Purses, Bags, and Totes, Oh My!

When I was growing up, my mother had a little obsession with purses. Okay, scratch that. She had a BIG obsession with purses. I would roll my eyes every time we walked past the purses section in stores, because she would be magnetically drawn towards the racks and racks of bags and purses and totes. I never understood why! Who would possibly need that many purses??

Well...I think I understand a bit better now. I'm still not nearly as obsessed as she was (okay, as she IS) but I've started crushing on individual bags the way I only ever crushed on particular pairs of boots before. (No, boots, I have not forsaken you...you are still my first and truest love!)

My favorite yellow purse from Anthropologie still holds a very special place in my heart, indeed. Added to that now is the orange clutch I purchased from Morelle. But still...I have yet to own the perfect black bag. That doesn't stop me from looking, though!

Currently, I have two black purse crushes. The first is a bag from Anthropologie that is identical to the yellow bag I already love...except in black leather! They call it the Clouded Moon bag. I already know I love the style, and that the leather is so, so soft, and that the bag is well-made. So that's a plus! It's not the most inexpensive leather confection, however....


The second is this beauty:

{pyramid satchel}

This one is a little bit more on the edgy side. The double-row of pyramid studs adds a bit of tough-girl to the chic, and I always approve of tough-girl. In this case, the studding doesn't overwhelm the bag. I could still wear this to work. It has handles, but also a detachable shoulder strap, which is important! I prefer bags with the shoulder-strap option. Leaves the hands free for operating a camera, don't ya know. And the polka-dotted lining is so, so cute! But I don't personally have experience with the brand, and I haven't seen the bag in person or felt the leather. Hhhmmm.


Hhhmmm....decisions, decisions....

Camera Camera Bag

Wow. Now THIS is a freaking awesome camera bag! It's SHAPED LIKE A CAMERA! How can you go wrong?? I'd think it would be a great conversation-starter, too.

The website seems to be Japanese-run, though it's all in English...but you can pick the US Dollar from a currency drop-down menu on the left, which I assume means they will ship to the US. So all of you camera-philes out there...and I know you're out there!...take note! Now you can carry your camera IN a camera! How very meta.

Love!

I think I posted about this once before, but now ModCloth is stocking these fantastic white ceramic flower-shaped jewelry organizers. I particularly love the one I posted a shot of, the crocus. Crocuses are my favorite flower, hands-down, because they're always the first ones to bloom each year, and therefore they're the ones that mean spring has really truly sprung.

Hhmm. I might have to indulge in a bit of retail therapy, here...and fast, before they sell out!

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wednesday, I am wishing for...

THIS Aspen Latte Mug

THIS Horse's Ass belt buckle

THIS topknot headband

THESE pretty spiral earrings

THIS Beekeeper print

THIS ceramic skull ring

THESE itty bitty coffee studs

And THIS Publishing Deal dress

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wednesday, I am wishing for....

THESE green ranch hand boots

THIS Owl Dish

THIS Cicada fiber brooch

THESE studded t-strap flats

THESE Neo-Victorian fingerless gloves

THIS baby octopus pendant

THIS monochromatic corset dress

And THIS Petals tank

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wednesday, I am wishing for....

THIS Peplum miniskirt

THIS silver crab claw necklace

THIS Skeleton Key ring

THIS vintage camera mug

THIS Queen Street Draped Jersey Dress

And THIS Imagination print!

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wednesday, I'm wishing for....

THIS vest


THIS Breton Tee


THIS Poppy necklace


THIS studded sweater


THIS Gazette Dress


And THIS Red Riding Hood print

Bad blogger, no cookie!

I've been a very baaaad blogger. I haven't been keeping up on the blogs I follow, and I haven't really been posting, either. Sorry, blogosphere! I'm sure you didn't miss me, or anything, but I am sorry I've neglected you!


So what's new...hmmm...well, I spent too much money last month. Among many other things, I broke down and bought that sexy orange clutch from Morelle while it was still on sale, and let me tell you--that is one purchase I do not regret at ALL. It's wonderfully well-made, a lovely rich color, and exactly the right size. Perfect. Purse. Of course, now I want to collect one of each of her styles...but I won't! ;-)


My husband and I have decided finally that we need to get serious about losing weight and toning up. Neither of us is fat by any means, but we're rather smushy in the belly area and just tend to feel unhealthy! So we're heading over to a local gym tonight after I get out of work to sign up. We're going to start swimming laps. It's a good, total-body, low-impact workout, and fun, too! (Plus, there's a hot tub we can get into after the laps, lol!) I've already decided that the first thing I'll do to treat myself once I've slimmed back down is buy a pair of skinny black jeans and a pair of leopard-print pumps and prance around in them. That's not frivolous at all, right?!?

Sale at Morelle!

Aw, man, why must the internet tempt me so?? I saw today that everything in Morelle's etsy shop is currently on sale for 20% off! I love love love those purses! Rich colors, rich leather, hand-made...it's just all of my favorite things rolled into one! The Truffle style is amazing, if a bit too big even for me to want to carry, ha!

But there are some very cute clutches I have my eye on...

The Most Perfect Dress Ever

Just a quick note to say that this new dress from Anthropologie may just be the most perfect dress (for me) ever.


