My weight is down a pound. Which I’m thrilled about because since Christmas and New Year’s I’ve been very lazy.
I’m happy about this, but I can assure you, at the end of this week, it’ll be up by a pound. I’ve been stressed!
And my shoulder has been hurting. The past few weeks I feel as though I am carrying the weight of the world around. However, I seriously thought there may be something wrong with me and in my hypochondriasis way, I went on WebMD. And naturally, I thought the worst. Until Bonaparte caught me.
I was beside myself and asked him to pick up my bag. It was on the floor next to where I was sitting. OK. Picture this. I’m crying because, once again, I’m thinking the worst about my health. I’m telling Bonaparte through sobs that I’m sick and need to go to the ER before my heart or my brain explode. I need my bag because my insurance card is in my bag and I need my group number to see what I’m covered for in the case of a heart attack or stroke.
Then he picked up my bag. For some reason, he had an adverse reaction. Bonaparte told me the reason my shoulder is so sore is because of the weight of my bag. Then he asked me just exactly what was in my bag that would make it extremely heavy.
“Cassee”. “Pliz.” “ Zahr eez nuh-zhin whong wiz ou” “Zuh problem eez zuh beg” “Ou muz clin et ouhhhtt!”
Let me tell you something.
I have my stuff in my bag. I have a lot of stuff in my bag. I need to carry this stuff around with me because I feel like I’m missing something if I don’t have my stuff. My stuff is important to me.
A sampling of what’s in my bag!
But, being the kind and compliant woman I am, I humored Bonaparte and promised him I would clean out the stuff that was in my bag.
Come along with me while I clean out the contents of my tan Longchamp Cuir LePliage.
This is my bag. And I’ve been lazy about changing up bags so I’ve been using this quite often. It doesn’t look like there’s much in here. That’s because the huge J. Crew bag takes up so much space. I had this empty bag in my bag thinking that a certain someone would not know that I went shopping a few weeks back. He found out.
I have a listing of eye doctors in the surrounding area. I ended up going to a doctor who isn’t on this list. So I filed this away.
I have a little Vera Bradley pouch that is chock-full of lip color. Thing is, I don’t change my lip color during the day. I don’t know why these are in my bag. I also have my business cards from doing time in retail hell when I worked at Nordstrom. For sentimental reasons, I can’t bring myself to throw these cards in the trash.
Oh look! Remember that no-name wallet I wrote about last summer? (Post: I‘ve Done Some Shopping) It’s still going strong! I have so much garbage in it that it stands up by itself. This inexpensive wallet is great–and I always receive many compliments on it!
The start of a grocery list and a reminder to bring in a donation to one of my co-worker’s dog rescue group!
A boarding pass, moist towelette and those things to put over your eyes when you sleep. From our trip to Paris last November. I found these at the bottom of my bag.
More lip gloss. This is a Dior lippie that I forgot I had. I guess it wasn’t that great to begin with. I’ll just put it back in the bag.
The CD is in my car. I’m not really sure how the cover ended up in my bag. Isn’t it a fun CD cover? This is my new favorite CD. I love Lisa Leblanc!
It is a mystery how this fragonard bag WITH samples ended up in this bag. I was at Fragonard in the beginning of the summer and I purchased the bag at summer’s end. Maybe it got there magically!
Yet MORE lipcolor! And in a Kendra Scott earring pouch! WTF?? I really need to do a post dedicated to lip gloss and sticks!
Hmmm. I can NEVER find tissues when I need them. And I looked for them in my bag but couldn’t find them. Bags are black holes for stuff! Now I can blow my nose!
It gets better. THIS is my bag-within-a-bag. A removable organizer that I can move from one bag to another. The pathetic thing is that I have the same organizer in two other bags–so I don’t HAVE to remove the removable organizer! Let’s take a look–shall we?
A petit notepad from the Hotel Prince de Conti in…guess where?
My Lifetime Member stuff from Weight Watchers. I was looking for this–who knew I would find it in my bag’s organizer? I may go back to the meetings..
