First Birkenstocks… now Doc Martens?!

I was at Nordstrom’s last week and ran into a whole display of… Doc Martens boots.  Huh?!  I thought those went away with the 1990s!  Well, they’re back.

Now I am a child of the 90s.  I also grew up in the Northwest.  Dr. Martens were a staple to have in your wardrobe.  It was coincidental that Doc Martens were highly popular during the rise of the Grunge movement out of the Northwest.  I assure you as a grade-schooler I did not know about Nirvana and Green Day.  They are also very practical shoes to wear in a place where it rains all of the time.  No wet socks for me! 

Company history first… because I think it is interesting.

Dr. Martens is a British brand, founded by Klaus Martens.  He was a German Army doctor who injured his ankle while skiing in the Alps.  The regular German army boot hurt his foot, so he designed a new boot with soft soles made from discarded rubber from the Luftwaffe (German air force).  The German housewives loved how soft and comfortable his shoes were, and 80% of his boot sales were to women.  His company was bought out by a British shoe Manufacturer in 1959.  The rest is history.

Let’s take a look at a selection of their shoes:

“Brielle” Boot, this is a new look to me.  I think this boot would be rather nice to have if you lived somewhere that had a lot of snow.

‘Mary Jane’.  A classic.  I had a pair of these once.  They were nice.

classic oxfords.  I had a pair of these at some point as well.

An original, the ‘Pascal’ boot.  I always thought this looked like an army boot… didn’t know it was designed as an actual Army boot until today.  Go figure!

‘8053’.  This was the last part of Dr. Marten’s that I owned.  When I went off to college and was walking a few miles a day, the weight of the shoe really started to hurt my bad knee.  And that was the end of Dr. Marten’s for me.

‘Hackney’ Boot.  I tried these on at Nordstrom.  The smaller sole on them is really nice; it makes for a light weight boot.  If I were to purchase another pair of Dr. Marten’s, it would be one like this with the thinner sole.   I can’t wear heavy shoes anymore!

They don’t make these anymore.  This is what I would wear in the Summers.  With socks, of course!

Jessica Alba wearing the Dr. Marten’s boots

While they may be in again, I don’t think I’ll be joining this trend.  While the shoes are comfortable, they weigh too much and make my knees hurt.  Sucks getting old.

Here are some of my favorites:

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I have on my hanging on my wall a series of 16 reproduction prints of antique German landscapes.  Below I have them arranged around my tv.  In my previous apartment I had a nice big wall where I had them lined up 4 by 4.  It looked fantastic. (And of course I can’t find a picture).

My repro German prints from the 17th century!

A close up.

Anyone who comes over always comments on them.  They are from Williams-Sonoma Home, from the physical store itself when they were still around.  I found them on the clearance table.  The prints were stacked up in a little box for less than $100.  The frames were purchased on amazon.  For the amount of impact I get from them, it was really a good “bang for your buck” deal.  

Now for some information about them:

They are from a work entitled Der Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft Nahmen, Vorhaben Gemaehide und Woerter.  It was originally published in Frankfurt, Germany in 1646 as a manual produced from an old German society, Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, that sought to improve human virtues and to purify and improve the German language.  Each print contains a flower with a background of a German town, garden, or countryside.  They were 

Below are some pictures of the original plates, in closer detail.  I figured I would show close ups of these prints instead of mine exactly… trying to take a close up picture a picture can prove difficult.

Entitled “Red Flower”.  I have a copy of this print hanging.

This one is called “Tree”

This is the “walnut tree”. I wish I had this one!

This one the “potato”! I wish I had a copy of this one too, as I am a potato lover!

I have a copy of this one hanging, “blue flower”.

 Have you ever seen anything like these?  I’ve yet to run across them anywhere.  It actually took me a year to figure out what they were exactly.  I found the information on them here

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog, it’s a good one!
I’ve also linked up with Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here, and Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage!

Vogue blog features Birkenstocks? Did I read that right?

Never would I have thought I would have heard the word Birkenstocks and Vogue used in the same sentence!  They featured a piece on their blog not too long about, talking about how Birkenstocks are in fashion.  Huh?

Now, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.  This is a staple shoe in the Pacific Northwest.  But… this is how us Oregonians/Washingtonians wear this shoe:

Sock with sandals shoe offender! Must live in Oregon…

Trying to style socks with sandals… still doesn’t work!

 But… socks with sandals? That’s a huge fashion faux pas!  Well, I’ll tell you why. It’s COLD. That’s why.  When you live in a place that’s cloudy 300 days a year, socks are a must. Even with sandals.

Well Vogue says they’re cool. So we can all go buy this hippie dippy German shoe.  Look! A supermodel is wearing them all over L.A. in July of this year! So they must be cool, right?  Yes, Heidi Klum is extremely fashionable. But she’s German!  Of course she will wear the German sandal.  She probably has wide German feet.. like me! like my whole family! 

She’s super fashionable, wearing Birkenstocks in LA!

Did you know Heidi Klum also designs for Birkenstock?  Does that also change your opinion of how trendy they are?

I will say though, they *are* comfortable.  I may be guilty of owning a pair and wearing them with socks… in the 1990s.

The classic Arizona sandal

 Nah. still think they aren’t very cute.  But, they ARE comfortable.  If I had to go on a trek in sandals, I would buy a pair of them.

Actually though, I do work in a hospital… these ‘Boston’ clogs look pretty comfortable.  I actually might consider a pair…  my Dansko’s have been causing my old knee injury to hurt recently because of their weight.

Boston clogs

 Next time I go to Nordstrom’s… maybe I’ll try a pair on.  After all, they’re trendy now. Says who? Says Vogue.

Here are some of my favorites…

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EDIT 5/19/15- While I wrote this post 2 years ago, the Wall Street Journal is just *now* posting about how trending this shoe is.  Check out the article here: Trendy Birkenstocks 

Mixed Berry Scones

I love scones.  I have tried to make them from scratch before.  I found a mix at Trader Joe’s, a mixed berry scone mix that was incredibly easy to make…. just add water! 

Heat the oven to 375F, bake for 13-17 minutes, and voila! Fresh scones! 

Fresh mixed berry scones!

 I liked them because I find that a lot of mixes require a lot of oil, butter, eggs. fat. fat. fat.  These ones are much lower in fat! And tasty too!

No, this Juliska china doesn’t match the place mats. My 7am brain didn’t care.

Would I buy this again? Yes. Quick. Cheap. Easy. Low-fat. 

Only sold at Trader Joe’s!

I’ve linked up for Wow-Us Wednesdays! Click here to see a wonderful collection of other posts!!

I wanted to share with you my new shoes for the Fall! They are right on trend with Fall 2013 flats, smoking slippers, and animal prints!

They are shiny because they are actually calf-hair

They are by VC signature purchased from Nordstrom’s .  I *almost* purchased these instead of the leopard print:

These are by Cole Haan, can be purchased here

 I will say, I LOVE Nordstrom’s shoe department.  They usually have really good service.  They are also really good with returns.  One time my mom even wore a pair of tennis shoes all day at Disneyland, they hurt her feet, took them to the Nordstrom’s right near Disneyland, they took them back with no questions or dirty looks!

I can’t wait to wear these!

What shoes have you purchased for the fall?