Choo

On the subject of pretty things:

I subscribe to the Jimmy Choo newsletter – have done for about 2 years now. I get it about every 2 weeks and salivate and lust over the magnificent shoes and bags…. Before you ask why on earth I get this newsletter – I am going to tell you why.

During the early days of the TV series Sex and the City I was fascinated by SJP’s shoe fetish….I watched in awe as she tottered about on high, high heels with nothing more than a tiny little strap over the toes holding the shoes in place. How could she do this?

So, some years ago when I was in Harrods in London I nipped into the shoe department and tried on the shoes…. particularly Manalo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. Some of them I could only look at on my feet (they were way too high to even attempt a step) and others I walked around in.

What is so special about these shoes that firstly cost a small fortune and secondly, I think, are coveted by so many, many women?

Well, they are like jewels – they are beautiful. They smell nice. They are made from exquisite fabric and leather. There is no tacky glue holding the glitzy bits on. The stitching is even and there are no loose ends. The strappy bits for ankles and toes are all in the right places…perfectly positioned so they don’t cut into your toes. The shape – the sole bit – fits your foot as if made for it…..it is in proportion so even with very high heels, your foot fits and you don’t end up with your whole foot wanting to slip into the toe bit and you clinging on for dear life with your toes. The shoes just fit....and look so, so good.

These shoes are magnificent! Jimmy and Manalo deserve every bit of their success.

The photo is from the Jimmy Choo website...one of his beautiful shoes.

Making things pretty

We have an elderly handy man who works at Bassline 2 or 3 days a week. There is lots to do – an old building needs lots of work done… electrical, plumbing, painting etc – he is worth his weight in gold and has saved us a small fortune.

But: he has absolutely no aesthetic sense whatsoever. He does things that drive me crazy.

For example: we use a deep red paint for some of the feature walls inside and outside the venues. He ran out of the paint and decided to mix his own red paint and went around blobbing this obviously different colour red on all that places that needed a touch up….so I told him (through gritted teeth) I thought the walls and pillars needed to repainted completely and he must get the proper colour from the hardware store…which he did and finished the job in double quick time. But he only painted up to about 2 metres and was quite happy to tell me that was ok and anyway he couldn’t do anymore because the paint had run out and people don't look up ... duh??? Scream!

Then we had to extend the bar counters – so good old Neil knocked something up out of wood, slapped on a coat of varnish (nothing matched the original bar!) and that was that. When I thanked him but suggested he paint the counters to match the rest he was horrified…

Him: This is good wood, lovely stuff....

Me: Nope, it's just pine and it doesn’t match the rest of the bar.

Him: It will be ruined if I paint it.

Me (now getting annoyed): It won’t be ruined – these things look like large coffins – please paint them to match the rest of the bar.

Him: No, I won’t ruin the wood.

Me, quite (well, very) loudly: Just make the bloody things look pretty for goodness sake.

To this day he can’t understand why I want something to look pretty…..whenever I ask him to make something I have to tell him over and over that it must look pretty…please, please! I can just imagine what he would say if I asked him to use the fabulous flower nails…