Handbag Love

In my life, I wear many hats...

But since hats are not really that professional (or in style, for that matter), and that phrase was really meant for men I think, I am hereby changing it to "In my life, I carry many purses."

As a teaching assistant, research assistant, and diligent student, I carry the computer purse. It has a laptop sleeve, a pocket for pens, and matches all of my professional outfits.

 Unfortunately today this happened :(

lets take a closer look at the damage

To make matters worse, I can't even fix it! (or if I did it wouldn't look very professional anymore)
So today I went SHOPPING! And clearly indulging in some retail therapy was exactly what I needed to get over the death of my professional computer bag.

I walked into our local TJ MAXX and instantly found this.

haha..look familiar? I didn't get too creative on my professional bag's replacement, but it gets the job done (and it's faux alligator skin accents match my favorite shoes).
The best part was that it was about half the price I was expecting to pay for a new bag! So I decided to replace another purse of mine that was in desperate need of replacing.

This is my casual purse! Or it was. While it looks alright on the outside, there is a bit of a problem.

Something about this zipper is a little off...

The fact that this purse is broken breaks my heart. Before I studied abroad in England I was looking for a good purse for international travel (it needed to have a long strap, and lots of zippers to combat pick-pockets), and I saw this one in a boutique fashion show. I loved it so much that I snuck backstage afterword to find out where I could buy it, and my Grandma gave it to me for my birthday.

This purse was with me the first summer I dated Eric, the semester I spent in England, and all of the adventures I've had since then. It snuck fast food and popcorn into movie theaters, transported bikinis and swim trunks, wallets, phones, keys, balled up sweatshirts, cameras, towels, and did everything else you could possibly ask a purse to do.

Now I won't name names, but SOMEONE (cough cough, Eric) may or may not have accidentally damaged the zipper beyond repair while retrieving something in the passenger's seat while I was driving.

Luckily, I love him a lot more than a purse :) Nevertheless, the time to retire the purse has been long overdue...so I found a new replacement for that one too...

I'm pretty excited to start using it, but only time will tell whether I will be able to love it as much as my old one.