Two Weekend Discoveries

On Saturday, I made two very valuable discoveries.  The first was a sole-saver.

You know that old pair of black patent leather shoes in the back of your closet?

The pair that you loved and wore practically everywhere, but scuffed just to the point that your diva self could no longer bear to wear them in public?  My shoe snobbery is off the charts--I've been pacing the aisles of way too many stores for the perfect       < $100 black leather pumps for months--so I understand.

Well, here's some advice to help you put them back in rotation.  First, purchase a super-cheap bottle of Wet n' Wild Wild Shine Polish in Black Creme, #424A.  It's hyper-glossy, and I rocked it for a couple of weeks on my nails this winter during my "black polish can be elegant" phase, which ended after I saw how hard it was to remove all traces of it from your cuticles. You can find it at Wal-Mart and most major drugstores.

After making sure your shoes are clean, proceed to lightly dab polish onto the scuffs.  You may want to use a Q-Tip.  Wait at least an hour before wearing outside.      

If you have no other shoe issues, you are done!  As for me, the toe bed of one of the shoes was slightly separated from its sole, so I went all MacGyver on it, using a little tub caulk left by a repairman (don't judge--I tried to give it back years ago, plus all of my generic Superglue has dried up) to seal the gap.  I pressed down on the sole, cleared the excess caulk, and then painted over it with the nail polish.

I will strut the sidewalk in the shiny fruits of my frugality later this week.

Oh, and that other discovery?  It was a long-forgotten 11 year-old love letter postcard, from an ex, mailed from London, found at the bottom of my Rubbermaid bin of retired/rarely worn shoes.  The relationship ended in disaster, but I kept it.  It's a sweetly written memento of my early years in the city.  I just smiled and put it right back in its hiding place.