My tracker. Notice how great I am at tracking the wrong things to eat!
I don’t know how old this tea is but I wonder if tea has an expiration date. I’ll keep it. Just in case!
Fake sugar, hair stuff, and tabs. Somehow this DOES make sense–I just need to remember how!
Another note pad, dental floss, a Weight Watchers calculator and deodorant. These are all necessities!
A pen that I discovered in a zippered compartment of my organizer. That little organizer holds a ton of stuff!
Oh dear God. This is getting crazy. MORE lip gloss and lip balm. Am I now a lip product hoarder?
I had been searching for this and thought I lost it! I LOVE the scent of this Nirvana White. It’s a bit on the sweet side with some serious musk. I’m so happy I found you–even if I don’t wear you. I just like to smell you!
OK. So out of all that STUFF in my bag. This is what I got rid of. The remnants of a Nordstrom Note, an old TD Bank ATM receipt. A Target receipt and some note paper. I kept the doctor listing but it’s in a file. Everything else went back in the bag! It does appear to be a lot lighter!
My little Monoprix sac. I have one in almost every bag. These fold up and carry a ton of stuff. I like having a couple of bags–just in case–again!
I don’t think my shoulder will hurt anymore because of the paper I trashed! What’s in YOUR bag!!!
I would say Monsieur Bonaparte is correct in this instance. But the awful thing is,I could not part with the stuff in my bag. I got rid of the J. Crew bag and some papers, but everything else went right back in!
On another note, I got my laptop back. There was something wrong with it. Apparently, the technician who was supposed to install programs, etc. forgot a few things. My touchpad still sucks because it can’t be disabled on this particular laptop. But—the mouse is now working beautifully.
Here’s a few items I wore at the end of last week and into this weekend.
I wore this today. I wasn’t crazy about the look because I wore navy tights–I like a bare leg sometimes with skirts if I’m wearing boots–but I did not have time to fake tan. I DO love my plaid jacket from J. Crew!
We drove into New York City yesterday to have lunch with the boys and Jake’s girlfriend, Juliana. I went high-low. Ripped jeans and an Hermes scarf! And my other lady jacket from J. Crew!
I went to the Eye Doctor on Saturday and wore this. I was thrilled that Ray Ban now makes round frames. I got practically the same frames–and when my new glasses are ready-I’m handing these over to get stronger lenses put in. A girl needs a backup!
I wore this on Friday. Jeans Friday. New AG Jeans with tan suede heels. This was, hands down, my favorite look from last week. And those AG jeans are a great weight-loss article of clothing because of the stretch factor. In all honesty, I could have gone down a size.
I may have posted this in my contour post–but what the hey! It was a comfy outfit. J. Crew Pixie pants–the most comfortable pants in the universe!
Are any of you on Facebook? If so, have you been affected by political postings? I’ve unfriended quite a few people. And not because their politics are different than mine are. It’s because of some of the vile name calling I’ve had to deal with because of my politics.
It’s a pity because I respect the opinions of those whom I know. If I disagree with their views, I’ll post why, but I won’t lower myself to name calling. I won’t do that to people I know.
And this song by my favorite Beatle-George Harrison has been getting a ton of love from me lately. Isn’t It A Pity? It really is—but this is a beautiful song…
Love your jeans Friday look! Are those your new tan suede pumps? Lookin’ goood!
Hi KayBee. Thanks. And YES! Those are the new tan pumps. I have to say, I wore those shoes for over 10 hours straight and they stayed comfortable the entire time! I think I am now a fan of Marc Fisher shoes!! XXOXOXO!!!
Hey there!
Loved the post about cleaning out your purse; and it got me thinking about cleaning out my own bag. I got an LV Neverful this summer (vintage but lovely) and it has such thin straps that I’m really sure I’ll max them out one of these days. So a cruel reckoning is necessary; I do carry around a lot of crap but I have nowhere near your abundance of lip glosses/colors–lol.
