I have a new purse

I know, not a big deal for most people, but it is for me. I simply do not understand (although I admit I admire) women who match their bag to their outfit (or even their shoes!) and use a different purse every day. Do they stand there in the morning with a shovel, moving the contents of one bag to another? What if the bags are different sizes and hold different amounts of stuff? Then you have to decide what gets to come along and what has to stay home. And where does the stuff that stays home go? In a pile on the counter? In a special box labeled "Does not fit in today's purse"? What if you need some of that stuff later in the day? I'm sure these things are perfectly obvious to many, but figuring it all out would push my life to a level of complication I find unacceptable. I know my limits.

So I have something like four purses. A big black Coach bag that can hold about thirty pounds of stuff (a girlfriend once called it my Winnebago), a pretty light green leather bag (also quite large), a teensy black Coach bag for evenings when I need only a credit card and lip balm (I don't use it that often—even a hairbrush is too large), and a few other assorted bags I almost never use because . . . well, I just explained that.

But I popped in to REI to shop for a birthday present (with my annual rebate check burning a hole in my pocket—I obviously bought more than I thought last year), and found this:
On sale. I think it's cute, it's BIG, it has little straps on the bottom for a yoga mat (or jacket) and a strap to go around your waist so you can wear it on a bike. And I like that it's the kind of bag you can throw on the floor of the car, step on with muddy boots, and take home and throw it in the wash. And the fact that it's my favorite spring color is a bonus, especially since I know I need to work on easing my way out of ski season (soon—not quite yet!) and into the summer, especially because we have some great trips planned.

I made a few other spring purchases.


Camping margarita glasses for the birthday boy.


A new pair of Crocs for Sophie (the smallest women's size—she's eight!). Her school has a creek that runs through it and more or less serves as their playground, so water happy shoes are important.

I'm not sure, but I think I might need these for the summer. I didn't buy them because there were about two hundred people in the shoe department. I'll go back on a weekday.



I also wanted these, but they didn't have my size, so I'll have to mail order them.


Love that store.