Although I identify myself as a military brat, there was a time in my life before moving every two years, that I spent growing up in the Florida Keys.  The Keys are pretty much warm year round, but my absolute favorite time was summer!  Yes, long summer days at the beach, swimming in the Gulf, riding my bike and fishing off bridges with my little brother in tow still remain the highlights of those memories, but summer also meant I was free from wearing shoes!  Each year I dreaded our trips to the shoe store, waiting to be outfitted with a single pair of #BusterBrowns.  No matter how many pair I tried on and no matter how much the salesman assured my Mom they were the proper size, wearing shoes was like wearing cement blocks on my feet–I hated them!  Believe it or not, sandals weren’t allowed in the public schools, so I begrudgingly wore my loafers each day, dreaming of the moment when I could kick off my shoes and run around barefoot or in my favorite pair of sandals.  That was over 30 years ago and I’ve had a love-hate relationship with shoes ever since.  In fact,  just last year, I purchased my very first pair of #Uggs (and I’m hooked)!  So when Matt at Bokos USA reached out and asked if I’d like to give his sandals a try, I agreed without hesitation.

Santa Barbara is not unlike the Keys (although I have to admit the 59 degree water and lack of humidity are a tad different)!  Still, I’m as likely to be seen in sandals as I am barefoot and I’m more likely to toss a pair of flip-flops in the back of my car “just in case” than I ever would a pair of Toms.  Besides the wide variety of colors available on the Bokos website one of the very first thing I noticed about the pair Matt sent me, was how quickly they felt comfortable and broken in.  Typically, when you purchase a new pair of sandals–even flip-flops–the material is usually stiff and takes some time to “break in”.  Within three days of wearing them (around the house, on a hike with the dogs, to the grocery store, and on a family walk around the neighborhood), they felt like I’d had them for MONTHS. Literally!  I had zero chaffing and no issues with stepping out of them which sometimes happens when breaking in sandals or flip-flops.  I was most excited about trying them out at the beach and at the gym as shower shoes (and also because I was curious as to how well they’d clean up).  While the soles looked like you would expect (like a pair of sandals you actually wear), the top part of the Bokos cleaned up well and the sand came out of the the crevices very easily with my garden hose.  Win-win!  They also worked great as a shower shoe, though my feet left squishy wet prints as I headed out of the shower stall and into the gym locker room.

The only thing I did notice is that my feet, which are narrow, had more room in the sandal than is my personal preference.  I wear a size 7 1/2 shoe, but I believe I received a size 8 (the bottom of the shoes reads “39” which is a UK size that correlates to a size 8 in the US).  Due to my narrow foot (and to be fair) I had my 14 year old, who wears a size 8 and has a wide foot, try them on as well and they fit her perfectly. Still, the extra room wasn’t bothersome and didn’t cause any problems with how they performed.

I now keep my Bokos by the garage door, to slip on and off as I enter and exit the house and to keep on hand for days at the gym when I know I’ll be using the shower facilities.  They’re lightweight and fit easily in my gym bag, so I don’t have to worry about carrying them in separately.  I would highly recommend Bokos to my friends and family and at $18 a pair, plus FREE shipping, they are totally worth the investment!  In fact, our family is traveling to Hawaii later this summer and I’m toying with the idea of getting everyone a pair to bring with them! Be sure to check out their website and for additional savings, click here to find out how you can save another 20% on your purchase!