Toile Shoes!

What could be more self indulgent than a pair of toile shoes? These I purchased in a small little shop tucked in a back alley in Cannon Beach. They caught my eye in the window. Were more than I should have paid for a pair of shoes that had limited usage, especially at a time when family money was tight. But they spoke to my heart and I bought without much justification. I felt terribly guilty about it for a while too. Mark wasn’t working at the time and we were living carefully. But I knew if I didn’t get them then I probably would never see them again and I really, really wanted them. They were yelling at me “buy me. Take me home.” I walked past the store once and saw but didn’t go in. The second time I went by I went in and inquired about the cost, then left disappointed in what I found out. Finally I told myself “look, they probably don’t have them in your size (there were only a few pairs on the shelf) so when they don’t have them in your size then you can put it to rest.” So the third time I went in and asked if they had them in my size. They did, and so that’s that.

Years later, when I stumbled across my little cottage that was just going on the market I used those shoes. The cottage has wonderful toile curtains on the main floor windows. The owner happened to be in the home one time when I had come back to look more closely and I asked if the curtains came with the cottage. She said yes. I told her how much I loved them. My realtor later told me that the seller told her, as I was looking else where around the home, that she was so relieved I liked the curtains. That she had made them herself but didn’t know if anyone else would think they were as nice as she thought. That her realtor had advised that they might to be too busy.

A few days later I put together my offer letter and included in it a personal note to the sellers. I knew there would be a competition for the home (and there was) and so I wanted to make her aware of the human side of the offer. I wrote a shamelessly groveling letter, including a picture of my toile shoes, no less, with something like “…and when I saw the toile curtains I knew this was my home. You see, I even have a pair of toile shoes to match!” and I included a picture. I did get in a bidding war but they took my offer. Their agent was pushing them to take the other couples but they were at the point where they were getting more than they had listed for and I think they liked me (or at least my toile shoe story) and so it became mine. Funny, hunh? I mean how many people put a picture of a pair of shoes in an offer letter. But you see, somehow, even back when I bought those shoes, I knew they had a special purpose. What purchase have you made that you had second thoughts about but turned out to be a good decision?