Omigosh I’m sorry, sorry, SORRY for leaving you hanging for so long.

My stress levels have been at their peak since before the trip to Seattle (largely work-related) to and I didn’t think it was possible but they have just ESCALATED.

For those of you dying to know, in short, the trip to was disastrous. We did NOT find bridesmaid dresses, or pants for the groomsmen or cute dresses even a frickin’ HOTEL ROOM in Seattle. Oh yes, you heard me right. It was a thoroughly depressing situation. We came home a day early.

But that’s a story for another day.

The other thing we did NOT find was backup shoes… which I did not think was a big deal since, as we all know, I fell in love and ordered those purple Louboutins from Net-A-Porter…

… until now!!! Because suddenly, YES, it IS a big deal!!

Because I got the lovely Louboutins finally.

And adored them.

Until I went to pull the stickers of the soles today.

The sticker on the right shoe was stuck on the sole underneath the ball of the foot. Normal.

The other one, however, was stuck wayyyy up by the heel.

Hmm, that’s weird, I thought.

Then I went to pull it off…

… and GAAAAASSSSPPPPPPPPPP…..

My darling purple Louboutin wedding shoes are… DEFECTIVE.

I am absolutely APPALLED that these shoes passed quality control. That sticker was placed way up there ON PURPOSE TO HIDE THE BIG GASH IN THE SOLE!

COME ON. You spend frickin’ $600 dollars on a pair of shoes… you expect them to be absolutely PERFECT, no??

Just when I had finally swept away all the the pain and suffering that came with convincing my fiance and my guilty conscience that I loved these shoes/needed these shoes/deserved these shoes, and had finally felt the joy that should come from a purchase that is totally frivolous and yet so amazing and for which I was soooo grateful… THIS HAPPENS.

I just sent an email to Net-A-Porter, complete with above photos, demanding–no, requesting (I’m saving my mean, nasty words for later in case I need them)–a replacement.

The thing is, I’m TERRIFIED that it’s been longer than the “7 days from receipt of shipment” that is noted in their return policy and that they might dare to refuse me.

And even MORE TERRIFYING is the fact that I’ve been monitoring their website over the past week and…

I am so nervous and stressed I feel like I am going to throw up.

I so did not need this to happen right now.

Any advice, anyone? Has this ever happened to you?? Any similar experiences with Net-A-Porter that you can share???

If they don’t have another pair left, do I shut my mouth and keep these ones, gash and all???

Oh my Lord. My heart is racing and my palms are sweaty and I think I might be hyperventilating.

Because of this:

My book club friend Sam–to be herewith forever known as Samantha, Patron Saint of the Heavenly Shoes (God bless her soul!)–just sent me a link to these shoes at Net-a-Porter.

And when I saw them, these spectacularly magnificent, exceedingly ravishing Christian Louboutin Mauresmo chiffon slingbacks I promptly swooned.

It was like the heavens opened up and the angels began to sing.

They are the absolute picture-perfect incarnations of all my deepest, wildest desires. They are everything I’ve been looking for–sexy, summery, comfortable and deliciously purple. I don’t even care how much ridicule and derision I will have to suffer at the hands of my thrifty and penny-wise fiance. I’ll promise him ten years of back rubs or something, so help me God!

As soon as I caught my breath, gingerly clicked on the Choose Your Size drop-down list.

And that’s when the panic set in.

Of ALL the sizes, mine is sold out!!

A rapid online search revealed that they are only available at Net-A-Porter, or at least that’s all I could find.

I’m putting out a call of desperation. Anyone know of any other place to find these amazing shoes? Do you think it would be worth it to try the half size smaller or bigger??

(Helpful leads will be rewarded with your very own Patron Saint name and undying gratitude for the rest of my days.)

I was just writing a post for the hive and stumbled upon this fabulous Nine West Girltime shoe in one of my bookmarks…

… which is now ON SALE for an amazing $29.99!!! If they strike your fancy, run and DO NOT WALK to Nine West.

If I didn’t love my purple Loubs so much, I just might have been tempted by these metallic peep-toe darlings. Too cute.

(Thanks to everyone for their advice regarding the dream Loub shoes. I have decided to order the half-size larger and am just awaiting a response from an American based friend-and-hopefully-co-conspirator (shipping/customs/taxes are ridiculously unfair for us Canucks) before I make the click and they are mine!)

———————————–

Remember when I was all depressed a couple weeks ago because the plans I had made with my MOH Pepperpot and my (non-bridesmaid) sister-in-law… we’ll call her Mrs Nenny… to go on a shopping trip to the States fell through?

Yeah, well, it’s back on. For real this time.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Pepperpot and Mrs Nenny are flying into Vancouver from Toronto and Calgary this Thursday, and I will pick them up at the airport and make a mad dash for the border. Destination: Seattle (and surrounding areas).

I am almost as excited about this trip as I am for the actual wedding. That’s how much fun I am anticipating!

Since she lost her Westjet buddy flying privileges last fall, I haven’t seen Pepperpot nearly as often as I used to. In fact, the last time I saw her was when she came for a visit last September, bringing my engagement ring with her (I didn’t find out about that part till after Mr Purple popped the question), and I miss her like crazy!

Not only do I foresee many multi-coloured martinis, mani-pedis and hours of some seriously high-quality dishing sessions, there will be shopping. And oh, what shopping it will be!

Apart from spending time together and making memories, the object of this trip is to purchase some very important wedding-related items, namely:

• Bridesmaid dresses
• Groomsmen attire (possible just pants… more on that to come)
• Wedding shoe back-ups (in case the Loubs don’t work out… oh dear God I hope that’s not the case but a girl has to be prepared)
• Cute dresses/outfits for the rehearsal dinner, the day-after event (more on this to come, too) and and other photo-heavy moments (er, that might be the entire week)

It’s no secret that our friends south of the border are much, much more blessed in terms of stores, labels and general availability of clothes and shoes, so I’m looking forward to a smorgasmord of orgasmic shopping delights.

There’s only one problem.

Apart from one short day trip to Bellingham and the Seattle Premium Outlets near Tulalip last year, I’ve never gone shopping down there.

I don’t really know where to go!

We’re thinking of staying at the Tulalip Resort & Casino our first night (after hitting the outlets, natch) and trying our hand at winning back our purchases (wish us luck!) but that’s about as far as we got, planning-wise.

Anyone have any recommendations for other places we should check out in and around Seattle for shopping (or other fun girly activities)?