Inspired by this month’s entertainment theme for the Fiesta Movement, how do you prep for the upcoming season's parties and festivities?

  Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching. Besides decorations and gifts, how do you prepare for all of the parties, caroling, strolling and eating? Growing up, my dad made sure to teach me how to properly care for my shoes so they'd last the whole winter without getting destroyed by mud, snow and salt. I was in constant awe how he could make a pair of old shoes look brand-spanking new. He taught me the importance of keeping my nice things nice. I know a lot of people out there have different opinions about buying and using leather. I don't disagree with those feelings, I think leather is a great material that should never go to waste. It's incredibly strong and durable. The real shame in my opinion is if someone just neglects to take proper care of his/her leather goods and destroys it beyond repair. My dad literally has shoes older than me. You wouldn't know it, though. Leather can last forever. It's a matter of protecting, cleaning and polishing regularly. For my suede babies, I just prevent with Nikwax and call it good. If I spray every couple months, it doesn't seem to go bad. Now these babies. I was at a photoshoot a month ago and we were stomping around in some serious mud. They're filthy and just about destroyed from all that mud and salt! I use a leather cleaner (we got a bunch when we bought our house) to get most of the mud off. It works like a charm. So much better, but it's still not quite there yet. I don't know if other people use this method, but my dad taught me to put a sandwich bag around my finger and cloth on top for polishing shoes. It's a great way to spread polish and keep it from getting on my hands. You can see a huge difference between the polished shoe (left) and the cleaned shoe (right). Now I can go trudge around town looking polished and put together (pun not intended). After polishing, I shine the shoes with a brush. DONE. All it takes is about 15-20 minutes. Frankly, if you don't get the results you're looking for, take your shoes to a cobbler. I've had boots re-soled with a winter tread, zippers fixed and leather repaired. What can't a cobbler do? Really. They're not terribly expensive (certainly not more than buying a nice new pair) and they can save your favorite shoes from the dump.

This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation. The opinions expressed are my own.