It’s Austin’s six-millionth day in a row with temperatures destined to be over 100 degrees and the suggestion of donning anything but the wispiest of cotton lawn dresses and the flimsiest of sandals fills me with a sticky overheated dread.

However, Duo Boots, that blessed British purveyor of wide-calf boots for the big girl, is offering free international shipping for a limited time and since it can take up to a month for your kicks to clear customs, it’s a good idea to order now for arrival by the beginning of October.

I’ve got a wide, extremely muscular calf and it’s almost impossible to find boots other than those dreadful cheap-looking microfiber stretch jobbers to fit my legs.

I am a big fan of Duo and one of the most fun evenings of my life involved a pair of Duo over-the-knee suede boots and their effects on the masculine population of Shannon, Ireland.

Let’s start out with the Belice raspberry suede knee boot.

What a fantastic date boot. A deep red like this can really be played as a neutral since you could wear it with black for a chic downtown thing, a rich chocolate for a sophisticated upscale presentation and navy for a fun and slightly unexpected look.

These are also available in black. Remember, suede stretches a good deal more than nappa leather so if you’re between calf sizes you might want to order down.

Next there’s the Salso taupe suede knee boots with cone heel.

I really dig these because taupe is an unusual color for boots. You’ve got great opportunity to play with texture here.

I imagine the taupe boots over a pair of nude fishnet tights, a fun wool skirt and fuzzy angora sweater, all in the same tones. You’ve got something funky and incredibly sophisticated without it screaming fashion victim.

The taupe is also a good choice for those of you who live in a place with long winters since it’s easily trasitionable into a spring look where you need that extra warmth but don’t want the visual weight of a heavy black boot.

I showed these Amora croc embossed black boots yesterday during the teaser.

These came out late last year and when I saw them I made a sort of strangled gurgle of pleasure.

They remind me of a pair of Hermes jumping boots I saw four years ago and which I have coveted for approximately every waking second since. Except, you know, not $25,000.

For those of you who like a pointier (though not razor sharp) toe in a boot, we’ve got the Parina in burgundy suede.

Another great boot in a color that can be treated as neutral.

Can you just imagine this with a pair of gray tights and a slightly slouchy little sweater dress in October? Completely effortless and gorgeous. Your friends will hate you…but in a good way.

If you want something classic, statement-y but still casual,  the Catalonia tan riding boot should be right up your alley.

The great thing about these is they can be styled dozens of ways.

Dark jeans, big earrings and a little striped top? Adorable date night outfit a la Edie Sedgwick. Same jeans with a rock tee and a grandpa cardigan? Cool and effortless for running around during the day or a concert at night.

Finally we have the Florence black equestrian boot. Talk about merciless chic, they’ve got the style of a Spanish show riding boot with a low cut back and they just slay me.

Put these with a pair of light honey leggings for a horsey set look or do head to toe black and a bright silk scarf or enormous jewelery for a bit of Parisienne cool.

Do you have a favorite way to wear boots? Put your best boot outfit in the comments and help your sisters out!

I’m a tough critic and their Tulip boots were knockouts for me last year, so go get while the getting is good!

I will graciously wait while you try to reclaim some sense in your now topsy-turvy universe.

Good.

That being said, there’s a difference between being particular and being unreasonable. If I’m going to my favorite Highly Questionable Taco Cart (Taqueria Las Rosas #2 holla at your girl! Orale!) I don’t expect haute cuisine, I don’t ask too many questions. I just take my taco, try not to knock over any of their fiber optic/ patriotic Jesus statuary and call it a noche.

The same goes for shoes and clothing. If I’m buying a $50 dress, I expect a few threads hanging here or there or less-than-luxe fabrication. If I’m dropping $500? My standards are a lot higher.

My standards were high when I ordered two pairs of boots from London-based Duo.

After hemming and hawing, I decided on the black suede over-the-knee Tulip and the cognac leather knee-high Rochelle.

Duo boots aren’t astronomically expensive –most of the boots run around $225-$325, perfectly reasonable for a pair of quality European-made leather boots– but their flagship fitting room is on Savile Row, a street in London that’s been shorthand for flawless bespoke tailoring for over 200 years.

You do not mess around on Savile Row.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my initial experience with Duo was not a pleasant one.

