original cynk

Perhaps you’ve seen MBTs around- weird clunky sneakers with awkwardly rounded bottoms and huge price tags. They claim to help tone legs and butts, reduce cellulite, and lose weight. So of course you wonder: do they work?

In short, yes. But not necessarily the way they want you to think.

I got a pair out of desperation. My lower back was killing me, and I had heard through a pilates friend that her pair had helped her maintain her core muscles and posture. Strong core muscles are the therapeutic prescription for back pain since they help support the spine. I was getting a bit lazy on my core exercises, so I hoped the MBTs may help me maintain the muscles with less effort.

Unfortunately, MBTs are rather ugly, plus they run small, so it took a couple weeks through Zappos and local San Francisco shops, such as Nomadic Outfitters, to find a tolerable pair. Once I did, I started wearing them all the time, just to see if they really worked, despite their suggestions to “ease” into them.

Happily, I noticed a bit of soreness at first in my lower abs and gluts. “W00t! They’re working,” I thought, and I started walking around more on purpose. Then, a lot more. For example, one day I walked from the SFGiants ballpark (whatever it is called now) all through Union Square, Japantown, then the Marina, running errands along the way. When I got home, I was tired, but much more to my amazement, nothing hurt! I’m used to having my feet, then lower back, then knees start to ache if I walk too much in regular shoes or sneakers (generally takes an hour or two- less on hard surfaces such as a marble floor in a mall). In MBTs, I found that for whatever reason, I was able to walk for much longer. And what do you know- now that I’m walking for longer periods of time, my legs and butt are toning up and I’m losing some weight.

The MBTs have a rounded bottom that force you to be more aware, partly subconsciously, of your posture and walking efficiently. You can’t exactly slump around in the shoes since you’d fall off your rocker, literally. It’s easier to stand upright in the shoes than to slouch due to the instability, and this helps build your posture and core, plus any collateral musculature such as around your knees and ankles. One note of caution: they suggest that you take shorter steps and avoid locking your knees to make sure you don’t jam any joints.

So would I recommend these shoes? I do, with some caveats. If you’re already running 10 miles a day, you may not find walking an extra mile that helpful. If you don’t have many chances to walk or stand, then wearing expensive shoes as you sit won’t do that much. However, if you’re on your feet a lot or are looking to walk around more in comfort, these will help you out, especially if you have a weak core or poor posture.

To the layman, a “croc” may appear to be a simple rubber slipper; ah, but things are not so simple. I had my first croc-y moment while backpacking a year ago. My boots blistered my feet within a mile, so I finished the trip wearing crocs, happily treading for miles in nothing more than these simple rubber slippers (I should add that they also performed spectacularly when fording a stream).

Essentially, these rubber-covered-foam shoes are the ultimate in foot coverings. Cushy, waterproof, oh-so-trendy, and cheap- they stand tall among their pairs. After they saved my backpacking trip, I became an impassioned croc advocate, with no signs of abatement.

Here’s the thing- all crocs are not created equal. When I hear from those who are less enamored with crocs than I, there’s an easy encouragement to urge them to try again. Namely, crocs are made in many factories around the globe, and each one has its quirks.

For instance, I find those made in China tend to run large and also be more on the stiff side. Canadian crocs tend to be smaller side and are also stiff. My favorites are those made in Mexico or Boulder, Colorado. Both are on the smaller side (so my size 8 feet fit comfortably in a Medium croc with no toe-rubbing). Crocs made in Mexico are the cushiest and on the wider side, and those made in Colorado have more pronounced nubbins on the insole, which give a great foot massage when wearing socks.

So if you’re on the lookout for comfy cheap shoes, be sure to check out crocs from different countries, and only the Croc-owned kiosks have the selection variety. Even if the color isn’t what you like, you can always change the strap color and add decorative buttons to make your comfiest pair of shoes distinctively yours.

A friend of mine picked up Table Topics while we were winetasting in Napa, and the awkward “what to talk about” silences magically converted into eye-opening and passionate bonding conversations. It’s a bunch of cards with conversation starters such as, “If you could redo one moment in your past, what would you change?”, “What was your most spiritual moment?”, and “What do you feel is your biggest flaw that you’d like to change?” For a box of paper, it’s a pretty nifty catalyst for bringing an average chat to a whole new level.

