Twixt Virtue and Love: A New Purse??

A STRIFE is grown between VIRTUE and LOVE;
While each pretends that STELLA must be his.

That's by Sir Philip Sidney. The lines just popped into my head, as lines of poetry are wont to do. Was I thinking about grading final exams? No, I was taking a daydreaming break. I was thinking about my new handbag!

So, the strife within me is between virtue (frugality) and love (not physical desire in this case, as it was for Sidney, but for NICE STUFF). That strife is why my blog is often conflicted. I love frugality and even wish I were of the cut WAY back on stuff mindset (like many of the frugality bloggers) but I do enjoy getting things now and again. Even if I don't need them.

So, the purse. I realized last year that I was getting near a big birthday (2014) AND that I had never bought a new handbag. I've gotten them from thrifts and from my mother's donation bags. So I thought I would buy one for my 2014 birthday. Then I decided to get one this year. This is not really frugal since I have lots of handbags from the above sources.

For a few mad moments, I thought about getting an iconic bag of one name or another. But I noticed when I saw these bags carried by various stylish women--here and in France last summer--I did not feel that frisson of desire. Thank heavens for that.

So I started looking at midrange bags, more befitting my midrange life and definitely midrange salary. I now have three bags to choose from: all bought from Nordstrom at between 40-60% off. Since I must resume my grading in a bit, I cannot post pics. But you can see two of the candidates on the blog UneFemme. Pseu has such good taste. (The two are the Astrid and the Candace. The Astrid, probably unfortunately, is in a python print which looks like something Carmela Soprano might carry. so maybe not for me. The Candace is black).

I await the homecoming of my daughter, Miss Em. The rest of the family is of the genre INDECISIVE. fortunately, Miss Em did not inherit this trait. So we all wait for her visits and await her decisions. She's always right. (OK. She was wrong once.)

I got the bags from Nordstrom and will return the losers. Even at 40%-60% off, these bags are a splurge for me. So, not really frugal. Every time I deviate from the frugal path, I fear that I will never return.

I'll let you know what Miss Em decides. She's due for a visit December 23. She may tell me to return them all.