Thanks TravelingLady - I'm smiling imagining your collection of bags with leaves and cats! I've seen some super cute bags with cat faces on them, I could totally see those working! And, thanks for the good wishes!

Hi, Access_Denied - Thanks for the note! That's good to hear (that it's easy to maintain them), like I said, I've never actually owned a leather purse and was a little nervous about not taking care of it properly!

I bet your daughter is going to be thrilled with her gifts! And it's amazing to think about that bag lasting through so many generations, wow! I totally agree with your dad about quality, makes sense!

I still haven't decided what to do about my purse situation. I'm leaning towards returning the bag I got, because of the way it's set up (even if I buy a crossbody strap, it's not set up right for it, so the strap will have to cross over the opening and the purse will be a bit weirdly lopsided, I think?)

My only hesitation is that I haven't found anything else yet.

Oh, and a little indie purse maker (well, she's gotten a bit bigger now) just had a sale this weekend - I was sooooo tempted. But, I read the fine print, and if you return a bag that you bought on sale, you can only get store credit (returns for full price items will get your money back). Since I can't actually see/touch her stuff unless I order it, it's not carried locally, it felt like a bit too much of a risk (it's expensive, but might be worth it - it all looks really lovely!)

I'm also trying to replace my car, and plan for a family trip, and find a new job, and maybe move, and just generally fix my broken down life, so I'm trying to not let my brain get *too* stressed/wrapped up in purse shopping. (But really, I just want to find something I like and not have to worry about it anymore!)

Thanks guys! It's really fun to hear what everyone else is doing!