Yesterday Vlad and I drove for 18 hours straight, from Columbus, Ohio to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our initial thought was to stop and sleep somewhere overnight, but once Vlad had the idea that we drive straight through there was no way he would allow us to stop. We drove through pouring rain and arrived home at 3 a.m. to find our bikes stolen and a quickly depleting flat tire. Go figure. At least the tire was kind enough to wait until we got home rather than go flat on the highway.

Today is a blah day for us which is why I was thinking a new handbag would brighten my spirits up. But I waited a bit too long to purchase some of my favorites from the Net A Porter Sale (Proenza Schouler and the Miley Cyrus Marc Jacobs Bag come to mind) but there is still a great offering of bags marked down. Grab them while you still can!

We’re not going in any particular order this week. It’s late and order is not my strong suit at this point (that’s right, kids, I write these things the night before so that all the ridiculousness is fresh in my head). I think you have to be feeling at least a little bit addled to truly understand the Real Housewives of New Jersey, though, so really I just do this all for you guys. The theme of this week’s episode was the wretched (well, mostly wretched) children that all of these women have brought forth, so we’ll talk mostly about that, mmkay?

Click here to keep reading, because you know you want to.

Everyone seemed very enthusiastic about the Marc Jacobs Safety Pin Stam that we talked about last week, even though I was personally feeling a little bit Stammed out. Well the very next day, this bag right here appeared on the Internet, and relations between Mr. Marc Jacobs and I once again returned to normal. Because I love, love, love the the Marc Jacobs Safety Pin Clutch, particularly in this uberchic combination of blue and black (which may be my second-favorite color combination of all time, after dark red and black).

The way that the material is faux-wrapped and then safety pinned in place in the center of the clutch reminds me a lot of a traditional Obi belt, but it’s not so literal and obvious that it will be out of style when the Japenese influence that we’ve been seeing in some parts of fashion lately runs its course. The safety pin is oversized enough that everyone will notice the clutch’s cheeky little details, and of course it’s a great (but understated) way to reference this season’s 80s punk inspirations. I haven’t liked one of Marc’s clutches this much in quite some time. Buy through Nordstrom for $595.

Ladies, I’ve done it. I’ve done the impossible, and now we can all rejoice and hold hands and sign songs of happiness. I’ve found a Chloe bag at a somewhat reasonable price point. I thought that this was a feat I would never accomplish, but today I dared to dream, and when I opened my eyes, the Chloe Victoria Tote stood before me.

And it’s…perfectly serviceable and at least as nice as some of their designs that are much more expensive. We’re not breaking new ground here, design-wise, but the leather does look quite nice (if a bit too glazed and shiny for my taste) and the bag looks like it would be enormously functional and useful for women with all kinds of different personal tastes and lifestyles. I could see it on everyone from a working mom to a downtown hipster, and at the somewhat reasonable price point (for Chloe), a lot more people will be able to consider adding it to their collections than with most of the brand’s other bags. I can’t find anything to dislike here, and I even tend to like the shades of tan that Chloe uses, as much to my own surprise as anyone else’s. Buy through Saks for $1295.

If writing for PurseBlog has taught me only one thing, it’s that half of the handbag world thinks everyone is ripping off Chanel. Is the bag quilted? Chanel rip-off. Does it have a chain? Chanel rip-off. A flap? Chanel rip-off. And honestly, I think a lot of that is truly and utterly silly. Chanel may have used a lot of those things first, but the idea that until the end of time, every bag that uses any of those elements is just redoing their aesthetic is kind of extreme. Designers should be free to use reference designs of the past without being accused of purse plagiarism.

But then I see a bag like the Lanvin Amalia Shoulder Bag and wonder if maybe the Chanel conspiracy theorists are on to something, at least in some cases. This bag, admittedly, looks an awful lot like it could have been designed by Kaiser Karl himself, and I had to do a double-take when I first saw it listed online. The bag is soft, black and quilted, although the quilts are slightly bigger than Chanel’s signature. The handle is not only chain but also partially encases a ribbon that ends in a big bow, which I’m sure I’ve seen in almost the exact same iteration in Chanel’s famed costume jewelry. It doesn’t have a flap, but neither do all Chanel bags, and the overall effect is just a bit too close for comfort. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $3110.

