when it rains…
I’ve been to Seattle quite a few times. And I visit the Pike Place Market and original Starbucks every single time.
They’re just too good to pass up.
Each time I walk through the market, I stop at a specific local vendor. He sells whimsical t-shirts and sweatshirts, and there’s one that caught my eye the very first time I saw it over ten years ago.
It has a drawing of some coffee mugs and says:
When it rains,
we pour.
I think it’s such a great phrase for Seattle.
And for me.
Every year, I visit the same stall and contemplate buying myself a sweatshirt. And every year, I talk myself out of it.
It’s too expensive.
They run really big.
I don’t wear things like that often enough.
They’re out of the blue color I really like.
And every year, I leave Washington wishing I’d bought one.
Before I even got to Seattle a couple weeks ago, I decided this was the year. I was gonna buy one. I even told a friend, because I knew saying it out loud would help seal the deal in my mind.
When I got to the market and found the vendor, I still wrestled through all the reasons why I should probably not buy one.
But I eventually walked away with a sweatshirt I’ve wanted for over a decade.
My friend Mandie was with me, and we spent a few hours together downtown. Mandie is an incredible photographer, and she’d offered to do a photo shoot with me.
The weather was perfect and we had a lot of fun wandering the streets of Seattle. I felt pretty awkward being the only person on the opposite side of the camera, but Mandie worked her magic and took some great pictures. I so appreciate that she did this for me!
Check out some other pictures
from our Seattle shoot…
Now I’m sitting here thinking about my tendency to talk myself out of buying something I want.
Does anyone else do that?!
What was your last “frivolous” for-you purchase?
@larainec says:
love that you bought one of those shirts!
very cute, Alece. Sorry I have been MIA
@gritandglory says:
how are you, anna?!
Missing my hubby. Overwhelmed by being alone with 5 kids, and trying to get a house ready to be on the market. I didn’t realize how much we hadn’t sorted through. Today it goes up for sale and I still have so much more to do. But it’s all in the garage now. :)
How are you, Alece? I see you are west coasting it. I wish you were Mid-westing it…. :)
Alece,
I do the same thing all the time. I will even buy the item and then take it back to the store because I’ve talked myself out of the purchase. My last frivolous purchase was this pair of beautiful heels, perfect for a summer dress up event. Of course I wear flats 90% of the time, so why I was so compelled I have no idea. :)
glad that you bought the shirt.
I do that all the time! My current boss at times has given me money to spend on myself (at Christmas time and birthdays) and its always hard for me to do!
That sweatshirt is great!
I haven’t a frivolous purchase in a while!
An Arizona iced tea Arnold Palmer from Walgreens last night. :)
@kedamak says:
I talk myself out of things more times than not and I do not just in purchases but also in accepting God’s blessings. Don’t mean to get too deep here but God has been showing me my tendency to talk myself out of His blessings. Determining that I don’t deserve them, I inadvertently refuse what He longs to give me. Trying to get out of that habit. Ok done being deep now :)
I love that you bought this shirt for yourself and I love your face in this pic too. You’re a gem and I love you to pieces.
I do this too! God is way more generous with Himself than I allow Him to be
@gritandglory says:
i do the same thing, ‘keda. i think it all stems from a devaluing of myself…
@Melissa_Rae says:
Love the shirt, and the pics. :) I think my last frivolous purchase was…ok, I’ve gotta go shopping because I’m having too hard of a time thinking of one. Haha!
@gritandglory says:
definitely time!
I love that market! I wish I would’ve bought some of that chardonnay jelly. I will next time.
It was three bondi-bands for my half-marathon. They were so cute and I’d been wanting them ever since I saw the one my sis-in-law had!
First. You are so tiny with great boobs! And I love the one of you sitting at the table, you just look so beautiful and comfortable. I want a copy for my fridge! I will come back later to hang out more. I’m fighting with a three year old to get ready for sports class. He doesn’t want to go, he’s more of a homebody these days.
I love the fact that you can so openly say “with great boobs!” … that just made my day :)
@gritandglory says:
oh my dang, you always make me laugh, faith!
i saw “bran muffin” a bit this morning… seeing her and reading your comment reminded me of the “good ol’ days” of random shocking conversations in the comments here at The Grit!
My, what great boobs you have!
HA!
@cassgirl says:
hi bran!
Missed ya!
Love ya girl!
OH I LOVE YOU TOOOOOO!!!!! I wish you could come up HERE! ;o)
@mallyflip says:
Confession… I do this almost EVERY SINGLE TIME I go shopping. I ALWAYS talk myself out of something and then usually I regret it. Oh wells.
My last just for me purchase was a plane ticket to the south part of Japan for a 4 day get away. it was much needed and it was uh-mazing.
@gritandglory says:
i do too! if i manage to accumulate a handful of things while walking around the store, i inevitably ditch most of them (if not all) before i reach the check-out.
I love the pictures…you so pretty.
I can usually talk myself out of most purchases. The last just for me purchase was a Vera Bradley makeup bag that I love.
