I have new red things. One helps heat the house (not a Jotul…it plugs in); the other two help me make friends.
I share them with you. If you have a laptop, shake it up and down. Because I would be jumping up and down while I introduced you to my new red things.
The fake flames make me laugh. But it’s warm!
{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
Roses are red
And so are your shoes
Add a perky heater for warmth
To help chase the blues
I’m lovin’ the RED!! Bless your passionate heart!
Nice! I love them both so much for you that I don’t even know which one I love best. Probably the heater, because my feets are always freezing.
I am glad you are having some happy.
Are those the shoes that were making friends at the wedding? I can see why: very approachable.
Those are, perhaps, the CUTEST SHOES EVER. My toes are jealous of your toes.
I adore those shoes!
Ah! I saw these shoes just yesterday & loved them in gray. But red? Rock on!
Hee hee, excellent red things!
I am head over heels in love with those shoes!
Love the shoes! Also, love the heater! We bought a neat little heater for this winter, too, but it isn’t anywhere NEAR how cute and quaint yours is. I’m happy for you. If I had that heater, everytime I looked at it, I’d smile. Thanks for sharing.
kick ass all around. nice choices, there.
Red is the best. Ever.
Those shoes are the best. Ever.
You are hot stuff, baby.
(And I’m trying really hard not to picture that scene in “16 Candles” where Long Duck Dong hangs down and says, “What’s happenin’, hot stuff?”)
Yay for red!
Did St. Jotul grant your wish?!
Lovely.
On both counts.
I just jumped up and down for you! A.DOR.A.BLE!
Fabulous on both counts!
Smokin’! (The shoes; hopefully NOT the stove.)
LOVE the rug. And the heater. Heels? Not so much. Too frou-frou for me. But SO happy for the indulgence they symbolize. Really.
Sure, the shoes are completely fabulous. Truly. But is that a Jotul? In red? As a former Alaskan, the significance of this is truly meaningful. Your life is going to be so much better now! I look forward to some very interesting future posts.
Those shoes are so much HOTTER than the stove!
Hot!
Not sure I’m on board with this one. You post two “She Says it Better Than I Can” posts and then are showing off a new pair of shoes? The heater I can understand but unless the shoes were a gift, or second hand, or in some other way didn’t walk out of the store on your feet – I have to take a “step” back on this one.
I was feeling all spiffy in my new red coat… but a heater & shoes?? You’ve got me beat by far!
That heater is pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
OOooOOOOoooooooooo!
I love red things that aren’t states!
I just bought a red crockpot at Target for $16 and my whole kitchen seems happier.
Oh, anon@anon.com.
The blog post title field was not big enough to write:
“Red Things:
1) That Are Not States
2) That Are Electric And Were Researched and Were Saved Up For Over A Period Of Months To Heat The Cold Living Room This Fall And Winter And Which Cost 1/10th Of An Actual Woodstove And The Installation Thereof
3) That Were Obtained Dirt Cheap On Sale Out Of Necessity When I Forgot to Bring Shoes to the Wedding I Went To Several States Away From Home.”
Wow, I say. Wow to you, Anon.
Anon, you know it gets cold in New England, right? That heater is a necessity. You’re going to finger-wag because it happens to be pretty, too? What a sad, grey little life you must live…
Personally, I would argue that the shoes are a necessity, too, out-of-town-wedding or no. Those shoes are the color of Jenn’s SOUL. We should each have something that matches so well.
I just knew that some (insert name of choice) was going to bring up your previous posts vs. new, red things. I am sad that someone did, but I knew it would happen.
Why should you have to defend yourself for buying a) something to heat your house and b) something that you needed that also brought you happiness? I hope that you can put the other comment out of your mind and enjoy your beautiful red things.
I don’t know you, but I really do wish you all the best!
i’m so glad you no longer think what you used to think about red things.
Anon…I think you should go back and reread those two posts again. It seems to me, you may have missed the true message of Heather Ryan’s post. Because it sure sounds to me like you just implied the same callous AND pompous thing to Jenn that that miserable, sad excuse for a human being said to Heather.
