Shoeless Ashley, the Foot Fashion Slave

I know what you're thinking; Who in their right mind would actually post a picture of their feet on their own blog? I took this picture when I was in Washington, DC last week after I had pretty much walked throughout the entire city barefoot. For those of you familiar with the lay-out of the sightseeing tour, I started at the White House and by the time I got to the Washington Memorial (the first stop of the monuments), my shoes were already off. The reason: I had lunch beforehand with a friend I hadn't seen in about four years, so I wore my "cute" shoes. Apparently, I dismissed the fact that following lunch I would be walking around to tour the city.

But Ashley, why oh why, didn't you wear better shoes for walking? Because. Because I am a slave to fashion. Because, yes, I am one of those girls who likes her cute shoes and would much rather get blisters all over her feet than be seen in tennis shoes for a lunch date. Because I forgot to bring my walking shoes to change into after lunch, okay? Because my mom always told me that I should be a foot model (based purely off the fact that my feet are size 6 and hers 8 1/2). Because if someone thinks my feet are worthy of modeling, I'm going to show them off and let them be cute! This might also be why I currently have 53 pairs of shoes in my closet. And why the second toe on my right foot dons the longest running piece of jewelry I've ever worn without removing: a 24-carat gold fitted toe ring. Because look at these shoes and tell me they're not adorable!
The irony about that day was that I couldn't bring myself to stand barefoot in front of the memorials. It felt slightly disrespectful to stand in front of almighty Mr. Lincoln sans shoes. So, I spent the afternoon taking my shoes on and off between monuments. Something put it in perspective for me when I walked along the Vietnam wall reading the names of all the men who shed blood for our country, yet I was unwilling to shed blood from the already formed blisters on my feet. I just hope President Lincoln appreciated the fact that my white thong wedge sandals coordinated so nicely with the white v-strap on my shirt that wrapped around my neck. That didn't happen by accident!

Please note: I did spot a CVS Pharmacy mid-touring, where I stopped to buy some $4 flip flops (which by the way, were cute AND comfortable)!