the zeitgeist of zoe

Thanks to Zoe for allowing me to guest post on her wonderful blog!

Today I am writing about my latest bag acquisitions.  (Lord knows, there’s probably more, but these are the ones I’m going to talk about today.)

First, my new pen bag.

I bought this little bag at Barnes & Noble when I was there last.  I didn’t need a pen bag, wasn’t looking for one.  But the owls caught my eye (I love owls).  And canvas is pretty durable, so I figured, why not.  Obviously, I keep my pens in here.

There is plenty of room for my pens, pencils, and highlighters.

You can read about the brand of pens and how I color code here.

There are actually two compartments in the bag—the bigger portion (where I keep my pens) and a smaller portion (where I keep a white out roll).

On the back of the bag, there are two snaps.

This allows you to snap the two sides together, making a (what would seem) smaller bag.

I suppose this is meant to make it easier to put into a tote or work or travel bag, but I felt that it was too difficult to get my pens out using the bag this way.  I keep it open and flat.  I don’t carry this pen bag with me—it stays on my desk and when I’m planning and/or working, it’s out in the open, giving me easy access to all of the pens I might need.  However, the bag is slim enough that I can easily place it into a tote bag or travel bag when I need to.

Bag number 2 is my summer bag—the LeSportsac Carryall Tote.

I bought this bag after buying my first Carryall Tote.  It’s perfect for work—it’s so roomy, I can fit everything I need and then some.

And unlike my brown tote, this floral one provides a light, spring/summer feel, perfect for—you guessed it—spring and summer.  Since I’ve already reviewed the style itself, I’ll just go over what’s in it.

Here we have (from left to right, top to bottom) my iPad, The Happiness Project (I’m not currently reading this, but I do always carry a book with me, I just didn’t have my current one handy, so this is a stand-in for the purpose of the post), my Coach wallet, my rain hat (I don’t like to carry umbrellas—it’s one more thing for me to hold—but I do need something to keep my glasses from getting wet, which prevents me from seeing), my LeSportsac “essentials” bag (see review of this below), Ms. Plum, a Vera Bradley wallet (contains my store rewards cards and various coupons), a tote bag that rolls up small (I use this if I have a ton of items to bring home/return to the library), my sunglasses, my new iPhone, gum, a pen for whenever I might need one, and my keys (note the Vermont “Moo” key chain—it’s also a bottle opener—one always needs to access beer quickly, though not at work).

Moving on!

The “essentials” bag that I mentioned above is the LeSportsac Boxed Travel Cosmetic bag.  Note the stitching on the front.

It has a top main zippered compartment and a front zippered pocket.

When I read that the inside was pink, I was a little nervous, as I’m not a pink person.  But upon arrival, I was happy to see that it’s a very muted and calm pink.

I call it my “essentials” bag because there is absolutely no makeup in it.

Inside is a sample size of deodorant (a lady must always smell fresh), Purell (for when you need to be clean), lotion (for when you need to moisturize), Advil (for when you have pain), Tide stain stick (no stains here!), a toothbrush (fresh breath is preferred—but fear not, I don’t brush my teeth in random places), a hair clip, a sample compact mirror (to check that there’s nothing in my teeth or up my nose), floss (for when you see food stuck in your teeth upon using said mirror), Chapstick (an item I can’t and don’t live without), toothpaste for said teeth brushing, and a hair brush.

The front pocket holds lady items—no one wants to see that, so we’ll be skipping the details here.

Let’s just say that these are all things I cannot live without carrying with me.

Once full, my tote bag still has plenty of room for other items.

I can still toss (and do) a sweater for the day (my office is ridiculously cold), a DVD, CD or audiobook that needs to be returned to the library, and other items (sometimes an extra pair of shoes if I’m going out after work).

That’s quite a lot!

We now come to our fourth and final bag for this post, my new autumn weekend bag.

This is yet another LeSportsac tote, the Medium Travel Tote to be exact.  I bought this little beauty off of eBay.  I love this style for the weekend, as illustrated by my previous post of a different pattern.

I love the three zipped pockets on the front.

There’s plenty of room inside to carry what I need to during the weekend (basically, everything I carry during the week minus the iPad, the book, the hat, and the roll-up tote bag).  What’s neat-o about this find is that it comes with a matching cosmetic bag.

I probably won’t use it with this bag because I’ll more than likely be using the essentials bag from above—it’s easier to move one essentials bag from tote bag to tote bag rather than moving all of that little stuff.

Whew!

So that’s it for now.  It sounds like I’ve bought out LeSportsac, but really these purchases were made over the course of several months.  I’m sure there will be another bag purchase before the end of the year (but, maybe not).  We shall see.

In the meantime, I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of “What’s In My Bag.”

**Note: I am in no way affiliated with or getting kickbacks from Barnes & Noble or LeSportsac.  I just happen to like their products.**

Wow, thank you so much for this fantastic guest post!!  I have me some bag envy going on for sure!! And now I must go check to go see if there is anything in my teeth….