Let's review, shall we?

1. Bright, rich, jewel-tone color? Check!
2. Flattering wrap-style bodice and ruffled peplum? Check!
3. Easy-breezy jersey fabric? Check!
4. Curve-enhancing straight/pencil skirt? Check!

Oh, Anthropologie, how you tempt and torment me...!! And see, they KNOW it's the perfect dress. They even named it the Plum Perfect dress. *siiiigh*

Retail Therapy

I've been feeling pretty down lately...tired all the time, irritable, and just plain off, you know? And I'm certain that it's all (or mostly) weather-related. Here it is June 23, and we're only just now starting to get consistently summery weather. The last month has been one of the wettest, dreariest, and chilliest Junes on record, and May wasn't any better. So we're going on 2 months now of crappy weather! There were days in March nicer than some of the days in June! And I've discovered that, in my old age (ha!), I've become much more sensitive to that kind of thing...sunny days make me distinctly happy and dreary ones make me distinctly depressed. And a long spate of dreary just makes me...well, not all that much fun to be around, I'm sure!

So, of course, what do I feel like doing when I'm depressed for long stretches of time? Well, if you read the title of this post, you might have some idea...but if not, I'll tell you: I feel like SHOPPING. There were several dresses I'd been eyein' on ModCloth recently. (I know I'm late to the party on this one, but I've discovered I pretty much adore almost every dress ModCloth sells!) I narrowed it down to two, then asked the husband for input. He thought they'd both be cute, but that "the blue one" was more me. "The blue one" was the La Boqueria dress, which I adored for its Mexican vibe, its bright colors, and the sheer comfort factor of the smocked waist and wide straps. Pretty, mais non?



So I bought it. And it arrived just in time to coincide with one of the first really warm, sunny days of the summer. So of course, I had to wear it out to brunch on Saturday! And you know what? Maybe it was the adorable, breezy dress, maybe it was the sunlight and the warmth on my skin, and maybe it was a little bit of both, but by golly if I wasn't happy and shiny and feeling very good about myself.

Retail therapy actually works! Who knew? ;-)


And now, of course....I want to pop back over to ModCloth and buy the OTHER dress for another shot of that happy-shiny-sexy retail-inspired happiness. Hhmm...this could get expensive! ;-)

Things I'm Lovin' Now

I "window shop" a lot more than I ever actually buy things. I tend to go in little waves of coveting a particular item for days or even weeks before either breaking down and buying it or moving on to the next item of retail lust!

Currently, I'm all about.....

THIS porcelain ring-holder, specifically the Crocus!



THIS Technicolor Dream Shirt from Modcloth



THIS Ruffle Dress from lizarietz



THIS completely over-the-top Zebra Carpetbag from marykaiser



THIS adorable Wood Burned Squirrel Wall Panel from Cabin + Cub



And THESE Taxi Confessions heels from Modcloth!

(Oh, and, honey? If you're reading this, and I know you are, don't buy me anything! HA!)

Studded Ballet Slippers

Okay, I saw these amazing studded ballet slippers in another blog the other day, and I totally fell in love. They're a little bit tough and a little bit sweet and they'd probably be quite soft and comfortable to slip on and dance through your day.

They're real ballet slippers, though, with the soft leather sole, which might make them rather impractical for actually walking around in outside of one's house.

And the more I looked at them, the more I got to thinking, "I bet I could do that!" It seems it would be very easy to go buy a cheap, comfortable pair of soft leather ballet flats (preferably with street-use soles, not dance-use!) and a handful of metal studs and make your own pair of these, probably for much less than $50 + shipping.

Of course, I'm also lazy, so I might end up just ordering these! I wonder...can ballet slippers be re-soled by a cobbler for street use? Anyone know?

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

My birthday is in May, and I've already received three lovely gifts. The first was that wonderful yellow purse my husband bought for me and which I've probably bored everyone to tears talking about already, ha!

But the second and third were from two of my favorite places: The Limited, and Anthropologie! That's right, I got gift cards from them, both of which are good for 15% off any one purchase made in the month of May.

The Limited is wonderful for work basics. I love their pants, but was always reluctant to buy there since I'm short and most of the pants...well, aren't! But a savvy salesgal completely sold me on getting the Limited credit card a few months back, for one very compelling reason: if you make a purchase with the Limited card, you get FREE hem service. That's right. You can buy a pair of pants that's inches and inches too long, tell them how long you want them to be, and they customize 'em for free. That's pretty much the only thing that could ever induce me to get a store credit card, actually. Savvy, savvy salesgal. I'm telling ya.

So basically, I'm pretty sure I'll use the Limited 15% off card on a pair or two of new pants. Maybe even some denim.

But Anthropologie is great for work AND fun clothes, and that makes my task harder...I have so much to choose from! And 15% off is great, but when the clothes are as $$ as they are at Anthro to begin with, the price after the 15% off is still a lot! Hhmm...decisions, decisions!!

But what really impressed me was the lovely packaging for the Anthro gift card...a little fabric bag in an undyed-natural color, decorated with a row of fun, mismatched buttons. It's cute and would actually be useful, too. I could keep business cards in there, as my husband helpfully pointed out.

See how cute?