Even allowing for the cultural difference (I’m not saying Texans are necessarily nicer people, I’m just saying you think twice about being rude to someone if you’re in a concealed handgun state) I was Not Impressed with the attitude I received from the customer service when after close to a month, I asked after the whereabouts of my boots. That being said my other interactions have been –I won’t say overly warm, but the British didn’t build an empire on warmth– but absolutely satisfactory.

The Fit:

Getting into them is a wee bit difficult as the zipper only goes up to the knee, but a full zip would ruin the look. The toe box is nice and roomy for a wide foot with an elegant almond toe and surprisingly cushy padding, and although the ankle was a bit loose for my personal preference –I have slender ankles for someone with big calves– they were cut generously enough to fit a thick-ankled woman without looking slouchy on someone with slimmer ones. I ordered my regular size and went down a centimeter on the calf fit because leather –especially suede– stretches and I don’t like the slouch-boot look.

The Construction:

The suede is excellent and uniformly soft with only minor flaws in the nap.

These flaws are just going to happen with any natural material and I was pleasantly surprised by its quality and softness. I don’t know what animal they use but it feels like lamb or kid, both of which make suedes with a much finer texture than calf. If it IS calf then I am even more impressed.

The lining was another happy surprise: an incredibly supple fuchsia nappa leather extending to the top of the zipper. The over-the-knee part is finished with the same black suede as the outside, which means you can wear them cuffed to knee-height if your little heart desires.

The stitching is small and even, with the thread changes noticeable but not prominent (anyone who asks why I care about thread changes has clearly never been poked in the leg all day by a bristle-stiff loose end from an improperly secured thread change) and the turns are sharp, no lazy finishing here.

I noticed a few less-than-straight cuts on the leather lining, but I’d classify that more in the realm of adding charm than detracting from the quality.

Comfort:

These are easily the most comfortable fashion boots I’ve ever worn.

I took them out of the box and wore them for eight hours straight. There was a bit of rubbing on my big toes, but that’s my own dumb fault for not wearing socks (laundry has not been a priority as of lately here at Château Gâteau). I’ve worn them several times since and even when wearing them for evening after being in 4″ stilettos all day, they didn’t bother me at all.

The 9 cm heel is nicely balanced and the small platform gives a bit of height and comfort without being all “OH HAI I’M A PLATFORM BOOT!” The padding and arch support are both more than adequate, plus since you’re zipped in from here to eternity, you’re MORE than secure once you’re in them.

Room for Improvement:

I would without hesitation recommend these boots to anyone just as they are. However, there are a few changes that in a perfect world would’ve taken them from great to spectacular.

They have a rubber sole. On a luxury boot, the sole really ought to be leather. The sole itself is actually cute, but it’s rubber and slightly cheapens the look. I could see how you might say “but wait, what about bad weather?” to which I would ask you if you would wear toe-to-thigh suede in the rain.

The heel taps aren’t great. They’re not bad, but I’m not hard on my shoes and these showed signs of wear the very first day, so if you want these to be in heavy rotation you’ll be replacing your taps sooner, potentially much sooner, rather than later. In fairness, Duo does mention you’d have to replace the taps and Lord knows I’ve gotten crummy taps on shoes three times as expensive as these, so while I was mildly disappointed, it’s not the end of the world.

There’s no excuse for an exposed zipper. The Tulip is part of Duo’s Boutique Collection “offering the finest quality leathers, designer detailing and superior craftsmanship.” A boot like that should have a covered zipper unless the exposed zipper is part of a distinct design element. It’s just a more elegant look and it indicates the sort of craftsmanship and attention to detail you expect for a luxury boot. Yes, making a covered zipper is more expensive and time consuming, but I’d be willing to pay a premium for it and I doubt I am alone.

The website is not especially user-friendly. You cannot search the site for keywords, so if you wanted to search for “Tulip” you’d have to browse through the pages of boots, and when you click on All Boots they really mean All Boots that are not on sale or stuck somewhere else on the site. Determining whether your size is available is a pain too, you have to click on your size and then click on the number and it will think for a while and eventually tell you whether it’s available or not. Although you can search by size, I’m not entirely convinced I get ALL the correct results. There’s got to be a better, faster way.

