What Is In My Bag - Nov 29, 2012

Since I was just running to the mall today I didn't want to take a huge bag so I ended up carrying my Coach Ocelot Pouch. I dressed it up with a charm and a scarf bow to give it a little something.

I packed extremely light, I only took my Coach wallet and my keys. My keys are under the wallet, can't really see them. The pouch will hold a little bit more then what I have in it. I didn't need much, so I only took what I had to have for a short trip to the mall.

Victoria's Secret Haul

I had three Victoria's Secret discount cards.

The secret rewards is a card that you never know what the discount will be until you get to the register. Your card was guaranteed to be at least a $10.00 discount, however it could have been $50, $100 or even $500. I knew the odds of me having a $100 or $500 card was slim to none but I had hoped for a $50. Well I wasn't very lucky, my card only ended up being worth $10.00. However at the same time I was happy because $10.00 off a item is still money I don't have to pay.

The secret rewards card looks like this:

The other discount card was exactly the same as my secret rewards turned out to be. I had another for $10.00 off and I also had a extra card for a free makeup bag. However I didn't use to makeup bag card because it didn't kick in until Dec 5-8, plus you have to spend $75.00 to get the free bag...so really it isn't free.

Here is what the other discount cards looked like..

However I did end up using my two other discount cards, used both today but on different transactions. I wasn't sure they would let me use two discount cards in one day, but they did. I ended up getting a makeup bag, and a pair of the holiday underwear...one of the jungle bell pair.

Makeup Bag:

Orig: $15.00 Price I paid after discount: $5.00 (before tax)

Holiday Jingle Bell Underwear:

Orig: $18.50 Price I paid after discount: $8.50 (before tax)

The makeup bag I got, I actually had no clue they had and did not plan on using one on a makeup bag. When I went to the register, they had the makeup bags right there where you check out and the ended up catching my eye, and I loved them when I first saw them. I bought the largest size they had. However they had two smaller sizes. One was a small makeup bag and the other was a small brush case. The small makeup bag was also $15.00 and the brush case was $12.00 if I remember right. I kind of wish I would have bought all three but I did not. I really love this large makeup bag, it's so pretty! I had a hard time taking photos of the makeup bag because of the glitter and the camera flash. I know you can't see it very well, but it has Victoria's Secret on it at the top in gold letters.

As I said I got a pair of holiday jingle bell underwear as well. I'm not going to post a actual photo of the underwear but i'll post a photo of the bag it's in. lol 

Jingle, Jingle!

Anyone else have a secret rewards card? What was your worth? Any really lucky $500.00 winners!?

Vera Bradley Wristlet - English Rose

I bought this Vera Bradley English Rose wristlet for my mother for Christmas. She has mentioned wanting a wristlet a few months ago but she never purchased one. She just got a new V.B. bag in English Rose and the style she bought was the Little Mandy. She mentioned that the wristlet might be good for days she didn't want to carry a bag so I decided to purchase it for her as a Christmas gift. I paid $34.00 for the wristlet, which is the original price. I have a couple of Vera Bradley wristlets myself however they have changed the wristlet. This one is the same size as far as width and length goes, however it is far more expandable then mine, which means it will hold much more. It also has a zipper inside and card slots, which mine does not have. I am actually really impressed with the new wristlet design, so much so that i'm considering purchasing a new one in Island Blooms for myself soon.

I think the Vera Bradley wristlets are a nice little thing to have around. I have two and have used them both for many different things over the years. I've carried just about everything you can think of in mine from change, makeup, and my cell phone. I love the fact they they are washable and tend to wash up well. If it gets dirty it's no problem, just toss it in the wash with the next load of laundry and bam, all pretty again.

Anyone else like the V.B. wristlet? What do you use yours for?

Coach - Outlet Vs. Boutique - My Opinion

So I've talked to many people about designer bags over the years and I've heard and seen this topic brought up several times. What is better outlet bags vs. boutique bags.

