Taking Vlad shopping is always entertaining. I was experiencing cabin fever quite bad from being home all week with a sinus infection, so Saturday Vlad and I made a quick trip to the mall. You have to understand that Vlad is the typical man, who just so happens to be the webmaster for a Purse Blog and Forum. Being around me forces him to learn about bags and makes him try to decide which bags he likes.

Dun dun dun… it is the battle of the satchels! Today you will be the judge of the bag that wins this contest. On the left we have the Botkier Bianca Leather Satchel while on the right we have the Chloe Betty Satchel. Both of these handbags use supple plush leather and pair two front pockets to give the bag a casual but swanky feel.

What lady does not need a big brown bag? And no, I’m not talking about the Bloomingdale’s bag, although that is always nice to have also. While oversized totes sometimes seem to be never-ending in capacity, many of you know that you need a huge bag for all your ‘things’, especially if you have kids. What mother out there does not carry a few small toys, crayons, random medicine, candy and treats, etc?

For some reason when I was little I used to love drawing skeletons. I am sure one reason was because it was easy for me to do some bones and for another reason I loved Halloween. I wore the same outfit for countless years; a black full body outfit with glow in the dark skeleton outline. I loved that outfit. Now that I think about it, the shirt could still be really cute with jeans.

For me certain brands have their own signature bag. I always feel like having that signature bag can keep all of us from seeing their other bags, just because of the mere fact that we are really only aware of ‘their’ bag. As for Botkier, I felt like I kept seeing the same bag modeled again and again. But when I ran into this new look, I found it refreshing.

I’ve heard nothing but raves about Botkier bags. It seems the fan base is large and the beauty of the bags keeps it all going. I don’t own a Botkier bag, but I have seen many in person and I sure wouldn’t mind having one at some time in the near future (cue Vlad here ;-) ). If any of you are in the hunt for a beautiful blue colored bag, I think both the shape and hue of this bag will reel you in.

Our loyal reader chemlex shared a goodie on our forums that I can’t just let go without mentioning it on the front page.

Thanks to a coupon code that you can use in Botkier’s online store, you can get a whoppin’ 100 bucks off every fall collection bag they carry. No joke ladies – head on over to the thread and make sure you thank her for the great contribution!!

I feel like we have been lazy around here- but it is not laziness- rather Vlad and I both are seriously swamped with traveling etc (ah yes and fine-dining and shopping- what can I say? ;-) ) Vlad did an awesome job at making my birthday special- and so did all my friends and family. Being pampered should really be everyday of the week if you ask me.