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?

And now we bring you.....seasons!

I had a sudden desire to post. Why? Well, for the last ten year, Fungus and I have lived on the equator or pretty darn close to it. Trust me, it is hard to remain eternally fashionable with sweat constantly running down your back.

Taipei, on the other hand, has seasons! It is unbelieveable! I can actually wear some of the things I drool over in English mags. As I sit here writing on my new lenovo X60 tablet (had to drop that in there - hah!) I am actually wearing jeans, slippers and a gorgeous new grey jumper from Banana Republic. And I am still a little chilly!

Watch closely - I plan to blog about all my new boots soon.....things are looking up!

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.....

When it comes to rugby, I've got all my bases covered. My Dad is from New Zealand and my Mum is from Fiji. I waited for this World Cup with bated breath. You see, I really love my rugby.

So much so, it has taken me this long to even contemplate posting about New Zealand's sudden and unexpected departure from their quest for the cup. Viva la France? You must be joking.

Yes, things got interesting. I lost my voice cheering for Fiji during their triumphant win over Wales. I had friends over to watch the English give it to the Aussies. We all woke up excitedly to watch the NZ-France match. I went back to bed with the heaviest of hearts. Gutted. That is all I can say.

So then, Fiji took on South Africa. What a game! Without a doubt, Fiji played tremendously and won the hearts of rugby lovers world wide. They definitely take my vote for team of the tournament.

Suddenly, they were all out. New Zealand - gone. Fiji - game over.

I took heart in the fact that England were in the final even though the whole time I was thinking, "How the f**k did England make it to the finals................again?" Luckily, just about every Englishman I know was thinking the exact same thing.

Now it's all over. Well done to South Africa. Lekker bro.

Maybe I should switch to watching soccer.




Nah. Still love my rugby. New Zealand - 2011. Go the Blacks!

Shoe Life Part 2

So.....I have a roof top as big as my apartment. Huge bonus here in Taipei as the roof is only for me and the dog - no sharing with other tenants.......all ours.

Bear in mind that this is still a work in progress. I have yet to purchase the plants and other trimmings to tame this concrete jungle. At the moment, it is still a lovely place to sit, sip wine and drink in the mountain views.

As you enter the door:



You should have seen the state this room was in when I moved in - it took about six hours in total to get the floor clean!





Roof top design (again, a work in progress):





The gecko wall - those who have visited me in Malaysia will recognise some familiar pieces:



But the best for last..........the view! At night, there are a trail of red Chinese lanterns winding all the way up which is a delight to see:




BBQ heaven - now, when exactly did you say you were arriving?

Shoe Life Part One

I realised today that I have been working overseas for ten years! Ten years! Sometimes I can't believe it myself. After all this time though, one thing remains true. In order to stay sane, you really need to make your home your haven.

Never did I learn that more than my time in the Philippines - yes, you really need a place where you can close your door, sigh and really feel like you are home.

Life in Taipei is certainly different than my previous expat life of big homes, swimming pools and an ample back yard. Taipei is all about apartment living. Fortunately, there are lots of green parks and river walkways for the dog to run along and clean, tree lined streets.

I currently live down a small alley, last apartment building, fifth floor.....no elevator. The view at the top is worth it. You'll see why if you revisit my blog and see Part 2. For now, let me introduce my new home, nay, haven here in the city that never seems to sleep.

When you arrive and get through the steel reinforced door which is typical of Taipei apartments, this is what you will see:



Allow me to continue - I am very proud of my vision for this previously tiled area and it was late one Sunday night that I laid the decking and organised this beautiful little space:



I even have a herb and chilli garden - yes, those are the Yangmingshan mountains in the backdrop!



The living room is straight off the front deck - one of the reasons I wanted the deck to be special, like an extension of the living room:




Walk through the opening on the left and you will find I even have space for a dining room for those roast dinners:



Go off to the right and this is my study - very white and grey I know, but I love it!



Off my study is Gucci's personal deck. Here she has a life changing 'Pet Loo" (has been a god send for apartment dwelling) and some newly installed wooden decking:



Go back out the door and enter my teeny tiny kitchen - compact but great fixtures:



I was told that it is a total coup to find a nicely finished kitchen with Western stove, dishwasher and microwave - got them all!



Cross back through the dining room and living room and you will find the room you will stay in, if any of you trek this way for a visit:




Your bathroom for the duration of your stay:



These are not the best shots of my HUGE bedroom but it will give you an idea of my sleeping space:




Herein ends the tour of our new Taipei haven. Stay tuned for Part 2 - the rooftop and my spectacular views! Thanks for dropping by for a visit......here's hoping I can show you this in real time in the very near future.

