I’ve always been fascinated by what people carry in their purse.  I don’t know why; most of it probably isn’t that exciting.  But there always seems to be that one random thing in there that you can’t explain or if you can there’s a really weird story behind it and it’s just amusing to me.

What can I say?  Weird things entertain me.

So, I was actually cleaning out my purse over the weekend (something I don’t do NEARLY enough) and I decided to reveal my oddness including that one random thing that I can’t figure out how the hell or why the hell it’s in my purse.  (You’ll probably figure out which item I’m talking about in about 2 seconds.)

 

Currently (and most of the winter) I’ve been carrying my “old” (since age is relative) Coach duffle tote I got for my birthday…..maybe 7-8 years ago?  I know I got it during a Nordstrom Anniversary sale around that many years ago as a birthday present and I love this bag.  I switch into it almost every winter for at least some time during the colder weather.  It’s a gorgeous deep chocolate brown and the perfect size for me; big enough to throw random things in, but not so big that I carry the kitchen sink with me.  I do need to do a nice leather cleaning and conditioning; which will probably happen before I put it away for the hot months.  (I do use Coach’s cleaning and conditioning set to keep it looking new and fresh.)

Obviously, it’s not made by Coach anymore, especially since they did a bit of a re-branding about a year ago.  But here is the most similar bag that I can find of theirs that compares to the style of my bag.

A less expensive (albeit bigger)) dupe would be this cute Sole Society bag.  It’s really hard to find dupes of bags that they haven’t made in a few years; so these are about as good as I’ve got for you.

I decided to spare you the horror that was my hot mess of a handbag before I pulled it all out and trashed like half the contents.  Seriously, one bag doesn’t need 20 napkins.  And, I would love to know where all of the crumbs come from.  I don’t eat in my bag, so I’m not sure how they all get there.

Once I got rid of the crap that inhabited it; this is what I’m left with (see if you spot the item that shouldn’t be there):

Did you see it? Do you? Do you see it?  Do you see the thing that should not be in my purse?

No, I DON’T know why I have a glue stick in my purse, okay?  I really don’t.  It’s not like I have kids.  And yes, I work in a school…a HIGH school…there is no logical reason for a glue stick to be in my purse.  I don’t know what my life has become…I really don’t.

And I’m over it.

So, typically, I don’t carry a ton of stuff in my bag.  I don’t really need to carry more than this.  And, lets be fair, heavy bags kill your back, so I’d like to avoid that if possible.  With the exception of the glue stick, pretty much everything else has a purpose.  Sunglasses, inhaler, random meds, a little file that holds coupons and gift cards and whatnot so I know where they all are, a few makeup things and gum of some kind.  Pretty normal.

My wallet is probably the biggest/heaviest item in there.  There’s really no reason for it to be, but I’m a creature of habit.  I’ve also had this wallet forever, which means, you guessed, they don’t make this wallet anymore either.  I’m sure most of you have either seen it or owned it, it was a pretty common/iconic style about 5-6 years ago when I purchased it.  (If you’re looking for something of a similar size/capacity, this Coach zip around is about the same size as the one I have.)

And of course, I’m blind as a bat (only slightly exaggerating) so I pretty much don’t exist without glasses; regular glasses and sunglasses.  Since my vision sucks, I need prescription sunglasses which means I can’t just pick up cute pairs like people with normal vision can, so I had to make sure my one pair of sunglasses were going to be a pair I loved and would happily wear with anything.

I love these Banana Republic glasses so much, I actually wound up getting Banana Republic frames for my normal, everyday clear glasses.  The frames and lenses have held up so well; I’ve had them for about three years now.   The frames are designed for prescriptions, so you can’t buy this exact frame in a store.  If you’re blind like I am, you can order these online from most eyeglasses retailers if you know your prescription; or see if your optometrist carries them; their style name is “Arden”.  If you aren’t blind, BR has a similar style in their Margeaux line you may like.

I admit to being a girl and carrying a few hair/makeup things with me.  I almost always have a small can of hair spray in my bag, it just happens to be Pantene at the moment, but I’m not super picky about brand for that.  It just needs to have a decent hold and not smell horrible.

I also have a small Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in shade paaarty and a small Tarteist lip paint in shade birthday suit in my bag from a Sephora freebie I got forever ago.  I’m a pale human, so sometimes I need to add a bit of color to my face midday.  I also really just need to switch to Tarte blush; nothing stays better than this stuff does.  It’s the best blush on the planet; I don’t know why I don’t just bite the bullet and buy the big full size one.

I also have this random Rimmel gloss in my bag in the shade All Day Seduction.  If I want just a little shine to my lips without a ton of color I’ll grab this over the Tarte color because the Tarte is pretty heavily pigmented, in my opinion.

Finally, one thing that is ALWAYS in my purse, is a Gardenia rollerball by Pacifica.  I LOOOOOVE the smell of Gardenias and this scent is so pretty.  It’s light and fresh but you’ll still get a whiff of it here and there when you’re moving around throughout the day. I love rubbing a little dab of this on my wrists and neck, especially in the spring and summer because you feel like you’re outside whether you are or not.  I keep stock of this, so as soon as I run out, I have a backup rollerball waiting and ready to go.

 

What’s in your bag?  I’m assuming/hoping most of you don’t have glue stick in your purse…..I’m assuming…..