When Divine Intervention Attacks!

There are days when the stars align, the winds are blowing the right direction, the gods smile, and you find a pair of shoes that you loved in an ad six months ago, but didn't buy because they were too expensive, on sale for 70 percent off. In your size.

Last week I had one of those days.

The shoes in question?

The Cole Haan Dalya Mary Jane in black patent leather. With Nike Air technology.

The clouds seemed to open up and the heavens seemed to sing as I sashayed out of Bloomingdale's shopping bag in tow. It's pretty much as close as I get to a religious epiphany.

However, last Saturday, I had another religious experience. One where I was begging for divine intervention to stop the pain in my feet!

Now, as some of you may know, I'm a big fan of the suck-it-up-and-wear-the-shoes-God-made-pretty. But I'm always looking for ways to ease the pain, and Cole Haan's integration of sneaker technology from Nike into real shoes was intriguing.

When I first got the mary janes in question, I was thrilled with the bouncy cushioning and rubber soles on the shoes. I even bragged to a co-worker about how cool they were. Well, obviously hubris had consequences.

After a long night of dancing at a friend's birthday party, I found myself hobbling into my apartment in my pretty shoes, begging for someone, anyone, to take away the throbbing pain in my toes. Luckily, I passed out before finding the leftover Percocet in my bathroom cabinet.


The next morning, while staring contemptuously through a nasty hangover at my shoes, I noticed that a few of my toes had actually GONE NUMB. Like nerve damage numb. It's coming back now (thirty-six hours later!) but seriously!

Now, I'm a glutton for pain when it comes to looking pretty, so I fully plan on wearing the shoes again, but heed this! Don't go buying these shoes for the comfort factor. Just stock up on pain killers and anti-inflammatories.

Tis the Season

Everywhere I look lately, I see pregnant women! Seriously, it looks like it was a very busy winter in Washington!

And while motherhood is wonderful, blah blah blah, I cannot imagine being stuck in this insane heat carrying a whole extra person, nevermind the increased blood volume, the 1 lb placenta, amniotic fluid, etc. (I had a friend who would break out her weight gain during pregnancy just about every week. The numbers stuck.)

So, I would like to give a big shoutout to all the mommies-soon-to-be and wanted to compliment one in particular that I saw on the elevator.

While this woman looked as though she was about to burst forth with a wee one between floors two and three, she also looked cool, calm, and comfortable in her blue madras tank dress and chic flat gladiator sandals.

Kudos to you, mystery chic pregnant woman! I hope you give birth soon...at least the hospital will be super air conditioned.

Afternoon Delight

I did a little late afternoon e-shopping today.

Picked up this kicking pair of flats from J. Crew to feed into my new obsession with anything-but-black shoes.

Oh, and to the ridiculous chatter on the Washington Post fashion discussion today, I absolutely do not plan on matching them to my purse, so deal with it.

In fact, I bought these just to spite you.

Well, also because I don't have a green bag.

photo courtesy of jcrew.com

Ripped Off...and loving it.

There are lots of perks to working for the government.



The feeling you get knowing that someone twice your age has to suck up to you to gain access to your boss.



Savant-like knowledge of regulatory provisions and congressional districts by zip code.



Finding out confidential and sometimes even classified information, which no one else actually wants to know.



Hot ass ID badges.



However, earning the big bucks is not a perk I enjoy.



Don't believe me? Are you sitting there thinking, CapHillBarbie, you are so full of crap! No one would do your job and not get paid like a banshee! Oh yeah? Check out the salary of everyone on the Hill. Send money and care packages.



So, when I lust after certain high priced fashion items, I have two choices: (A) forgo rent and eat Top Ramen every day for lunch, or, (B) find a knock-off and work it like there is no tomorrow.



Thus was the case of The Chloe Flats:



On a trip around Bergdorf Goodman with my mom earlier this year, I spied a hot pair of Chloe flats for spring. They looked perfect for bumming around on the weekend, casual days at work in the summer, and would even work through fall! But when I took a gander at the price tag, my dreams of swanning around Dirksen in my cute shoes came to a screeching halt.

I still love you dearly, even though you are out of my price range.

So, I put them down (my birthday isn't until fall, so begging for an early present from my mother would have been fruitless) and tried my best to forget.

Until this weekend when I stopped into Steve Madden on Saturday (yup, that's right, I'm a masochist.) and found pair of flats almost exactly like the Chloes! The best part? About $400 less than the real deal. I snatched them up on the spot.

Let the swanning begin!



Another perk? Being able to provide a little technical assistance for this legislation.