@gritandglory says:
suzanne!!!! i love seeing you on here! thanks, chicky!
@Nomadstacey says:
Love the truth of that shirt. And I love that you allowed yourself to buy it and stopped ‘should-ing’ on yourself!
My last frivolous purchase was a book Larry recommended to me. I’m going to have Sonja read it with me!
I would have bought it the first time. I buy for myself often. Mostly little things but they can add up fast. I have the opposite problem: buyers remorse! I have gotten better at only getting what I really need or want but if I buy too much then I feel guilty for spending too much later.
I got that pedicure for mothers day that I wanted. It was so good! But that was really more of a gift from Dan and Con. I got flower plants and pretty pots to put on our back steps and they make me feel smilie every time I see them.
I’m glad you got that cute sweater, after ten years you really deserved it. Oh and I remember your necklace and I still LOVE it. What’s the story behind it I can’t remember. Oh and do you have fake nails on or are they always that perfect?
Oh and I don’t know if you knew last year I had a photographer friend do sexy bra and undies pics for our fifth wedding ann. And at first it was funny being the center of all the fuss and then she made me feel so comfortable I had a blast. They are good like that. I hope you enjoyed yourself!
@gritandglory says:
i’m just reading along and then… i’m all WHA?! you did a lingerie photo shoot?! oh my dang, i’m cracking up over here. where is bran muffin now!!!!!!??????
and really? you remember my world necklace? a friend gave it to me before i moved to africa 12 years ago.
and those are my real nails. they grow so fast, they bug the crap outta me!
Oh… I’m here alright…. and all I can see in my head is Faith in some racy VS ad now. haha!
i love the pics!
and most often, I end up talking myself out of purchases that would be just for fun.
sometimes, i wish i didn’t. : )
@hannahruthie says:
I think my last “for me” purchase was…..
Shoot, I can’t remember the last time I had one of those!
Perhaps it was the concert I went to last month, or the latte I bought a few hours after I was at work where I had just made myself a free latte.
I usually have to spend my money on bills or school things. Frivolity doesn’t get a lot of my money these days.
@gritandglory says:
“frivolity” made me smile. i don’t really know why. ha!
@PrudyChick says:
I talk myself out of stuff all the time. Shawn will literally get upset with me if I don’t buy myself something if it’s reasonably priced.
my husband is like that. He’ll carry a $12 shirt around a store for half an hour and then put it back saying it’s too much for him to spend on himself. :o\ I hate when he does that. I’ve forced him to buy MANY things. One was a new jacket last winter b/c he’d had his since he was in highschool (he’s 30 now!) and refused to buy another. I would sing “fat man in a little coat!” to him b/c it shrunk, and he grew. Awful. LOL
Go buy yourself something dangit! LOL!
@PrudyChick says:
Yeah that’s pretty much me. There was just something recently I did that with.
I do that with bras oddly enough. :o\ I HATE spending a lot of money on bras b/c no one sees them, and the one person who does would prefer to NOT see them. *wink*wink*
@cassgirl says:
Shopping and being frivoluous. I am not a huge shopper I guess. But, I probably got frivoulous over the last few sushi rolls that I have eaten.
Good for you! It’s good to do something just because you want to every once in a while!
I talk myself out of all kinds of stuff all the time. Have since high school when I started buying most of my own clothes, etc. with babysitting $$. Don’t remember the last frivolous purchase I made, but I do remember the last one I wish I had made. I was visiting family in TX and saw a sign in the general store in Gruene that said “Texas Embassy,” which would have been perfect in my VA house where we still fly the TX flag! That was almost a year ago and I still regret passing it up!
Glad you bought that sweatshirt. =)
Loved your photos!
You’re beautiful, Alece! Seriously!
@gritandglory says:
:: blush :: thanks, angela!
@pa3cia says:
i do that all the time. as a single mom im so frugal that sometimes i give myself a hard time when i buy a cup of starbucks coffee for myself…which is only once in a blue moon too.
We love raspberries at our house. So…when I saw them in the store yesterday… I didn’t buy one carton at 3.50 a pop. I bought 5. Yup…and I think I’d do it again if given the chance or unlimited budget — whichever comes first.
@gritandglory says:
raspberries sound so yummy right now!
Good for you!!! So glad you were able to finally walk away with the shirt! The saying reminded me of a fabulous book I read a few years ago called “When it Pours, HE Reigns” by Holly Wagner. Isn’t that sooooo good!
Glad to have a chance to visit with ya, my friend Mary Hess thinks you rock and now I see why!
xoxo,
Melissa
@gritandglory says:
if you’re mary’s friend, i know you must be amazing! ;)
@mandythompson says:
Last frivolous purchase for me?! um… 6.99 for Sandra McCracken’s latest album. That was 4 days ago. I haven’t stopped long enough to actually listen to it. At least you wore your sweat shirt! Can’t wait to see it! You’re such a rockstar in those pics, btw.
Ok. Back to the music.
I think In Feast or Fallow is her best recording yet, hands down. I think you’ll like it!
