What's in My Bag?

I've seen a lot of these posts floating around in BlogLandia (that's where we all live, right?) so I thought I'd jump on the blogging bandwagon and post about the contents of my handbag too. Fascinating stuff, eh? Can you tell I'm running short of ideas for new posts at the moment..?

Actually, it was quite a good thing to do as it meant I had a mini sort-out and decluttered a few bits and pieces, not to mention several dust bunnies and other unidentifiable detritus.

So, let's begin. Here's my handbag.

I bought it in New York using money I was given for my 40th birthday. It was one of those 'fate' handbags (everyone has something that they were fated to buy, don't they? or is that just an excuse I use?) For my birthday darling hubby had given me tickets to Chicago (the city, not the musical); while I was there I was doing a little bit of shopping with a friend and we popped in to Cole Haan (a US brand I had never heard of.) While my friend was looking at boots/shoes I started looking at handbags and this little beauty caught my eye. I ummmed and ahhhed over whether I should buy it and in the end talked myself out of it. I probably spent the rest of my visit to Chicago thinking about that bag. Fast forward a couple of days and I was in New York (a one-night stopover on the way home.) I had a lot to cram in to just about 24 hours, so I hit the ground running. After dropping my bags at the hotel, I got the subway down to SoHo. And as I exited the subway station what was the first shop right there in front of me? Yep, that's right Cole Haan. So I went in and I looked at the handbag again and I drooled over it and I talked myself out of buying it one more time. After a spot of shopping in SoHo I caught the subway up to Columbus Circle, and when I saw my third Cole Haan shop of the trip I finally gave in. I went in to that shop, I handed over my credit card and the 'Valise Kendra' bag was mine. It came in a beautifully soft cotton pouch (which I still have), it was wrapped in tissue paper (which I might still have somewhere) and it was placed reverentially in a large card bag with rope handles (which I definitely still have.)

And now, just over two years on, the inside of it looks like this. Yep, that's the way to treat the most expensive bag (in fact, probably the most expensive thing other than a car or a house) you've ever bought.

And this is what was inside the bag when I decided to do this post. Looks like a very interesting pile of crapola, non? What would a psychologist have to say about me from this, I wonder?

 Let's break it down into sections: extra shopping bags. Yep, I like to shop. There are usually at least three other of the cotton shopping bags in my handbag, but they just happened to be in the wash today.

 Random pieces of paper: receipt for some food from M&S, guide to the Westfield shopping centre where I went on Friday and a half-used sheet of stickers belonging to DC.

A bag containing some money. Not the proceeds of some dodgy deal I've just done, but in fact my tips from the job I have one day a week in our village tea room. I took the tips to Westfield and used some of them to buy a book. This is what was left.

 Tissues; some new, some used. You probably want to stop reading my blog now.

 Various items for the treatment of ailments and such like. Clockwise from top left: hand cream, fresh breath spray (never used it, so you might want to steer clear of having a conversation with me should we ever meet), sachet of Gaviscon as I'm a martyr to heartburn, several plasters, ibuprofen tablets, one neurofen migraine tablet (again, I'm a martyr), vaseline for use as lip balm.

General 'food' items: half a packet of M&S sugar free sweets (I can vouch for the warning on the back that reads "excessive consumption may produce laxative effects"), box of Smints that sounds like it only contains one or two mints, chocolate coin for bribing DC, chocolate orange biscuit left over from Christmas. Always good to have in case of emergencies.

Train and underground tickets from the day hubby and I went to see the Olympics - Super Saturday no less; I think it's fair to say we lucked out in the ballot. I've no idea, though, why these tickets are still in my bag 18 months after the event.

 Umbrella (Cath Kidston London design), two biros, black suede gloves.

 And last, but not least, my purse. Cath Kidston green spot design.

So, there you have it: my handbag, the story behind it, and the contents thereof. Would you care to share the contents of yours?