November 23rd, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 0

Categorized in: Lifestyle

Daniel Green: Sure-Thing Slippers

Daniel Green: Sure-Thing Slippers Daniel Green will always have a special place in my heart. Daniel Green slippers were the first perfect Christmas present I ever gave my wife. It was the Christmas of 19-something and we were watching our budget pretty close; you know, starting a family and all that. Anyway, one morning we got talking about our wish lists for Christmas. Like a sucker, I told her “You’re the only gift I need,” to which my wife replied “I would love some Daniel Green slippers. I wrote down the style for you.” Touché, my friend. You know, she even pretended to guess while shaking the wrapped box on Christmas morning.

She wore those slippers for almost five years, and I suspect would be wearing them still (they are exceptionally durable) had we not lost them in a cross-country move. It’s all about new beginnings, isn’t it? Luckily, and by that I mean thanks to over 130 years of shoemaking experience, Daniel Green had some pretty awesome replacements available. Recently, they have been creating some pretty sweet slippers and slipper booties featuring materials like recycled wool and faux wolf fur. Of course, there is also such a thing as Daniel Green shoes, but it’s all about the slippers for me.
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November 16th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 121

Categorized in: Outdoor

Giveaway: SmartWool Socks

The Smartwool Giveaway is closed! Please join us in congratulating our winners:

Giselle, Melanie, KT Jewell, Clayton, Chloe
Ajarm11, C Patton, Cindy L, Greenmama, Drewman

If we haven’t already, we’ll be contacting you soon!

Wearing the right socks is like having a secret super power. Sure, the absolute comfort of SmartWool socks may seem like a pretty subtle super power at first, but just wait until you’ve logged a few miles in a pair of SmartWools. And then a few more miles. Whether it’s on a mountain trail or a city street, what you may begin to notice is that your feet feel exactly how they were meant to feel. Not clammy or hot, not chafing or blistery, just perfectly comfortable and happily doing their feet thing. The power to make feet happy is definitely a super power.

How does SmartWool do it? The short answer is Merino wool. It’s the best wool nature has to offer, and the good folks at SmartWool are obsessed with it. They have combined innovative fabric design, specialized knitting techniques and smart construction to create some of the finest socks in the world. I do not say that lightly. SmartWool has created absolutely comfortable women’s socks and men’s socks by combining a dozen different comfort-based ideas into one. They put extra wool where the foot gets cold and less where it heats up. SmartWool socks have a little extra padding in the impact zones of your feet. They have mesh vent zones to keep the clammy out. These socks have a unique banding system to give you a secure, comfortable fit around the heel, arch and instep. I could go on, but there are socks to giveaway.
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November 9th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 0

Categorized in: Lifestyle

Acorn Shoes Define Comfort

In the world of Acorn there are no sharp corners, rough textures or cold toes. The folks there talk about blurring the line between slippers and shoes, and measure their success using terms like warmth, ease and comfort. Acorn shoes are all about unsurpassed comfort.

OnlineShoes.com has plenty of shoes designed to get you off the couch, running around outdoors, to the gym and/or up the side of a mountain. These are not those shoes. These shoes are the reward your feet get when you’ve done all that other stuff and just want to knock around, lay around or just be around. These shoes are the ones that would suggest a good book if they could, or perhaps a light lunch and a matinee of some kind. It’s not that they aren’t durable or capable outdoors; it’s a matter of fact that Acorn Slipper Socks are the preferred footwear of space shuttle astronauts while in orbit—so don’t think they have to hang out on the porch with the puppies. They can run with the big dogs.�
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October 31st, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 1

Categorized in: Lifestyle

Frye Means Boots, Doesn’t It?

Frye means boots; everyone knows that. They’ve been making some of the finest boots in the world for almost 150 years, and their craftsmanship and durability have made Frye a household name. As a matter of fact, the other day I found myself saying “Let me go grab my Frye’s first.” before heading out on some errands. I didn’t say boots, I said Frye’s. The same thing probably happens a thousand times a day all over the country, but this stuck in my head for two reasons. One, I don’t call any of my other footwear by their brand name, and two, these weren’t even boots, they were shoes.

It didn’t really register with me that there was anything odd until I got back downstairs wearing the shoes and my wife said, “Could you not find your Frye’s?” (which, on a side note is very tough to answer with a simple yes or no). I indicated they were on my feet and she just looked at me with a “but….Frye….means…boots…and those aren’t boots” look. It was a little like I had told her I was going to get a Porsche and then drove up in a truck. But I’m telling you, Frye makes awesome shoes, too.
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October 17th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 40

Categorized in: Lifestyle

Giveaway: Dr. Martens Boots #FIRSTANDFOREVER

I remember seeing a picture somewhere of a London police officer chasing some local hooligan—and they were both wearing Dr. Martens. Whatever else they had going on in their lives, at the very least, those two shared an appreciation for comfortable and rugged footwear. Not to mention style.

