Sunday, November 9, 2008

Wine, Women & Shoe-less



“Hello. My name is Teresa, and I have Shoe Insecurities.” That should’ve been my opening line at this weekend’s Wine, Women & Shoes Auction held in Sarasota, FL. The weekend consisted of almost 500 women attending wine and shoe pairings, wine tastings, a fashion show, and wine dinners in beautiful homes along the coast. All the festivities benefited a wonderful local charity, Forty Carrots.

At the wine and shoe pairing seminar, I watched women attendees make their way to their seats adorned in amazing shoes, and it was all I could do to steady myself on my well-travelled dusty, but sensible Nine West pumps. Okay, right, focus. I was asked to discuss what type of shoe pairs with Chardonnay. Quick, think! As various brand names – Manolo Blahnik, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Emilio Pucci- danced around my head and whizzed past me- all I could do was pray that no one was looking at my feet! My shoe insecurities quickly turned into shoe envy as the giddiness in the room came to an all time high as women complimented each other on their shoes. Then, I remembered I was really here to talk about the wine. Ah, yes, my comfort zone. Exhale. Maybe I could distract this crowd from looking at my feet by dazzling them with our wines. I launched into the history of ZD Wines, talked about the 2007 Chardonnay, recommended wearing lovely sandals (pointing at someone else’s feet) all while sipping this flagship wine! I heard a few –ohs and ahs, and was getting caught in the moment,and exclaimed triumphantly- “I would like to donate my shoes to the cause!” Hmmm, no takers…..

Darn. I would need to think fast. The next day was the fashion show, and you guessed it, I only had the shoes on my feet. Darn again.

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