In the Bag

 My latest thrifting adventure was a huge surprise and success.  I had wanted to find either a summer skirt or a weekend tote, but went into the store with an open mind, not expecting success.  Imagine my delight that I found what I wanted -- even though I had no preconceived notion of what I would end up with.  The haul is a denim-washed skirt (tags still on), a tote (looked like never used) a small purse (also looks to never been used), and a silver-plate dish.

The bag looked dusty but not abused.  It is a great brand - Bric.  They make top quality luggage and I believe that this tote new retails in the two to three hundred dollar range.  I believe the leather was to show some intentional sort of distress -- however, it was also a bit dusty/dirty.  The inside was pristine and had no thrift store smell.  A bonus!

 It spiffed up rather well.  I searched on e-bay and found a bag like this selling for $120 used.  This will be a nice tote to bring clothing to camp and for short weekends or over-nights away.  Best of all, it only cost $6.98 -- actually less because I had a $4 off coupon when spending over $15.  This is the type of find I live for.

I cleaned it up using a damp cloth and some shampoo.  Then I had some leather cleaning wipes which were dried out.  With a little bit of water, they worked fine.  I then sprayed a little furniture polish on and buffed it well.  If I had saddle soap and true leather cleaner on hand, I'd have used the right stuff.  I finished buffing by spraying some dry argan oil (hair product) on it and giving it a good rub.  This bag looks great and I am so glad I found it.

This is going to be my summer purse.  My goal is to get away from carrying a big bag to give my neck and shoulders a rest.  This will fit my wallet and cell phone plus have room for chargers, etc.  I'll probably switch it around with an off-white cross-body bag I have for days I wear white.  However, I wear a lot of brown leather and at $4.98, it was worth the price.

 I look for quality and a decent brand.  There were two ladies shopping that were looking for designer purses and it was their lucky day -- it just happened to be a good category to search because the donation/shopping planets aligned.  I had picked up two other really good bags but decided I did not need the surplus.  One of the women really didn't know how to distinguish the good from bad, so I gave her the two I had grabbed and assured her that they were quality and worth buying.  My guess is she and her friend would re-sell.

The small sliver-plate dish is now my dresser top catch-all.  For $1.98, it's functional and pretty.  I'll drop my daily rings, earrings, gum, second generation Nano, etc. in it so that I'll have less clutter to sort through.

Anyone who reads this blog has to see that I am a poor minimalist.  I consider myself a frugalist with a shopping addiction!