Purses

I've got purses on the mind right now. Actually, I'm feeling very self consciousness about my winter bag, and am in the market for the summer. But, I haven't found quite The One yet. In a flurry on the way out the other night, I grabbed my old denim purse, for a last minute desperate change-over in the car on the way out to dinner. Not great, but it worked in a pinch. Better than the dark brown leather one, anyway.

My husband just rolls his eyes. He does not understand this at all. To wit:

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have last year's summer purse, hon. But, it's a little worse for wear. and... Yes I have the little green one from two summers ago, too... but... No, none of them will do. I need a new one. It can come out of the grocery money. Don't worry. The kids like to have Ramen noodles every day for lunch..."

Men could never understand how important it is to a woman to have the right purse. All they've got are pockets, and that seems to make them hapy. How could they know?

Ah, the joys of the perfect purse! Having just the right spaces to store my particular essentials. Big enough to hold everything, but not so big that things are hard to find. Neutral enough to work with all my clothes and shoes, but not so neutral that it's boring. Functional enough to be a "mommy bag," but cool enough that it doesn't look frumpy.

I know it's out there. I'm on the hunt.

In the meantime, since it's so much on my mind, I jotted out a meme all about purses. This is not trivial, either, mind you!

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A girl's purse tells a lot about her! You could put together my whole life story from the contents of my purse. The following meme may tell a little about you, too. To play along, replace my answers with yours and send this out as a meme to as many girlfriends as you think would enjoy it. Remember to link and notify if you're blogging. If you don't want to "do" a meme, you can just scroll through for your own personal journey of discovery ~ and you can leave whatever answers stand out for you in the comments below. I'd love to know I'm not alone in my purse-fancy!

1. Do you frequently switch between several purses? (Diaper bags are their own categorie, Moms!) How many purses are in your rotation right now? I have one main bag, but do switch out occasionally, say, for instance, if I need something smaller or want to match a pair of shoes.

2. What kind of purse do you usually carry? Is it huge and slouchy, small and trim, or somewhere in between? Do you go for colorful and quirky or neutral and conventional? Used to be huge and slouchy, now more medium sized, and usually neutral tones of browns or tans ~ or denim.

3. Do you call it a purse? Or a Pocketbook, Handbag, Bag, or ?? I call it a purse, but I always thought it was funny that my Baltimore grandmother called it a "pockabook."

4. How old is the oldest purse you own? Probably ten years old. I don't use it any more, but can't make myself get rid of it. It was a really good bag... Such good memories...

5. When did you buy your last purse? Describe it! Right after Christmas I got a white hobo purse with a bold pattern of black curli-kew flowers on it. I really like it, but it doesn't go with most things.

6. What is the most you ever spent on a purse? Maybe $20. No Prada for me!

7. How many pockets, divisions, or pouches are in your everyday purse? Can you tell without looking? The denim purse I'm using now has... at least seven.

8. Have you ever purposely hit someone with your purse? Undoubtedly!

9. How badly would someone be hurt, if you really wholloped 'em with it?

a) ow.
b) OW!

c) Silence... because it laid the offendee clean out on the floor.

Definitely "c" ~ It's heavy!

10. Without looking guess how many of the following items your purse contains (You don't need to identify, but you can if you want to):

*makeup items (including nail care): 2 (face powder and a fingernail file.)

*hair care items: 3 (a brush, ponytail holder, and barette)

*pens and/or pencils: 5 or 6

*books/notebooks/address books/mail: At least 5

*items relating to your kids: 2 or 3 at the moment, including a baggie full of wet wipes and a miniature teddy bear book.

*items belonging to your husband or boyfriend: 1 ( checkbook to hubby's account)

*food: 2 (an emergency granola bar and some mints)

*medicines (including tissue): 3 (Tylenol, vitamins, tissue)

*church related items: about 8 (my missal, a children's missal, at least 2 rosaries, 3 chapel veils and a stack of miscellaneous holy cards)

*glasses/sunglasses: 1 pair sunglasses

*category to be named by you: lots of balled up kleenex and loose change

Now, Spring Cleaning Time!

Get your purse, dump it out, and see how close you came! Record that next to your original guess, if you like. Or just take the opportunity to get your purse nice and clean and organized!

PS: Wallet? Yeah, I have a wallet in there, too! I could do a meme just about junk that's in my wallet!

PPS: None of the purses pictured is mine, but I'd take any one of them (except for maybe that wild orange Prada one.)