30 Day Challenge - Day 25

Day 25 - What I would find in your bag

This is what I do for you. Full disclosure. Yup.

So, here's the breakdown of what is CURRENTLY in my purse (which makes me REALLY GLAD that I just got a new purse and have cleaned it out):

• Attached to my purse is the cute little Gwen fob that came with my purse (Gotta love Ross!). I also have a little flashlight attached to the zipper.
  The PocketBac in the picture is also usually attached to the handle of my purse. Makes it easier to dispense it.
• There are my keys, with the Sailor Moon keychain ... and the Claire's handle. Back from when I started college. *sigh* Does that make it vintage? *pained smile*

Next column:

• My wallet (also from Ross, iirc. If not, it's from Target).
• The Hello Kitty pencil pouch from Bri for my birthday, what, seven years ago?
• My Swiss Army Card (missing the toothpick)
• Just shy of a bazillion hair pins (usually they're in the HK pouch).
• My phone and iPod -- which is usually loaded with songs from Glee at present.

Third column:

• My sunglasses
• The PocketBac (Buttercream. Last month, it was Vanilla Bean Noel) on the new hanger-thing.
• Foldable mirror/hairbrush from Sally Beauty. Since I always often forget to brush the kids' hair before we rush off to church or storytimes.
• Comb (see above)
• Hand sanitizer spray (also from Bath and Body Works. This is ... Spearmint Lime scented. Not too terribly obtrusive of a scent.
• Headphones for the iPod. I don't often use them. I usually plug it into the car's cassette adapter. Yup, I'm OLD SKOOL.

Fourth column:

• Coupon for Bath and Body Works. Which I will have been used by the time this is posted.
• Mints and gum. (And another pack of gum is in the car, since it fell out of my purse the day before.)
• (ONLY) Four lipglosses.
  The peach-colored one is Blistex Daily Lip Treatment. I've adored it for over a decade.
  The green dome-one is EOS Sweet Mint. There's the YW Values one. Kinda coco-butter flavored. And the C.O. Bigelow Raspberry Lemon. ... I like to have options.
• Gingersnap-scented lotion in the tube.
• Band-aids and  contents of a little First Aid kit. Plus cough drops from Nana and Tylenol (for me and for the kids. That's why there are two kinds.)

Fifth column:

• Pocket calendar (that green book)
• A nail file/buffer
• Pens and a pencil

Sixth column:

• My awesome gloves/mittens (THEY'RE BOTH!)
• Tide-to-Go pen ... I have kids. Kids are messy.
  So am I.

Seventh column:

• A handkerchief of Grandma Darlene's
• A pocket pack of Kleenex
• Pads/pantyliners
• Tampons

Some things that I usually have in my purse, but are not currently in there:

• old receipts
• gum wrappers
• packets of fruit snacks
• emergency chocolate (Professor Lupin isn't the only one, okay??)
• around three more lip glosses. Sometimes a lipstick in the mix. Or a tinted gloss.
• a makeup compact
• trial-sized mascara
• paper and tape for leaving notes when I miss catching one of the gals I visit teach.
• nail clippers
• barettes or earrings
• a book, usually paperback, since those fit the best. And are lighter.
• coupons ... that I usually FORGET to use. *sigh*
• an inhaler, when I'm sicker AND traveling

But, like you saw, I don't have any of those things in there. At least, not right now.

And people wonder why my purse is so heavy ... I'm a packrat. A PREPARED packrat.

And, yes, I have a hard time picking out a new purse. Because there are certain requirements that I NEED in a purse:

1. It needs to have a main section that is zippered.
   I've tried purses without the zippered section.
   Those make me sad.
2. It needs to have a zippered inner pocket, so I have a place to put my pads and tampons. Just in case I need one when I'm not at home.
3. It needs to have a shoulder strap. I'm a busy woman. I need the use of both of my hands.
4. It needs to have a LARGE ENOUGH shoulder strap. I'm not wearing it on my elbow, as much as I'd LOVE to come across as being one of those "ladies who lunch." 
5. It needs to fit, at a minimum, my wallet, keys, lipgloss, Tylenol, nail file, sunglasses, and a standard-sized paperback novel. That's the BARE MINIMUM.
   (Suffice it to say, I don't find evening bags very helpful. Most are too small to fit my keys. *martyr look*)

Yes, I am picky.

But, as you saw, I actually got a Harajuku Lovers bag from Ross.
Mom and I needed new bags (One of the straps on her bag broke, so THAT was a DEFINITE NEED. And she bought me one, too.)

Aren't our bags CUTE????

Hers is a Betseyville ... by Betsey Johnson ... who I've liked since I really started knowing about designers. I don't have any clothes or anything by Betsey Johnson. Still, I can tell you that she's an adorable lady.

(How can you NOT like a lady who turns cartwheels down the runway? Or who, in her latest line, had regular-bodied people model her wares? And that new line, Pink Patch? All the pieces are under $100 each. How awesome is that? (Still a little rich for my present budget ... but I love the thought!))

But, yes, I am tickled that my mommy and I have bags by awesome designers. And that they weren't all that much. (Less than $30 each. Because, really, I think that over $30 for a purse for me is silly. Because I'm HARD on my purses. I'll admit it.)

And, wow, this is probably WAY MORE than you ever wanted to know about my thoughts on purses. So I'll shut up.