Happy Feet in Our Family {{a minnetonka moc tale}}

We’re Minnesotan. Born and raised. Generation upon generation. No. We are not Norwegian. Nor do we have a thick Fargo-esque Midwestern twang. But still, very Minnesotan around here parts.

Part of how you tell a Minnesotan is whether or not they sleep in wool socks. Even if otherwise naked, we sleep in wool socks. We also do not wear these socks around the house for fear of static electricity. What?

Oh, that magic zip when you’ve been shuffling around in stocking feet, and touch another human being, or a light switch, or a fridge handle, or something that is sparky too. And you get a shock. Literally. And it also is involved when you’re driving and your hair sticks to the roof of the car . . . but now we’re just revisiting old childhood wounds.

So what do you wear when you are not naked and not in bed??

Moccasins, of course.

All the time. Inside // outside // upside down.

There’s a story behind each shoe, for us. And most of my greater family has at least one pair. If not two. It’s family affair. Love affair.

I won’t bore you with the details of EVERY single story, but a few.

The red ones? I happened upon those in Manhattan when my sister Molly first lived there and I was single, traveled frequently there, and loved to shop. I was meeting her for lunch in Midtown near her work at the time and passed a storefront that had them in the window. They’re a variation on Thunderbird from 2005/2006?

I about died! Minnetonka Mocs? As in, what we wore as children all the time? They sell them here? And I could get my very own as an adult?? It felt too good to be true. I’ve worn them everywhere. All around the States, and even when I worked in France for a summer during law school. Wanna see a young Nell wearing what she thought to be a hip outfit? Tune in ||| can’t see my feet ||| taking a weekend out with my Dutch pseudo-cousin in Amsterdam ||| circa 2007

The men’s dress shoes? At the wondrous Hundred Event this summer, we all got to select a gift from this enormous dining room full of gifts for the attendees. Furnishings, jewelry, a bikini!, tights, some of my own Whole Parenting Goods, and so much more.

I took my time sifting through the options when it was my turn to select. So many beautiful things for me! And then I saw it. A gift certificate. To Minnetonka Mocs. I knew it was perfect. I could finally get AA a pair of their sweet men’s shoes. He had mocs for the inside, of course, already, because see above, he’s a Minnesotan now. But he needed nice leather non-formal-still-working dress shoes.

So I did it. And he wears them. All the time. And the compliments he gets at the office! Sheeewwww. And the way he says they fit his feet? Like a leather glove that hasn’t been stretched out by your bigger friend’s fingers. He wears them when we go out. He wears the to church. The leather is fabulous and the fit perfect with the suede laces. The bottom means no slipping and a nice long lifespan of chasing children down in the parking lot wherever we go that he might wear them. Our kids? Running away? Never.

His quote for the review: “I would wear them on my face if I could.” No words from me. Just wonder & shock??

BIG thank you to Marit over at MM for helping me with the selection! Go find your guy a pair?

And to the last now. The kids’ mocs. We have a granite kitchen floor. We live in our kitchen. It is heated so you’d think we’d be fine in socks.

But wool granite = worn out expensive wool socks = unhappy mama..

Mocs to the rescue! I buy them a little big so they might last two seasons. These kids love them. The suede fits to their toesies and they can pull them on by themselves, even as tots. They are supportive, durable, and real material. No fakey here. They wear them inside. Outside. Upside down. Everywhere.

When I see my kids romping in them, or grabbing them from the shoe drawer, I almost always think of me and my four siblings slapping ours on, in this same house, and smile. Really hard. I love sentimental memories and these are some of my fav warm fuzzies. Literally and figuratively. Too weird? Probably.

No giveaway, friends, nothing secretly special. If you bore through til the end hoping for something really nice, I can only leave you with this.

Buy high quality from good people and you’ll never regret it.

#thatsalligotfolks

#smooches