Next on the clean-out list…PURSES! You should be warned…I love them as much as shoes…if not more!
A purse is a very personal thing. And, what makes it personal is different for each woman. You may have a winter purse and a summer purse…those would be your criteria. Maybe you use 1 purse for everything…(hard to believe, but it’s true! I have seen it with my own eyes.) Maybe it’s an everyday purse and a dressy purse. Or maybe, you think, as I do, that every outfit deserves a purse that will add just the right touch to go from “ho-hum”, to “you look great…love the purse!”

Every woman needs at least 5 different bags. An evening purse, a small clutch in a neutral color, a shoulder bag, a dressy handbag, and an unconstructed cloth tote bag.
I just seem to follow the guidelines a little excessively.

I do not know why I have this affinity for bags, but it started very young. I have pictures of me when I was still in grade school with my purses. And since forever, I have loved me a new purse. Most of the ones I purchased have made me very happy…but some have been duds that teased me and promised things they didn’t deliver. So,I am always searching for that one perfect bag that will truly organize my life…a place for all the essentials. Now, I realize full well that places for the essentials in my bag will work ONLY if I put each item back into its assigned place each time I remove it. That, see, becomes a problem for me because sometimes it is not easy to reach into the purse and find the proper slot. Said item gets dropped into the abyss, and goes into hiding. So, the whole reason for my disorganization is due to the purse manufacturers of America or Italy or wherever. I feel so much better about myself now.

I tend to waver back and forth on the merits of big vs small. For a while I will use the biggest bags I can find and throw everything in there. Then there is the ‘search of the century; when I try to find my wallet…or cell phone…or sunglasses. When my level of frustration reaches a nigh unto dangerous level…I will switch to those wallet bags for a while. They have a place for cards, and money, and change, and receipts, etc. All in one tiny package to hang on your shoulder. But, where, pray tell, does the cell phone go? And, the lipstick?…and the gum or mints?…and the bottle of aspirin?…and any feminine products of your choice? What do you do with those things? You find a small tote to put those things in and leave it in the car. And there it is when you need something that should be with you if you had a bigger purse. So, you keep searching! Where is the happy medium?

A stylish purse need not be expensive. There are great selections at every price point. I find some very cute bags at T*rget, K*hls, and Good*s, and of course, TJ M*xx. There are several great purse brand names that are reasonable, too… F*ss*l (wait till these go on sale), L*z, Br*ght*n (a little pricey), along with many store labels that are very nice. TJ M*xx will have many of these brands in their vast display…I have gotten several of the L*z bags there.

I began purging my closet of extras last year, and have passed these on to friends. The ‘mistake’ bags, I have discarded…unless I thought they could be useful to someone else. Since all my friends are very fashionable, stylish women…I am sure you realize that the bag and shoe should not match. Your purse should be an accent to your outfit…not blend in with it. So, here are my favorite bags of great color.

Then there are times when you just need a bag to carry with everything…when it is not easy to change often. These would be your neutral colored bags…here are the ones I use in that case.

Of course, a little clutch is very handy for events that you are going straight to and back home. I use these for church mostly. I can fit a lipstick, handkerchief, cell phone (on silent), and a few $$. And those little wallet bags, here are a few of those.

And, since I have shared with you my love for denim and black and white…here are those groups.

Oh, and the FUN bags…use these to make a fun statement with what you are wearing! Don’t be shy…show off your fun loving side! These always make me smile…and others, too!

I do have a few ‘designer’ bags…but, I really believe it is just not necessary to spend that kind of big bucks just to tote around some of my stuff. They are nice to have, nonetheless. Here are my very few of these.

I could go on and on…there are beach purses, school totes, book totes, beach bags, computer carriers, etc. But, I think I have probably said more than anyone really cares to hear already.

Oh, wait…I HAVE to show you these…they are too fun! The little straw girl has a hat that moves up the strap to open! And the one next to it is green velvet…wrapped with ribbon to look like a present. The floral one used to be a skirt. I had a skirt that I loved…the fabric was so nice and I loved the colors. But, alas, it was a gathered skirt (which at one time was cute and perky…but as my hips became more and more ‘womanly’, it just began to look very sad..on me.) I cut it up and turned it into a purse! It’s one of my favs.

Remember…your purse makes a statement about the life you lead. Don’t let it get all dirty and bedraggled. That is not who you are. And, if you are not a ‘change me daily’ kind of purse fiend…that’s OK. But, be sure to at least change it summer and winter. Other people really do notice.

RULE # 10…Be sure your bag or purse says the right things about you! Buy the best you can afford.
RULE # 11…Be sure to change your purse seasonally…or more often if need be.
RULE # 12…Match the ‘type’ of purse to the activity. ( EX: you would never carry a leather hobo bag to a formal event…or take a velvet evening bag into the workplace.)

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All of these purses are happily moving with me to the Creek House, where I have a wonderful room just for them and their shoe cousins…with wonderful cubbies for them to reside in…just waiting their turns to venture out into the world on my arm…or shoulder. But, thanks to you…they are now all sorted and separated and anxiously awaiting the move. Oh, and I did purge about 14 more from my collection. Thanks!

