The Handbag Hunt

Happy Tuesday readers!

Still trying to get acclimated to daylight's savings time over here! How is the start of your week going?

Today I'm sharing a current wish list item: a new handbag!

Let me start with a little history...

You see, WAY back in 2008, I bought myself a gorgeous Kate Spade hobo-type bag, in an orangey brown leather. It was my go-to everyday purse, and I pretty much used it all the time for 5 years. About a year or so ago, though, it really started showing its wear so I set out to find a new bag. I wound up with the gray Kate Spade I use most of the time now. I scored it on major sale from the outlet and got it for around $115...a steal!

(similar here and here)

I adore the look of my bag: It is classic and neutral, but the gray color and tassel make it just a tad bit funky and modern. The only issue is that it's not my favorite in terms of functionality. The shape of the bag, makes it a tight fit for things and I find myself pulling out the old Kate Spade often for travel when I want to cram a lot of things into my purse.

That being said, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what direction I want to take for my next bag, and I want something that will last me 5+ years like the first one.  I've been drawn a lot to both Gigi New York and Annabel Ingall bags. I've been especially eyeing their totes and think I'll save up over the next few months and treat myself to the chosen bag as a "Happy Summer!" present after school lets out.  Here are the top contenders in my hunt...

First up is Gigi New York!

Gigi New York Mini Taylor Tote

I tried this one out at Monkee's over the weekend and the size was perfect!

It also had 3 interior pockets which you don't always find in a tote.

And of course, choosing a color is always tough. The Harbor Blue above is a definite frontrunner, but I am also loving all of these colors:

Magenta, Ivory Pebble Grain, Meadow Lilac

Cobalt Pebble Grain

(I am drooling over this one!)

I am a huge fan of these two Gigi bags, as well:

Olivia Shopper

This bag is drop dead gorgeous. 

I adore it and actually prefer it to the tote in terms of style, 

however, I think it would be too big for me.

Jenn Bucket Bag

I also tried this one out at Monkee's and feel like I would

 have the same frustrations with its shape as I do my current Kate Spade.

And then there's Annabel Ingall's Small Isabella Tote. I prefer the look of these totes to the Gigis, however, they are unlined and the leather looks rather flimsy. I also am not crazy of the interior pocket placement these. But they're just so darn pretty...

I would probably end up with one of these colors: Ash, String, or Zinc.

But these brights are equally fabulous:

Lilac, Celadon, Indigo

And this one is just plain glam:

Champagne

So at this point, I am thinking that I'm leaning toward the Gigi Small Taylor Tote. While I prefer the look of the Annabel Ingall, it seems that the Gigi is a better quality and price. And, let's be real, I'm slightly obsessed with their gold stamped monograms.

What do y'all think?

Do you have either of the totes I've posted about?

What would you choose?

What is your go-to handbag?

Have a great day!

Glam Coral & Gold Baby Shower

Happy Friday readers!

Another snow day over here for me!

I am so so so excited to be sharing Erin's baby shower with you today. The shower was a huge success, if I do say so myself. I felt so happy to be able to shower Erin, who has become one of my best friends in the last year or so. She is such a giving person, so it was nice having a chance to give back to her! I am apologizing in advance for the massive amount of pictures:  Anna, a fellow hostess and blogger (see her blog here), had a fancy camera and took some beautiful pictures of the event. Most of the pictures in this post are hers and the difference between them and the ones I took on my iPhone is huge.

If you recall from Friday's post, we pulled from Erin's nursery inspiration board (see that on her blog here), when planning the shower. We were going for a baby chic vibe with coral and gold as the main colors with blue & white accents.  I found this gorgeous, Kate Spade-esque invite on Paperless Post (highly recommend, by the way), and we used that as a springboard for our planning.

And now, without further adieu, welcome to Erin's baby shower...

Anna wrote the welcome message on the chalkboard free-hand!

These balloons were ah-mazing and came from Bargain Balloons. I did not realize how big they were going to be, but the size made them all the more fun!

Anna even managed to get Erin's and Ryan's pups, Cotton and Mallie, in a pic!

In this same main living room, I made a "Baby Girl" banner for the mantle and also got pictures of Erin and Ryan as babies from the soon-to-be grandmommies. I put them in gold Dollar Store frames and they were a huge hit!

Adjacent to the living room is the dining room where we set up the drink station and food table.

 The drink station included a bubbly bar with champagne (we also had sparkling cider on reserve for the Mama-to-Be), juice, and berries, as well as lemon water.  The "CHEERS" banner was initially used in Anna's wedding, but also fit our theme perfectly.

On the table, we used Target wrapping paper as a runner and also decorated with the framed shower invite and pom poms that Sam, another hostess, made for the event.

We served my pimiento cheese ham biscuits (recipe here), tomato tartlets, chicken salad bites, pasta salad, fruit skewers, and mini cupcakes.

The real showstopper on the table, however, was the cake. I ordered through The Cupcakery of Richmond, a company started by my former teaching mentor, and cannot say enough good about Karen and her fabulous cakes! 

We served classic chocolate, classic vanilla, and red velvet mini cupcakes. The topper cake was peanut butter chocolate, Erin's favorite, and was for Erin and Ryan to share later.

The giraffe was incredible (and so stinkin' cute)! Erin is freezing it with hopes of keeping it for baby girl's first birthday cake! 

Karen also made cake pops for the event which we placed by the front door as favors.

The last area of the shower was Erin's sitting room where we had the gifts. The sitting room is off the kitchen and we placed the only activities of the shower in the kitchen en route to the gift table.

We put out diapers and sharpies for guests to write funny or inspiring notes on diapers for Erin & Ryan to read during late-night changes. We also put notecards out for guests to write their address. While Erin opened her gifts, we recorded them on the back of notecards to make writing thank you notes a breeze.

We used the round table in Erin's breakfast nook as a gift table. Sarah, another hostess, made the most beautiful dotted backdrop for the table out of scrapbook paper. She used a circle craft puncher and hot glued the circles to fishing line.

Erin was so gracious and excited while opening gifts that it made showering her all the more fun.

She got quite the loot!

This book she received was absolutely hilarious and

 would make a great gift for a new mom with a sense of humor!

 After gifts, Erin gave guests a tour of the beyond gorgeous, nearly completed nursery. Erin is going to do a full blog post of the nursery on her blog Attention to Darling,  but I couldn't resist sharing a sneak peek of the crib and these precious little Lillies!

And, of course, we had to conclude the shower with some pictures!

Erin with all of her hostesses!

Group Pic

After the guests left, Erin also showered us hostesses with gifts as a thank you! I am absolutely in love with the Stella & Dot earrings she chose just for me!

Flora Chandeliers

And once the boys got home from a day of bar hopping, things got pretty silly...

True Story: When I made this my cover photo on Facebook, my

god-brother asked if I was having a baby! Bahahaha, not anytime soon!

Have you ever hosted a shower before?

Have a great weekend!