Of pies and pies*

Pie #1
Unlike many women, I hate shoe-shopping. I have such low arches that my feet sometimes need wide shoes and sometimes not, I walk way more than the average street-shoe wearer, and I’m not willing to compromise much on either style or comfort. So I have a very hard time finding shoes. In terms of what suits me, the vast majority of the selection in shoe stores and department stores is just crap. Trying on pair after unsuitable pair irritates me and drives the salespeople crazy.

Finally, after trying on at least thirty pairs of shoes (thanks to Zappos‘s wonderfully easy return policy and free shipping both ways), I have decided on three winners that I hope will last me a long time:

1. Merrell’s “Salerno”, in black, for everyday sandals that are supportive and don’t look too orthopedic,
2. Diego di Lucca’s “Felice”, in red patent, for a reasonable amount of comfort given that they are ridiculously cute, and
3. Earth’s “Pitta”, in Rose, from their Kalso Lite line, because even though they are kind of clunky, Earth shoes just make my whole body feel good.

These are not cheap shoes, but they cost considerably less than what I was willing to pay (I was getting so frustrated after the first 14 pairs didn’t work at all!), and Zappos kindly sent me a $50-off coupon after sending me the wrong size on one of my orders. So, I hope, I am set for shoes for a long time.

Pie #2
I have been reading The Tightwad Gazette this week. It is a monumental tome. You know I am far from a tightwad (author Amy Dacyczyn — pronounced “decision” — would kill me for the three pairs of shoes I just bought!), but my outlook grows less and less consumerist with time and critical thinking. The book has been fascinating and oddly un-put-downable reading. Most of the tips are too extreme for me (I really refuse to do anything to save those end-of-bar soap bits, except fusing the biggest ones onto my next bar of soap), but some I can use, and it’s the spirit of DIY ingenuity and self-sufficiency I most enjoy.

Also: Jim Dacyczyn’s pizza-crust recipe makes homemade pizza absurdly easy and quick. In less than an hour tonight (including all prep and baking time), Erik and I put together a pizza topped with smoked olive oil (found it yesterday at Surfas! so strange but delicious!), shrimp, homemade pesto, and jarred tomato sauce. Again, not a tightwad-approved ingredient list, but we don’t care. It was delicious and took less time than most other equally tasty hot meals. We are converts.

[pizza photo has disappeared]

You are all welcome to come over for pizza anytime. 🙂 Just give us a call first!

*Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch. I’m referring to the Spanish word for feet (not shoes! Thank you Alison 🙂 ), and pizza pies.

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com. Actually, none of those shoes proved quite as comfortable as I’d hoped. This is my problem with shoes… I don’t really know how comfy any of them are until I’ve walked a lot in them, and by then it’s too late to return the ones that don’t feel good.]