I left school Friday and hurriedly ran to Kohl’s to see if they had any shorts left on their 75% off rack…since I am going on vacation soon and it would be nice to have a new pair or 2…you understand. Didn’t find any, but did find a Christmas tree. Imagine that! And they were all 40% off. Any way, I bought the tree, and it was cumbersome, so I asked if I could take it out in the cart. The manager had happened to walk up, and she said that if I drove up to the front door, she would bring it out to the car for me. So, I did. I got it in the car, and cranked up, just as a woman walked in front of the car. She was a tiny little thing, wearing tennis shorts. I started to drive off, and heard the most awful noise. I looked around to see what it was, and saw people running toward the car…but they ran past me, and stopped in the road. She had been hit by a car as she was crossing the road. The other people who saw it said she went flying through the air before landing right beside my car. I got out to help, since I have some medical knowledge. I raised her feet, and someone else held her head still. She was not bleeding anywhere that we could see, but was complaining about her leg. The paramedics and ambulance came and transported her to the hospital. I still do not know her condition. Of course, my car was hemmed in by all the medical and police, so I just waited. There were several police who came, and one of them started barking out questions. “Whose car is this?” “It’s mine,” I said. “Why are you parked here?” I explained why I was there. “Don’t you know this is not a loading zone?” “Well, I had not thought about that, but the store manager suggested I wait here to pick up something.” “Well, why didn’t you leave?” “Because, there was this accident, and a woman got hit by a car and she landed right beside my car.” DUH! “Why are you still here, Mam?” “Because, she was lying beside my car and moaning with pain…and since I am a nurse, I thought I could maybe offer some assistance until the paramedics arrived.” “Well, you need to move your car…there’s nothing left to see here.” STEAM IS RISING FROM MY HEAD NOW. Is he some idiot, or what? “Do ya think I should wait until that PATROL CAR gets out of the way first?” Such a snotty man. I got in my car and sat there until the police moved…and THEN I moved. It was so unnecessary for him to be so hateful. I do not know why some people think just because they are in an authoritative position, it gives them the right to act like that. I was trying to be a good citizen and help if I could. Maybe the reason more people do not get involved when they see an accident is due to police officers like that. I am happy to say though, that while I was there several other ladies stopped who were nurses or medical specialists and also offered to help. Good for our city. We have a kind and caring citizenship…in spite of rude police officers!
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I have checked with the newspaper and the TV station and a local news guy to try to find out about the woman that was hit. No one even seems to have any record that it happened. And, I know I did not dream the whole thing! (I do not THINK I dreamed the whole thing.) If anyone in my town knows anything about it, please leave me a comment. I would just like to know the condition of the woman.

 

This is, indeed, a beautiful thing. Sweet Sophie made her first visit to school on Friday. We were much happier to see her than she was to see us. But, that will change soon enough. She spent the morning and held up well under all the oohs and aahs of teachers and parents. Sherrie was NOT to leave her side, though. She made that very clear! She even visited her classroom for a little while. She is not quite ready to join us officially yet, but we’re looking forward to that day soon.

I do not like high heels…never have. I think they are torture devices. They were created by the same person who thought up panty hose…another unfortunate invention forced upon women. My husband, however, likes those high heels…which of course necessitates a pair of panty hose.

We had a formal event to attend few years back, and he specifically asked that I not wear those house shoes (meaning flats) to the event. I agreed and went out and bought a pair of very nice looking high heels. And, I bought a pair of panty hose. I even decided to buy a new dress to match my new shoes. I figured since he was paying…I wanted him to get a bang for his buck. I looked pretty spiffy…and DH even said the other ‘s’ word…sexy! Our boys were so impressed with our dressed up selves….they even took pictures. They pulled the truck up to the door and had such fun watching their dad , in his tux, escorting me, Miss Fancy Nancy! That was for sure the best part of the evening. (Only in the Deep South do you go to formal events in a pick-up truck. It’s not like I didn’t have a perfectly good CAR we could go in.) But, I digress.

I felt pretty proud of myself…I had managed to walk to the car without mishap. We arrived at our local Civic Center, and parked about 2 miles away. “I can do this,” I told myself, “I can sit down as soon as I get in.” But the more I walked, the more I realized that I made 1 tiny miscalculation. Seeing as how I had not worn panty hose in several years, I kind of misjudged the sizing …just a tad. It seemed the more I walked…the further down my lower half they scooted. Which in turn caused the roll of excess me that resides around my middle region to pop up over the panty of the panty hose. And the more I walked the more of me escaped the confines of the ‘control top’. Some control! I had on a slip, which was a necessity with the dress I was wearing, and when the little muffin top made a run for it…the slip just slipped up on top of the mid section. All of which made for a cushy little roll- mid dress. Meanwhile we are walking into the shin-dig. As I am trying to gracefully walk like a lady, my tender tootsies are screaming…nigh on to profanities…”GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!” I was in trouble, my friends…big trouble. I prayed our table was close to the door…it was at the furthest point from the door! And, you wonder if God has a sense of humor? I sat…and all the surrounding flesh happily deposits itself in my lap…as the hose scoot down just a little further in the back. I begin to plot how to tastefully get the hose off the body without anyone seeing. Prayer! That’s when I will make my move…when they bless the food. Maybe I can scoot out the door when they are praying. Good plan. Guess who says the blessing…DH. And guess what everyone else does…stand up. There is now no path to the door…I am trapped. If they would just scoot on down past the bottom of me, I maybe could yank them off under the table. No, they’re stuck..halfway down in the back, but all the way down in the front. I KNOW you girls know what I mean! RATS! At least I can take my shoes off. I ever so kindly declined to stand at any of the standing ovations…and spend the whole program praying earnestly for some help from above…to save my sorry soul. As the festivities are drawing to a close, I slipped my shoes back on…I tried to slip my shoes back on…I had to reach down and TUG my shoes back on. All the binding about my nether regions had caused my feet to swell…I was afraid…really afraid…to stand up. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I asked DH to go and get the car and pick me up at the door. “Ah, come on, a little walk never hurt anyone!” he said.

