Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

I don't shop for myself very often but every now and again something comes over me and I just have to have something new. This time it was a purse. For years, I've been carrying around little tiny purses that are just big enough to carry my purse essentials. You know, first aid kit, nail file, lip balm, wallet, calendar, cell phone, spare undies for the kids, the basics. If I've ever been out and found a need for some small item or the other on several different occasions, that's what goes in my everyday purse. I didn't have room for other basics like a notepad, a book or my Kindle to read in waiting rooms, a camera, or any extras, so I wound up carrying a second bag almost everywhere. This was OK though, since I wasn't like my mom.

My mom always carried HUGE purses with EVERYTHING in them when I was growing up. I don't know what all she carried, but among other things I know she had a whole pouch thingie full of scissors and clamps. (She was a nurse so she used those at work.) She had all these little zippered bags with mystery items in them; there must have been a dozen of them in there in various sizes. It was like the bag on Mary Poppins where she sets it on the table and starts pulling things out, a tape measure, an umbrella, a floor lamp, a coat tree. Things that you know shouldn't fit in there, but somehow they do. That's what my mom's purse was like. Everyone worried she was hurting her back since that purse was heavy, but it worked for her.

So now I'm like my mom after all. I bought a new purse that can hold, well, maybe not a coat tree, but at least my Kindle, a notepad, a camera, that type of thing. I don't keep all of those things in there, paring down to the same basics as before for everyday, but when I know I'll need them I have the space. Oh, and it's purple. A lovely lilac, actually. Not practical brown or black like every other everyday purse I've ever owned in my life; I'm over that. I wanted something with a little more flair. There were flashier, splashier purses in the store, but this one was just right for me.

I couldn't be more delighted with it. :)

PS: And it's vinyl, not leather, so no animals were harmed for my handbag.