Truthfully to me I'll pick outlet bags and accessories any day over boutique. For me it's common sense, why spend $300-$400 and up for a handbag when I can go to the outlet and get bags and accessories for nearly nothing. If I choose to spend $300-$400 I can get more bang for my buck at the outlet. I love a good deal and I'm the kind of person that when she shops, she likes to buy many items at once. The more I buy at one time the happier I am. I'll admit several years back when I first got into designer bags and had no clue there was a outlet within driving distance of me I purchased from Macy's. However only bought 6 Coach items there before I learned of the outlet and I have never bought anything FP form Coach again. Also you can get a lot of the FP Coach items for a deep discount at the outlet anyway. I have heard though they are supposed to be cracking down on the FP items going to the outlet, but who knows if that is true. However I don't go to the outlet for the FP items, I go for the discounts on whatever it is that I see and like. I don't discriminate, if I like it I buy it, could care less if it was originally a FP item or if it is a MFF bag. Could care less if it's siggy or leather or something else. If i'm in love with it, it's coming home with me and i'm going to happily carry it with pride.

A lot of people like to get snotty about the issue and claim that boutique bags and items are better and that MFF bags are not real Coach bags and that they would rather pay $400 at the boutique and claim quality. To me that is just a bunch of nonsense, for several reasons. The number one reason is I have had 0 issues with quality and I own many outlet items. I carried one MFF Coach bag for 2 years, every day. The bag was my workhorse bag and everywhere I went it followed. It's still going strong today, no quality issues to report. I just happened to tire of the same look every day and switched out. I've bought tons of items from the outlet and never had any problems. Also it says Coach on it don't it? You bought it from a Coach outlet didn't you? Then to me it's a real Coach bag. You know the old saying... if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...then it probably is a duck. Well this kind of applies to outlet bags for me. Some people claim it takes away from the feeling you get of buying a boutique bag. Well you couldn't prove that by me, because I get overly excited going to the outlet and if anything love my outlet buys just as much if not more then the few boutique bags and accessories I have.

Some people do claim that it takes away from the exclusivity of owning a Coach bag, and on that topic I may agree. Yeah it's not exclusive anymore EVERYONE has a Coach bag. Did the outlet help, heck yes it did. I really don't know that many people who don't own one. The people who I know that don't own them, simply just don't care to buy Coach, or any other designer bags for that matter. However the exclusive thing can be used with Louis Vuitton as well and to my knowledge they don't have a outlet. I see Louis Vuitton bags a lot, seen Gucci a lot as well this week but they have a outlet (sadly no outlet near me). So truthfully, does price really matter when comes come to exclusivity...maybe I'd say about 50%, however if someone wants something bad enough they will pay the price to get it. So are bags exclusive to some extent due to price...yes, but not always. I've seen everyday people from mothers with 5 kids to famous people who own Louis Vuitton bags or really just about any designer bags you can think of. So outlets are not always the reason for lack of exclusivity. If the outlet didn't exist would Coach diminish in popularity, yes to some extent it would. however as I said if people want it, they will buy it, no matter the price. A person just has to want it bad enough to buy it. Those of us who love Coach will yes pay high prices when we must to get what we really want. Would I pay high prices if no outlet existed, heck yes I would. However I'm not forced to do so with Coach so I do not.

Will Coach ever do away with the outlet stores. Absolutely NOT! Why you ask? Well Coach makes most of it's money off the outlets, and as we all know where there is a dollar to make, people will make that dollar. Do I think they will stop sending FP deletes to the outlets, maybe...who knows? It is possible that they may do that. Do I care? No! Will that make me stop shopping at the outlet and buy boutique bags and accessories more often? No! Only way I'd purchase from the boutique is if I really love it and just HAVE to have it. Even then I may not decide to purchase.

I have a Coach boutique about 40 minutes from me, and the boutique has been there oh I'd say about a year and a half now....never stepped foot in it. I couldn't even tell you what the inside looks like. However I am thinking of going there after Christmas ONE time. There are two items I do want and if they don't sell out before I can get the items there is 1 charm and a umbrella I do want. I would just order online from Coach but can't stand to pay shipping if I don't have to. Now I've been going back and forth with myself on this issue because it will cost me over $100 for the two items after taxes. I don't know if I will go though with it when I can take myself right back to the outlet and get 3-4 maybe even 5 items depending on what kind of discount I can get for the same amount of money. I may even be able to find the items at the outlet, especially the charm. For me to throw down that kind of money for two items when I have other options you know I REALLY like the items.

