It's All in the Bag!

Still on the girlie girl theme, I thought I'd write about a fun visit I made to a local museum recently called "Pocketbook Anthology." Purses (handbags, bags, totes, pocketbooks...whatever) were the featured exhibit until January 20th and I had to get there somehow before it closed, and I just made it on the last day. It was informative to learn more about what we share as females...that of carrying a bag with survival items when we leave the comforts of home. For example, I learned that the average woman has between 44 and 67 items in her purse. Do you? I Do! There were about 80 purses on display. Many were designer purses with those famous name brands: Hermes, Chanel, Lulu to name but a few. The purses dated from the 1880's to 2006. Below, in the bottom right is a real alligator purse -complete with the feet of the gator still attached! But, my favorite purses were the whimsical, one-of-a-kind sorts such as these below:

Aha! A clever purse constructed of men's ties...

Left: Start saving those botttles caps! This purse was really really adorable!

Below: A purse made from a rolled metal license plate. Right: made from cigarette packages (kind of like what we did with gum wrappers).

Looking at this wall of purses was so much fun! Here's a close up of one of my favorites in the middle of this display.

Curious about what was going on inside my OWN purse, I dumped out its contents and discovered I had 55 items inside, and the total weight of purse and items was a smidge less than 4 pounds. Embarassingly, I had far too many disgusting (used) kleenexes and crumpled receipts. Pens, but no paper to write on with them. A Chapstick tube that should be tossed, a broken lipstick. Photos of my kids as babies and now one is 25 and one is 21. A wallet with credit cards I haven't used in years...expired gift cards, as well as ones I'd forgotten I had! I think I need to do some serious reorganizing here. And how about you...what's in your wallet or purse? Did you ever think you held it more often than your sweetie?

Just for fun, you can click on the website below to see if what you have in your purse is about typical for what others carry in their purses. I know my contents have changed throughout the years, especially now that it is the cell phone/digital camera age...HOW did I ever live without a cell phone?? Though I no longer carry items to amuse the little ones in my purse (like board books, Happy Meal toys, wipes or candies), my purse is still waaaaay too heavy. But, I sure couldn't cope well without it.

The Items Every Woman Needs in Her Purse - Associated Content