In The Bag

A chaotic tour of the contents of my purse.

A couple of months ago, I was perched on a barstool a couple of drinks deep at my favorite bar in Nashville next to one of my favorite people. For some reason, likely libation-induced, we started pulling everything out of our bags and touring their contents.

That day I was carrying a small clutch, and even still the chaos of the contents shocked and delighted me. I’ve been spartan in the past few years regarding the contents of my daily purse. I’ve taken a habit of carrying just the essentials – phone, keys, wallet, lipstick, chunks hairclip. That’s it. The start of the year brought a work bag renaissance– my beloved backpack’s zipper had a sticking problem that moved from an occasional nuisance to a daily hurdle to overcome. So I sought out a new work bag and revisited what I needed to tote to the co-working space daily.

Because of interaction in the bar, and because I had already re-visited the contents of my work bag, I began feeling like my daily purse needed an overhaul as well. Since then I’ve been carrying a different, larger bag and with it, I’ve been expanding my idea of what essentials are.

I hope you enjoy the joyful chaos of what’s in my purse. My friends over at Offe Market actually gifted me this bag, as well as a couple of other things that are and have always been essentials. That makes them a sponsor of today’s purse tour, so thank you to Rachel and the team at Offe Market! If you’re not aware of who they are, they’re so great– essentially a permanent online sample sale on all your favorite brands like Baggu, Hyer Goods, Ganni, Wrangler, Chunks, and more. You’ll love them as much as I do.

The Purse Itself

I am so picky about the size of a purse but all of my opinions about them come down to one very important thesis statement: it has to be comfortable, and small, but it also has to hold a full size book.

This bag delivers and then some.

Kindle

I know, I know. You know that I’m an analog book girl, but lately, I’ve been trying to stay off my phone more (and more, and more) and something that’s helped immensely with that is having a Kindle handy that I can pop into. I have also started getting advanced copies of books (humble brag) in e-book format so can we just say the Kindle is for work?

Newsletter Stickers and Business Cards

I love the new branding of this newsletter which has been hard launched already, and soon I’ll try and do a whole letter about it, but with the help of my friend Katie, I wanted to keep it in the world of the stickers I’ve already created. I love these little guys so much and I give them out frequently.

Very Old Wallet

It needs an update but I can’t find anything more small and functional.

D&D Dice

I guess this is where I soft launch the fact that I’ve started playing D&D– I generally have a set of dice on me in case I start to talk about playing and then have to explain how cool and different all the dice are. This particular set was gifted to me by the dungeon master of the game I’m currently playing, Seiji!

Gift Cards

I learned a long time ago that if you don’t keep gift cards on you, you won’t spend them. I’m always carrying those things on me.

Chunks Hair Clips

There are no other hair clips before me. Chunks are the supreme. They’re heavy-duty and well-engineered, and in years of buying them, I’ve never had one break. These two babies are gifted from Offe Market.

Burt's Bees Strawberry Lip Balm

After my grandmother passed away I’ve been on the search for anything strawberry-scented, because it reminds me of her. A few months ago I was visiting my friend Jess and I asked to borrow this balm so many times she eventually just gave it to me and the week of my grandma's passing I found it in my bag. I use it every day now.

Red Lipsticks

I have both this Pat McGrath lipstick that Karen Elson wears (a blue-tinted red) as well as Mac’s Ruby Woo (a blue red as well!) Both of them are great, but Elson is darker, and Mac’s is brighter. I swap wearing them depending on my mood.

Bonne Belle Lip Smacker in Pink Lemonade

My 2000s lust isn’t a joke, it’s all I’ve got okay!

Sunglasses

I have light blue eyes which means the sun is always a problem for me even though I love sitting outside under her rays as often as possible. These are from Karen Walker, and they’re my favorite pair I own. Also gifted from Offe Market

Merit Flush Balm in Apres

Again, I will sing the praises of this two-in-one cheek and lip tint to anyone who will listen. This color is a perfect soft berry pink, that melts into my skin and doesn’t break me out or dehydrate my lips. My go-to makeup is just this product and mascara and I get compliments on it all the time. Once recently someone asked me how I achieved “that perfect Sabrina Carpenter thing” and the answer was this flush balm!

Fragrances

Again, I always try to smell as good as possible. The greatest compliment is when someone hugs me and says “Wow you smell great” which happens almost daily (humble brag). These are my purse scents: a mini YSL Libre and a travel Le Labo Bergamote that Jess (of the lip balm story fame) gifted me for my birthday.

Aldi Quarter

Self-explanatory– if you shop at Aldi, you know. You’ve gotta have a quarter to borrow the cart, and when you return the cart and get that quarter back it goes right back into your bag.

Polaroids

I’ve been shooting a lot of Polaroids lately, and without fail, there are usually a couple of stragglers in my purse.

Keys

This is doctored. I used this story as an excuse to make a cute and functional version of my monster key chain that I usually don't even carry because it’s so cumbersome.

Hair Tie

I walk after work most days and this hair tie comes in really handy if I’ve worn my hair down for the work day.

Necklace

This necklace I handmade stays in my bag just in case I need to add a little pizazz to any outfit.

Portable SSD

This blue Samsung SSD has saved my life working on the road so many times and helps me back up photos and documents super quickly.

Your Turn

Please feel free to use the comments section of this letter to tell me the weird and wonderful contents of your bag. No cheating!

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