There was a bit of chill in the morning air, but by mid afternoon, it was simply gorgeous outside. What a way to start off the week. Have a good Monday, everyone!
I had the pleasure of spending time with Elle this past weekend while she was in town. In between chatting and laughing like old friends, we shopped, ate, and ate some more. We did pretty well most of the afternoon, not buying anything until we stepped foot inside H&M... and that's when the enabling began. She convinced me to try on printed pants, to which I agreed only if she tried on a forest green blazer. Both of which are really just excuses to take photos.
We concluded the day with Korean food, with the first stop at Nak Won and then at Bon Chon. There's two Bon Chons in the area, but this is the first time I've ever been. It's good... though I still have to give the nod to Popeye's.
Have a good weekend!
As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." My mind's drawing a blank today, so I'll leave it at that.
Have a great Wednesday!
A few weeks back, I was helping SIL decide on her first Chanel purchase. While at the store, the SA brought out a beautiful rose colored camellia wallet on chain (WOC). SIL tried it on and felt the strap was too long and hits her at an awkward spot. In a moment of insanity, I tried it on and immediately knew it was a bad idea. Lesson never learned: don't try on things for fun.
Now that the seed for a small and colorful crossbody bag has been planted in my head, I considered my options. A mini flap in burgundy also caught my eye, but I decided the color was too dark and the shape and style was too similar to my medium flap. I wasn't set on buying a Chanel, so I expanded my search to other brands but focused on their red selections only. I considered the Coach Legacy Penny Shoulder in carnelian, J.Crew Little Edie in flame, Tory Burch Robinson Crossbody Mini in raspberry, and the Marc Jacobs Single in burgundy. After sleeping on these options for a few days, the excitement for each soon faded for one reason or another (color/shape/size/style). It was back to the drawing board for me.
SIL on the other hand, had reached a decision on The One, a small bright pink Boy bag in stingray. She talked about how she used The Purse Forum to do all her research, even picking out a store with a specific SA in mind to buy from. It's been awhile since I've actively used tPF, so that conversation with her triggered thoughts of the rose camellia WOC from a few weeks back.
Through tPF, I familiarized myself with all the information I could find on camellia WOCs, current and past colors, leather options, quality, size, etc. The more photos I saw, the more enamored I became with the camellia embossing. The design is beautiful up close, feminine, and different than the quilting on my medium flap. Best of all, the camellia WOC comes in various shades of red, depending on the year/collection. Some were bright red with orange undertones, some a true lipstick red, some a darker wine-colored red. Photo comparisons helped, but I much rather see the colors in person if I could.
I went to two stores before the SA brought out the color that made my heart aflutter. The Chanel Camellia WOC in 11A red with silver hardware (tag info / buy pre-owned) was the perfect shade of red for me, not too bright, no orange undertones, a true wine-colored red. 11A means the bag was part of the 2011 Autumn collection, where it debut in the $1400-1500 range. A year and a couple price hikes later, the bag now retails for $1700. Ouch. I had been following the eBay market for pre-owned red camellia WOCs and haven't seen many I'd be comfortable with below $1600, so I figured I'd sleep much better at night buying brand new for a little more.
I don't know how many more opportunities I'll have to wear linen pants, so I'm making the most of it while I still can. Have a great long (for some) weekend, everyone!