Part of Sonia Rykiel’s charm is that her stuff is a little weird. A little quirky. A little eccentric. The company does its own thing, marches to the beat of its own drummer, and makes its own rules. Their aesthetic is unique and all theirs.

Nevermind. I’m not in a particularly charitable mood. The Sonia Rykiel Chou-Chou Frame Bag is just kinda odd looking, and maybe a bit 90s. I’m generally okay with the amount and color of the hardware – silver studs are cool and experiencing a resurgence. There’s a lot of them, but the bag is small, so whatever. I can get on board with that. What is bothering me is the balance and proportion of the bag. It consists of two kisslock compartments, one significantly larger than the other. The top handle attaches to each section on one end…but it’s not centered. So you’ve got a lopsided bag with no centralization to the body, and then also a handle that’s attached farther to one side than the other. I know that it was done intentionally, but it just isn’t visually appealing in the least and it’s…awkward. Awkward is the word I’m looking for. I think I’ll pass. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1530.

At first, I really wanted to dislike this incarnation of the Jimmy Choo Maia Hobo. It is, as La Gunn would say, a lot of look. It’s suede and animal print and color-blocked and wooden-handled. It has an extra strap that Choo is pretending makes it a hobo (ha, it totally doesn’t) and it’s got a center zipper that makes the bag larger or smaller, depending on how you use it. The Maia? She’s no shrinking violet.

And besides the extra shoulder strap (a message to the folks at Choo – an extra strap doesn’t suddenly make a satchel a hobo. This is a satchel), I kinda like it, but only if the zippered portion is left open (which is my feeling about almost all of the Choo zip-center bags). It reminds me of the Louis Vuitton safari aesthetic of this season, but executed in a more edited and reasonable way. The material means it would probably get dirty fast, but if I had a bunch (and I do mean a BUNCH, it’s way overpriced) of extra cash laying around, I’d rock it. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2995.

And now for something completely different. It’s kind of a dreary Monday in my neck of the woods, and even if it wasn’t dreary, it’s still Monday, right? As a result, I thought we might do something a little different today and have a special non-handbag post to perk everyone up. So ladies and gentlemen, have you seen Stark Trek yet?

Because if you haven’t, you really, really should. Even if you don’t like science fiction – I personally hate it. And in this case? Doesn’t matter. At all. I couldn’t even tell you what happened during the movie. Why? Because of those two lovely gentlemen right over there. On the right, we have Chris Pine, who plays the brooding, sexy Captain James T. Kirk. On the left, we have Zach Quinto, who plays the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock. And those two, my friends, are why I have no idea what happened in the entire film. Pine is blond, blue-eyed and unreasonably, distractingly gorgeous. Spock is more of a dark, intellectual, thinking-girl’s heartthrob, particularly when he wears the space-aged movie garb. I’m usually one for the dark and quiet men, but I found myself a bit mesmerized by Captain Kirk and his perfect blue eyes. He’s not my type, but he’s so cartoonishly attractive that it doesn’t even matter. So I find myself torn – Kirk or Spock, Spock or Kirk? Megs and Shannon both vote Kirk. Tell us who you’d rather cuddle with in the comments.

It is that time again, Net A Porter is having their end of season sale that looks amazing. There are about 8 handbags that I have already seen that I am loving and would love to splurge on. We will share our NAP picks with you all later, but make sure to check it out now and grab a deal while you can!

I know, I know, we’ve been teasing you for quite some time now. I bet there are some of you out there who have been waiting for the Purse Blog/Belen Echandia handbag reveal! Well, today is the day folks. You’ve voted on the aspects of this exclusive bag. We’ve told you about the winning dimensions. Today, not only do you get a chance to see what this bag looks like, but you also get a chance to win it!!!

Now that the Purse Blog/Belen Echandia bag has been created, we’d like to give you a chance to win it! Yes, we love doing giveaways, but one of the best parts of this giveaway is that YOU helped design the bag! Belen Echandia is a very popular brand over at the Purse Forum. Known for the great leather, attention to detail and amazing personal touch, your first Belen Echandia will not be your last.

Keep reading to find out how to win this hobo!