But there is something more in every pair of Dr. Martens. They make you want to dress in black jeans, or vintage fatigues, or a leather jacket with some obscure band name painted on it. With a pair of Dr. Martens on your feet, you want to answer annoying questions with one finger, you want to lean against stuff and hang out like you really mean it, you know? You want to live a piece of the cliché because that cliché has stayed pretty stinkin’ cool for more than 40 years. And even if you don’t want any part of that, you’re probably secretly comforted by the fact that you could, if you chose to, rebel at any moment and the neighbors would just wag their heads and whisper “Well, he did wear those boots…”
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October 13th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 3

Categorized in: Lifestyle

Kalso Earth Shoes and Earthies

I first heard about the Earth Shoe when I was a kid; in part because they were all the buzz in the health food stores frequented by my mother, and partly because it was the mid-70s and everyone heard about the Kalsø Earth Shoe and its mystical negative heel. I didn’t know what a negative heel was then, but I did know it made you a better person somehow and I wanted them. The problem was, everyone else did too—literally. But first, a little background.

Anne Kalso was a yoga master originally from Denmark. She observed that the “Mountain Pose” in yoga, a fairly simple lifting of the toes relative to the heel, actually helped promote a physical feeling of well-being. Anne believed in wellness in a very organic form should be part of your everyday experience, so she created the Kalsø Negative Heel. After years of success in Europe, the newly-christened Kalsø Earth Shoe came to America in April 1970—just in time for America’s first Earth Day.
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October 6th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 0

Categorized in: Outdoor

Win Ten Days in Fiji with Teva

Teva Giveaway Closed

Ten days in Fiji. No matter how often you repeat it, it sounds awesome each and every time. If you were invited to a dinner party with the theme “Ten Days in Fiji,” you would probably think you were in for the best night of your life. It could be the title of a book, or emblazoned across a movie marquee and you would automatically think “Now, that is for me.” Well, good news. It actually could be for you, because our good friends at Teva are giving away ten days in Fiji.

What do you have to do to get your name in the running? All you have to do is fill in a little form on our Fiji Getaway Sweepstakes page.

If you win, you should totally bring a pair of these Teva Dozer III sandals. They’re perfect for seaside scrambles or visiting the local villages.

See more great Teva shoes

Or maybe those Teva Gnarkosi shoes next to them, because the deck of that luxurious Tui Tai expedition houseboat might get a little slick with all the 5-star awesomeness that is going on.

Listen, if you do win, send us a postcard. We’ll be here…in our offices…wearing our Teva shoes and thinking of you.

Good luck!

August 9th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 0

Categorized in: Walking

Comfortable and Versatile: Favorite Ankle Boots

Not that I’ve really been keeping track, but I probably wear ankle boots three days a week, regardless of the season. Ankle boots are cool and casual and all about versatility. Plus, and this is kind of a secret, I want to be wearing ankle boots if I ever fall down a hole to the center of the earth, or get sucked into some kind of space/time vortex. Who knows what might happen in a situation like that? Regardless of what’s going on, I suspect I will be mighty happy to be wearing comfortable and versatile footwear. One less thing to worry about, you know?

I have a preference for Chukka-style ankle boots, like the Dr. Martens Reed 3-Eye Chukka (shown above). I can walk all day in those good-looking and friendly chukkas, and whether it’s going across town or scrambling through Aztec ruins, I am ready for the path ahead. Okay, I might swap out the Dr. Martens if Aztec ruins are on my to-do list—the leather on my Dr. Martens is showing the perfect amount of wear. They look cool.
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July 26th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 1

Categorized in: Outdoor

Garden Clogs: Digging the dirt

It is full-on gardening season here in the Northwest and, whether the weather likes it or not, I am going to get out and push some dirt around. I’ve got my whole “Pretend I Can Garden” ensemble ready, too:

Gardening pants, which double as my painting pants
Permanently-stained shirt, to help prove to doubting garden store staff that I am not a newbie
“The vest of a thousand pockets”, which has something still in it, but I can’t seem to figure out which pocket it’s in
Gardening gloves, which I get by the dozen because my little Rat Terrier thinks they are delicious
And most importantly, my garden clogs

Now, a lot of people are more concerned with keeping their Green Thumbs safe and fingernails clean, but not me. Gloves are great, but I’ve always been more of a puddle jumper. More of the “feet first” sort. The right footwear has wa-a-ay more bearing on your comfort than gloves. So, whenever it’s time to get out and save my poor yard from however it was I tried to save it previously, my first thought is about what goes on my feet. For yard work, that means garden clogs–or maybe Bogs, if the weather has been particularly moody.
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July 6th, 2011 | Posted by: Perry H | 0

Categorized in: Walking

Walking the long walk.

I have a secret. It’s cliché, sounds a bit made up and makes it seem like I’m after something, but here it is…I like long walks on the beach. Before you picture me in some billowy-shirted epic novel, or file me away with guys who get their date ideas from the Men’s Standardized Romance catalog, perhaps I should clarify. The walk and beach that you are likely picturing are not the same ones I mean.
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