Confession

I know by the title of this blog you may think it is something serious...it isn't...just being silly.  Recently Josh and I have been really sticking to our budget and for the first time in our 8 year marriage we are taking a set amount of money out twice a month for just each of us to spend on whatever we may want.  We each get $25 a paycheck (so $50 a month) to buy something for ourselves.  That means if we want to go out to lunch with a friend, buy Starbucks (I get hot chocolate from there...Josh gets coffee), buy a book, music, clothes...whatever we want to buy for us.  I know Josh started this because I have a HARD time buying stuff for myself.  I never want to spend money on me.  Last paycheck with some of the money I bought a long shirt from Target that I have had my eye on for a while...it was originally $19.99, but I got it for $4.98!!!  (I never pay full price for anything).  I used the rest of it to go to Chick-Fil-A with a friend and bought myself a hot chocolate from Starbucks.  I don't know why it is so hard for me to spend money on myself, but I am grateful to Josh for starting this for us.  When we talked about "our personal cash" last pay period, we both admitted that it is so much harder to spend cash then it is to just swipe our debit card.  Now at the start of a pay period we take out the allotted amount of cash for haircuts, our spending money and entertainment (eating out/movies (which we rarely ever see a movie n the theater...way too expensive/ice cream).  It is really a good habit to get into!!  When the cash is gone...it's gone!

So, that brings me to my CONFESSION.  For a few months now I have been really getting tired
 of carrying one of my many Vera Bradley bags.  If you know me, you know that I have a lot of them collected over 8 years...mostly gifts for Birthdays or Christmas.  I have been a committed Vera Bradley customer - even went to the Vera Bradley outlet sale in Indiana last year with my friend, Lauren, who lives there.  That was a really fun experience.  Never saw so many Vera Bradley bags in one place...being sold and the people there that were carrying one!  It was nuts.  The line to get into the sale was insanely long and filled with women who were carrying their favorite purse.  I have Vera Bradley's purchased from all different states...my first one came from NY when the doctor's office I worked at gave me one as a going away gift.  I also have bags that were purchased in South Carolina, Georgia, Alaska and Tennessee.  Craziness.  Over the past few months I have been looking when I go out at different places (I am not a shopper, so I don't go out much).  The other night we went to JC Penney after an early dinner to get Josiah some warm pj's and I looked while we were there.  I think I was cracking Josh up because I kept telling him all of my purse rules before I buy one.  The purse has to have two straps just long enough for the bag to fit right under my arm (I hate long straps), has to have a zipper to close, must have several pockets for organization and must be able to stand up on its own.  I hate bags that just fall over when you put them down and then all of your stuff moves all around.  Yesterday, I wanted to take a look at Kohl's.  Josiah and I went out early in the morning for a quick check since I had been looking online and had a 15% off coupon.  I found a purse!!!  It is a Nine & Co. bag that was originally $50 that I walked away paying $25.03 for - my exact spending money for this pay period!  I am so excited.  It fits all of my rules.  I put all of my stuff in it to make sure I liked it, left the tag on it and carried it around the house a little yesterday just to make sure!  Josh and I meet for lunch after Josiah's gymnastics on Tuesday's so when he saw me carrying the purse he immediately said that I must like it since I cut the tags off.  Not many husbands would notice their wife's purse!  It is the little things in life that make me happy!  I am a bag lover - always have been.  So, I am sorry Vera Bradley...I am not done carrying your bag, but I just need a break from the patterns and enjoy my plain black purse!