The search is over:

I've been searching for the perfect boots for a long time now. I have some pretty strict requirements: they must be a riding boot style, no zippers, it must be a pull-on, perfectly flat or at least a very very small heel, must come up to just under my knee, must be the most beautiful warm shade of cognac imaginable, and it must be plain but not too plain. If I'm going to invest in the perfect boots, they must be a pair that won't go out of style for oh, say, the next 20 years. Because that's how long I plan on keeping them around.

The perfect pair has eluded me for years. I was starting to think they didn't exist. And then. Oh, and then. I found them. Or maybe they found me.

They're Frye's Dorado Riding boot. In Whiskey. And they are beautiful. They are also $498. I have never spent that much on a pair of shoes before. And for a while I thought they were out of my reach because of the price. And I still do, a little. I mean, that's an awful lot for a pair of shoes. But then I broke the price down by cost per use:

$498/6,720 days (or 20 years) = $0.07 per day

The total cost per use would be 7 cents a day. Not too bad. 

Even if I only had them for 10 years it would still only add up to 15 cents a day. 

So, you see? Not that expensive at all. As long as you look at it for what it is: an investment.

So thanks in advance, Santa, for the boots. I'll take good care of them. I promise.