Cool Stuff - Shoe design for dummies

Being a fashion designer is a dream of many. But there is one specific industry that is the true holy grail - and that, my friend, is the shoe industry. Shoes are often the most expensive piece on a lady's outfit, a lady's shoes are almost like her baby - they deserve love an attention.

But if we love our shoes, how much more do we love our shoe designer? I have heard women state the Manolo is the only man in the world that really understands a woman's soul (sorry Christian!). Now what if I told you you can be your own shoe designer? No, I don't expect you to be as good as the big designer names out there, but you can have a voice and design something that you would love to wear. Fantasy? Dream come true? Now it's a reality! Shoes of Prey is a website that will allow you to pick from colors to materials, to the height of the heels desired!

There are some pre-set models and we can customize them to our liking and for those who don't feel too inspired, there are some examples of designs other customers came up with.

Shipping is free worldwide and the price point is what you'd expect for a good pair of leather shoes at a retail store.

You can go crazy and design your own statement shoes for the season. Or even design the perfect pair to match that crazy bridesmaid outfit with that weird color your friend picked! If you can't find a specific design/color at a retail store, now you can create it!

As for me, I am still playing with the website, design is something really important to me (hey, I majored in it!) so I am coming up with just the perfect pair for the summer!

Where to find: http://shoesofprey.com/

Thank you so much for reading!

Nikki Beach (South Beach)

While in Miami I had two things in mind: sun and tanning. Living in San Francisco has made me become obsessed about enjoying sunny weather to its most. Being born and raised in Brazil, I used to not understand why people would request a table in the sun - are them crazy? I silently thought making a weird shock face.

Now that the days with temperatures that rise above 80 degrees a year can be counted in one hand - mind you, I am talking about San Fran, if you go 10 miles in any direction you'll have hot Californian weather- I am almost like a lizard sun worshiping and soaking in each ray.

So when my parents were clueless about what to do on a beautiful sunshine morning in Miami, I had the answer - let's head to Nikki Beach (I had previously talked about it here.) Ready, set, go!

First thing to keep in mind is that parking is horrid. Everybody obviously wants to be there, the valet is full by 11 am, so if you can take a cab do so. We were not that smart and ended up going around quite a bit before finding a spot - obviously my dad was complaining through the entire process.

The turquoise ocean, the lazy lounge chairs, the beach umbrellas, the white sand - oh paradise, I had missed you so much!

I knew that Nikki Beach South Beach was not as VIP as its sister in St Tropez, so I dressed casually and added a little hat for the cute factor (and also to protect my skin from the sun).

The food was actually not bad. I really liked that they had fresh fruit and their tres leches (hello, Miami!) was divine!

The drinks were good too. I had a couple of virgin mojitos which were quite refreshing. My mom had strawberry mojitos and my dad the average guy drink - bud light.

After Nikki beach, and the food and the drinks, I decided to soak in some more sun (hey, enjoy it while it lasts!) and just chilled a little more by the pool.

Overall it was a fun family beach experience which was just perfect.

Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it!