Give to me your leather, Take from me my shoes.

Yesterday was our three year wedding anniversary.  The traditional gift for number 3 is leather and the modern is crystal/glass.  So far I've stuck with the traditional gifts for Charlie since they seem much more geared towards simplicity and practicality.  I can just imagine the look on his face if he opened up something like a glass letter opener or crystal champagne flute.  


Plus, breakable things such as crystal have a maximum life expectancy of about 6.5 months around my house.  


So I stick with the traditional things like cotton, paper, leather....


This year I gave him a leather machinist bag, leather tool roll and leather business card case, all from Duluth Trading. I'm telling you, if you are ever in need of a good manly gift, that is the place to go.  Nothing fancy, shiny or breakable to see there.  


He gave me an antique oak display cabinet.  I'm all about old antiquey things so it's right up my alley.  And it does have glass windows so there ya go!  Leather and Glass. Done.


We headed to Charlotte for dinner last night at a fancy little restaurant in an old house, The Fig Tree.  The place had a wine list so extensive I felt like Elly May Clampett in the big city. They had things on the menu like Escargots, Ostrich, and Elk Chops.  And since I am such a risk taker when it comes to food, I went for the Ecargots and the Ostrich.  


Not!


I had the Sesame Seed Encrusted Salmon with a Spinach Salad and Coconut Cheesecake for dessert.  Yum-my!


It had been raining/storming off and on all night and when we started out the door the hostess asked if we'd like her to walk us out with an umbrella.  I looked at Charlie as if to say, "Is she for real, Jethro?"


We didn't take her up on the offer but I had to wonder if anyone else did.  The parking lot wasn't that big and you could see the car from the door.  I'm not much one to like someone making a fuss over me. I would make a horrible princess or celebrity.


Though I maybe wouldn't have turned down a pair of flip flops or fluffy slippers because those super fly, super high wedges I was sporting were working on cutting the circulation to my feet completely off.  


But they apparently did their job of lengthening the appearance of my legs because on the drive down there Charlie said, "Those white pants make your legs look a mile long!"  I had to laugh as I swung my foot out from under the dashboard to show him that it had absolutely nothing to do with the pants.  


They may have been made of leather but they felt like glass as they dug and cut into my poor little toes. 


But that was nothing like the misery I endured on our honeymoon three years ago this week in the British Virgin Islands.  Here we were at this beautiful resort surrounded by lush tropical scenery and the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea when about halfway through the trip I came down with a horrible case of the hives.


Never had them before and haven't had them since and we have no idea what caused them still to this day but I was covered in them from head to toe.  We finally had to call in the island doctor who informed me in his thick island accent that he would need to give me a shot in the bum.  


And I cussed that island man for weeks because that's how long my "bum" was sore. Ahh...the memory.  


At least my toes are all better today.  But I doubt I'll be wearing the super fly high wedges again anytime soon!