January 09th, 2018

  This is my purse. The one I use on a daily basis.  It's super soft and has loads of little zippy sections and pockets.  It is very well made and will probably last me the rest of my life.   Looks a little like a saddle bag doesn't it?

​Originally I bought it for travelling. It is a great bag for hauling things around because it has the magical capacity of Mary Poppins carpet bag.  No matter how much stuff I already have in there, I somehow seem to always be able to fit in just a wee bit more.  When we travel, especially when we fly, Tim loads up his backpack to use as his carryon luggage.  Not just his usual wallet and keys and  his various sorts of electronics (and they are legion) but also the noise cancelling headphones, any medications he might need, books, pens, paper, work-related stuff, boarding passes, gum, snacks, bottle of water and usually one change of clothes. Clearly we are seasoned travelers. Ready for anything.

​I manage to get the same amount of stuff (and his sunglasses for some reason) in my purse along with a pair of socks (sometimes my ankles get cold!) and one of my pashmina scarves (which can double as a blanket if necessary - like I said, I get cold) hair brush,  lipgloss, a book and other essentials.  I don't like wearing a backpack  and I never have even when hiking.  And while it's a lot to haul through airports, once we arrive at our destination, I can unpack most of it and just use the bag as a purse.  That purse is a workhorse!  But it was exactly perfect for travelling and originally it was only used when we travelled.

​ Last year, you may or may not recall, I thinned my herd of purses. I donated the majority of what I owned and kept the work horse (for travelling), a straw bag (Very Florida looking) and a clutch for the rare dressy uppy occasion.

​Turns out, not my best decision ever.  The straw bag for all that it is cute is all get out, is not water proof.  It rains here. Not every day of the year, but a significant proportion of the year. Bad Plan.   The clutch will work in a pinch but has several flaws.  First of all, hardly anything fits in it.  It is created to hold only The Most Essential things for an evening out.  Secondly it's ridiculously dressy for daily use.  And Lastly, no handle.  It's called a clutch because you clutch it to carry it.  For daily use I need something I can throw over my shoulder, or at worse, my forearm.

​I noticed while doing local Christmas shopping that my travel bag/purse is just a lot of purse to be carrying around.  It's sort of like carrying a newsboy  bag.  Do you remember when there was an actual paperboy who delivered the newspaper?  Not an adult in a car tossing papers out the window of their Chevy, but a real kid on a bike (usually) wearing that enormous canvas bag across their body.  The bag itself was huge.  The strap fit diagonally across the body and rested on the shoulder.  The pouch started up under the kids arm and often hung to mid-thigh.  The kids on bikes had it a little easier because the bag sorts of rested in their laps. The walking kids had that thing slapping against their bodies the entire trip.  That's sort of what wearing this bag feels like.

​Yesterday, I decided that enough was enough.  I had to make a trip to my local grocery store anyway.  The kind of shopping I have to drive a car for, not walk or bike. and in that plaza is one of my current favourite clothing and accessory stores. Bealls Outlet.  I always head straight for the clearance section.  They carry purses but in visits past, I have walked straight past them and right to the clothing section. This time I stopped.

​I knew I wanted to try to downsize my purse.  So I considered what I realistically would need to carry around on a regular basis.  Wallet, keys, sunglasses, hairbrush, lipgloss, mints, nailfile, cellphone and extra hearing aid batteries. Ok.  I know what size I need.  I tried them all on.  I checked them for sturdiness, for obvious flaws and considered their practicality, including the colour.  I know it really and truly in the real world doesn't matter what colour it is, but I'm so weird, that it really bugs me if my clothes clash with my purse. What am I saying?  I don't even like it when my clothes clash with my cocoa mug! I'm a wierdo, so sue me.

​I considered several shades of beige,  a grey, a black and a brown one. All the sorts of colours that I would usually chose. Those would all be good safe decisions.  I checked to see if they had inside zippy pockets and how they latched.   I disgarded the white one for fear that it would get dirty too easily. The yellow was cheery and bright .  There was a blue one that was interesting too.  There was a fancy schmancy purple one but not the black - too wintery.  There was a  sparkley one that looked happy too. In short,  they were all fine which made it very hard to decide.  Any of them would suffice.  So which one did I end up with?

Naturally I ended up with the most outrageous, crazy, brightly coloured one of them all that goes with nothing I own but I absolutely love it.  It may clash with my clothes, heck this purse may clash with my hair.  I don't care.  This is my new purse.  Everything fits just fine.  

​I love my new purse.  I am going to clash wildly every single day and I think "Clash  is going to be my favourite new colour.  Yup, for now at least, I'm good with this.  Those red hat ladies have nothing on me. 

I have a theory.  If something "goes" with nothing, then it also "goes" with everything. Colour me happy.