I agree with your remarks on FB–it just upsets me too much these days. People I really like surprise me because they “share” such negative political memes. I should unfriend them. To counter that negativity I may just post pics of my dog. 🙂
Nancy!!! I want a Neverfull bag. But in my case it would be an “Alwaysfull” bag. Actually it would be “Overfull” for me!!
Yeah. I’ve been spending less time on FB because it’s just getting too vile lately. XOXOXOXO!!!
Overfull–good one! That’s for sure!
You are one stylish lady! Love all the outfits and congrats on another pound lighter.
Thank you Martha. And after a stressful day at the office, I ate nothing but cookies today! We all have those days!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I had to quit carrying a bag due to acute shoulder pain – so I used a tiny purse on a string that held my driver’s licence, care card, a couple of credit cards, a tiny lipstick and Kleenex. My keys went in my pocket. I had to do this for at least a year before the shoulder healed and the pain memory retreated. I could carry more now but a small cross body bag holds the essentials plus a phone. I am learning to travel light but am a stuffologist more than a minimalist which is what I am aiming to become…. our purses are archaeological digs!
Olwyn. I love your phrasing of stuffologist. I think all my bags are stuffed to the brim. And it’s true, our purses ARE archaeological digs. But–get this. Bonaparte read the post and saw my boarding pass. He had me hand it over to him so he could make sure I received the correct amount of “points” on my Amex. It does pay to save…..XOXOXOXO!!!
I can so sympathise. I needed a course of physiotherapy to deal with the shoulder pain caused by carrying a heavy bag slung across one shoulder. My Physio recommend using a back pack, and I have followed her advice – there are some lovely back packs out there. Now that my shoulders have recovered I can use a normal bag again, but try to minimise the ‘stuff ‘ in it.
Well done on the weight loss!
Ruth. My only issue with a back pack is my paranoia that someone from behind me will steal my stuff. I need a front pack!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Oooo, I have also had the bag-syndrome, but unfortunately I do have to carry a laptop around a lot of the time, so I had to do some shoulder-training at the gym. Well, one reason to go there, I suppose (the other being my arthritis knees).
As for Facebook I´m lucky to have few friends there who do not sympathize with my politics, but I do agree. Even if I don´t agree with someones views, there is no reason to not be respectful. I´m guessing those people are starting to feel pressured. Did they not understand The-man-who´s-name-I-wont-mention would be crazy? The last week has really made me worried, and when our Agency for Crisis (I don´t know the English word) reminded us to have a “disaster”package at home, I got REALLY worried…Guess I will finally get that torch and camping kitchen I´ve been planning to buy. Jokes aside, That Man is crazy and I´m holding my breath every morning as I turn on the news.
Angelin. YOU are worried?? I am actually suffering from anxiety attacks from the garbage that #nevermypresident has been pulling. He’s crazed—and I am astounded that nothing has been done to put a stop to his madness. He really needs a straight jacket at the least!XOXOXOXO!!!!
I do love you so, but just want to put this out there, respectfully. Political statements of any sort right now may automatically alienate a portion of readers. The vile comments coming from BOTH sides (before, during and after the election), made me thoroughly and universally ashamed of pretty much everyone – including myself. 🙂 We try to teach our children not to bully others, but what does it say about us if we say another adult is ‘mad and should be placed in a straight jacket?’ Can’t we all be kinder and gentler? If we don’t like the comments that a man has made about women but we then verbally insult him, does that make us any better? I like to think of the Serenity Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.”
Regardless of the #NotMyPresident hashtag, pretty sure there’s no way around that for the next four years if you intend on staying in the U.S.
People have different views and everyone is entitled to their own viewpoint, right? My politics are pretty middle of the road and I may not always actively support a president, but I have always given them a chance and generally been respectful. Not doing so, in my opinion, makes one look like a bit of a sore loser. If people don’t like the President, take positive action to build up others instead of tearing them down. Stop complaining and picketing and take positive action that has an IMMEDIATE AND POSITIVE effect – volunteer at a women’s shelter, become a Big Sister, clean up your local parks. It might not be as fun as bonding with your friends while picketing and it definitely takes more effort than sitting around and complaining but volunteering can have positive impact with everyone around you whether they agree with your political views or not. Think for a minute, all that could have been accomplished if people who have been picketing other various matters in the recent years had simply dedicated that same amount of time and energy to volunteering to make the world a better place instead! The funding alone required to police the picket lines could have been used in so many positive ways.
