Cinderella

Another Russian custom (practiced in other countries, too) is the removal of your shoes upon entry into a house or apartment. Street shoes are replaced by Russian house slippers called tapochki. In winter especially they are important because streets are so dirty and you trek snow everywhere. They come in various colors, styles and levels of quality ranging from sporty plastic Adidas types to girly glittery to soft and fuzzy or plain and simple.

An outing to the local "mall" became a group effort To Help Nicole, OfNonDiminuitive MetatarsalsWhoCannotSpeakRussian, Find Tapochki. It took a couple of stores, but I finally found a beautiful blue pair made in Kiev, Ukraine - my very own, they have flowers and are supposed to last a few years if I take care of them (we shall see what survives the winter).