I had been searching for months on end to find a replacement purse for the "black-hole" that I was carrying. I'd had it for at least 5 or 6 yrs now, and it was looking worn, and way overfilled. It was only supposed to be a cute little handbag used on Sundays only. Then my previous purse strap broke beyond repair and instead of buying another purse, I started using my little Sunday bag. It all went down hill from there. I had stuffed just about anything I could into that cute little bag, until one day I noticed that it had lost it's shape and was stretched out. My biggest problem was that receipts would accumulate and burry the things that were at the bottom of my purse. (I don't take the time to empty or even go through my purse on a regular basis.) The front pocket began to rip and although I managed to stitch up the tear to buy some more time and use out of the purse, it didn't hold very long. Thus began the search for a new purse. Everything I saw in the stores was either too small, too large, too expensive, to cheaply made, not the right color, another "black-hole" with no organization to it whatsoever, or simply just not my style. After starting to wonder if I was going to be stuck with the "black-hole" for life, I found Aby's post on her blog and what could possibly be the answer to my handbag dilemma.
So I clicked on the Butler Bag link. I watched the interactive demo, and the story of how the bag came to be. I was mesmerized! I was very excited about it until I saw the price of it. Now, I'm not a cheapskate, and I'm very willing to pay money for excellent or high quality as long as it's truly worth it. After a couple of days online reading one rave customer review after another I knew that I needed to try it out. In hopes of getting a good price, especially in this economy, off to e-bay I went in search of a Butler Bag for me. After measuring, re-measuring, comparing the dimensions for the different sized Butler Bags on the website to my "black-hole", and then re-measuring again, I decided on the best one for my needs. I decided to go with the Boutique Classic in Black Licorice. I found one, made my bid, and won the auction. Unfortunately, I did ultimately end up paying only $35 less than what it would've cost straight from the website. If it's truly as high quality as it's priced at, and with the way I hold onto things until they fall apart, I should get at LEAST 10 good years of use out of this handbag. Overall it comes out to be about $10.00 per year, so I thought it was affordable. My Butler came while I was at an FRG meeting.
Today while the kids were napping, I grabbed my new Butler Classic and the "black-hole" and began transferring everything over. Everything fit perfectly inside, and I can zip the bag closed with no trouble at all. My digital camera is a bit snug, but it fits in there! So, after all of that...this is my Butler Bag on the outside...
...and this is the inside...
(sorry it's not a very good pic-I'll edit later with a better pic, b/c you've got to see this clearly)
At the top is: a 5x7 notebook & my checkbook, and on the bottom is my 2-yr pocket planner & the kids shot record books. Inside the middle section compartments working counter-clockwise are: my calculator, mini white-out tape, & jump drive with space for my cell phone (currently hooked up on the charger); a highlighter, pocket pack of Kleenex's, a smaller 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 notebook, pen and my wallet; the completely empty compartment to the far right is where my camera goes; lipstick, lip balm, lip gloss & peppermint candy; then some dental floss, and my 2 small samples of bareMinerals makeup & brush until I can order that (next) and get the compact. My keys are in one of the outside pockets on the sides. It's the right size, right color, and so stylish! I love that everything stands upright, I get a birds-eye view of everything inside, and can grab anything at the blink of an eye without having to hunt and dig and dump out my stuff. I love that it's all organized and will save me quite a bit of time standing in line to checkout at the register. The bottom is completely flat, so it will not tip over. I love that it's very well made and real genuine top grain leather. I'm already thinking about my next Butler Bag to use on road trips that will hold a book, magazine, and bottle of water in addition to everything else...the Hybrid: 
I'm telling you, you've got to check it out for yourself... Butler Bag. Their motto: "Every girl needs a Butler!" Let me know what you think if you get one! Oh, and in case you're wondering about handling my receipt debacle, I've asked Aby what she would suggest, after all she is a professional organizer. In the meantime, I plan to put a ziplock sandwich bag beside the larger notebook to hold all those receipts. I'm not letting those pesky pieces of paper take over my Butler.
One of my favorite scrap-lebrities is Becky Higgins. I just love her clean and simple style, her sketches, and the way she likes to incorporate as many pictures as possible on a layout or 2-page spread. Long story short-her pages are quick & easy to scraplift. I first purchased this little book of hers at Michael's about 2-3 weeks ago. Along with several other items that I purchased that night-let's just say that I felt a big pang of buyer's remorse and "oh no! I've spent WAY too much money". I'm sure you've been there, done that yourself. Then while surfing around online, I realized that it could get it at a less expensive price. I'm talking over $10.00 difference INCLUDING a shipping charge! The very next day, that adorable little book (and a couple of paper pads) went right back to Michael's. I had already waited this long to get it (it came out a year or 2 ago), another couple of weeks wouldn't hurt me. I also purchased a couple of packs of these: 
In hopes of simplifying my life a little, I have decided to switch over ALL of my postbound albums to 3-ring. So, inspired by BH, I'm going with these beautys. They are the We R Memory Keepers 12x12 3-ring Faux Classic Leather albums. BH uses these albums also, and raves about them. The yellow one will replace Lor's current baby album and the blue one will replace Little Man's baby album. What I love about this approach is that: 1.) They're not going to be just for baby pages, but the kids main albums starting from pregnancy and I can keep adding and adding to them as they keep growing and growing out of them. 2.) I don't scrapbook chronologically but that's how I have my pages so this is a LOT easier and less time-consuming to shift and shuffle pages around without having to take the whole album apart as with postbound. 3.) These albums are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! You just have to see them for yourself. There's a bookplate label on the spine for easy volumization (is that even a word?) They're just simply gorgeous! 4.) They regularly retail for $30 EACH but you can get them on sale 
