Old Friends And Shoes

There I was, poised to go to the gym, and I got a call from my South African friend Shaun, who is in London on business. Shaun is married to my oldest friend Caroline, and I have known both of them since I was five-years-old. I think I had a pretty fortunate upbringing in that we lived in a safe kind of neighborhood, and all my friends were within walking distance, enabling us to traffic between eachother's homes at all hours. Most of us experienced our first kiss, drink, and cigarettes together, among other more deviant teenage activities.

But what makes my relationship with both Caroline and Shaun so special to me, is that we can go through long periods (years even) of not talking while we get on with the business of life, and then pick up a phone and talk as though we saw each other just yesterday. Solid, low-maintenance friendships. These are people I can be completely honest with without fear of looking like an eejit. Aside from the fact that they know pretty much all of my historical dirty laundry, they also chose to hang out with me despite some embarrassing home-made haircuts. That in itself deserves some credit.

Shaun supplies clothes to some big retailers in the USA and South Africa, and after lunch we popped into some stores on Oxford Street so he could get a feel for trends here. I trotted alongside, blabbering about how women like Kate Moss and Sienna Miller set the fashion scene for younger women in the UK, and how popular designer knock-offs are etc. In another life I would have loved to be a fashion buyer.

After we parted ways, I visited a few shoe shops. No matter how blue I'm feeling, shoe shopping, even shoe window shopping, seldom fails to lift me out of my funk. Even if I have no plans on buying, just walking around, picking up shoes and admiring the different materials, cuts, and accessories, makes me feel kind of calm and happy. Also, I'm very pleased to see that wedges have made a comeback again this year, and I already have two pairs. Wedges are great for giving you height, without the teetering effect. And at 5.3 I can use all the extra height I can get.

I popped in on Marianne Keyes's website yesterday. She is the only women I know that is as cosmetic-mad as me. OK, perhaps aside from my future sis-in-law Cayt. Marianne's make-up diary is a treasure trove of cosmetic info, and she regularly reviews new ranges in her typically direct and humorous way. I often purchase things at her recommendation.

Since starting the Patrick Holford way of eating, and taking supplements, my skin is a lot less dry then it used to be, which is a relief. I was spending a fortune on different cleansers trying to find one which didn't leave my skin feeling like an elephants backside, but now think there was clearly something lacking in my diet. I also went for a Dermalogica facial last week, because I think as with the dental hygenist (which it just so happens I saw on the same day), things like teeth and skin need to have a deep cleaning from time to time, despite the risk of great pain. Ingalena, my hygenist, suggested that a visit with her before our wedding might be nice, as though my clean gums would somehow be a key feature for our big day. But, as it turns out, she is away for the entire month of August. "What a real pity", I said, trying my very best not to show how pleased I was.

Photo: Gold wedges c/o shoes.com