Can’t we just get along? It’s one election, it’s four years maybe eight. Pretty sure we will survive AND learn something from it. And you never know, some good things may come out of it all.
I would leave a longer, more interesting post, but I’m too busy defending truth, justice and the American way on Facebook! 😉
Touche Lori! Touche!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I’m sorry to laugh, but your amount of lip colors you kept finding in your bag made me laugh!
Bridget. The bes is this–today I wore Chapstick. No lipstick. No gloss. Just plain ol’ Chapstick. I don’t think I need a lipcolor for another year!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Hi– loved the post about the purse–I too have an issue with over-stuffing my bag. I have an LV Neverfull bag but that’s untrue–it’s always full and I fear the little straps will one day give way.
So your post has inspired me to do some ruthless paring down.
You really should have tallied up how many lip glosses you had in there. Especially since you don’t change your color…hahaha. I would have thrown away soooo much outta that bag. I’m ruthless!
Patricia! That’s the thing! I KNOW I should throw most of those away–but I can’t bring myself to do it! It’s crazy. I went to work with every single one of those lip products in my bag today!! Never touched them!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Hmm, that’s why I use a small handbag; from Le Tanneur. It holds a Tintamar organiser (credit cards, driver’s license, car papers, wallet, metro tickets and check book. Yes, the French still use those) , my kindle, sunglasses, phone, tissues and a pen. And my Monoprix folding bag. 😉 Mine is white with little black decorations of Parisian monuments.
Also I have a nail file, as I always seem to have accidents with my very weak nails.
Keys are in my pants pocket.
Love the colour of your Hermes scarf. Goes so well with your complexion and hair colour.
Hi Miss B!! I seriously need a smaller bag but I would be so angst-ridden about what NOT to put in it that I would be carrying four tote bags for the spill overs! Those Monoprix folding bags are the greatest little bags on earth!!!
Ohhhhh..I’m glad you like my scarf. The colors are great–aren’t they?? XOXOXO!!!
Love all your looks, Catherine. Too heavy bags…ugh..yes…but I solved my heavy bag saga by using a slim-line backpack…from Overland…red leather with black/white cowhide…it’s leather but light when empty and because it sits on my back, it is much easier to carry…and I’m hands free. I’m not saying it’s a look for everyone, but I was done with the shoulder pain and never being able to find anything in a big bag. Oh, and thanks for the reminder tip in your post on the Paris hotel…Hotel Prince de Conti…yes, we’re going to France(!) I’ll be looking back on your writings for tips. Enjoy the week. 🙂
Jeanne. All this backpack talk is making me second-guess them. Marc Jacobs has some really great ones..So does Rebecca Minkoff.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…you will have such a blast in France! I’m so excited that you’re going. OMG–the girls will have so much fun they won’t want to come home!! XOXOXO!!!
Love the outfits and I am so happy you are a fellow bag lady, I currently carry about a back pack – seriously like a school kid, but to haul groceries home along with anything else it is really useful (but not classy). I don’t do deep diving and clear it out as often as I should – I have a lot of sales receipts, a lot of packa-bags, pens, notebooks, pens, pens and at one stage I discovered a 4 can tower of tuna – yup 4 cans of tuna that I must have been wandering about with for a good 4 months.
And yes I am on facebook, and even though I live over here I have been appalled at people I know and their obnoxious ways of voicing some pretty appalling opinions. To be honest, I am happy to have friends with different opinions – but I have come to the conclusion I am less tolerant of different manners – rudeness, opinion-shoving and just plain ol’ nasty behaviour has really got me questioning my previous judgement, I mean seriously – how can people you know and have liked for eons suddenly turn so vicious???? To be honest, if they want to be horrible and unpleasant well it is best to unfriend and quietly move away – no one has ever bullied another into respecting them have they.
