Conversations With Mr. Fantastic: Dr.'s Orders

This conversation took place about 5 years ago when Mr. Fantastic and I had been dating for about a year and I had just moved into his house with him and the kids.

I'd been having all kinds of foot problems which drove me to a podiatrist. He diagnosed me with all kinds of afflictions ranging from painful bunions to calluses and even hammertoe -gasp! I really can't believe I just admitted that publicly! I tearfully tried to explain that my feet are actually very pretty and they don't look anything like the google images I've found for people with these conditions.  He took one look at my Gucci pumps (these ones) and asked me if I normally wore those shoes. I said not those specific shoes everyday, but he asked if I normally wore high end shoes made of leather. When I said yes, he explained that was the reason I have "pretty feet." Real leather "gives" and adapts to your feet while man made shoes typically don't have any "give" and make your feet adapt to the shoe as well as trap sweat. When you have these foot problems they manifest as actual pain and not physical deformities.

I was delighted to come home and share the news with my then Fantastic Boyfriend!

Me: My doctor said I need more expensive shoes!
Bewildered, Mr. Fantastic asked: Do you need MORE expensive shoes? Or just shoes that are more EXPENSIVE?
Me: What's the difference? (Giddy at the prospect of shoe shopping!)
Mr. Fantastic: Is that really what he said?
Me: Yes! Here are the notes, the bill AND the prescription for nice shoes! (I had told the doctor my boyfriend wouldn't believe me, so he gave me a prescription for high-end shoes.)

Needless to say, my then modest collection of designer footwear has grown into quite a robust collection that I am proud to say mostly fits into the walk-in closet I share with Mr. Fantastic. I was thrilled when he bought me the pink Manolo Blahnik shoes above as an engagement gift and even more so when he texted me the below photo (which contained my wedding shoes!) from his trip to Manhattan before our wedding. That is him in the background of my header image. He took me to the Manolo Blahnik store in Las Vegas when we were looking for my wedding shoes so I could try them on before he bought them. They didn't have them in the blue I wanted, but I tried on the black ones and he took notes of what size I needed.  In that photo he is looking to see if he can find ANY pair of shoes under $500 at the store.  There was one pair of flats that was $495 and had been reduced to $345.

I am sharing this embarrassing story with you because recently I was reminded again of the painful cost of cheap shoes and I wanted to set the stage for the upcoming story.  Stay tuned! It's coming next week!