Conclusion:

These are great, investment-quality boots, well worth the retail price and even more of a deal on sale and although they’re not The One True Boot, they receive the highly-coveted Plumcake Pick. Not only are they beautifully constructed, but they’re dead sexy too. The second time I wore my Tulips I paired them with light charcoal tights and a body-conscious color blocked sweater dress in black, charcoal and winter white. As I was walking towards my destination, a man was coming the opposite direction. He was clearly looking at my boots (yes, boots, with a “t”) and as I passed, he stumbled. THOSE are powerful boots.

Please be advised if you order from the UK to the US, your order will most likely take the long-side of a month to arrive and shipping is $20 per pair of boots, which will be mailed separately. While the shoes are made in Europe out of Italian leather, I cannot tell you whether they are constructed in countries with EU labor laws.

I get SO. MANY. EMAILS. asking for a good pair of knee high boots for under $100. Honestly I think that’s aiming a little low for a real leather boot, even if it is made in China, but it shouldn’t be impossible to find an at least marginally better than average quality solid leather –I HATE those stupid elastic panels– boot for $200.

Which brings me to the subject of Good Boots.

There are some shoes where you can cheap out. Fabric evening shoes? You can get a nice pair of Nina’s for $60 and no one’s the wiser, but boots take up too much visual space and attention to go cheap and cheap boots look cheap. Which isn’t to say I didn’t wear the hell out of my white stretch vinyl boots when I was doing burlesque-flavored go-go on the weekends (good times) but that is not this.

Obviously you could go with calf-fit boots from Duo. Right now they’re having a HUGE honking sale so this might be your best bet if you’re looking to buy boots right now.

That being said,  I also have been Less Than Impressed with the Duo customer service. I ordered two pairs of boots on January 1st. They warned that shipments to the US might take a bit longer than the seven day delivery thanks to slowdown in customs. But it’s been 15 business days since I ordered them and they haven’t even made it through customs. Not only did they not send a tracking number automatically (and doesn’t EVERYONE do that these days?) when I contacted customer service they were not especially polite or friendly.

They finally provided me with tracking numbers. Turns out my boots haven’t even made it through customs yet, and I find it awfully unusual that I can get a pair of shoes shipped from Italy and have them get through customs in two days, but these boots from England are taking the better part of a week.

And interestingly, when I asked where exactly the boots were made, the response was “Our boots are made in small family owned factories throughout Southern Europe, using leather sourced from Italy.” and that sounds juuust a little shady to me, because to me when you say Southern Europe instead of Spain or Italy that means Turkey and Croatia and I’m just not super comfortable with the idea of boots being made in non-EU European countries. Anyway, I had two DUO boots listed as recommended, but they’ve left a bad taste in my mouth, I’m taking them off until I get the boots (and they had better be PERFECTION).

ANYHOODLE let’s have some boots, shall we?

Here we have your basic black high-heeled boot. Ros Hommerson “Maryland” with a 19.25″ calf:

These are the sort of boots you have forever. They’re not especially exciting, but boots really need to be styled on the leg. Personally I’m not crazy about black leather boots (except suede) but I would wear these.

Of course there’s the black motorcycle-style boot. It’s not a style I particularly love, but that’s just because I couldn’t be less of a motorcycle boot girl if I tried. Still, classic is classic and the Ros Hommerson “Sphere” with a 19.25″ calf is a classic version of an iconic look.

NOW we’re singin’ my song:

These are actual boots used for mounted police. I love a riding boot but it’s been hard to find a good tall one for under $500. There are several colors and widths, the widest is 20 1/8″ at a 19″ high size 11. They’re surprisingly more affordable than I thought and you can’t get more authentic for that military/horsey look.

Finally, as a resident of the Lone Star State, I’d be remiss if I didn’t feature a pair of cowboy boots. As I’ve mentioned before, if you are fat of calf men’s ropers or low-shafted boots –10 or 11 inches– are the way to go. Your feet will wear out before even a $100 pair of cowboy boots will and you can get them in pretty much any width you want. While not technically ropers, these Western boots from Justin are cute, and look easy to get on (you won’t have to buy boot hooks for them).

Oh, and don’t wear pointy-toed cowboy boots anyplace where cowboy boots are part of the culture. Pointy cowboy boots are for vaqueros and A&R guys from L.A.. Bonne Weekend y’all!

