So I decided it was time to pick my pattern. I decided to go with Jave Blue. As you can see in the picture it was a mixture of blues, browns and blacks. I also always thought the bags were expensive for what they were, but that doesn’t always stop me (although it should).  So to start off my set I decided to buy myself the tote bag. I figured it was perfect to carry my wedding binder in. (man do I miss carrying around that tote everywhere). I then registered  for the carry on bag for my honeymoon. (Hey why not? A registry is a wish list right?) My mother in law got me that and my set was on it’s way! For Christmas I got the wallet from “santa”. It’s a perfect wallet. It holds a ton! And I certainly need a wallet to hold a ton…I mean where else will I keep all my store cards and gift cards let alone credit and debit cards? As a matter of fact I also got a little card holder that attaches to my purse to hold the store cards that I use less often. There just has to be a better system for the stores to use! But I digress..  My most recent purchase was the stationary. Mind you, I found buying it in the store a bit overpriced. I believe it’s $30, but I got mine at Century 21 on sale for $6.99! SOLD! Now when I write little notes to people they will get to enjoy the beautiful Java Blue stationary!

I have no where close to the amount of pieces my sister has. She is a better collector then me. I still have a hard time paying the higher cost of some items. The bummer is that sometimes they decide to retire patterns which is what they did to the Cambridge pattern. So far my Java Blue is still in production but I guess it’s only a matter of time.

I decided to start my mom on the Vera Bradley trend. She is a substitute teacher and I thought a tote would be perfect for her to carry stuff to her classroom. I went with the Kensington Pattern since it was both black and brown. I figure it can go with most any outfit she decides to wear. The purchase was a success. She loved the pattern and uses it for school.

So now the women of my family can proudly say we are fans of Vera Bradley products. And I am certainly happy to add this to The Diaper Diaries Things I Love Thursday!

I figure there has to be a happy medium between the very small wallet purses and the very large hobo type purses. With a large purse comes a very large mess. I tend to drop everything and anything into my purse. Then it gets lost in the black hole until it becomes so ridiculous to find anything in there that I have to clean the bag out. On any given day I am normally carrying…2 pairs of sunglasses in their cases, my wallet, a smaller wallet that just holds the stupid store cards, 2 check books, a small cosmetic case, gum, coupons, tissues, pens…and god knows what else. I must admit that it is convenient to have everything on hand at a moments notice, but I also must admit how freeing it is in the evenings when I switch to a clutch to go out. I carry some money, my ID, Credit card, cell phone and a lipstick…and it’s wonderful.

Now us women are used to carrying it all with us on a daily basis…what happens when the powers that be decide that it is no longer “in fashion” to carry the large bags? Next thing we know they will start getting smaller again, and in order to keep up will will be forced to purge our bags…It will happen again. It’s all a cycle and I think this large bag cycle has been hanging on for a while now. It’s only a matter of time before I will be that mom carrying the large bag with my kids are laughing at how uncool I am…I guess that would be KHARMA!