Here let’s compare…this is what Heather wrote in her second posting:
““I said, ‘it must be nice to afford expensive clothes.” The second time, I heard the undertones in her voice, the sarcasm cut with condescension. Her arms were crossed tight across her chest. She had a small, pinched face and her hair was pulled back into a taut knot. She nodded her head at my daughter, Chloe, who was sitting in the cart. It was then that I noticed what Chloe was wearing: a Ralph Lauren Polo dress, in pristine condition. “…….”I turned around, didn’t say anything, because what was there to say? Who knew which was the “right” answer for this woman. Maybe I could have told her that the dress had cost a dollar and change, but more than likely, that answer would have led to another accusation masquerading as a question, then another, and another. There wasn’t anything I could have said that would have proven I deserved the charity I was receiving, let alone the benefit of the doubt.”
I really like that last line, “…let alone the benefit of the doubt.” I think, judging by the number of times I’ve seen you comment, that you know Jenn well enough through her writing that giving her the “benefit of the doubt” would come naturally to you…like it seems to have come to the rest of us.
Sorry for my rudeness to you, but you really touched a nerve. I just don’t understand why anyone would feel compelled to inflict such hurt. There is too much hurt in this world already.
Comments like those just simply aren’t necessary…silence is better, and ultimately kinder as a result.
I think anon needs some red shoes!!
(or maybe red lingerie… :p)
Anon: Talk about judgemental! Jenn doesn’t have to defend herself to the likes of you! If you’ve been reading as you say you have, you’d have noticed that she already wrote about needing a pair of shoes for that wedding. Also, you would have known that sometimes the ratio of money spent to happiness gained is worth it. As we all know, just by reading, Jenn wouldn’t spend wastefully. But, hey, if she’s at the wedding, and has no shoes, should she buy ugly shoes just so people don’t judge her? No, she happened to find beautiful, fun shoes for a low price. It’s not fair that people like you have to chime in and make her feel bad. Have you ever heard that saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? In my opinion, you are worse then that lady in the store who said that rude comment about Heather’s daughter’s dress because you “know” Jenn. I hope someday you get to feel how small you made Jenn feel with your insensitive, judgemental comment. How dare you!
Thank you, Jenn, for sharing a lighter moment. I love ALL of your posts – the joy intersperced with the melancholy. It takes courage to share so much of yourself, and talent to say it so well. Don’t let the Anons of the world bring you down from that RED high!
Just wanted to second nono. Go, Jenn! And your girls are simply adorable.
Wow lemmings of the world unite!! Please re-read my post.
“The heater I can understand but unless the shoes were a gift, or second hand, or in some other way didn’t walk out of the store on your feet – I have to take a “step” back on this one. ”
Meghan Post 31 – “she happened to find beautiful, fun shoes for a low price.” And you know this information from which post?? Perhaps those of you who objected to my comment can pick up on this from the picture – I don’t know anything about clothes – my bad I guess.
I understood the above quoted section of Ms. Ryan’s post to be that either she purchased the clothes in better times and that is simply what they had to wear, or they were indeed purchased from a thrift store but there was no way for the other people in her situation to know.
I did/do give Jenn the benefit of the doubt. Some people, I guess, feel that the comment section of a blog is only for those comments that agree with the author. If this is the case here, I’m fine with that. Jenn has chosen not to post some of my comments in the past and I respect that. If she where to say that this is what she would like, then I’ll refrain from posting if I disagree.
I have been a supporter of Jenn from the beginning and still am regardless of what you all think of my comment. I am equally strapped for cash and have to make many of the same daily decisions. I also have daughters so I know the twisted logic of having to get new clothes for every event. I’m not saying that applies to this situation, just that it exists in life.
If the rest of you choose to go through life only hearing from people who agree with you (W comes to mind) – then go for it.
My apologies to Jenn if I offended her – that was not my intention.
I’ll bet “anon” never buys pretty things. Ever.
no, i’m betting that anon buys plenty of pretty things, all the time–just doesn’t like it when someone else does.
jenn, i love your heater and adore your shoes. you deserve them, and more.
