Shoes. Need I say more? If the word alone gets your heart racing and your feet tingling (in a good way), then

Atlanta's chapter of the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club is right up your alley. 

Hello Stiletto was founded in the Boston area in 2004 by Melissa O'Shea, sister of Amanda Viciana who is president of the Atlanta chapter. Viciana explains, "Having a closet-full of fabulous shoes and an obsession with buying more, Melissa sent off her first email to friends and family members. It began: 'Ever have the most wonderful pair of shoes, and no place to wear them? Come to a shoe party!' Initially, we would gather up a few friends to come enjoy a girl's night out wearing the long-neglected footwear banished to the far reaches of our closets. We knew that we all had shoes that were not quite appropriate for the workplace, but still fun and fabulous."

The club continued to grow. "At first, friends came out. Then, friends of friends. And soon, one thing led to another: A web site was created, email blasts were sent, chapters in different cities were started, as word spread about this fun social club and its ability to bring women together to celebrate a common love of shoes! Now,

here we are, five years later with over 10,000 members in 16 cities across the country."

The (free) club offers monthly events for shoe-loving gals in the Atlanta-area. January 12, the club will host a "Kick-Off" event at Food 101 in Sandy Springs. The event will include some seriously shoe-themed snacks and sips. 

Jordan Wakefield, Executive Sous Chef at Food 101 is spearheading the menu and had to bone up on all things footwear-related. "I needed a crash course on the most popular shoe designers.  Once I found out who they were, it was easy to create some fun dishes around their names and what they are a known for.   We also have a very creative team behind the bar, so coming up with a shoe related cocktail of the evening was a fun project for our bar chefs."

Wakefield says the dishes and libations will be as irresistible as a new pair of Jimmy Choos. "Our shoe designer-influenced dishes will include 'Skeward' Weitzmans, which are Chicken Satays with a Thai Peanut dipping sauce, “Chanel” Purses, a designer version of a Shrimp and Crawfish Beggars Purse, Deviled Wears Prada Eggs and for dessert, of course some Jimmy 'Choo-ey” Pecan Pie Bars.' We will also be serving specially priced Christian Loubatini’s throughout the night, which will be Food 101’s 'spiked' cocktail of the evening."

I will definitely be in attendance to make some new [fellow] shoe-obsessed friends. And this may just be the excuse I've been waiting for to finally invest in a pair of Louboutins!

For more information on the club, check out their website at www.shoeclub.us.