Tuesday, September 22, 2015

What's In My Purse

"US Weekly" has this funny little weekly column called "What's in My Bag." 

Every week a different celebrity opens up her purse and shares the contents with some comments on why she carries that stuff around.

Here is what Heidi Klum likes to have in her bag ("US Weekly, September 21, 2015)


She hypes Wrigley gum for fresh breath, hand sanitizer, The Row (The Olsen Twins - ooh, very cool) sunglasses and her MacBook Air.

I am not a celebrity by any means, but since I have had some luck (and fun) doing my own versions of some of these regular columns ("25 Things You Don't Know About Me," another regular column in "US Weekly" highlighting various celebrities of the moment, and "What Rosy the Reviewer Loves...," my take on Nina Garcia's column "What Nina Loves" in "Marie Clare Magazine" that highlights items so expensive and out there that the likes of you and me can't afford them so I had fun with that one - those were two fairly popular blog posts of mine) - I thought I would take a stab at this one.  Besides I an on vacation with my daughter and thought this post wouldn't take that much time!  They can't all be Pulitzer worthy!

The "What's in my Bag" column in "US" is a shameless way to promote various products.  Since I am always trying to provide a public service and inspire with my blog, MY version will actually give you some practical tips.

I have written two blog posts about traveling, "Planning a Trip - Baby Boomer Style," and "Baby Boomer Travel Tips," and though I talk about the importance of having "grab and go" bags of toiletries and important accessories like your phone charger, adaptors for other countries and ear buds, I am surprised that I did not highlight the importance of your purse when you are traveling.  So much of what I carry in my purse all of the time is in anticipation of traveling somewhere, even if it's just a trip a few miles away.

I chose to call my version "What's in my Purse?" rather than "What's in my Bag?" because I feel that "the purse" has a long history with us women.  Remember when our mothers called it her "pocket book?"  So I am not inclined to call my purse a "bag." "Purse" is much more elegant, and I am that kind of gal!

The Purse is a very important part of a woman's wardrobe.  Whether she is sporting a Dooney & Bourke or a Louis Vuitton, or a really cute purse from Target, it is part of her fashion persona.

But as an object, I think the purse is not given its due.

A purse is not just a fashion statement, but an important part of our existence.  We carry in that purse items that make our lives easier, that speak to us and that make us feel safe.

Men have tried to emulate with "the murse," but men just don't get it.  They are happy if they have their wallet in their back pocket and their keys in front.  But WE, ladies, WE must carry the important stuff.

Our purses have carried diapers for our babies, band aids for our toddlers, aspirin for our mothers and condoms for our safety.  There is a reason I dream about losing my purse -- AND IT'S A NIGHTMARE!


So here goes...


"What's in my Purse?"


(Counterclockwise)

1.  Flats
I am the queen of "unsuitable shoes" and the philosophy that it's better to "look good than to feel good," but as I get older, I find it more and more difficult to walk around very long in shoes that are killing me.  So just in case I have put on a pair of shoes that turn out to be unsuitable for walking around, I have a pair of flats in my purse.  These fold up into a nice little ball so they don't take up much room, and they are of a fashionable fake snakeskin, just in case anyone should question my fashion sense.



2.  Filofax
I know.  I'm old school.  I have an IPhone 6 and think that I am fairly adept at using a computer.  I mean, I write this blog, don't I?  But when it comes to keeping track of my schedule (and yes, people, even though I am retired I DO have a schedule), I don't want my computer and phone beeping at me. I like to write it down.  Must be my addiction to making lists.  Plus Filofax "diaries (made in the UK and called "diaries" over there)" are very classy looking. Did I mention they are made in the UK?



3.  Glasses and contacts
I don't want to be caught dead out in the world wearing my glasses so I always have an extra pair of contacts with me.  But I also don't want to take off my contacts to watch TV in a hotel and realize I don't have my glasses.  So I carry a little glasses case with my glasses and my contact case with solution in it in my purse at all times so you will never find me in a motel...well, you will never find me in a motel...I meant to say hotel... without my glasses, contacts and saline emergency saline solution.



