So, Ped fans, I’m two trips down, with one big European foray to go! Last weekend I was in New York City hunting for well-designed things you might enjoy, but I also made time to hang out with old friends. All work and no play is simply not the Ped way! And, honestly, good friends are what make the world go round. 

I thought you might like to see what happened when a bunch of great girlfriends got together for dinner in Brooklyn. It was freeeezzzziiiinnnngggg cold when Amy, Kimmy, Nicole, Becky and I, plus several more friends, made our way to Brooklyn’s Five Leaves, the restaurant backed by the late Heath Ledger.

Most of us are involved in retail: Amy owns Rock Paper Scissors and Scarpa in Charlottesville, Va; Kimmy works for Eileen Fisher, where I get most of my gorgeous sweaters that you see paired with Ped things at the Ped site; Nicole also works for Eileen Fisher and used to work for Ped when we had our store in Seattle, Wa.; and Becky owns Les Amis, my favorite Seattle boutique and the source for most of the clothes you see modeled with the shoes in Ped’s pics. So our conversation is always lively!!

That’s Becky (on the right) with me at Five Leaves. I’m not sure what was up with the camera, but maybe it simply captured the energy of the night! Because after dinner, things got a little crazy out on the street…

Kimmy (on the right), wearing her treasured Cydwoq Sin boots (which are on sale right now, incidentally), and I, in my favorite Fiorentini + Baker Emma boots, decided to kick of up our heels outside the restaurant. Amy called it our “Riverdance”! And none of us could stop laughing! Lunatics, yes, but lovely lunatics in our Ped boots!

There is nothing better on earth than hanging out (and cutting up) with good friends!!! I hope all you Ped heads have as much fun with your circle as I do with mine!

Hey Ped:

It’s been a while since I set off on my “Adventures with Harriet,” but since she’s been browsing through your new Trippen styles and catching up on the blog, I thought I’d tell you about a near disaster that happened to me over a year ago.

In the fall of 2007, I found myself on Harriet’s feet A LOT! (That woman wears me everywhere.) But one night she laced me up to install a piece she made for an outdoor art exhibition called “Let There Be Light” that celebrated the Winter Solstice (sorry, she didn’t take any pics of her piece). Of course, she wanted to wander around to see the other artists’ work. Well, one piece by Bree and Geoff Luck involved ice candles, which they invited visitors to place along a path.

Constellation - Bree and Geoff Luck (Photograph by Rosita Gonzalez)

Harriet decided to take her candle a little ways off the beaten trail, not realizing that a small ravine was waiting in the dark. Suddenly, we were stumbling and falling with FIRE about to slip out of her hands! Yikes! Harriet was trippin’ in her Trippen! Fortunately, I’m pretty reliable, so I got us stopped—no burns on the skin, no flames in the brush! Whew. But I did come out of it with a few permanent scars that show how I suffer for Harriet’s love of art. Here I am chilling at home, fully recovered:

But let’s take a closer look at my left side:

Harriet says she thinks it makes me look more interesting (something about “rugged beauty”). I’m just glad she gave me a break in 2008 and wore her worn-out hiking boots for her recent installation in the woods. Her photographer friend, Stacey Evans, took an image of her piece, “The Waiting Room”:

The Waiting Room — Harriet Arthur (Photograph by Stacey Evans)

Hope the hiking boots had fun dragging chairs through the trees! Me, I was glad to sit this one out at home.

Say hey to all the shoes for me,

Harriet’s Liebchens, Charlottesville, VA

I want to give a Valentine’s Day shout-out to several online sites that have spread the Ped love! We are especially delighted by recent sweetness in the following blogs:

ooh-shiny.net—which accurately calls itself “a random directory of pretties.” Lots of prettiness, indeed!

bluemossgirls.blogspot.com—not only does Michelle Taylor, founder of Blue Moss, create dazzling jewelry from re-purposed baubles, but she also serves as a wonderful guide to things of beauty on the Web.

blissfulb.blogspot.com—where Mrs. French shares lovely items that have captured her attention.

We also send roses and thanks to members of Ped’s overseas fan club, like stardust31.livejournal.com and www.laboutiquedelupi.com/blog. We can’t always read their blogs, but we’re still delighted they’ve noticed us.

We’re so grateful to all of you who have taken the time to tell others about Ped! Here’s hoping your Valentine’s Day overflows with love, wine, and chocolate! (Just don’t let any spill on your fabulous shoes.)

I’m in Las Vegas looking at shoes, but it’s pretty hard not to look at everything else, too (all that neon does draw the eye). Not only are the hotels and casinos wrangling for my attention, but the quickie marriage chapels are aglitter with the promise of love everlasting. They may not be your idea of where to tie the knot (although if you did, you would be in the company of Michael Jordan and Joan Collins, according to the sign at The Little White Chapel). Nevertheless, they’ll be doing bang-up biz this weekend since Valentine’s Day is the most popular day to put a ring on it in LV.

Maybe because I’m a newlywed myself, I’m feeling especially romantic about Valentine’s Day this year. You have to love a day when red and pink rule! So, to celebrate, here’s a sampling of rosy-hued Ped things to put you in a “hearty” mood:

Christopher Kon’s Maggie Holdall adds some sizzle to looking ladylike.

Maybe ladylike isn’t your thing, in which case perhaps Fiorentini + Baker’s ever-popular Eternity boot in red will light your fire!

We showed you the Trippen Tidy in black the other day, but it’s also super sweet in red, red wine.

Orla Kiely’s rose wool scarf offers a way to stay warm and remember that cherry blossoms are just around the corner.

And if you really do want to put a ring on it, Jamie Joseph offers several LOVE-ly options:

From left to right, Jamie’s Indian ruby ring, carnelian ring, and rose quartz ring. 

We hope all these reds and pinks have you feeling warm and fuzzy and in the mood for love!

A heartfelt Happy Valentine’s Day from Las Vegas to Ped’s beloved fans everywhere!

Okay, so perhaps the twice-a-week blogging resolution was a bit ambitious, but I’m determined to move in that direction. The Holidays, however, left everyone at Ped HQ wanting to take a holiday! Fun times but quite exhausting. And since summer sandals are starting to arrive (stay tuned), we’re way over winter already and more in the mood for the beach. Out with cold-weather wares (no matter how gorgeous), and in with things better suited for green grass and flowers (and dining al fresco). So, with that in mind–ta da!–our annual winter sale is on, sisters! As always, those with larger or especially wee feet are more likely to strike gold (isn’t wearing super stylin’ shoes  the best revenge for all your brother’s teasing about the “boats” at the end of your legs?), but even size 38 gals will find things to love.

For instance, mid-season we re-ordered the gorgeous Chie Mihara Bas:

Which means we have quite a range of sizes on hand of this versatile and sexy Mary Jane, but we’ve taken a bit off the top of its price (an attractive trim).

Or consider Cydwoq’s cool Rugged Boot, one of our favorites of the fall season:

Granted, the rivets take a bit of time to do up, but what great impact this boot packs! Plus, it’s flat and comfortable without sacrificing its edge. And we’ve just smacked down the price by 25% !

If you prefer a more classic look, though, guess what? Fortune smiles upon you! As many of you know, we almost never put Fiorentini + Baker on sale, but being in the mood for spring cleaning–albeit, a little early–we thought, “Why not?” So, here’s your chance to buy the F+B Noon Boot without breaking the bank (and eating ramen for a month):

And there are plenty more delicious deals where those come from!