Lavender, Rosemary and Vionic Espadrilles

So we've hit April. And the sun doth shineth .... for about two days so far but what there has been has been just lovely. Enough to get me out in to the garden wasteland at least and to do a little tidy up. And who'd have thought there would be so many people interested in what to do with half dead lavender. I basically put out a distress call on Instagram Stories saying "help" and so many people replied. Thank you all. And for those who wanted to know what to do with their own half dead lavender - basically prune back hard. Cut off the dead stalks and trim down as far as you dare and pray for a miracle. I've done this. BUT .... if it dies, I'm off to Aldi when they get their new ones in! You've got to know when to cut your losses .... and your lavender which is basically in autumn after flowering. 🤗

Lavender aside - what do I do with rosemary? This is what I did with rosemary.

Vionic Maris Espadrilles in Pewter

Pretty eh? I had some old rosemary that I transplanted in to a different part of the garden. It hadn't given up the ghost but it was looking a little pale and feeble. Well one year later it's about two feet high and waving it's branches at me in that "wave your branches in the air like you just don't care" kind of way. So I lopped it and arranged it around my new Vionic espadrilles because I thought "why not?" and they deserve something pretty to show off how lovely they are. Soft pewter leather and little ribbon ties with finished ends - you know how I'm a sucker for little deets. I could give you lots of spiel too about how good they are for your feet especially as they are designed for people with foot problems as you wouldn't know that just to look at them would you but you can read about that here if you like. The only giveaway with these is they have a little raised arch on the inside just to support you that little bit more. #discoverthesecret

See that little curved arch support! 👀

Those are about as far away from nanna shoes as you can get which is what people expect when faced with having to wear "sensible" shoes. You know me, comfort first - style shouldn't hurt or else you'll have a miserable face and it will show #truedat! 

* Espadrilles  c/o Vionic Shoes UK

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Last Note :

• If you're lucky enough to have big rosemary plants which have strong stems - I was thinking it might be possible to use them as skewers for meat and veg for a barbecue? I got this idea from this  Jamie Oliver recipe (one of my favourites from yesteryear). 

• I developed Plantar Facilitis last year when I did a lot of walking and it was extremely painful when I wore anything too flat - I spent a lot of time in shoe shops looking for sandals I could walk in comfortably but which still felt like me and were stylish. I know it's not easy when it hurts but I'm still vain enough to want to look good. I don't give in easy and if what you wear feels like you - you will feel much happier. 

• I was kindly sent the espadrilles by Vionic Shoes but do take a look as they do a good range across the board to cover different styles and trends. I know that last year if someone had written a blog post on comfy shoes - I'd have been all over it. They have some fab backless loafers and some of the trainers on there - I'd be more than happy to march around. Especially these ones - they look minimal and designer to me. 

• And me ... the Plantar Facilitis subsided. I coincided this with the fact that I stopped the extra walking I was doing. Who said exercise was good for you? Not in my case anyway!