new purse

So my lovely purse of last fall is just too small for a mom. Heck, it was too small for me as not-a-mom. (I was carrying an extra bag to work to hold my badge and iPod!) So for summer (and hopefully in to fall) I wanted a LARGE bag with a smaller inner bag that I could use when I just needed wallet, keys, phone.

So the hunt began. Now mind you, I'm cheap. If I think it's THE thing, I don't mind paying more. But if I think an item will only interest me for a season or two, I'm less willing to pay more. So this complicates the search... gotta find a bargain.

A few weeks ago at TJ Maxx, I found the perfect large bag. It was a good deal, but I couldn't find the matching accessories to go with it. This is a fairly new rule with me... Buy no purse that doesn't have a matching wallet. But I really liked the bag and I did some quick thinking on how I could make it even more hip and trendy by choosing accessories that coordinate rather than match. Plus, this was just the right size to hold my stuff for going to work daily... or if I needed to stash a change of baby clothes, a couple diapers, a bottle, and some wipes - it surely would. And so, the giant brown zebra stripe canvas bag and I went home together.

After some looking around the past few weeks, I finally made a decision on accessories. Tonight I found a wallet and a change purse in a lovely shade of green (and at the right price) at Kohls. The wallet will hold all the important stuff. The chang purse will hold just the necessities and fit in the wristlet I had in mind.

And now, the pièce de résistance... the wristlet. I saw it last weekend at the Fossil store at the mall. It stuck in my mind all week, so it must be love, right?! Really, if I wasn't so cheap, I would have totally raided the Fossil store for the whole ensemble. But for much less, I think I put together a pretty cute set.

Here it is...


I am loving the wristlet. The large baubles sold me on it. Seriously, they're the largest, most useless baubles I've ever seen on a purse! And it should hold the change purse, keys, sunglasses, and phone... just like I needed.

Check the baubles!

Oh, and I should mention that I'm totally going ot save the cute tag with a bird for scrappin'. And the shopping bag - it's cute too. The paper is a sturdy, textured print - quite lovely and good for scrappin'!

Now, I have to stay out of the Fossil store. I could eat that place alive. Bags, purses, jewelry, YUM!!! What vintage am I, indeed.