mama always knows

i happen to be very picky and cheap when it comes to style. it's my mom's fault, really. she taught me that it is better to spend more for quality now because it will last much longer than clothing that might be cheaper in the short run. same idea as my expensive haircut theory - the cost per wear is much less. my mom also taught me that you don't have to pay full price for the more expensive, quality clothes and shoes. she is better than anyone i know when it comes to finding a bargain, and she passed on some of her skills to me.

it's because of that drive to find the perfect bargain and our lack of "fun money" (thanks to two house payments and one income), that i've been making do with these shoes.


in all honesty, i could get by with the shoes in these pictures just fine throughout my entire pregnancy. the only problems with the shoes in the first picture are that they all have heels over 3 inches high. i love heels, but i'm pretty sure that it won't be in my best interest to wear them 100% of the time while my body is changing shape and weight.

the second picture features the flat shoes in my wardrobe. the first is an adorable pair of jeweled flip flops that always bring plenty of compliments every time i wear them. they also have no support and are super slick on the bottom, which always leads to at least one episode of me looking like i've stepped on a banana peel every time i wear them. my running shoes are just that. i don't want to wear them down by wearing them when i'm not running or working out because they are more expensive to replace than a pair of flip flops and it's extremely rare to find a good sale on the exact style and size of running shoes that i need. the last pair of flip flops in this picture are cute, black, foamy tevas that i bought last summer. they look great with shorts and with sundresses. the only problem with these shoes is that i've worn them so much that they look ragged, and bozeman also happens to love them as much as i do. he carries them around the house in his mouth and the foamy material just can't stand up to his teeth, so i have the world's first pair of bozeman-personalized-tevas.

okay, so back to the whole purpose of this post. i've been looking for a supportive pair of flat shoes that are versatile, good quality and cheap. so far, no luck. until thursday of last week, that is. my mom called me on thursday morning and asked if i was busy. since scrubbing the inside of my crock pot does not really qualify as busy, i said no, and she asked if i could do something for her. she asked me to check out dillard's online shoe sale and pick out two pairs of shoes that i wanted. let me just say that my mom had no idea that i happened to be on the hunt for shoes or that i even needed them. even though i am 28 years old, my mom still has that mother's intuition. it probably didn't hurt that i had prayed and asked God for help.*

after over an hour of searching on the website and narrowing down my choices, i emailed my mom with the links to two pairs of shoes that i wanted. the first pair was just a replacement of my black tevas and they were on sale for $7.00. the second was a cute pair of merrell flip flops that totally had the supportive and non-slippery soles that i had been looking for. after seeing my selection, my mom called me and said that those two pairs didn't add up to much and asked if there was another pair that i might want. wow... not one to turn down an offer like that, i found another pair of merrell sandals that, while they had a funky looking fabric on them, were also supportive and perfect for walking the dog in the rain. so, not only did my mom place an order for three new pairs of shoes for me, but they also arrived on saturday! who doesn't love a surprise like that? here are my new shoes on my gigantic, size 11 feet:






*and yes, i do pray for much less selfish things, too. i'm just not against asking God to fulfill all of my needs. i love these verses that remind us not to worry about this sort of thing: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.