I’ve been absent for a week for a very important reason…  my Mama came to visit!  We spent every day seeing new sights (and some new doctors) and every night watching movies just like at home. We had a blast exploring this new city I find myself calling “home.”  It is still unbelievable to be really “living” here and not just visiting.

Mom flew back to Alabama on Saturday, and now it’s time to get back to “real life.”  Sorry for all the quotations, but this life is still too foreign to seem like mine.  And now that Mama is gone, no more croissants and donuts for breakfast, no more fairy cleaning the fridge out and breaking down boxes whenever I turn my back, no more exciting new destination each day, no more free dinners, and most of all…. no companion like my Mom during the day.  It’s time to buckle down and unpack the remaining boxes, tackle the laundry mountain, set up the kitchen basics so I can actually cook, vacuum the floors, clean the bathroom, etc.

But buckling down… is hard to do.  Especially on a Saturday night like the one I just had, when my one and only mother went from being 2 feet away in the morning to 2,000 miles away in the afternoon.  What’s a girl to do?  A little retail therapy, of course!

And now, on Monday, when I should be buckling down, I’m obsessively checking on the tracking number and re-reading the features of my new purchases.

Behold:

Vera Bradley’s “Coin and Key” in the pattern Blue Lagoon that’s going to be my new grab-it-and-go wallet.  It can hold my phone, cash, ID, and keys when that’s all I need for a quick errand.  I highly anticipate using this wallet like Sam uses his… he just holds it up to the scanner on the Muni with his Clipper card inside to pay for fare, without having to fish the card out of a pocket/purse first.  Ah, the triumph, I can only imagine!

The website promises that:
The Coin and Key is the grab-and-go accessory you’ve been waiting for. The main compartment is spacious enough for a phone, MP3 player or cash, while the front flaps unzip to reveal a hidden key clip.

Vera Bradley’s “Lizzie” cross-body purse in the Barcelona pattern is also very exciting–no more clunky hold-all purse for me.  I need something much smaller so I don’t carry so much crap around on my shoulders.

The features, from the website, include:

• Adjustable crossbody style
• Front magnetic flap
• ID window and slip pocket
• Large main zip compartment
• Two slip pockets inside
• Back zip pocket with six card slots

Now I’m anxiously awaiting a package in the mail from Vera Bradley.  (Obviously, this is not a paid advertisement… I did all the paying!  But I do like Vera Bradley items, and they’re very durable, if you’re interested too.)  But for now… back to unpacking…