The Joy of Shoe Shopping!

'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.' ~ Lewis Carroll

Okay, I know the title of this post surprises those who know me. After all, I am the Anti-Shopper.

Ask anyone. Wandering around a mall "looking for nothing in particular but I'll know it when I find it is" my definition of the ninth circle of Hell.

My parents, who will celebrate 64 years of wedded bliss this year!

I am, however, an enthusiastic buyer when I know exactly what I want and where to find it. Those two trajectories synced last week when we took my parents to Branson. It was something of an early Christmas/Anniversary present. (Yep! They followed a 3 generation family tradition of being married on Christmas Day. The DH and I decided some traditions were made to be broken!)

Foyer of the Sight & Sound Theater

For the uninitiated, Branson, MO is a small town nestled in the Ozarks that features more live theaters per square mile than Broadway. We took the folks to see The Miracle of Christmas at the Sight & Sound Theater. It was a visually stunning production and there were more characters flying above the stage and our heads than if we'd gone to see Peter Pan! 

Anyway, after the shows, the next biggest draw for Branson is the shopping. Ordinarily, this would make me groan, but I happened to know there was a Rockport store at the Tanger Outlet. 

I usually have trouble finding a shoe that fits. I don't know what it is about the Rockport brand, but I can almost always wear a pair out of the store and have them feel like they were made just for my feet. On this particular trip, I found FOUR (count 'em!) pairs. The very sweet salesperson Rhonda was so  good to help me find just the right size.

Mack, seen in the background, thinks packing never bodes well for a dog...

I'm tickled to pieces with all of them. The three dress shoes all have non-skid soles, so they'll be perfect for shipboard evenings. The black heels aren't so tall that I'm afraid I'll  break an ankle if the Pacific Princess starts rocking. The blue slip-ons will be great for walking excursions. The strawberry in the situation is that they were all on sale and averaged $30 a piece. Along with my red leather deck shoes (also Rockports) these five will compose the bulk of my cruise shoe wardrobe.

But I'll also be bringing three pairs of sandals--black, brown and blue--and hot pink flipflops for a total of 9 pairs of shoes. I'd originally thought I could pare it down to five altogether, but it looks like this is the final count.

Oh! And did I mention that they all hug my feet? (Contented sigh!)

So how about you? Are you an Anti-Shopper, too? Or do you, like my mom, shake your head in disbelief that I could actually hate shopping? 

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