Boots of the century!

I really enjoy a good deal. By good deal, I don’t mean “40% off, killer sale!”

No, by good deal I mean like my dressage coat. I bought it for $40 off a clearance rack at an equine expo they used to hold annually in Vermont. Retail price? $400. It’s the nicest piece of clothing I own, after my wedding dress, and I’ve gotten WAY more use out of that dressage coat than my wedding dress.

A few weeks ago, I got notice of an estate sale a few towns away. The family used to have horses. One of the pictures, of a pair of riding boots, caught my eye. Hunt-style, caramel-colored, still in their box. Unfortunately, I had to work that day – so I sent my husband.

Cue a great deal of frantic texting: the boots that I’d fallen in love with were gone, BUT he’d found a few other pairs of boots tucked away in the barn. Did I want to buy all three pairs for $2 each? YES. YES I DID.

I had no idea exactly what condition they would turn out to be in. I had no idea what size they were. Based on a not-great picture I was pretty sure they were riding boots but beyond that…?

Well, one of the pairs fits me, and over the weekend, I scrubbed them clean and oiled them. They were so dry that I wiped a thin layer of neatsfoot oil on them, turned it over to do the other side, and the first side was dry already. I’m going to ease them in slowly with more oil – I didn’t want to just grease them up right away.

But. You guys. They’re GORGEOUS.

They are a smidge big in the toe, but nothing some slightly thicker socks won’t cure. The nice thing about the lace-ups is that they’ll adapt to any calf.

$2 and 20 minutes of cleaning, SOLD!