4.  Umbrella
Hey, I live in Seattle.  But I have also found myself on a vacation in Paris where it RAINED EVERY DAY!



5.  A bottle of wine
How did that get there?



6.  Sunscreen
I hate to say that I often don't use it, but I should because I have the whitest skin you have ever seen.  The sun sees me and decides that I am its project for the day, so I try to be good about having it on hand. 

I learned my lesson one time in Copenhagen.  I didn't have any sunscreen and it was a hot sunny day and we were planning a long walk around town.  I said to Hubby, "Honey, I forgot my sunscreen.  We need to get some."  What we didn't realize was that it was one of those random Scandinavian holidays that no one can seem to explain and nothing was open.  We heard a rumor that there was a pharmacy open over by the Tivoli Gardens so we made the trek, stood in the long line (everyone else must have needed sunscreen) and paid something like $25.00 for some imported French sunscreen.  Hubby was not amused and continues to remind me of that time so I think it's important for me to have it in my purse whether or not I plan to slather it on.



7.  Cash
I know cash is not popular with Millennials and people who like to get points on their credit cards, but there is nothing like having some cash when "The Big One" happens and the ATM's and credit card machines don't work or just when you want to buy a pack of gum or pay your dry cleaner.  Do you really want to use your credit card for a pack of gum?  And do you really want to have to say to the shop owner who doesn't take credit cards, "I don't have 50 cents?"



8.  Not sure what the half-eaten half of a sandwich is doing there or how long it's been there. 
That's the thing about big purses.  Things get lost in there.



9.  Ray-Bans
Heidi has nothing on me.  I've got a cool pair of Ray-Bans (on sale at The Rack) and I never liked the Olsen Twins.



10. Ear buds
I always have my ear buds with me in a cute little ear bud case.  So when I want to go for a walk and listen to some tunes, I have them.  When I am on a plane and want to watch some content on my IPad, I am all set.  Hubby doesn't like it that I am so self sufficient and he is forced to read the airline magazine.



11.  IPad
Speaking of my IPad, I don't actually have it with me at all times because I have an old, heavy one (which works just fine, thank you).  But when I know I am going on a road trip, plane ride or fear being bored, I have it with me.  I can access my TIVO from home on my IPad, I have magazines and books on it, I can entertain myself for hours.  Hubby gets lonely on planes because of it.  Sorry, Hubby.



12.  Fresh pair of underpants
I can't bring myself to say "panties."  I hate that word.  That's the kind of word a man would use but I don't think I have ever heard a woman say that.  But anyway, you never know when you might need a fresh pair.  That's all I'm going to say about that.  But, god, those look ENORMOUS! 

Anyway, so that's a look inside my purse.  I hope it has given you some ideas about making your life easier and some insight into me.

Oh, geez, I just saw a new column in "People Magazine," "What My Dogs Know About Me." 

Help me before I write that one!

Too Late.


"What My Dogs Know About Me"
by Rosy the Reviewer



Thanks for Reading!
See you Friday

for my review of the new movie 
"The Perfect Guy" 

and
The Week in Reviews
(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)
and the latest on

My 1001 Movies I Must See Before
 I Die Project."

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

2 comments :

  1. As women, we carry an awful lot around in our purses. Sometimes my shoulders ache from the weight. But it's totally worth it to be stylish and prepared. But why is it that the cutest bags are also the heaviest…even empty? I carry the usual wallet, sunglasses, keys and phone, but also have one of those cute little bag-hanging gadgets so my purse doesn't have to sit on the floor or on my lap at restaurants. Also have a headset for my phone because I don't have a bluetooth hook-up in the car…thus a $200 ticket from the lovely Danville police! (should have been using the headset THAT time!). My favorite little treasure is an antique hankie - my mom would be proud. You never know when you will need to dab your eyes. Rosy, I loved seeing inside your purse…but, uh...the sandwich is really kind of icky….. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Susan. My mom was a hankie person too. And in my defense, the sandwich was a bit of humor! However, I've been known to have a smashed protein bar in there!

      Delete