I had been shopping for some new casual shoes/sneakers, but found nothing that I liked, or was in my size or price range, even at the outlet mall - sigh. I'm also pretty picky about what I was looking for, in a mundane sort of way - something normal, but passably interesting, comfortable, and definitely no plastic colors or gold lame' - LOL. Then, John happened to mention that people at work often buy shoes online at Zappos, and that they had free shipping both ways. (I'm probably the last person in the online world to have heard of Zappos, but I'm so NOT a fashionista - LOL.) So I dove into their web site and after just a bit of clicking around I found just what I was looking for - a cool suede sneaker from a maker called Simple Shoes (See photo at right.)

Although the ones I bought weren't from their extreme-ecological line, they have a great philosophy and some wonderful casual shoes with a focus on recycling and sustainability - check them out! Also, although I opted for the free shipping, Zappos expedited my order and I got my shoes in no time. They're comfy, a perfect fit, and they don't make my feet look at big as they really are - quite a... ahem... feat! (sorry!)