GUEST BLOGGER: "What's in my Purse?"

I haven't had a guest blogger post here on Pretty.Random.Things. in quite a while, have I? Well, we're back with a bang! Because I got the lovely Sarah of Coffee Rings & Southern Things to share with us what's in her purse. Yep, the nosy-ness (is that a word!?) continues...

Hello! I’m pretty sure Liesl didn’t tell you, but she and I had planned on doing this a while ago, so I am way late on this. [Her post can be found here on my blog.] I apologize, even if you didn’t know. That’s so very flighty of me. But I’m SO glad to finally guest post for Pretty.Random.Things!

I am a blogger at Coffee Rings & Southern Things, a lifestyle blog where I pretty much write about any random thing that pops into my brain. Some days it’s fashion, books I’m in love with, recipes I’ve tried (though I really need to find more time to write on that topic, as I absolutely adore cooking), or just something that happened in my day-to-day. Like adopting our precious kitten, Shadow. And I felt so honored to have been asked by the folks at Warby Parker to write a product review/announcement for their Fall 2013 collection!

Today, however, my goal is to take you deep into one of the [usually] scary places of my life. My purse. I call it scary because this is typically where the random things I acquire every day end up. Like receipts from the Star gas station down the street in my small town of Toano, Virginia. Why must I keep a reminder that I purchased an extra-large bag of cheddar Ruffles and a Twix bar last Friday? Why?!

‘Twould be my purse, above. Ain’t she pretty? I love the pale pink color. I bought it from Charming Charlie a few months back and only just now started using it. When Liesl emailed me about guest posting, I’d been using one of my favorite Liz Claiborne bags – an oversized brown purse with gold buckles and lots and lots of zippered compartments to store every little thing I could ever imagine.

I knew it was time to switch things up when I realized I couldn’t find anything in that sucker. When you’re standing in line to pay for something and don’t get that wallet out right away and the cashier says “Six fifty-two, please.” and you spend about five minutes just trying to find that dang wallet, and all the customers behind you are sighing loudly and shuffling their feet and sweat creeps down your forehead in little nervous trickles… there’s your sign. Get a new bag. Preferably one smaller in size.

So I pulled out the little pink purse – little, meaning only slightly smaller than my Liz. Even though it’s nothing special, just a cheap thang from Charming Charlie, I really like it. It’s easier to carry with me, and I find everything I absolutely need fits in it, and I’m not tempted to pack it full of anything extra. Although I do picture one thing down there that doesn’t fit in this bag (it shockingly fit in the Liz, however), everything else fits comfortably in the cute little pink purse I’ve needed in my life for so long.

Minus my Droid Razr Maxx 4G LTE cell phone [used to take these pictures, even though I’m ironically a photographer and have a super expensive camera at home I could have just as easily used], everything you see above is with me just about every day. Makeup, glasses, and little Moleskine journals are musts. 

I bring my glasses and a little container of eye drops because my contacts aren’t always that dependable. Sometimes I can’t take it anymore and put my glasses on. But sometimes – especially in the summer when it’s way too hot to even think about having metal frames around my face – I can suck it up with a few drops and carry on with my day. If I don’t have either of these, I panic. And you don’t want to see me panic.

This is my wallet – also from Charming Charlie – and even though I’m ready for an update, this one’s lasted me quite a while. I’m a huge fan of this style wallet, mainly because it has enough space for all my cards, cash, coins, and identifications, without looking as if it’s going to explode.

That book, as I mentioned, doesn’t fit in this purse, but I never ever leave the house without something to read. I’m a book addict, and I don’t mind one bit. This one, The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley, is really good, actually. In fact, I can’t put it down. 

I’m a big history nut, and I’ve always been really interested in the weather, as well. Whenever we get hurricanes on the East Coast, I track them the whole time, watching where they end up as opposed to where they were predicted to go by meteorologists. It oddly fascinates me. Deep down inside, I’m a huge nerd, and I feel that’s okay. 

But one hurricane I’ve always been astounded by was Katrina. The history of this storm and the cities it affected interests me greatly and probably more so that my guy is from Mississippi and weathered the storm himself. Usually I read novels, [my last book was The Last Girls by Lee Smith] but sometimes, nonfiction grabs my attention, too.

Ah, my business cards. I designed these myself, with my own photography on the front and back. I never go anywhere without them. What use is it to not have proof of my business if someone is interested in seeing my work? Rather than simply tell them, I can dig a card from the inside pocket of my purse and hand them the key to viewing my portfolio. I can’t stand not having them when I need them the most. It’s a lame feeling, let me tell you.

Lastly, these are the other fillers in my bag. Small Moleskine journals, my favorite Sharpie felt-tip pen, some of my favorite makeup products [just in case, of course], something to tie my hair up with if I need it, and a pair of sunglasses never leave my side. I always go with the Wayfarer look when I buy sunglasses, and even though I used to work for Sunglass Hut, I can’t find it in me to buy the real thing. I use the absolute crap out of mine, so I don’t see the point in spending over triple the amount just to have a name brand if I’m just going to mess them up.

All in all, I’ve found that the smaller the bag, the more likely I am to not jam too much in there. I carry a book in my arm, and a coffee in my hand, but I will never overstuff my purses again. If I need to bring something extra, I’ll probably switch to something bigger just for the day.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did writing it, and hopefully Liesl asks me to come back again soon to see you guys! [Next time, of course, in a timelier manner.]

XOXO, Sarah