I have a soft spot for craft fairs. It began when I attended CTY, a summer school camp at Franklin & Marshall, and the otherwise uneventful campus became a fascinating packrat’s dream during the annual craft fair. I’d wander among the booths aimlessly, chatting with the craftsmen: the spoon man, who made beautiful spoons out of natural wood and about whom I wrote for my college application essay; the wallet guy, whose crafts were made out of the most buttery leather I’ve ever touched; the belt lady, who made cool cloth belts out of hand-twisted colorful yarn; the fish decoy guy, who made vivid and realistic wooden fish decoys; the melting pottery lady, whose glazes on her subtle works looked like melting jewels; and the hat lady, whose bi-tassel knit hats made out of extremely soft wool became the summer’s trend (despite the heat).

I’ve never been able to find a craft fair that brought the homeyness friendliness that I loved in those summer craft fairs. The street fairs here in San Francisco are an insult to craft fairs- perhaps two or three of the booths have interesting things, but most are overly commercial and really not that impressive. I had hope for this past weekend’s Fine Crafts Fair in Fort Mason, and while it was close, it still wasn’t quite the vibrant pure craft-fair-esque I sorely miss. However, there were a few finds:

The metal bags made by Wendy Stevens of Alloy Designs Inc. were quite popular. Unique yet simple shapes, beautiful metal casings, and doubles as a solid weapon.

Connie Verrusio’s jewelry is an elegant collection of metal castoffs made decorative, such as bracelets made out of steel rulers, necklaces made from discarded watch gears, and rings made from old train tokens.

Erica Gordon of the Steel Toe Studios makes very solid and unique belt buckles accompanied with hefty and serious leather belts. I got one made out of 9 flattened bolts, although it was a tough call with the patterned bright blue nuts buckle and the lion door knocker buckle.

I was quite drawn to Michael Szabo’s steel vases, which had a gentle ferocity that I’m more used to seeing in Europe rather than in the US. They looked particularly dichotomous when displayed with delicate flowers.

I bought a pair of earrings by Nankaii which are elegant and simple enough to be worn every day. Simple jewelry that doesn’t look like everything else at Macy’s is harder to come by than most think.

I got a flame blackened cherry spatula by Jonathan’s Spoonwood Inc., and while it isn’t as well made as my spoon from Lancaster, PA, it’s still nice to go back to the wooden spoon world, if only for a second.

Sadie Wang made jewelry with interesting metallic circles suspended between chunkier metal frames. Her rings were especially intriguing, but I couldn’t find a picture of it on her site. So imagine two bars and circles suspended inbetween, now wrap it around a finger, and voila.

My grandfather used to grow hybrid tea roses in his backyard, and he’d send me home with huge bouquets of color and scent. One rose in particular thrilled me, the Sterling Silver, because the scent was uniquely fresh and spicy, and the color a light purple. Sadly, the rose is quite rare now because its root stock is not very strong and the cuttings are weakening by the year. For Christmas, though, my aunt gave me a Sterling Silver rosebush that she found at an antique rose grower, and every month or so, I have fragrant lavender roses all over my bedroom.

That being said, I was never a fan of cut flowers from stores because they rarely are healthy and the labor practices behind them are quite revolting (on which the movie “Maria Full of Grace” touches). Organic Bouquet finally gives me a chance to enjoy flowers as much as I did when my grandfather grew them. I first used them to send flowers to the household which let me use their restroom during Bay to Breakers, and I haven’t stopped since.

Yesterday, I saw these “What’s Your Vine?” t-shirts at the Oakville Grocer in Healdsburg, and proceeded to scare all the rich folks by chortling over them for a full ten minutes. I thought they were hilarious, particularly the one for my fave wine, the Pinot Noir (independently determined with no “Sideways” influence, by the way).

Not only does Sprig.com have my type of things, but it’s eco-conscious as well. Things I like AND no consumptive guilt? Bingo!