He gets a bad rap, but underneath is a real peach

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while are familiar with my brother, Dan. Some of you have probably laughed at the comments he leaves. Some of you have no doubt left feeling slightly offended. And a handful of you have even emailed out of concern for me and the less-than-friendly comments left by this person named Dan.

I can assure you that it is his love language. And mine to him.

We have had the privilege this week of having Dan and his cute family visit. They have braved our germ-infested walls and dared to spend time with us in spite of the swine flu. I am fervently praying that they do not come down with it themselves in a few days, however. [Although, given the fact that his daughter was a conjoined twin of my daughter until the fevers began, it will be a miracle if they escape unscathed. Oy.]

Anyway, since Dan has been so disgusted by the many appearances made by my feet on this blog, I thought it only fitting that he be the one to draw the winner of the Traveling Shoes. We put all the names in a pretty little bowl, seen here:

Then Dan was forced to cheerfully picked the next recipient of the gorgeous pink shoes:

And the winner is Thelma! Email me your address at stiesthoughts at gmail dot com and the shoes are on their way to your house. I cannot wait to see where you take them.

For those that didn't win, I offer you instead some pictures of Dan's cute family. Because coming to my house and escaping without a photo shoot is more miraculous than escaping without the swine flu.

Both of which are probably a little painful.

Dang, I sure like these guys.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Shoes

Over the weekend, I was the lucky recipient of a most happy package. Not one, but TWO fabulous pairs of shoes (and some chocolate and a magazine, too). This little ditty came courtesy of the chic and hip Diane (whose shoe collection I am sure would give Imelda Marcos a serious run for her money). Diane has had her fair share of bad luck and broken bones over the past few years, and is not able to wear all of the oh-so-pretty shoes she has stashed in her closet.

Can you imagine the horror?

So rather than have those lovelies gathering dust on a shelf, she has generously decided to spread the wealth.

Thus was born her idea for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Shoes. And, lucky me, I am the first sister. I will keep these gorgeous shoes for 30 days, document the places I take them (seen here lounging at the pool) and then will choose someone who will then get them for the next 30 days. And so on and so on, until these pink puppies have traveled the globe. What would thrill me to no end would be seeing these happy shoes on display internationally somewhere.

Aren't they cute?

So leave a comment letting me know whether or not you'd like in on the fun. The shoes are a size 9, but I'd wager you smaller-footed peeps could make them work, too. On October 1st, a new sister will be born.

Let's show these shoes a good time, shall we girls?