Wonderful things and kids shoes

1. Steel wool. I love this stuff. I just discovered it at the local bulk food store. Less than a dollar for a large chunk. And anything, I mean anything, will come off if you scrub it with steel wool. I would not bet much on the longevity of any finished surface in my house. But grime that it takes ages to scrub away is gone with a flick of the wrist. Well, just about anyway. So is the paint off the range hood. But it isn't grimy anyway.

2. Livie & Luca shoes. Orianna's shoe box contains the following : yellow clogs, pink clogs, orange floral t-straps, and a pair of black mary jane clogs that are almost too little. I have a slight clog obsession. They are just so cute on kids. And on eBay, you can frequently buy them for the price of shoes in Wal-mart and they last much longer. Which is an important consideration when I have three girls to give them a beating. (Wal-mart is my bench mark for prices. When prices drop to Wal-mart prices ($10-$15 for kids shoes) I buy.) Anyway, Orianna needs some good basic shoes. Hooray! I get to buy shoes. I looked around a lot this week (joy!) and discovered Livie and Luca more thoroughly. Adorable. I want them all. But not at $40-$60 a pair..... Eventually I discovered some leather shoes at Lands End in my price range. And they are nice, good basics. But I will always remember that my kids could  have had shoes with peacocks, birds, suede flowers, and woven leather. And just as a side note, I saw a pair of Dolce and Gabbana sneakers for kids on 6pm.com for $160. !!!!!! Sneakers. for $160. for kids. And that is the sale price. Originally $300. Further investigation led to a pair of $690 shoes for kids. Hello first world. Just so you aren't burning with curiosity, here are the $690 pair. And the ugly sneakers for $160. And then a cute pair of Livie and Lucas.



The thing about cute shoes is that they look cute on toddlers, but how exactly does the style translate to a larger size? Probably a bit more awkward looking. Maybe it is a good thing for Orianna that I can't buy adorable shoes for her. She might bring it up in therapy sessions at a later date

3. Taking walks this week, I have heard leaves falling. For some reason, this seems profound. I can hear the leaves falling. Rustle, rustle as they sift down through the trees.

4. I managed to get all the kids fall things out, summery/too little things packed away, and everything neatly back to normal, within 48 hours. This process sometimes extends into weeks. Having Wednesday night meeting here this week, gave me an incentive to get things done. Of course, today it is hovering near 80 degrees. Bah.

5. The sunshine is shifting into fall and winter patterns. Our neighbor has a tin roof, and in the fall, winter, and spring, the angle of the sunlight shines right into our living room at lunch time. Rather blindingly shines in. Often I have to shut the curtain for an hour or two. And just this week, I have been noticing this again. Getting back to normal. For some reason, summer always seems like a departure from normal. And fall is  a return to things as they should be. I blame my northern roots.