Usually it’s a crapshoot whether fashion portmanteaux stick or not. Remember when they were trying to make “shooties” happen? It failed, as well it should. However, it looks like we’re stuck with jeggings so we might as well deal.

Jeggings are leggings that are supposed to look like jeans. They are like skinny jeans on speed and as such should be approached with great fear and trembling. Also, it is important to remember that just as Tights Are Not Pants and Leggings Are Not Pants, Jeggings Are Not Pants. They are closer to pants than traditional leggings and tights, but just like making out with your third cousin is not technically as wrong as making out with your first cousin, it’s still something that’s best avoided, even in emergencies.

I have never been a fan of the skinny jean on big girls because it’s such a tricky look to deploy. Big girls, like Tolstoy’s unhappy families are all big (or unhappy) in different ways. Yet back in October my bff Meghan, who was also a plus-size model and is even more beautiful than I am (if you can imagine such a thing), was not just wearing but actively rocking jeggings. My tiny world was turned upside down.

I was tempted.

Finally, after serious and measured consideration –let it not be said that anyone, myself included, gets into my pants without effort– I caved. I’d just purchased two pair tall boots from DUO, the over-the-knee (though foldable for when the OTK look is out) Tulip in black suede and the possibly sold out Rochelle in a gorgeous cognac leather and I really did need an incredibly slim-cut jean to wear with them.

No, I didn’t get them in purple suede. There is a very particular type of woman who can get away with wearing over-the-knee purple suede boots. I am not that type of woman.

So on the advice of Meghan, I picked up a pair of the Lane Bryant knit jeggings. Rumor has it these are about to be discontinued in favor for jeggings without a functional fly so if you want a pair, get them with a quickness.

They are surprisingly good. Unfortunately, you pretty much have to be tall and have shapely legs to make these work.

I hate saying this because I’m tall and have shapely legs and I feel like it’s saying “I can wear this, but you can’t.” But if you’re short and round, this might not be a great look for you. On the other hand, you’ve got miniskirts and the adorable thing going on, plus you get all the tall guys so you’re just gotta let us have this one.

On the bright side –I’m talking to you, apples– if you ARE reasonably tall and have reasonably shapely legs, it doesn’t matter what you’ve got going on up top, you can rock the jegging and look great doing it.

The trick is careful shoe selection.

Obviously a tall boot is ideal. It’s up to you whether you like the scrunched boot look. I don’t care for it myself but I’ve seen it used to great effect on girls who are more apple than pear, and girls who are short-waisted but whose legs go for miles.

I’m quite tall and I do have rockin’ pins –thank genetics and going to college on the side of a mountain–  but they’re not overly long. Scrunch boots visually shorten the leg and thus are not for me, see also: cowboy boots or any boot that ends mid-calf.  What you want in a boot, and I am going to say this with a completely straight face, is a nice long substantial shaft that stays up for as long as you need it.

If you’re not going to wear boots with your jeggings, your best bet is a pair of aggressively modern, visually heavy heels.

Heels?

Yeah, you pretty much gotta.  And not low ones either. Flat boots look good –though not pancake flat– but jeggings or skinny jeans with flats are best left to the willowy girls. This is the time to bust out your five inchers with all the buckles and ties.

And yet you don’t want to go with pumps or anything too traditionally pretty because they can go Peg Bundy on you in the blink of an eye.

Something along the lines of these python print sandals from Ash (under $100) or these green kicks from Chloe (in a size 11!) would fit the bill without killing your feet.

Booties are a matter of preference. I don’t like them.  They’re 80′s in a bad way, and unless your to do list looks like this:

–Pay Rent

–Buy Milk

–Writhe suggestively on Whitesnake’s car

I happen to think they’re best avoided.

The point is, you need to make sure you have enough visual weight at the bottom of your outfit to anchor the look.

Which brings us to what’s going on up top. Tunic tops, fitted but not clingy, are the way to go. You want something that covers at least most of your backside –not because your badonka isn’t currently donking, it’s just a proportion thing– and has enough visual distraction to draw the eye upward. The idea of jeggings is to create a long, lean silhouette, and that’s hard to do where there’s no place to rest the eye.


This colorblock sweater –on HUGE sale at Saks– does just the trick, and as you can see, your eyes are drawn first to the sweater, and then to the shoes while the jeggings just create a long, smooth line.

