaling the 'all you can eat breakfast' - seriously, what's not to like?
Which is why there's a certain irony in what I'm going to say next... I've decided that it's time to take a step back from my blog. Not forever, mind you, but for a while. After almost two years and over 300 posts, I feel like I need a wee break.

'Adventures of an Unfit Mother' began as a much needed outlet, a place to find my voice, somewhere I could  be creative and completely honest.(Possibly toooo much at times!) It's been all that and more and amazingly it's grown steadily along the way. From just my sisters and a few friends, I now have 500 people visiting on a daily basis. Which, incidentally, is nothing compared to the big blogging fish out there, but quite an achievement for l'il old me. It's a massive compliment when people take the time to pop in, and even better when they come back and stay on to shoot the breeze as well.

The writing of it has always been the the fun part for me.....but I'm really useless at the rest of it.  For you non bloggers out there, I'm talking about the whole PR side of it all - the Twitter presence, the numerous blogging platforms, Instagram, Pinterest and the rest. Then there's the commenting on OTHER people's blogs (I know one blogger who rotates visits on 30 different blogs every freakin' night!), the blog hops and the forums. Because the truth is, if you want to grow your readership,  you've got to do all of that and more... but I can barely keep up with writing my own posts, never mind that side of it as well. So it all comes back to the initial purpose of the blog, which was as a head clearing space for me...so maybe none of the PR stuff  matters anyway at the end of the day. (Although honestly? I think it does a bit...maybe I'm more ambitious than I first thought!)

My main problem is time, or really the lack of it. Some posts take longer than others but I'm finding it hard to keep up with 3-4 posts a week while juggling everything else and holding onto my sanity. It's making me snappy and stressed and somewhere along the line it's become less of an outlet and more of a job... without the nice salary part! Other things have changed too - I used to read voraciously, always did, only now I seem to read other blogs (many of which I love, by the way), but I miss the newspapers, books and magazines too. As well as the time, I feel its all sucking up too much of my emotional energy, which leaves a whole lot less for the stuff that matters. A classic case of self induced burn out - hence the step back.

So I wanted to let you know my thoughts, even though I'm probably  flattering myself to think that you'd even notice my absence!  I'll still be here from time to time ...just on a less regular, more 'now and again' basis..like when genius strikes ...or I get a new pair of shoes and I'm hoping that you won't be a stranger and you'll still pop in to say hello.

I'm not one for big goodbyes so I'll  not go all tote emosh on you and that's not a tear in my eye. Let's just say, thanks babes and I'll see you when I see you - I suspect it'll be sooner rather than later - and in the meantime, look after yourself, wont you?
Love Emmaxxx

Ps I simply COULDN'T leave without showing you my gorgeous new summer shoes...soooo practical and quite deliciously  happen to match the scarf that I bought a few months ago...I suppose sometimes the accessories stars just align!

Friday Quicktakes

1. Peeps, it's March- doesn't just hearing that warm the little cockles of your heart? Between that and M&S doing their £1 a bunch daffs, it would appear that Spring has officially sprung! Of course, for me, a less welcome sign is the first slurry spraying of the season, which even after seven years living in the country, is no more endearing. It certainly doesn't help matters that our house is surrounded entirely by fields, so no matter which way the wind's blowing, we get to enjoy maximum potency. Honestly, between the slurry on the fields and the potty training in the house, I'm feeling like a bit of a shit magnet at the moment - other women attract flowers and jewelry, I attract faeces. Does that make me special?

2. Tenuously staying on the slurry/country theme, I've a little piece of news for you. Scratch that, I'm just being coy, because it's actually an enormously massive piece of news- we're putting the house on the market in the next few weeks and moving back to the city! Yep, it seems that despite my very best efforts, you can take the girl outta Belfast, but you can't take Belfast outta the girl.
I have to tell you, it's taken an enormous amount of soul searching, and I've honestly never worried more about any decision EVER, so I really, really hope we get it right. But let's face it, given the current economic climate, we could be here for a good, long while yet and that's completely okay- we've finally reached a decision, the wheels are in motion, and when I'm not fretting about it, I'm quietly excited. Footpaths, other people's chimney pots...I've missed the oddest things.
Of course, like everything in life, it's never black and white, and as a wise person once told me (in all seriousness), you've got to weigh up the prawns and the cons, and that's just what we've done....So now I'm hoping and wishing and praying that it works out... wish me luck!

3. On a much more trivial, but  nevertheless diverting and entirely fabulous note, I just HAD to show you my latest little shoe bargain. Even better, it's almost entirely guilt free because of my recent inspired and prolific venture into eBay- the flogging of my own 'preloved' and 'gently used' footwear gems.
 These babies are by 'Poetic Licence', which are made by 'Irregular Choice' - they're red leather, with suede accents and sport the most striking textured leopard print wedge heel! More is more, I say! Oh, and their original price was 99 quid.
 I know, I know,  you want to know what I paid, don't you? Well, if  I were chatting to you now, I'd make you play 'Guess how much?', which incidentally, is a game Loverboy is no longer allowed to play because he refuses to follow the very simple rules. These are
a)start high with your guesses and
b)express incredulous surprise every time the words 'No! Even lower!' are uttered. I mean, how hard is that!?
So even though it's not as much fun for all concerned, I'll just cut to the chase and put you out of your misery-  these little beauties cost me *drumroll please* £23 delivered and all!!!!.....I KNOW! (Take a minute if you have to.)
AND if that wasn't fabulous enough, they perfectly match the gorgeous bag the lovely Glenavy girlies bought me for my 40th, AND the vavavoom scarf my friend Jen gave me a few weeks back! It's as though they were meant to be mine.....predestined almost......written in the stars... (Okay, I'll stop now.)