Luckily, he talked to a lot of folks before we left and I sort of faded back when I could. Most of the people had left when we finally made our exit. And then, DH turned to me and said, “Come on, let me see you walk in those sexy high heels!”..as I was trying to gracefully make my way across the Civic Center parking lot, with one hand strategically placed on my back to hold the last bit of panty still covering its assigned position, and trying to keep our name from being the laughing stock of the town. Oh, yes he did! I, oh so carefully, bent down and removed the shoes from my feet…and walked barefoot…or stocking feet across the parking lot. “You are going to ruin your hose”, he said. Little did he know that I had plans to use those hose to commit a crime later on that night. I made it to the truck,and got in, and yanked the offending garment from my body…which was quite easy since they were finally down to my thighs! And then, I got out of the truck and walked to the rusty, old garbage can nearby…and threw the silky nightmare into the can. I walked back to the car and got in. “What did you throw away?, DH asked. “Those ****** pantyhose,” I answered. “Well, pantyhose did not make all that noise! You must have thrown away something else.” “You think so, D?”
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This ‘lovely evening’ re-entered my mind as I was toiling in the closet, and came upon the dress. What to do? Since the other parts of the outfit are lying in a landfill now, I might as well dump the dress. I will put it with the clothes going to charity. This brings us to RULE # 9…NEVER…N.E.V.E.R wear clothes or shoes to an event that YOU do not feel comfortable in. You will not enjoy yourself, you will not enjoy the party, and you may end up trashing part of the ensemble at the end of the evening to the tune of over $150.00! I’m just saying…

Your heart starts to race…you feel the adrenalin begin to pump…your eyes focus…you feel as if you are floating on air…beautiful music begins to play in the background. There they are…THE PERFECT PAIR OF SHOES! You may have been searching all over town for them, or you may have come upon them unexpectedly.No matter…the effect is the same. They are just what you were looking for…even if you weren’t looking. Because, as we all know, our fashion radar is always tuned toward a great looking pair of shoes.

Now, either you love shoes, or you don’t. But, if you don’t…you have missed the chance to experience pure bliss. To make a shoe lover’s day, all it takes is 2 words…”CUTE SHOES!” A new pair of shoes can change our whole day…for the better!

And with all this in mind, I continue on my closet adventure with special attention today to shoes! Now, let me say this, in all honesty. I have a problem with shoes…I love them too much. I know it. I embrace it. And I’m too old to change it…nor do I want to. I started this ‘shoe showdown’ in the summer. I have already gotten rid of about 30 pairs. I am fortunate to have some friends with the same shoe size as me. Of course, my shoe lovin’ friend Shani said, “just give them to me, I don’t care what size they are…I’ll wear them anyway!” I understand that, I used to be the same way, but the years have forced me to be more sensible about such things if I intend to walk on successive days. RULE #6…There IS a perfect pair of shoes for every outfit!

I am of the opinion that the right shoe can make any outfit. Dona said black pants and white shirts should be ‘the uniform ‘. Well, just add these, or these or these, and it really looks great!

Well, how many pairs of black shoes should one lady own, you ask? “No limit,” sounds just about right to me. What do you think? NONE of these are leaving my closet!

I will say that this IS a little excessive…there are 26 pair of flip flops!
Kat and Tracey will understand that, I am sure!

Now, Teresa says she spices up her black pants with colored T’s. Add a cute shoe like these, and you are all set!

Since I am on my feet all morning at school, I usually wear some kind of tennis shoes, or athletic shoe. What do you think of these?
And these?(yes, my foot was in one of them at the time of this pic)All of the shoes shown above…and the flip flops are moving with me!

RULE #7…If the shoe is not comfortable in the store when you are trying it on, it will NEVER be comfortable.

RULE #8…NEVER buy uncomfortable shoes. If your feet hurt…so does everything else! Especially if your feet have walked as many miles as mine have.
In the spirit of full disclosure…there are also 6 pairs of boots, and 28 pairs of sandals…haven’t gone through them yet.

(This is my ’08 shirt design for the adults at our school.)