Glass Slippers

These crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin pumps
caught Fig's eye at Neiman Marcus. Price: $3,095.
Her mother is a bad influence, I fear.

We finally booked our tickets to Florida last night, not a moment too soon, since the family wedding is this Saturday, April 2. We fly down very early Thursday and return late Monday.

Sun, water, tropical colors, nice drinks, fresh fish. Land of Lilly Pulitzer. I can't wait.

Today, Figgy and I left home at 2:45 and returned at 9:30......more than six hours at Garden State Plaza. She needed a swimsuit, shorts, etc. I needed PJs, underwear, a bra. We were exhausted by the end. And we both wanted sandals.

Payless vs. Paris
Fig is into Payless, where she got two pairs for like $35 total. I kind of broke out in hives there, although I happened to be wearing an old pair of Payless pumps that draw a lot of compliments. My taste runs to ogling Tory Burch sandals, whether or not I buy them. It was ironic--Clare, the Good Housekeeping factchecker, called my cell when I was in Payless to check something about the kids' Ugg boots I mentioned in an article [price, $120]. We chuckled about the disparity.

Figgy was taking so long in Payless and other cheap stores that I branched out on my own and looked at sandals at Nordstrom, Rockport, Coach and Geox [my maiden voyage]. I really liked the Rockport and Coach pairs but they didn't have size 11. I also loved the Geox pair [white, butter-soft leather, nice wedge, simple rhinestone detail] but they didn't take checks, and that's all I had.

Cinderella Dreaming
Neiman Marcus's carefully edited shoe selection was high-end....Lanvin, Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Chanel, Gucci and my beloved Tory. Tory's shoes seemed like a steal compared to the others, yet I still could not bring myself to buy them. Figgy is a sophomore. College is not that far off. I should not spend $200 or more for summer sandals, no matter if they do make me incredibly happy and would be fabulous for Florida. There's something slightly crazy about me spending that much at this moment in time. That's why I love tracking the sales at www.toryburch.com. 

But when we swept into the shoe cove right before it closed at 9, Figgy picked up a Christian Louboutin pump encrusted with Swarovski crystals. She pivoted it to show me how the color changed in the light.

That's the last pair, the salesman said to Fig. But we can order another pair and have it shipped to your home.

He was a very nice man--did not look down at me in my Payless pumps. Some salespeople can be snooty. But was he kidding? Didn't he see Figgy's worn down black suede Payless boots, my scuffed heels? Do we look like the kind of people who have $3,095 to spend on a pair of shoes, or a place to actually wear them?

Still, I'm glad he gave us permission to dream.

Good night.