4. Mothers Day is the 10th March - just a timely reminder if you want to get cracking on your 'gentle hint dropping'- some of us have already started. Go and check out my Mothers Day competition to win that gorgeous crown necklace too- who doesn't love a freebie? Especially one as lovely as that,  so get on it!

5. Finally, here's this week's Car Seat Boogie- Luke and I REALLY enjoyed this one...and it brought me right back too. Along with Irene Cara's 'Fame' it was the first record I ever chose myself, waaaaay back in 1982! I think it was were my early taste for the denim dungarees/cap combo originated too! Enjoy and happy Friday, happy March and happy Spring, my lovelies!

A Thursday Shoe In!

Behold these chic floral beauties that landed on my doorstep this week! Don't they just brighten up the rainiest of days? How could anyone feel depressed while wearing these gorgeous little numbers?
 Check out that cheeky floral heel, (not too high!), the sumptuous red suede trim, and the gorgeous rags for laces!  Magnefique, non? I swear, when I saw them, these shoes whispered to me (in a heavy french accent),
'Ma cherie', they said, 'We are zee summer shoe you didn't know you needed! En Irlande, zee sandal ees a fair weather friend, non? But we, my darling, we offer beauty, warmth and shelter too!'
Well, what could I say? Mon Dieu, who could argue with such logic? Already packed for our new 'mobile home from home', all these pops of shoe happiness need now, are skinny jeans, a fresh white tee and chunky red beads to finish the look.
 But what about you, my lovelies? Are YOU feeling l'amore for these babies? Oui, oui or Non, non? Go on, do share.......

My Shopping Hell....

I'm mostly an Internet shopper myself. I've wholeheartedly embraced online retail and I'm really focused on doing my bit for the economy. Each little shoe purchase helps lift this country out of recession-one (cheeky  'Irregular Choice' clad) step at a time. Sadly, Loverboy doesn't always share my altruistic spirit, but I'll continue to try and illuminate the big picture for him.
Nevertheless, I'm not biased where shopping is concerned and there's definitely something to be said for the old fashioned experience as well. It's just that these days, I don't have the same opportunities because, as every mother knows, children and shopping aren't your ideal combo. Toddlers and shopping, even less so. As a result, in general, I tend to avoid it...then gradually the memories fade, and I give it another shot. Which is exactly what happened the other day, when I clocked a seventy percent off sale in a chic little local(ish) boutique. That's right. Seventy. Per.Cent. Well, I'm only human, so despite the fact that I had Luke, that it was almost nap time, and most crucially, that I had no method of containment (buggy) for him, I made the call to pop in. That was my first mistake.
There were two sets of glass doors into the shop- the first an ordinary push/ pull one, the second an automatic sliding kind. In we went, through both doors and I got to work, with one eye on the rails, the other on Luke who was toddling around me. Then, after a few moments of rummaging, I heard a little yelp, then another and glanced round frantically for him. I found him sitting, happily enough, in the inner doorway, bewildered, as the sliding door opened and closed on his toddler body, squashing him slightly each time.(And the Mother of the Year Award goes to....)
Undeterred, I hauled him out of there and sat him up on a chair with a (plain) biscuit in the hope of buying myself a few more minutes. But of course, that would have been far too easy. Down he got and  began a charm offensive on the very nice, perfectly groomed, older sales lady. She was talking to him, 'Who's a lovely boy? And what a lovely hat! Did your mummy knit you that hat? (Yeah, Right.) Oh yes, you're a lovely boy, aren't you? Aren't you?'
There was then the briefest of pauses and I glanced up from the rack  to see that the smile had frozen ever so slightly on her face. I then looked at Luke and saw the reason why. He also wore a frozen expression -a familiar, fixed grimace on his reddening face- he'd clearly decided that this was the perfect moment to answer nature's call. By this time, the slightly flustered, but ever polite lady, was backing away, and I understood why, as a distinctly unpleasant odour began to circulate. Meanwhile, with the job done and apart from an unmistakeable new bulge to his rear silhouette, Luke was carefree once more and ambled off after his new friend, who by this stage, was dealing with a new customer. That was when I made my second mistake. With the thick skin five children have granted me, and three heavily discounted items on my arm, I eyed the tiny changing room and made the call. Go! Go! Go!
So at this point, squeezed into the world's smallest changing room, with my now completely offensive offspring, I was aware of the women on either side coughing, (and possibly even gagging), on the foul smell. To make matters worse, he then decided to play peekaboo with the curtain, periodically exposing ample amounts of my mottled white flesh to the rest of the shop. The final flourish to this nightmarish scenario was, of course, the fact that none of the items even fitted. It was all for bloody nothing. Completely stressed, and now most definitely persona non grata, I grabbed my malodorous shopping buddy, put my head down and got the hell out of there.
But the fun wasn't over yet, as once outside, I had a decision to make- to change him now or get him home and do it. Given the freezing temperatures of the January day, coupled with a distinct lack of facilities, I chose the latter. Understandably enough though, Luke had no wish to sit down in his car seat while 'harbouring a fugitive', so this meant actually forcing his rigid body into the seat, in order to buckle him in. Eventually though, amid ear splitting screams, with the heat turned up full blast and the windows down, I hurtled back home, vowing never, ever again. It's the virtual shopping experience for me from here on in-come back Amazon, all is forgiven......