Who said anything about Ruby Slippers?

    Her familiar kind eyes met mine and she asked with a smile, "Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? "Pretty much", I chuckled as she rang up my 2.6 oz can of Pringles. "85 cents Dear", she sang as I placed a quarter and six dimes into her hand. Ironically a few weeks before, she had stared at my stomach telling me that I was too skinny. Of course her flattery, I had ignored and thought about the "Fried Pickle" sign down the street. Everything in the South, I must digress is indeed breaded and fried in oil. Upon paying her, I couldn't help but feel some what defeated and embarrassed. I imagined this was how Daisy had felt when I held my chewed up high heel to her nose. She had walked away with her little puppy head down, knowing she had upset her momma. Sighing heavily, I wished her a "Good day", and walked out of the store to my car.

    As I approached the car I couldn't help but stare at my reflection. To be completely honest, my outfit could have paid for several weeks of groceries, maybe even a nice bottle of wine. Amused, I plopped myself into my car and pondered the irony of being a 25 year old college graduate with a Bachelors degree in Social Science, who just paid for an 85 cent can of Pringles in change. To be honest, moments before, I had tried to pawn off an item of jewelry in hopes of filling up my car with gas. Unfortunately that same piece of jewelry glistened in the sun as I shoved Pringles into my mouth one by one. My stomach growled as I stared at the people across the street ordering bags of delicious, artery clogging hamburgers, and hot-dogs at Sonic. I realized I was the kind of hungry where anything and everything could be disguised as a gourmet meal fit for a king or queen.

    Now, I want to say, before you feel bad, I chose to be in this situation. Like many of you already know, I took a giant leap of faith to embark on new-found happiness. And in order to do so, I had to endure the $1200 bill for a new place to live, and the other countless bills that just seem to follow me wherever I go. Life, I am beginning to understand, truly does present some fun character building exercises.  Pringle by Pringle, I reflected upon this very sentiment. I had to wonder: Why do we seize to listen to the advice that is given to us? Faint whispers of my best friends flooded my mind as I put my car into gear. "Kristina, did you save any money?" they asked, as I looked down at my new hot pink stilettos. It was in that moment that I had a "Carrie Bradshaw" moment and remembered her saying: "I like my money right where I can see it...hanging in my closet." Or in my case, my feet. Of course I didn't save. That would have been the right thing to do, the MATURE thing to do. And if you ask anyone I know, I tend to do things ass-backwards, cry, then pick up the pieces. I'd like to say that one day I will eventually grow-up, but growing up doesn't seem too fun. I'm 25, and I can easily still pull of hot pink stilettos that force me to walk like Barbie...

    However, as I drove down the road, I couldn't help but wish I wasn't in this financial situation. It becomes exhausting when you have to calculate numbers in your head all the time. Buying enough gas to last you a week and having enough money to buy at least a few things to eat a week becomes a mathematical equation. Now, I know that I am not the only one who has ever experienced this sort of ordeal which is why I feel comfortable sharing it. Too be honest, it is quite humorous. And Friday, (payday) is only a few short days away...

As for those shoes, Miss Carrie Bradshaw once said, "Every once in awhile a girl has to indulge herself."

Christian Louboutin Ruby Slippers = Love at first Sight.