To me the outlet makes more sense then the boutique. However I guess it's all a matter of opinion, and as we all know everyone has those.
That being said what are your opinions on the whole Coach outlet vs. boutique bags issue? Boutique, Outlet or both? Toss your two cents in and lets discuss!

A Question: How to Store Designer Handbags and Accessories?

With my ever expanding collection of bags and accessories it had come to my attention that I need somewhere to store my bags and accessories.

At the moment my accessories are in a area of our chest and i'm almost out of room in the chest for my accessories. Not only that but I hate to keep them hidden away. I would like to be able to display my accessories in an area where they are not only eye catching but also free from dust and dust as well as displayed in a way to minimize fading and damage.

This is my current accessories set up.

I keep my wristlets lined in the front, my scarfs wrapped in a plastic bag and folded neatly, my charms in boxes and dust bags, other wristlets / pouches in dust bags in the back and other accessories to the side.

Ideally I would love to be able to display EVERYTHING including my scarf collection however I have yet to figure out how to do all this.

Ideas for my accessories collection:

Shadowbox charms

Get a ornament tree to display charms on (keep in a glass enclosed area)

Also store accessories in a much larger area of a China Cabinet (I hope to purchase)

As for my handbags I'm ashamed to say they are stored rather haphazardly in our closet. They are all over the place in the closet. Some are stored in dust bags, some in plastic (because they didn't come with dust bags  and some are laying out in the open with no protection from dirt or dust. I HATE this setup and wont even post photos, because truthfully it isn't even a setup. I really want to display my handbags as well in a area that they will be free from dust, dirt, fading and damage. About the only idea I have is to buy a china cabinet that matches out furniture and use it for my bags and accessories. I would have a very nice glass enclosed area to display things in. I would also have several areas below for storage.

I've heard that storing bags in plastic is a bad idea and that you should use acid free tissue paper. Anyone heard this? Is it true?

How do all of you store your bags and accessories?

Do any of you have any ideas of other ways I could store or display my bags?

Coach Haul - Went to the Factory Store

I went to an outlet mall yesterday, and I had planned to go for about two weeks. I don't get to go often due to the fact it is a long drive about a 4-6 hour drive total, depending on traffic, speed and how many times you stop. I wanted to go to the outlet for more reasons then one. However the number one reason was to go to the Coach Factory store. I wanted to purchase some items for me as well as some Christmas gifts for others. A day or so before I went to the outlet a received a card in the mail for the factory store. It was a coupon for 30% off plus an additional 10% if you give them your e-mail address. Well I was overjoyed. I love a good deal, and especially love getting anything from Coach for a good deal. The sale is going on now through Dec 2nd so if you have a outlet near you, check it out. However I will warn you that unless you receive the card in the mail  the best discount you can expect (well with the exception of Black Friday, they may have a slightly better deal) is 30% off and they hand the coupons out at the door.

This is what the coupon looked like..

Also I just want to apologize for the photos. I ended up fighting with my camera for this haul and some photos took better then others. Please work with me here, I took the best photos I could given my current light situation  I took half of these at night and half of these during the early morning light. It was cloudy / shady this morning so the flash really ended up giving me fits.I know one thing the next big electronic purchase I make is going to be a brand new digital camera.

The Coach outlet I go to where I live just recently moved to a new building within the outlet mall. They moved to a much bigger store, and the Coach outlet doubled in size! I was so happy to see that now only is the store bigger they added a men's section. The women's size is twice what it once was and the men's size has a pretty good sized section.

I ended up buying two bags worth of Coach goodies, 9 items total. Plus 9 boxes and a extra Coach shopping bag. I have something planned for the extra Coach bag if I can keep from tearing it up until I do it.

When I first entered the store it was pretty busy, not overwhelmingly so but busy none the less. As soon as I stepped though the door my heart started beating really fast. lol I get kind of excited over the Coach Factory store, I think a lot of us Coachies know that feeling of excitement when they first step into the store and there is so many options, so many things you see that you want right off the bat. Generally I get so excited that I don't know where to start first but not that day, I already knew what I wanted to look at first...