Jenn and George? For cereal? You nincompoop.
(Anon warrants name calling, after all. And it’s a *funny* name.)
Anon, I agree and am very receptive to the fact that everyone has a right to give or leave a positive or negative comment…it is a fundamental right, and can prove quite enlightening most of the time. I guess where I disagree with you, is how that negative comment is given. This is not a corporate, faceless person you are commenting to. If reading your comment made my heart lurch with pain, at the thought of how it was going to impact Jenn, then I can only imagine how she felt, having it directed and personally at her. Your intentions may not have been to hurt, but your words did. She’s unable to see your expression when you “speak” your words…as maybe you had compassion in your eyes at the time you typed it…so instead maybe next time chose your words more gently…. more humanely… to get your point across.
I’m just a average woman, mom and wife wishing that people would be just a bit kinder in this world with all their opinions. It makes such an impact in everyone’s lives. Rudeness and insensivity just cause needless pain….which most of us have enough of already.
Okay, I’m stepping off the soap box. My best to you both.
I have been ogling that heater for YEARS!!! Oh, that I had a place to put it, I’m telling you…. it’s gorgeous!!!
And Those Shoes!!! THOSE are MILF shoes, my friend. Seriously.
Well, Anon #34: I “obtained my information” from Jenn’s own response to you. She said, “3) That Were Obtained Dirt Cheap On Sale Out Of Necessity When I Forgot to Bring Shoes to the Wedding I Went To Several States Away From Home.” So, my opinion stands. You are wrong here and you should admit it. Your words were very hurtful and you should stop defending it. Just grow up a little.
I think any comment is ok, as long as the author has the integrity to attach their own name. Posting a comment anonymously says, to me, that you are ashamed of what you write. Disagree! Rebut! Offer another view! If everyone had the same opinion, the world would be dull. Say your piece with pride, though, and sign your name. Otherwise, you’re just a bully that nobody would sit with at lunch.
I think disagreeing is OK, but not accusing someone of something. It’s one thing to disagree on a political point, or on whether someone looks good in a certain dress or hairstyle, but NOT to imply that someone is screwing their kids over by buying a pair of shoes and a HEATER. Since we don’t know each other all in person, and the internet is easily misinterpreted, I think it’s best to keep *value* judgements to oneself.
I haven’t read the blogs for a while, and just found them again on the new site, so I’m getting caught up. With the hard times, emotionally and financially that are occurring right now in Jenn’s life, I applaud her for the red shoes. They are a symbol that, even if happiness eludes her right now, it’s around the corner. Red shoes are hopeful! The heater is very cute, but let’s face it, the heater’s a necessity. It’s not a luxury item. This whole debate in the posts makes me think of Harper Lee’s words, coming from character Atticus Finch. I don’t know the exact quote, but it’s something like, “until you’ve walked a mile in someone else’s shoes, you can’t know what they’ve been through,” or judge them for it!
hee. We have a new electric fire in our new living room with fake flames. And my first words were, I LOVE fake flames. They are so amusing.
Those are mighty fine shoes, lady!
anon, i think blogs and online forums in general can create a sense of anonymity where people “hide” behind an online name without revealing their true idenity. This has its draw backs, such as saying things that wouldnt necesarily be said face to face. that said, if you are such a supporter couldnt there be a nicer way of expressing your opinion? i know that not everything needs to sugar coated and presented in a pleasant way and that having a wide range of feedback is important but there are different ways to do that without hurting someone or being overly critical. I understand your situation and i respect where you are coming from.
much love to the red shoes and stove
LOL! Great pics and choices. The red shoes on the red carpet is my fave.
Oh, Jenn! I’m one of the many who has read for so long, I feel I know you. This made me want to cry. We’re planning to use our tax refund next spring as a means of paying for gym classes for my 2 little ones. Already, I’m cringing as I anticipate the judgmental looks I’m likely to receive for spending money in so “ridiculous” a fashion. We get a lot of help with bills from family, and I always feel like I have to justify everything.
Good for you, Jenn. A well planned purchase for mere pennies can make you feel like a million bucks. Hope you enjoy the toasty fake flames!