And you think I love shoes.....

I have made some wonderful friends here in Taiwan. However, when we left the Philippines, I often wondered if my new friends would know me like the ones I left behind.

I received the following photo's from a new, wonderful friend last week. I felt all warm and fuzzy because I knew she really knew what I was into - shoes!

So, for those of you who know me, you think I love shoes? Well, obviously not as much as the following shoe owners.

Enjoy or just wince in pain:







Friends who know how much you love shoes? Irreplaceable!

Three Beautiful Things

I have not written a single post since January. Since moving to Taiwan in July 2007, I have had countless shoes to blog about. There is a great shop called "Big Shoe" which does shoes my size not to mention that Marks and Sparks does great boots which also fit!

So, tonight, with time on my hands for the first time in months, I decided to revisit some of my favourite blog sites. Of all of these, the one that continually warms my heart is Three Beautfiul Things.

Visit the writer at http://threebeautifulthings.blogspot.com/ and like me, you will think of the three beautiful things for the day:

1. The feeling of coming home from the gym to a clean house, courtesy of my amazing amah.

2. Walking the dog at dusk and watching her tail wag everytime she sniffs something new.

3. A cold, crisp glass of NZ Sauvignon Blanc while I watch the sun set.

Year of the Shoe

February 7 will bring in the new Chinese New Year.

In Taipei, this is an incredible sight to behold. More on that later - tomorrow we take 200 Grade Six students to Di Hua Street which is a veritable 'Year of the Rat' treasure chest prior to the Lunar New Year.

However, after searching a number of CNY superstitions on the internet, I finally discovered the reason NOT to celebrate this Chinese tradition:

"Make sure you avoid rough seas in the new year by not buying shoes over the holiday period. In Cantonese, shoes are a homonym for 'rough'."

Hmmm.....makes absolutely no sense to me!

Liked this one much more:

"The celebration actually starts on New Year's Eve with the reunion dinner. By New Year’s Eve, you should have done the following:

Buy the following:

- a new set of clothes and shoes for children, preferably something red or orange.

While I am still loving the shoe boot trend (not quite a shoe, nearly a boot) I think these would do the trick:



Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Shoes.....on your Christmas tree?

I have been meaning to post these two little beauties for quite some time.....





Yes, a great friend of mine found these in a store here in Taipei. She took me back there and I bought a plethora (love that word!) more but these two definitely summed up a Shoe Diva's Christmas!

DogsHead Dog

Yes, I have a dog.

A big dog.

A big, black, hair-shedding, energetic, lovely Labrador.

With extreme energy levels in this new temperate climate.

Allow me to take you on my dog's favourite walk here in Taipei. Funnily enough, it is called DogsHead.

We leave the apartment - that's me, fifth floor. Did I mention......no elevator?



We wind our way through dwellings and alley ways to hit the base of the trail:





The stairs begin.....



And the photo's say the rest.....







Needless to say, my dog loves Dogshead.

Yes, all of this, on our back doorstep.



Jealous?