Surviving Winter: A Good Pair of Boots

 

Today we’re going to start from the ground up, meaning today is all about shoes (my favorite topic). See when it’s snowy and icy, you can’t just wear your tennis shoes (or as they call them in Canada, runners). They aren’t warm enough and you’ll just fall on your butt. My first year, I went out to buy my first pair of winter boots and ended up with something so ugly, I literally only wore them on the coldest of cold days. I don’t want that to happen to you. There are attractive snow boots out there, but you might have to search for them.

When purchasing said boots, or searching for said boots, I’ve found that there are three essential questions you must ask yourself and one thing to consider.

First: are they sewn into the sole? Can you see stitches? If not, that means they’re glued and you probably don’t want that because they are less waterproof than stitches. I wouldn’t consider this a hard and fast rule, but it’s definitely a deciding factor for me.

Second: what is the traction like? Do they have nice, thick, preferably rubber soles? No? Maybe not the best option for winter.

Third: how tall are they? I would say the taller the better. Again, not a hard and fast rule, and might be a issue of personal preference, but  lets just say when that truck plows through that puddle, you want to tall tall boots to protect your nice pants.

Lastly, when purchasing boots consider insulation. Those ugly boots I bought first year where lined with faux fur, and of course there is the obvious choice of buying a pair of Uggs, but I would seriously advise against Uggs as a winter boot. Yes, they are cozy and warm but they also get salt stains like no other and have no traction.

1. Are they sewn into the base?

2. Good traction

3. Tall (this is a preference)

4. Insulated is better

Here are some ideas:

 

 

(Pepperlime, DSW, Doc Martens, LL.Bean)

My Doc Martens have become my favorite pair of shoes ever. They are so comfortable, keep my feet dry and prevent me from falling on my butt all the time.

Hope you’re enjoying the snow! I sure am!

 

Happy (almost) Halloween!

Nate and I are going to pick out our pumpkins this weekend and I have a Halloween party to go to tonight. Not sure what exactly I’m going to be yet, but hopefully whatever it is will go over well.

Today’s Friday five are some cute pictures of Halloweens past. I always miss home a little bit this time of year. Pumpkin carving was always a big thing in the Sarconi-Johnson household. I’ve been noticing that here in Canada, Halloween isn’t such a big deal. I mean, back home, the houses are DECKED OUT for Halloween. I’m talking haybails and fake spiderwebs and motion censored speakers that whine at you like a ghost when you walk past them. Every year we spent a whole afternoon decorating the house and lawn. Last year, in order to make it up to me that I missed Halloween at home, my dad thought it would be nice to hang a HUMONGOUS and TERRIFYING fake bat from my ceiling light so that it greeted me the minute I walked in. Thanks dad, thanks.

But, back to Canada, there seems to be very few fake bats here. And although in some ways I am grateful for the lack of fake bats, it makes the whole holiday a little less festive (that is NOT AN INVITATION, DAD). Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places, but I never thought I’d miss fake spiderwebs and tombstones with ironic names on them.

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(look guys I made a slideshow aren’t you proud of me!?!?!)

(also, that red costume: I was a “southern belle”. Yes, a “southern belle.” That was the SECOND year in a row I choose to be a “southern belle” for Halloween, the costume from the year before was pink. Today, I might dub that costume “old western bar mistress” or ” saloon harlot.”)

Reminisce

Remember when the weather used to look like this and I didn’t have to wear four sweaters inside my house to keep warm?

Also, we can now add “apple picking” to the “new Canadian experiences” list. I’ve never heard of anyone doing it in California! We have apples, but we don’t pick them? Maybe I’ve just been deprived.

Photo by Leah

Happy Thanksgiving!

I look forward to one day having Thanksgiving in November again.

Three things I’m thankful for today: office hours, wonderful friends and epiphanies.

“Does This Pike Make Me Look Fat?”

So, being the studious and dedicated university student that I am, I spent my ENTIRE weekend working on a paper that was due this morning. I did not  go outside on Saturday or Sunday. By the time my paper was done Sunday night I had been working on it for 13 hours that day ALONE. It took me 13 hours to write FOUR PAGES. This morning, I got to class to turn in said paper (after waking up at 7:30 to edit it) and much to my chagrin, class was canceled and we just had to shove our essays under the door and go. Now I am home, eating left over macaroni and cheese for lunch and getting ready to start my second — and far more philosophical — essay that will probably result in pulling my first all nighter EVER (for school).

I think we all need a good laugh don’t you?

K. Beaton is HILARIOUS. Her comics are history and literature themed for the most part, with a couple of pop culture ones thrown in. I really like: Dude Watching With the Brontes, History Mysteries, the Nancy Drew ones, and the Great Gatsby ones. For all the Canadians out there, the Discovery of Canada is also pretty good.

Sometimes I am SUCH a nerd. I am totally okay with it.