Dr. Martens 20-eye Tartan Boots I sort of missed my window of opportunity for Docs –at least big statementy ones like these– and I regret it. While I have a hard time liking them on anyone over about twenty five, they’re an iconic part of the punk look, and you can’t mess with an icon. Just ask Cher.

Patti Smith Complete 1975-2006: Lyrics, Reflections & Notes for the Future For the punk kid with an intellectual bent. Women are woefully underrepresented in the annals of punk, so if all you know is Horses, do yourself a solid and dive a little deeper into the great poet of punk.

Perfecto-style Leather Classic Biker Motorcycle Jacket (great sales on this brand) If you want to go all out, pick up a vintage Schott Perfecto. Marlon Brando wore the 618 in The Wild One but I believe our mutual friends The Ramones preferred the 613.

Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die Vivienne Westwood ring. Punk isn’t dead, it’s just in a different tax bracket.

Be sure to check back at the main ‘Tis the Season page to look back on profiles you’ve missed and look forward to ones that are soon to come!

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Rain Boots
Chef’s Choice Cordless Electric Kettle
Jeeves and Wooster: The Complete Series
Alexander McQueen Studded Brittania Clutch (wah)

Be sure to check back at the main ‘Tis the Season page to look back on profiles you’ve missed and look forward to ones that are soon to come!

Reading – Nabokov’s Butterfly and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books by Rick Gekoski. Legendary rare book dealer, Man Booker Prize judge and semi-scoundrel Rick Gekoski tells the story of how his life has intertwined with several of the world’s most collectible books and literary objects J.R.R. Tolkein’s university gown (the books was published as Tolkein’s Gown and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books in the UK) including Grahame Greene’s first edition of Lolita adorned with Nabokov’s signature hand-drawn butterflies.

Watching – Sherlock. You guys. Seriously now, you NEED to watch this and do it fast because it’s available for free streaming on the PBS website until December 7. In this three-part series for BBC Wales and Masterpiece Mystery, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are 21st century characters as gripping and real as any contemporary crime procedural. Benedict Cumberbatch (whose name I cannot help but read as Cummerbund Bandersnatch) plays the best detective this Holmes girl has ever seen or heard.

Hearing - Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. The best pop album of all time. That is all. Also, auto tune people people? THIS is how you do it.

Smelling – Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day cleaning products in Geranium. Cleaning, like monogamy and parenting, is one of those things better left to people who aren’t me. I kind of morally object to having to clean up after myself. I mean, I DO it, because I can’t find a cleaning gal I like and the last one stole all my best prescription drugs, but I’m NOT happy about it. It’s hard enough to find the time to MAKE the mess, and now I’m supposed to fix it too? Why is life so cruel? Still, I find the job a little less offensive with these schmancy organic products that make Chateau Gateau smell particularly lovely.

Loving – All the new Manolo blogs! Our very own Twistie at Crafty Manolo, Glinda at Manolo for the Beauty and frequent commenter La Petite Acadienne at Manolo Jewelry. Does this mean Miss Plumcake might be expanding her Manolo Horizons too? Maaaybe.

Hating - Ice Cream. All of it. No reason, I just hate it. It’s hard milk, but not cheese and thus is of the serpent.

Wanting - Jimmy Choo Crocodile Wellington Boots. There is NOTHING in that title the doesn’t make me happy. Fortunately for my bank account, there’s no way the calves would be big enough because if you think I wouldn’t spend $400 I don’t have on a pair of rain boots I don’t need because they’re CROCODILE WELLIES then you don’t know me very well.

Buying – Macaroons. I love macaroons. Not the mysteriously-trendy macarons, whose pastel allure has historically escaped me, but proper almond and coconut macaroons. I usually make my own or get them from Moonlight Bakery here in town, but if you wanted to send some to a friend, the folks at Scott’s Cakes do a fine job too.

So what about you? What do you have going on this week?

Reading: Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Straight out and without qualifications the best contemporary novel I’ve ever read. Usually when I read a so-called great contemporary novel, I’m less than impressed because I think “eh, I can write as well as this shmuck.” It’s not that I’m the best ink-slinger on the block, but it amazes me what gets passed off as great writing these days. With Life of Pi? I was in a slump for a week because I’ll NEVER write anything so beautiful. The plot? Piscine Molitor Patel, a young Indian boy is stranded 227 days in a lifeboat alone with a Bengal tiger. Part adventure, part character study, part spiritual exploration and part magical realism, it’s completely brilliant. Read it now.