Dog Diva

You know your shoe existence is getting bad when the only person getting new shoes in your house.....is the dog. After our fifth visit to IKEA to buy my new desk, Dave's new desk, shelving for the roof top study and more wine glasses (we only bought two with us because we always break them), we stumbled across a pet section in IKEA here! Yes, they luuurrrvvvveee their animals in Taipei.

Gucci is now the proud owner of a fancy pink boot, straight out of the 60's:



.....and a sports shoe (not sure what this is reminiscent of):



Not only does she have new shoes, but Gucci gets to go to the dog spa once a week for a full grooming. The only problem is, the lovely Taiwanese women who groom her have a little problem with the big, black, slobbery female Labrador who does not look like a girl. The solution?





I don't think I have laughed so hard in a very long time. This is the dog who runs up the Yangmingshan mountains and rolls in the mud on a daily basis. Gorgeous!

Shoe Depression

Sigh....well it has been nearly three months since I last posted! My new life and being back at work is consuming the very little free time I have.

There are NO, I repeat, NO shoes in my size in Taipei. Well, there are if you count sports shoes.....and usually I do.....but I need real shoes. Shoes with heels........shoes with style......shoes that make random strangers gasp and say "Oh, I love your shoes! Where did you get them?"

So, I need to be content with posting a few doozies I picked up before I left Manila:





Life is bleak. I am hanging out for our upcoming trip to Manila where I plan on buying many, many, many new pairs. Until then, that is all.

Yours in a deep, dark, shoe depression,
The Shoe Diva

Bling Bling

The greatest thing about shopping in Manila is the emergence of so many new Filipino designers - shoes, jewellry and clothing. Whatever the trend is in London Vogue, or even New York - many local designers have got their finger on the pulse and you can see these reflected in the many boutiques popping up around the city.

Today I wanted to share a bit of my bling with you. As tis the season of the dress (and the weather is absolutely steaming!), all you need are a few groovy accessories and you are good to go. I have not always worn a lot of jewellry (despite owning far too much) so decided to up the amp and buy some things I really would wear.

These first two pieces were purchased at Debbie Co. This is a fantastic atelier where Debbie also brings in locally designed footwear, bags and jewellry. Her clothes are absolutely gorgeous but on my last visit, I found these two lovely sparklies to increase my style factor:




My other finds were at the Independent Lifestyles section at PowerPlant Mall in Rockwell. This groovy shopping area showcases local designers and their fabulous new pieces. I actually was on a shoe mission (at Sapato - greatest shoes ever!) but was quickly sidetracked at the ever funky Cru. I have been chasing the owl pendant for about three months and the dragonfly earrings are for fun:




Lastly, the final purchases were from Robinsons in Ortigas - never overlook the mass jewellry sections at these local department stores because otherwise you miss out on shimmering, faux snake skin bargains such as this:

Expat Rant

So.....my hard drive is out of commission (mother board needs replacing - sounds like something out of Star Trek to me), one shipment is off to Aotearoa this week, one to Taiwan next week, moving out of the house, starting a new job.........ye gods! This is beginning to sound like an expat rant!

I do have the following things to blog about:
new jewellry (gorgeous!)
new dresses (yes, it is the season of the dress and Shoe Diva has embraced it with open arms)
new shoes (oh so adorable patent peep toes and platforms that will make your calves quiver)

But alas, not today. Still figuring out how best to get my photo's from my comp. to Fungus' laptop.

Never fear, I will be back. Just waiting for the mother board to pick me up and beam me out of technophobe land.

It's official - there is a shoe heaven!

It's Sunday morning. I have the whole house to clean, two loads of washing to be done and a big, black dog who needs to have a bath. So, what do I do? Grab a coffee and catch up on the news via the brilliant New Zealand Herald of course!

Cruising the Life Style pages, imagine my excitement when I find this article on the new New York shoe store so big it is going to have its own ZIP CODE! Hmmm......wonder if Fungus and I can afford to fly to the Big Apple for a week? Because, that is how long it will take me to get through this store!

Not only that, there was also this little ditty about the ultimate Shoe Diva, Imelda Marcos, and her infamous shoe museum. Can you believe I have not yet been there? Shame on you Shoe Diva. Read more about it here and believe me when I say there will be a blog about it soon. It is on my list of "MUST VISIT BEFORE I LEAVE THE PHILIPPINES" list.

Shoe opinion needed.....

I must admit, when I saw that major platforms and rounded toes were filling the runways, I thought it might be a passing fad. I used to own the most amazing black suede strappy platform wedge type shoes back in my university days. I actually think I took a student loan to pay for them!

So as ever the slave to fashion, I have a total of four platform shoes in my wardrobe:
pumps
slingbacks
slouch boots
ankle boots

However, because you can never have too many shoes, I am thinking of buying these:



They are bright, cheerful, excellent colour, funky......what do you think? Should the shoe diva purchase the cute yellow platform wedges?