A totally frivolous post- I warned you.

I warned you that I might share my thoughts on the perfect purse, so here you have it - a totally meaningless post.

Way back in November, I attended a Scentsy/ Velata / Grace Adele party.  I was familiar with Scentsy but not the other two companies.  As it turns out they are all a family of companies under one umbrella.  If you have never heard of them, then I will explain.  Scentsy sells wax burners and scented wax.  The burners are really pretty, and the wax is a safe way to make your home smell nice without the open flame of a candle.  Valata is similar to Scentsy, but Valata products are fondue warmers and fondues.  Grace Adele products include purses, clutches, make up bags, and jewelry.

Disclaimer: I am a purse/bag/tote girl.  Clothes shopping is never fun for me as I am never satisfied by the way I look in anything, and lots of my stuff has to be altered.  Shoes mostly hurt my feet, so shoes are no fun.  I love purses.  I am also very practical and picky.  I don't change purses regularly, so my purses have to match a variety of outfits.  They must zip across the top. I like them big, but not too big, and I can't have shoulder straps.  I do always have one cross body purse on hand for those times when we are visiting a zoo or amusement park, or ball game, and mom's hands must be free.

I went to this party to pick up some wax melts and really loved the purses.  I had two problems with the purses at that time.  1. They were pricey, and I had no budget for them.  2. I had just purchased a purse.  I really limit myself to one purse purchase at most per year.  (I do not buy pricey purses - no Michael Kor's or Coach for this girl).

A month later, the price of the purse I wanted most dropped to an affordable $25.  I strongly hinted for Christmas, but alas, the purse did not show up under the tree:) 

I decided then that I would splurge for the summer, and I did.  I loved the purse from the start.  I even contacted my consultant about becoming a consultant myself.  I mean if you want/need a second job because you have a child heading to college, why not have a fun job, right?  I learned from my inquiry that the company had decided to drop the Grace Adele line.  Therefore, I waited for the clearance sales.  Then I went a little overboard, but they are going away forever, and the prices could not be beat.  I am awaiting a big order.  I shouldn't have, but I will explain what I love with the pictures.

The company sells clutches and purses that are made to coordinate.  The clutches have a shoulder strap and can be carried alone.  However, they can also change the look of the purse.  In the picture above, I have a clutch in the front pocket of my purse to give some contrast to the black.  With the sale, buying a few clutches made sense.  Not only do they allow me to change my purse without changing my purse, but some of them are dressy enough for Savannah to carry to her formal dances.

I may love the inside pockets the most.  I have never, before now, had a purse that didn't require regular digging at the bottom to find items unless I was using a purse insert.

This is my purse without the clutch.  It sits upright.  I did not realize how important that is, but my previous purse did not sit upright, and that is a tad annoying.

A different clutch = a different look.  I am awaiting a purse scarf to coordinate with this look as I realized after I got it, that I really needed something to pull that particular blue and the black together.

Did I mention the pockets? - five inside pockets and this purse happens to have four outside pockets.  I really am not losing anything in it since everything has it's place.  I was worried about that satin lining for two reasons.  I thought it would easily tear, and I thought the cream would stain.  So far, I really haven't had a problem, and I have been carrying that orange purse all summer.

Today, I learned that the fall line is available from Grace Adele until the end of the month.  I want the Kinley purse.  When I placed the order on which I am waiting, I intended to order the Kinley.  I messed up and ordered another style instead.  Because the company is going out of business, there are no returns, and the Kinley was sold out when I realized my mistake.  It has been brought back briefly in a fall color.   I must now decide whether I want to try and sell the purse I bought by mistake on ebay and go ahead and purchase the Kinley, or just let it be.  One of the fall purses is a shade of blue that I have envied when I have seen friends carrying purses of that shade, but really I am stopping myself now.  I think.  My birthday is fast approaching, so that blue purse is definitely on the wish list :)

If you are interested, find a consultant near you on the Grace Adele site, and check out the purses, or visit my consultant's site at Grace Adele.  You can have a purse delivered right to your door, and take it from this picky, purse shopper, they are very good purses.

July 30, - update

My new purses arrived today.  I had hoped I would love the blue one.  That is the one I ordered by mistake, but the reality is that I don't.  The shoulder strap is just not for me.  I do think I will try and sell that one on ebay.  The red purse is the perfect color.  It's a gorgeous red.  It is bigger than my other purses and does not sit upright.  Had I known, I would have bought the red in the same style as my other Grace Adele purses, but that is the risk of buying without actually seeing the merchandise. I do really like the outside pockets on it. It's just too big for me.  Most of these purses are designed for people who have to carry tablets around.  I am not that person, but I do like to be able to put my Bible and notebook in my purse for church. Each purse only cost me $16, so I did not break the bank.  As far as selling the one on ebay.  I will simply want the $16 and shipping on it, so I will sell it as a "buy it now" option.

In addition to the purses, I did buy two $8 clutches, and I am especially happy with my red clutch.  It might make a nice cross-body purse when I need something really small.  I also got a stone colored clutch with some bling on it.  It will coordinate nicely with both of Savannah's formal dresses so that she will have a purse to carry to her dances.  I also purchased a wallet for $7 which I really like and intend to keep even though I currently use my duck tape wallet.  Lastly, I bought a little cell phone holder.  For $5 I figured it was worth a try.  All summer, I have thought that something small like that to carry just my license and some cash to the pool would be much better than having my purse in the car as our pool had some burglaries this summer.  We were warned again and again not to leave valuables in our cars as thieves were brazenly breaking windows to steal.  I think my little cell phone holder will be very nice for the pool.  Now if we could just get the weather to be nice for the pool :)  Cool here lately.  Beautiful, but not exactly screaming summer.

July 31st Update

I have never sold anything on ebay before.  I listed the blue purse last night, and it sold before I got out of bed this morning.  It has already been paid.  I sold it for more than I paid because it was cheaper to list it as an auction with a "buy it now" option, and I had a hard time figuring out ebay fees.  I started the auction at $20 with the "buy it now" option at $30.  This purse originally retailed for $80, and I really hope the customer loves it. Now I have to figure out how to find the shipping address because I would like to ship it today.  I know what it is like to wait on a package:)  Now, I also have to decide if I want to purchase the other blue purse as today is the last day of the sale.  I am guessing if they don't sell out that it will be available for a lower price in a few weeks, but one of the styles did sell out.  I checked the measurements last night, and it will definitely be more to my liking than either of my $16 purses :)  Unfortunately, it is almost 3X more than $16 and more than that when shipping is figured.