My Date with Manolo

OK, so granted, in most cases it's rude to take a MAN other than your husband to your 14th wedding anniversary celebration. And I didn't, really. True, I was with Doug and another MAN but the other "MAN" in question was MANolo Blahnik of Sex and the City designer shoe fame. Now, when it comes to shoes, I am not an "Imelda". I do not own hundreds of pairs of shoes just in case I may need a pair for one occasion at some time during my life span. I do not have shoes in my closet that are still in their original box having never been worn. I do not pay more than 2 figures for shoes. But on THE CRUISE we had two formal nights and I needed a little help from my friends. Miraculously I had a great outfit that my darling husband had purchased for me some time ago. I rarely get to wear it, hence the lack of proper footwear to accompany it. Many in the aforementioned Book Club are girls of glam and I was confident that one of them would come through for me. So on a Saturday evening around 6.00 p.m. I issued my distress signal via email: "Does anyone have a beautiful gold shoe (true to form, I just wrote golf instead of gold...I tell you, this stuff is genetic!), around size 7, that I could borrow for our formal nights on the ship?" The funny thing was that many of my girls of glam were actually online at 6.00 p.m. on that Saturday night and that's when the fun really began. Filling my inbox were the following saucy little retorts:

-Sorry Cinderella, I wear a size 5.

-Can you wear at 9? (This from one of my most petite friends. The only thing bigger on her than me are her feet.)

-Sorry, I've given up shoes with heels. Plus, all I have in my closet are black.

-And then suddenly, the Hallelujah chorus began and the message containing my destiny arrived: "I admit, I am an Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes and while I wear a 6, some are 6 and a half and open back. You are welcome to whatever we can find."

Thank God President George W. Bush asked his good buddy Michael Wood to be the American Ambassador to Sweden and he said yes and he brought his wife and all her shoes with him!

Not only did I emerge from the American Ambassador's residence with the most lovely pair of golden, pointy (and comfortable!) Manolos, I had a chic little purse to match and an improved confidence in my ability to dress up and act like an adult! The fact that the formal night occurred on the night of our 14th wedding anniversary was a bonus. I don't think Doug minded sharing the night with Manolo. Our waitress gushed over the shoes, the dining staff sang Happy Anniversary (horribly) to us, we enjoyed a special little dessert and we danced with Manolo and one another, managing not to trip while celebrating the joy of our enduring union.

Thanks Judy, for sharing your treasure with me and my feet. It was fun to join the girls of glam at least for an evening on board the Splendor of the Seas.

Douglas...I look forward to many more anniversaries, with or without the MAN. xoxo