@danielleH says:
gorgeous photos! i love the first black and white one, and the one on here and the one… lol :)
@kamriereed says:
My last frivolous thing that I bought was a chair from Nicaragua. One of these lucky days my dad will get around to hanging it up and when I sit in it knowing my luck it will break on the spot. Oh well.. sometimes, like 5 times out of 100, you just have to buy those useless things and not look back on it.
@gritandglory says:
is it one of those sitting hammock things? i bought one in nicaragua too… 17 years ago! i’ve never used it yet. SAD!
@kylereed says:
Funny thing is I bought the same exact hammock when I went to nicaragua about 7 years ago. I had the same promise that kamrie had, that our dad would hang it up, that has yet to happen. sorry Kam
@kamriereed says:
Oh well… Maybe if I am lucky dad will hang it up for my graduation present..but yeah it is a hammock slash chair. It would look really cool in my room but I don’t think that will ever happen.
You look more beautiful than ever. The thought I had later after having read this: “The outside represents what’s going on in the inside.”
My latest frivolous indulgence? An ice cream sandwich. :) Maybe there are others, but that’s the only one that I can remember right now.
Delayed gratification really makes you love X even more.
I bout three copies of the newest record from The Autumn Film at a house show they performed at Saturday. I get excited about new music, and I try to always buy at least one extra to give away to someone who perhaps hasn’t heard of them before. This one will be no different…
Glad you got the shirt. 10 years was long enough. :)
and by “bout” i mean bought…..
I so love that you bought that sweatshirt!
I can’t remember my last “just because” purchase. I think it was a book.
Thanks for the blog shout out! The rest of the images will be done this week. : )
@gritandglory says:
love that you were with me when i bought it! thanks again for blessing me with the photo shoot and your wonderful self!
@coloraturajoy says:
6 bucks. New scarf. :)
I seriously don’t buy myself accessories often enough.
I either simply don’t buy them at all….or I skimp and go for the way cheap ones so I don’t feel as guilty.
And the ones that inevitably become my favorites?
The one’s I’ve invested more moolah into. Every. Time.
You’d think I’d learn!
But that puppy was on clearance. And just waiting for me to fling it around my neck. And it is fabulous!
@coloraturajoy says:
(also, you are beautiful!!!)
@traceepersiko says:
if i am being most honest that second pic is the pic that comes up when you call or when we text. sigh…. so stunning. YOU are so stunning!
I have two Eleanor’s in my life.
1) I waited four years to buy my black Denali Fleece Jacket
2) I saved for a long time before buying El’z. Thanks for getting her with me and not letting me settle for the cheaper version!
@gritandglory says:
okay, kettle…
and i’m really glad i got to be with you for el’z #2. hope we can be with each other for lots more el’z down the road…
I do that all the time! I am so good about talking myself out of things. I can’t remember the last time I gave in.
You Saw bran?!?! I am so jealous of you both! I’m glad I could crack you up a bit. Right now I miss having real internet. I’m sitting in Cons room waiting for him to fall asleep since he’s extra clingy and crying it out didn’t work. I could use some good ol girl chat at the grit. We should set up a chat date sometime. Oh and I never answered your question about the books I have been reading. I’m on the fallow up series to one I read last year about Jerusalem after ww2 and this last book which is four out of six was about Miriam or Magdala. I was mad at first that the writers dropped the other story and went back to Jesus day but it was an amazing story and kind of related to the rest of the books. I’m sure I asked you before but have you read Redeeming love by francine rivers? I think that one is my fav. Ok Con just fell asleep so I’m off to read Faith like potatoes because my next in the zion series is not in at the library yet. Love you!
mmm, I’ve just recently fallen in love with Francine Rivers!
@jclayville says:
you’re hott!
let’s cuddle!
I have the opposite problem I think. I seeeeriously have a shopping problem. Like your confession about food, I’m ALSO like that with shopping. Right now, being back home, I’m struggling with NOT going shopping b/c I’m so stressed out. My palms are literally ITCHING to. So, I’m staying away from all my favorite places here. Same with the food…. I want to eat out so badly every single night we’re here…. but I’m refraining. ;o)
The last thing I bought myself or treated myself to really was last week on Wednesday night. I wasn’t done packing (night before we were to leave). It was 8 and I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I dropped everything, left Jake to finish up, and jumped in the shower and went out for drinks at The Wine Bar with my best girlfriend there. Best $25 I’d spent in awhile. ;o)
I’m so glad you got the sweatshirt!! Good for you. :)
Oh, I’ve been trying to reward myself quite often, and validate the things I like whenever possible. :) So … plants and planters, lately? :) I’ve bought quite a few. Bought two pots today (really beautiful) and the plants keep accumulating. I think I’m up to 39 or so, not counting the cuttings that are trying to root and grow into new plants. :) I love growing things. It’s a bit difficult, ’cause the basement I’m in sits around 64, and the plants all think it’s still winter. sigh. But it’s nice to see them healthy and growing. :)
I have the sweatshirt too! It’s one of my favorites. :)