The First place I went in the outlet was straight to the charms by the register. I had heard that my outlet had the Chocolate Dipped Strawberry in early Nov. and I was curious to see if they still had it. Well low and behold as soon as my eyes met the charm section there was one lone Chocolate Dipped Strawberry just waiting to come home with me! I grabbed it up as soon as I saw it before anyone else had a chance to get it. I've wanted it since this past Valentines Day and I finally found it. This is a Coach goody for me, not a gift.

Orig: $38.00 Marked down to: $19.00 Price with discount: $13.30

If you are curious to know what other charms I saw at my outlet I also saw:

yellow fuzzy chick, key and siggy heart, snow girl, and a polar bear among others. Truthfully the only other charm I liked was the Heart and key. I didn't pick it up but I wish I would have now, it was cute. Other the that there wasn't too much exciting with the charms section.

Moving on to my next purchase I ended up buying this SoHo Buckle Print Umbrella. I actually purchased this as a Christmas gift for my grandmother. My mom bought my grandmother her first Coach bag last Christmas so this year I bought her a umbrella. She needed a nice one, the one she has looks like a child's umbrella. It's yellow, green and purple with ruffles and besides it's half tore up. So when I decided to get her this umbrella and hopefully she will use it, take care of it and not tear it up.

Orig: $88.00 Marked down to: $49.00 Price with discount: $30.87

The next item I purchased was also a umbrella, but this one is for myself. I bought the Inlaid C Umbrella in Magenta. I originally liked two umbrellas that they had the other being a different siggy print in purple and orange, mixed with other colors, but I ended up deciding on the Inlaid C. I had in mind of purchasing a umbrella before I went to the outlet. I had one Coach umbrella already and wanted something just a little different then what I had so I picked one up.

Orig: $88.00 Marked down to: $39.99 Price with discount: $25.19

The next item, is something that I had kind of planned on getting before I got it. I had planned to buy a wristlet, a larger one to carry on days I didn't want to carry a handbag. As soon as my eyes met this Pop Madras Large Wrstlet I fell in love. It reminds me of summer, it's bright and colorful and I just loved it. They had about 5 of them and I grabbed it up like it was the last one on the rack. I know I know I must learn to control my excitement over this Coach stuff. lol

Orig: $98.00 Marked down to: $69.00 Price with discount: $48.30

While I was looking around on the womens side of the store, I sent my husband over to the men's side to pick himself out a wallet. He had mentioned that he would like to have one a year or so ago and I decided to get it this year for him as a Christmas gift. This is the wallet he picked out.the CHS Passcase ID Wallet. in Khaki / Brown.

Orig: $148.00 Marked down to: $109.00 Price with discount: $68.67

I also ended up purchasing a ponytail scarf. I actually love buying these to accent my handbags with. I love to do the scarf bows, or just tie it in a knot and let it hang from my bag. I bought the Sis Tartan Pony, I have last years version and love it, so I got this years.

Orig: $38.00 Marked down to: $19.00 Price with discount: $13.30

I also ended up buying another ponytail scarf. I wanted something colorful and bright and i ended up asking a SA if they might have something bright in the back. She ended up bringing a bag of scarves out and when she pulled this one out I knew this was the one i'd take of the ones available. I bought the Dsy Pop C Print Pony. I really like this not only because it was bright, but I love the blue color on the back side, reminds me of a ocean.

Orig: $42.00 Marked down to: $29.00 Price with discount: $20.30

The next item I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, I think it was mainly the color. It the Pop Liq Gls Zippy in Magenta. They only had 2 so as soon as I saw it I picked it up because I knew it was coming home with me.

Orig: $118.00 Marked down to: $69.00 Price with discount: $43.47

The last item I purchased was a wristlet. I actually didn't know I was going to purchase it until the last minute and I saw it for only $29.00 and ended up tossing it on top of the pile. I have something similar to this in gold. I really like the gunmetal grey and how it shimmers. The last item I bought for myself was Sis 3 Cl Met Small Wristlet.

Orig: $58.00 Marked down to: $29.00 Price with discount: $18.27

So before the savings deduction my total cost was: $431.99 

After deductions I actually spent: $281.99

My total savings for the day: $150.00 

So for the people wanting to know what other things I saw at the outlet there was the Poppy Groovy in the same poppy print as my scarf (not tartan) and some other prints. They had the MFF ocelot print, which is a purple and black and they had the bags and accessories with that print on it. Truthfully that is all that stuck out in my head as far as bags go. I didn't look at bags much just accessories.