Hugs
Juliet! LOL!! OMG. I’m dying here laughing at the 4-tower tuna. THAT is the funniest thing and yet–I’m not surprised!! You definitely win the bag prize with that!
Yeah. I have moral dilemmas. It’s one thing to go on a private group board that is specifically made for venting on a certain orange man. But if a poster gives their personal opinion, it isn’t fodder for name-calling. At all. I had to unfriend many people–family included. This election literally tore families and friends apart in the worst way. XOXOXOXO!!!
hahaha, I call it ” middle wife purse* 🙂
Wind!!! I LOVE it!! Middle Wife Purse. It’s true. I swear my bag is now heavier than when my kids were younger!!! XOXOXO!!!
Ps . Please tell me ( if is not a secrecy) hwo tall are you ??
Wind. I’m 5 feet 6 inches.
I love your outfits! You have a great style! 😊 I remember that when I was still in school, I almost never took anything out of my bag. What I put in the bag, stayed in the bag lol. By the end of a school year it looked like I stole the bag from Mary freaking Poppins herself 😂 Now I’m trying to be more organised. I try not hoard things into my bag and clean it out once in a week 😊 I loved the post 💕
Hi Adryana! Hahahaha! I remember those days of being in school and having everything I owned stuffed in my locker. It was never cleaned out unless an old sandwich was left inside for months. My bag is now my locker!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Hi LN!
Everyone’s opinions are always welcomed at my door. Whether we agree or disagree. And all of us comment each other to respect. Inasmuch as I may be a sore loser, my choice still won the popular vote. I cannot give a man who sides with Russia, who bans people from entering our country, who insults other great leaders and countries a chance. I was not raised to tolerate hatred and bigotry. It isn’t in my emotional make up. And I’ve also lived a life of volunteerism. I’ve worked on Habitat for Humanity, I’ve donated time and money to many causes. I am blessed because all three of my children have given back to society in their time and generosity. I have zero tolerance for 45. I refuse to write his name. But–that’s my opinion. And, I might add, you bring up excellent points but I’m passionate about seniors having social security and great healthcare. I’m passionate about every American having healthcare. I’m passionate about the education of our youth. And more. But let’s get to the good stuff.
The bags!!! Oh. When I was in school it wasn’t so much the bag that never got cleaned out–it was my locker!! I will say though, that every single bag I had when I was a teen and into my early twenties, had old, stale gum in them and tons of pen marks!! I wonder if Mary Poppins would be upset if she knew that so many of us had bags chock full of stuff that would rival hers!!
Seriously, I’m glad you commented–and I’m absolutely glad that we can completely agree to disagree! Thank you! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!!!
My previous comment was supposed to go under this 🙈 Gawd, what a beautiful early morning. I say that you had a mixup with a comment while having a mixup with the comment myself 😂 Yes, I clearly I have my life put together 😂🙈
Umm… I think there is a little mixup going on. I didn’t say a word about politics :/
ADRYANA!! There WAS a mixup!!! WP does it again!! That reply was not to you!!!!! It was to LN!!! I need to stop replying!!!!😲😲😲💗💗💗💗💗
STUFFOLOGIST, sounds so much better than hoarder. I also have trouble not carrying everything around with me. I try, I really do. I clear out my bag regularly, but never manage to get rid of much! It’s so heartening to find out you are the same. Sadly it doesn’t help my chronic bag (sorry that should have been back) pain. I cannot wear a shoulder bag unless I’m really ruthless, and then I always have the feeling that I will need something I’ve left behind. Of course, like you with your lipsticks and glosses, you never need the stuff……it’s all about just in case. HELP!!,!
Susan D
Catherine, you continue to be waaaaayyyyyyy COOL!!! 🙂
It’s tough for a guy to comment on the comments of a gal’s purse, but as a handwriting geek… let me say I love your handwriting! 🙂