Dark Swagger

That's how I'm feeling today. All business.

The business at hand is all Pats, and I'm perceiving it as a dark, serious place. This isn't going to be a cake walk and sweet little me has no warm and fuzzy, "Go get em', fellas!" feeling. No, it's more like a, "Take no prisoners, and offer no mercy," kind of place. A dark kind of swagger.

Tim WHO? C'mon now people, let's not forget who the opposing QB is? Even the Boston media is all caught up in Tebow mania.

Not me. He's cute and all, but he's no Tommy.

I know who Money is, and I know who will prevail, but I prefer to be cautiously optimistic. I'll keep my swagger personal and quiet because there is business to be tended to and we will not be denied. It's been a painful couple of playoff years and this is our time to rise...again.

Yes Virginia, there is a God and he's a Patriots fan.

Shoe-lanthrophy

See those gorgeous little puppies above? Those "practically perfect in every way", pair of wonderful shoes just made me a "shoe-lanthropist". How awe-inspiring is that? I don't think I have ever felt as good about spending some money. Because with every purchase of Toms shoes, the company will donate a new pair of shoes to a child in need with their groundbreaking One for One program. The company was founded on that basic principle.

So let me get this straight, because I bought a pair of fabulous shoes for myself, a child in another country will benefit by receiving a much needed pair of shoes? Because of me? Really?

It took me a moment to let this sink in. I needed to know more.
A quick trip to Toms.com gave me all the answers I needed.

From Toms.com:

"In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff
later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by Toms caring customers".

Further reading reveals that because these children did not have shoes, the spread of disease which is transmitted through the soil, was rampant and that some of these children could not attend school because they did not have shoes.

"Since our beginning in May 2006, TOMS has given over *600,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the purchases of caring customers.
*As of April 2010"

Wow, what a mission! Not only are the shoes adorable, chic, and comfortable, but they make you feel completely guilt-free for spending the money, and how can you beat that? I'm telling you, check out the shoes. Seriously, you will love them. And how could you not feel great about buying more than one style? My whole family has them,(except the guys, but Father's Day is right around the corner).

If Toms is making the world a better place, does that make me a better person for buying them?
Maybe yes, maybe no.

To get the definitive answer, you'd probably have to ask the child who was on the receiving end of my One for One swap.

My Latest Victim

The Goddess of the Skull has struck again.

It's almost like Guiseppe Zanotti made these sandals just for me!!! They make me smile.

If you don't know who the Goddess of the Skull is, please proceed here, and for those of you with a foot fetish, those may or may not be my feet.
(back away from the computer-pervert)

Goddess of the Skull

I got a thing for skulls. I like them. I really, really, like them. I like to wear them. They complete me. If I were a corporation, the skull would be my own corporate logo. You'd see the skull and think of me. Now before you go thinking that I'm all crazy, let me explain.

I've always liked the skull, even as a kid and especially at Halloween, but my true desire to be synonymous with the skull didn't come about until 3 years ago. That was just after the big "break-up" but before the big "D". I went to Amsterdam that summer with my best friend on my first trip to Europe and purchased this:

Thus began the dawn of the "Goddess of the Skull, Keeper of the Edge". Because Europe has always been a year ahead of us when it comes to trends in fashion, this was long before the influx of the crappy, cheap, commercialized skull paraphernalia flooding the market in the United States today. (I consider myself a skull purist and expert on all accessories of the skull) The funny thing about the belt was, it spoke to my edgy side. It was almost like a silent protest, or a reversed scarlet letter. I could almost feel it's power. It wasn't like I went all goth or anything, because the belt said all I needed to say silently, yet effectively. I wore that belt a lot and continue to do so regularly.

In the last decade, French designer Christian Audigier has built a fashion empire by marketing the designs of an LA tattoo artist named Ed Hardy. Unless you live under a rock, you've seen his brilliant, bright colored, tattoo art on every thing from t-shirts to luggage. Ed Hardy's specialty is my good friend, the skull. DonEdHardy.com is my mother ship and my expensive"skull habit" and I have found a home.

I am always ever so grateful when I receive a gift from someone who gets the fact that I love the skull and I have received so may great "skull" gifts in the past few years. The problem is that there is so much cheesey skull crap out there, that I have had to become somewhat of a skull snob. It has to speak to me, and when it does, there's no stopping me. I gotta have it.

These are just a few of my favorite skull things from my own"pirate booty":

This is a fabulous candle that my mom gave to me last Christmas. You can't see it but there is a tiny wick on the top of his head. I would NEVER burn it. I love it far too much! It is proudly displayed in my bathroom amongst the other black bathroom accessories. (creepy, I know!)

This is my favorite purse. It is a Thomas Wylde and the chain is the shoulder strap! Although you can't see it very well, my favorite part of this bag is hanging on the ends of the zipper enclosure strings; six anatomically correct lead skull heads. They are so tiny and cute! The bag also is lined in skull fabric and has a huge skull head laid out in metal grommets to display on the other side.

But my most treasured skull posession and personal possesion of all was a gift from My Guy. It was the first gift he ever gave to me, the first Christmas we shared together.

This wonderful Roberto Coin diamond encrusted skull and crossbones. I NEVER take it off. It is very special to me because somehow My Guy knew that skulls and diamonds were this girl's best friends.