I saw a lot of things I would have loved to have bought but did not purchase. I saw a coral colored leather wallet I wish I would have went ahead and bought, it was 50% off and it was beautiful but in the end I went with the Magenta Zippy over it. Wish I would have went ahead and bought both, but sadly I did not. I wish I would have bought the lock and siggy key fob as well. Well everyone that pretty much the end of it. I had a excellent day shopping and I hope everyone enjoyed the haul!

Ugg Australia - Classic Tall Chestnut Boots

I've loved the Ugg style boots for about 3-4 years now. When I first started buying them I didn't want to spend the nearly $200.00 on a pair of boots, plus I wasn't sure how often i'd wear them so I ended up buying something very similar to the Ugg boot. I started off buying the AE Warm & Fuzzy boots, the first pair I bought was in the color Sand. I loved them the first day I wore them and I wore them that whole winter, never wore anything else. I love how you can put your jeans down in them, and they don't drag on the ground. The germ freak in me is very pleased with that fact. I also like that they are warm and very comfortable. A family member noticed how much I loved them and ended up buying me a second pair last year for Christmas in the Chestnut color. Well needless to say I ended up wearing the AE Warm & Fuzzy boots in sand all of last year and put the new pair away for later use. I wore the Sand color until they was dirty and wore out, ended up throwing them away this past spring. This Winter I pulled out the Chestnut color from AE and started wearing them this October. If you are curious as to of what the American Eagle Warm & Fuzzy boots in Chestnut looks like, here they are:

AE: $29.99 (sorry mine is a bit dirty)

My parents offered to buy me the Original Ugg Australia boots for Christmas this year so I took them up on the offer and so I ended up getting Uggs as one of my Christmas gifts from them. Yeah I know you are probably asking me why I have them out over a month before Christmas taking photos of them. My parents decided to shop early and took me to buy them a couple of weeks ago. They decided to let me keep them at my house just not use them until after Christmas, because they want to wrap them and put them under my tree for me. I know you really shouldn't know what you get for Christmas but my family is weird like that with me. They never could keep Christmas gifts a secret from me when I was little so they gave up and I always know ahead of time what i'm getting at least from them anyway. Also from my husband as well for the most part because I generally tell him what I want and I generally go with him to pick it out and purchase the items.  However I believe I have gotten a bit off track here, sorry about that. I tend to go off topic once in awhile. Back to Uggs...

I decided to get the Classic Tall, even though I never bought the tall boot before. I saw them and decided I liked them best when I was picking out what boots I wanted. I picked them for several reasons, One reason being that you can roll the boots down if you choose, so the fuzzy inside shows. I thought that it would be a nice change from time to time to roll them down, for a bit of a different look. I ended up having to purchase them at Journeys in the mall, since that was the only place that carried them around here. The purchase price was $209.99 without taxes added on. I ended up purchasing a size 8, granted it is a bit snug on me (they don't come in half sizes). However I was told they do stretch out with wear, so i'm not worried about the size. I also ended up purchasing a care kit, but I will explain about that later on.

So as I said I ended up purchasing the Ugg sheepskin care kit. I wasn't going to purchase it but the guy made it sound like a great deal, in which it was. It comes with the conditioner, protector, and the freshener plus it comes with a little cleaning tool. If I was to buy just the protector alone it would have been $10.00, so for only $20.00 I got the entire care kit, not a bad deal in my opinion. The kit comes in a really nice heavy box, which reminds me of a Louis Vuitton box in a way.

I didn't know it came with cards until I opened the box while ago, which i'm actually impressed by. The cards are for authenticity. They give you general information on the boot, how to authenticate your boots and so on. 

As I have said I can't wear them yet, so I can't comment on wear, or how they really feel other then what it was like to try them on. I know I will love them when I do wear them and I'm really happy I got them as one of my Christmas gifts. I took a few more photos of the boots, for those of you that would like a closer look. If you have any questions about the boots feel free to ask me and if I can i'll be more then happy to answer your Ugg related Questions.