30 Posts in 30 Days: Day 28: What's in your handbag/purse

I love purses. We're not talking Coach or Dolce & Gabbana here, mind you. The most expensive purse I've ever bought was probably around $150 (from Danier Leather), & most of them are in the $50 territory. I bought a great purse on sale at Target for under $20 a few years ago when I was in the States visiting my uncle, & used it for years until it started wearing out around the edges.

But there's something about a nice new purse that lifts the spirits. Most of my purses are basic black, but I do like to change them with the seasons. The one I'm using right now is a sort of taupe (see photo above), the one I used this summer was white, & I have a shiny red crocodile-type one that I bought last Christmas that was fun.

At the same time, I'm very picky about my purses. When I find a purse I like, I tend to hang onto it until it falls apart. Any purse I buy must be a shoulder bag, with lots of pockets & compartments, fairly big -- but not TOO big, because I tend to overstuff it, which is not good for my back, neck & shoulders (have learned that the hard way...!).

Inside my bag right now (in various compartments):

• two pens
• miniature pack of Kleenex
• several rolls of Lifesavers Breathsavers peppermints
• almost finished package of Trident peppermint gum
• glasses case with cleaning cloth
• clip-on sunglasses
• miniature bottle of Purell
• fold-up hairbrush
• makeup bag holding miniature bottles of Motrin & Tylenol, a bottle of Benadryl & a package of Rolaids Vanilla soft chews
• makeup bag holding small mirror, emery board, glasses cleaning cloth, eye drops, tube of Vaseline, tube of Neutrogena lip balm, small pair of fold-up scissors (no makeup -- it's the weekend!)
• two epi-pens (one on the verge of expiry, one new one to replace it)
• copy of results from my allergist & list of foods related to my various allergies (some have been problem foods, some not)
• user's guide for my cellphone (which tells you how often I use it...!)
• various coupons
• ziploc bag with a small supply of pads, in case AF decides to drop by unexpectedly
• two keychains, one with the housekeys, etc., & one with the car keys
• cellphone
• gold case containing a few business cards & a built-in solar-powered calculator
• "cross in my pocket" which I got in church one time
• a rather bedraggled rabbit's foot
• a notebook with a key & quarter taped to it & a hilarious (to me) note that a high school friend gave to me as a joke gift for Christmas more than 30 years ago -- it's been in my purse ever since then
• a very overstuffed wallet (my wallets must also have lots & lots of pockets & slots) which includes: change (I generally dump it out at night but usually keep one or two loonies & toonies, just in case); cash in bills; subway tokens; transit pass; assorted coupons; "angel in my pocket" token; various giftcards with various amounts on them; cheques & chequebook register; lottery tickets to be checked; two strips of photos of me & dh from airport photo booths -- one from Toronto in 1983 and one from our 1985 honeymoon in Calgary; two old wallet-sized photos of dh; & a huge assortment of cards: driver's license, health card, assorted hospital cards; credit & debit cards, office access cards, loyalty/points cards, etc, etc, etc.

What's in yours?