Watching: RuPaul’s Drag U. Okay, I’m not actually watching this now, but a few weeks ago when I had access to a television but before I discovered an entire channel devoted to Proper Football I watched a few hours of a marathon of this show. Now we all know I love Miss Ru –who doesn’t do the show in drag– but what I love more is the premise: women learning how to embrace their femininity through the art of drag. Because honestly, makeovers should be fun. They shouldn’t be about feeling bad about “flaws” or fitting into some humorless mold. I spent many formative years with drag queens as mentors (THE HELL YOU SAY!) and I’m a better broad for it.

Hearing: Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. I have a really inappropriate story about this piece and a scorching hot Dutch cellist who was one of my better Very Bad Ideas that I’m not going to tell you because I’m pretty sure my little brother reads this blog and I don’t want to traumatize him. Still, even if you don’t have a story that puts the damn in Amsterdam this is an incredible piece, especially if you love Gregorian chants and a good contemporary organ. Lord knows I do.

Smelling: Un Lys by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens. Un Lys means “A lily” and that’s exactly what you get. I can’t remember whether Andre bought it for me or if I plucked it myself but I’m always surprised by this perfume and have been wearing it layered with some dirtier juices (Cumming, Bulgari Black) recently. It’s hard to find a lily that’s pure but not cloying and for my money this is tied with Lys Méditerranée as Best Lily Ever. It’s one of the few fragrances that I’ve had someone follow me down the street to smell. Available at Barney’s or Lucky Scent or get a decant at The Perfumed Court.

Loving: Any Soldier. We all know I’m a sucker, right? Right. So when someone very special to mine heart (who is still going to get a kick in the head for pulling this on me, and don’t think I won’t do it, kiddo) volunteered me to make cookies for pretty much the ENTIRE 10th Mountain Division (okay ten people), currently stationed in Afghanistan I couldn’t really say no. I said a lot of other things, most of which aren’t suitable for print –I mean that’s a LOT of cookies– but not no. Regardless of how you feel about the war, I invite you to consider sending a soldier a little love.

Hating: Aromatics Elixir. WHY? WHY are people STILL WEARING THIS? It’s so hissy and vile. In the history of my life I have only met ONE person who doesn’t wear this but still likes it. And also, is it a RULE that you need to douse yourself with it? It smells like Burt Reynolds’ chest wig deodorizer. Urgh.

Wanting: Juniper Boots from Duo. Where were these calf-fit boots last year when I thought I would DIE if I couldn’t find a pair of jumping boots to fit my fatted calves? I bought a pair of proper riding boots that juuuust about do the trick, but I wish I’d waited and picked these up instead. They’re not cheap but I don’t even want to tell you how much custom-fit riding boots normally cost. Treat yourself. I promise, your legs will go out of fashion before these boots do.

Buying: Pre-owned Hermés scarves from Portero Luxury. It’s been a while since I’ve treated myself to a new foulard, but after giving an impromptu scarf-tying class the other night for a lady who was at a loss as to how to wear a beautiful scarf once belonging to the unforgettable Molly Ivins I’ve got the bug again. My favorite? This Hemisphaerium Coeli Boreale constellation scarf in a buttery coral. At Portero I can get a like-new scarf for well under retail and not have to worry about its authenticity.

No Monday hotness this week I’m afraid.  I think we’re all still twitterpated from the All Blacks last week.

My big news is my precious beyond words brother survived yet another ghastly surgery to remove things in his body that really shouldn’t be there and I’ve spent the weekend researching teratomae –which can have EYES and TEETH and HAIR– to find out how I might appropriately and most effectively torment him about it when he’s all healed, because that’s what big sisters are for.

In other news, I joined a fly fishing club.

“But Plumcake” you say “you don’t know how to fish for flies!”

I know! But it sounds fun! I like water, and trout, and doing fiddly things that are also kind of stabby, and I might be good at it so who knows.  Plus I finally need an excuse to weave a fishing creel AND buy those Prada hip waders I’ve been loving since 2009.

(just kidding, although I did love that collection, Prada can still suck it, and those waders wouldn’t fit past my ankles)

So what about you? Anything exciting going on this week?