Simple Silly Life: In the Bag

I am a bag person, have been for years. When I was 16 my cousin took me to Coach and gave me free-range to buy any bag I wanted. I still have that logo hobo clip bag 15 years later (I can't seem to part with it).

Usually I buy a bag, carry it for a few weeks and it gets stashed in the pile of misfit bags in my closet. Either the pockets don't work right or it doesn't fit my iPad, or some other silly thing that keeps me from adoring that bad I needed to have. Every year or so I purge the bags and donate them to Dress for Success or to the convent for the sisters who teach at my college. It's gratifying to give them away to new homes, but after completing Financial Peace University, I know I can't spend that money just to give the bags away.

Flash forward to this spring. I went to the local outlets not knowing what I would buy and stumbled upon this beauty.

I worried it was too big, that the color was too bold and that it would get dirty all the time.

I was wrong on all three counts.

This bag has been carried every.single.day since I bought it in April. To work, to NYC, shopping, to the beach. And everywhere I go (seriously, every day) someone compliments the bag. I've decided that if I had a dollar for every compliment, I could have purchased the bag.

I love everything about the bag. Of course, the Tiffany blue color was the main reason I splurged. And the adorable multi stripe lining makes it fun. And the leather. Ahhhh, sumptuous. I'm usually a pebbled leather person, but saffiano leather is now my new favorite. No scratches, no discoloration, and a neat pattern. Plus, this bag doesn't get dirty which was also a concern. Just brush it with a baby wipe and it's back to new. It fits my pocket requirements, too. I need a zip compartment for my wallet and I like my phone to be on the outside and I like my iPad to fit comfortably.

Good on all counts.

Here's what was in the bag before I cleaned it out: