Once upon a time, in a public place, my purse tipped over and everything fell out.  That “everything” would include lipsticks, receipts, medications, my cell phone (which resulted in a cracked screen), coins, wrappers, kids’ toys, feminine products (face palm), every stick of gum, and the list goes on.  It was embarrassing and I’m sure it’s happened to you, too.  Am I right?  Fast forward about 8 years and someone in church next to me commented on how organized and pretty the inside of my purse was, as they watched me reach down to grab us a couple of sticks of gum. My flashback of the first shared experience came into my mind and I laughed to myself.  I’d arrived…ha!  So today I’m sharing with you what every girl needs to know: How to organize and maintain the prettiest purse.

I own some very specific essentials that one must have.  They’re not only pretty but they’ll keep everything in its place.

Pretty Essentials Every Girl Needs For Her Purse

First, you need a wallet that holds everything well.

Make sure you have enough spots for all your credit cards, cash, coins, store loyalty cards, and stamp cards.

Go through all your stamp cards and toss the ones you never ever use.

Then go through your loyalty cards and decide if you need them or not.  If they are all registered with your phone number (and most of them are) just toss them!  You can use your phone number instead when you check out and then you’re carrying less bulk in your wallet.

My latest wallet was a very important purchase!  We’ve had some serious credit card fraud lately (it had to have happened locally) and I’m not sure if it came from using my credit card at the gas pump or from someone walking by me with their card reader and snatching my card number.  So  I found this one and it has SafeKeeper that will protect your credit card numbers from being scanned and saved by any fraudulent devices.

Here are a few different wallets I love:

Second, a small cosmetic bag or pouch is perfect for carrying cosmetics, a roller ball perfume, and my favorite pink nail polish for an emergency.

I also keep a small pill box in there of pills that I need to take during the day, when I’m out and about.

Here are some cosmetic bags I like:

Third, a small water bottle is essential!

You don’t want one that’s too heavy to carry in your purse or that can crack and leak all over everything.

This one holds just 12 ounces and has a silicone sleeve so that it doesn’t “sweat” all over the other items inside my purse.  If I need to take a pill or I’m thirsty from shopping, I have my water.  Do you see the cute  little bows on it and the “drink me” on the side?  It’s so “Alice In Wonderland”, right?!  I adore it.

This water bottle by Ted Baker sells out often so I’m sharing a few others that I love below:

Fourth, this gorgeous small pouch is another essential for your purse and staying organized.

For some, this might hold receipts or snacks or sunglasses or band-aids, or pen and paper.  But this is what I keep inside…

I keep 4 different flavors of gum in mine (all 4 of us in our family like a different flavor hahaha).

I also keep a protein bar in there, post it notes, and a pen.  Pouches carry all of those loose things that you would otherwise through in to your purse and end up at the bottom all crumpled.

Here are some other beautiful pouches:

Fifth, my cell phone with a shatterproof case.  Do you notice a theme here?  I love blush pink.  It’s important to be organized but it’s even better for all of it to be pretty!  Who said the inside of your purse can’t be as pretty as the outside???

Here are some pretty cases:

Sixth…a great keychain is essential for staying organized.  There’s nothing worse than throwing your keys into your purse, or “The Black Hole” (as my husband calls it), and not being able to find them when you need them.  Even more embarrassing is taking everything out, one by one, in order to find them.  Been there, done that.

This cute pink leather tassel with a rhinestone pineapple was a keychain that I recently purchased at The Royal Hawaiian when we were in Hawaii last month.  You just toss your keys on the inside and hang the other part on the outside.  So it’s stylish and it also stays put.  Then I can grab my keys when I’m ready.  No digging or unhooking.  Brilliant, right?!  I love it so much.

Here are some other great keychains I found:

And that’s how it looks inside.  My sunglasses go in the side zipper pouch and my phone goes in one of the pockets.  It’s clean, everything fits, I can find anything I need quickly, and guess what…it stays pretty light.

*Update: Right after I posted this, I realized I’d left out one more small blush pink pouch.  It has a small pen, mini note pad, small tape measure (very important to have on me at all times), and a protein bar.*

You might look at this and think it’s heavy but it’s not.  I have shoulder issues and can’t carry a heavy purse.

Without your purse being clean and organized, you’d be surprised how heavy it gets.  You tend to just throw anything and everything into it.  And before you know it, you’re me eight years ago and frantically picking up all of your embarrassing contents off the floor in front of strangers and throwing it all back into your purse.

So treat yourself to some organization!

And treat yourself to a pretty purse with pretty essentials for organizing everything that should go inside.

Here are some purses I love:

I hope you find this inspiring and helpful.  I’m so glad that I got my “stuff” together and created this lovely and organized system for my purses.  There’s something delightful about organization, especially when it’s your handbag.

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xoxo,

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The post How To Organize & Maintain The Prettiest Purse appeared first on Summer Adams.

I don’t know about all of you, but I keep getting text messages from my husband and other loved ones asking what I want for Christmas.   That’s a hard one, don’t you think? I mean, there are so many things I could come up with but where do I start?  I also feel awkward giving them a list. So I decided to do a few blog posts on “my favorite things” from a few of my favorite stores and they can pick something and surprise me.  Today I’m going to start by sharing My Kate Spade Holiday Wish List with you.  Maybe it will help you create your own wish list and hopefully this is helpful for my loved ones wanting to know (wink wink)!  Let’s just hope they read my blog right?   If there is a brand that speaks my love language, it’s Kate Spade.  I love bows.  Especially when they are LARGE bows.  My life’s theme song might go like this…”I like big BOWS and I can not lie….” hahaha! And I love pink. And satin and rhinestones and diamonds and sparkly things and pretty fabrics…..Kate Spade.  She gets me.

I was recently in our Dallas Kate Spade store and fell in love with this striped bow zip up yoga jacket .   I live in my yoga/workout attire since I run to the gym and run errands before the kids get home from school. What a cute jacket to put on and run around in!  It’s a great jacket to put on and run to the school in or even put on after the gym and meet your girlfriends for lunch or meet at Starbucks. OK, so this one isn’t really on my list because I loved it so much I had to have it right away. But maybe it’s on your list! Or maybe you should just buy this also to start off your holiday season right!  I think it’s a great “shopping jacket”.  It’s comfortable, warm and oh so cute!

I love a good tote.  When I help out at church activities, sometimes I need to bring supplies or stacks of paper and  I would love this one to take there.  Of course, my family has heard me say, “I have too many totes” but can a girl ever really have too many totes?  And when they look like this, I think not.  Every girly-girl needs this tote.  This is definitely at the top of my Kate Spade holiday wish list.

And since we’re talking black bows….this would be great for many of the dressy work parties or dinners that we have had to go to.  I’ll take one of these too, pretty please.

I can NEVER have enough pajamas! If you read my Pajama Party post HERE, you know how much I just love them!  I love lounging at home and I like to be comfortable and also cute.  If you haven’t read that post, you must!!  It’s so so fun!  This Bow PJ Set is adorable and they definitely make the list.

These pumps….I tried them on in the store and WOW!  They’re called the Maxine Heels and they are comfortable and so sexy!  Whether it’s with a skirt or skinny jeans, these little bow heels are soooo me and I must have them!

I have speakers for my home so that I can blast the music throughout the house. However, portable speakers are definitely a necessity and something I lack.  So I would love these portable wireless speakers with a cute gold cover.

My gold watch needs to be replaced soooo bad.  Don’t you love this one?!  It’s called the Monterey Watch and I adore it so much.

Ok, there are just a few ideas….here are ALL the other things I love, broken down by category (ugh hum, loved ones…please note).

I hope this helps you make your wish list!  Did you find anything in particular that you love?  Tell me what it is!  Or did I miss something?  Let me know!  I might add it to My Kate Spade Holiday Wish List!

*This post contains affiliate links.  All opinions are my own.  Product photos are courtesy of Kate Spade New York, except for my personal photos.

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I love August!  My skin is tanner and while I don’t bake out in the sun with baby oil (stupid stupid stupid) like my teenage years, my skin looks sun-kissed and I feel like putting on bold and bright colors.  I love this fun “Barbie Pink” color, as I call it.  I put this shirt on and headed to San Francisco for a couple of days with my kiddos to show them the city that I loved to play in as a kid.  Soooo many great memories!  Wearing a few of my new favorite things so I thought I’d share!

I purchased the shirt from Old Navy and it’s the perfect light-weight cotton button-up shirt so that I could keep cool.  The lipstick is one of my all-time faves by MAC called “St. Germain”.  I only wear it in the summer when I have some color  My earrings were gifted to me by Heather, my very best friend, and are the Kate Spade Multi-color Irradescant Faceted Square Stud Earrings.  Ummm…can I tell you how obsessed I am with them?!!!  They are soooo sparkly, which you don’t see in the picture, and look fabulous with so many of my bright shirts.    Of course, I still love my Juicy Couture Crown Gold Chain Necklace from my friends as a going away gift when we left Texas.  I have the matching bracelet and they are such a fun staple in my wardrobe.  This Dutch Braid across my forehead was the perfect way to keep my hair out of my face in that windy city, while riding bikes cable cars up and down the steep roads.

As for the rest of my makeup…I have found some new favorites that have been life-changing!! I’m not exaggerating.  While the summer allows me the chance to be more bronzed, my white spots on my face come out of hibernation and are noticable.  Sun damage.  It’s an ugly thing. And turning 37 this summer has introduced some new fine lines.  Fun stuff {insert sarcasm}.  But my sister convinced me, after working for Shiseido many years, that the Japanese know skin care better than anyone and I needed to try their products.  So I finally I purchased their water-resistant foundation and WOW!  I was already sold after that.  But it gets better…. Then I applied the pressed powder and I looked almost flawless. Make sure to use the wedges to apply the powder because it s you the best coverage when applied.  Dab it on. Their new concealer is like a magic wand!  I dab it on the white spots on my face where I’ve lost  The melanin in my skin where I have lost my melanin.   I follow it up with dad being the foundation sponge just over those spots again, as to not caking on too much powder.   I’m telling you… It’s like magic!  The best coverage I’ve had in a long time!

Now,  their skin care is out of this world and worth every penny so I highly recommending starting with that. They also introduced a new ice year and just recently that has made all the difference for me. Between my age and moving to Las Vegas last year where it is very dry, I feel like my eyes  are full of fine lines that I have not seen before and need the moisture so badly. I have not found an eye serum or cream that I have loved until now.  There eye serum feels like velvet and just hydrates and feels heavenly.   Their facial serum is also to die for.   Again, worth every penny!   Even if you love what you are using now, it’s probably not that great for your skin. Just because it has good coverage doesn’t mean it’s good for your skin. But Shiseido is a product that will give you both good skin and good coverage.  (NOTE:   Shiseido is not sponsoring or paying me to write this article. It is totally written from heart and because of my own experience with it.)

My all-time favorite eyebrow kit is the Anastasia Dip Brow (blonde) with the brow powder.  Love it!!  Especially since my eyebrows no longer grow and I have to fill them in and create the shape each day.

What are your favorite things you’ve found lately? I wanna hear them!   We usually don’t find our favorite things on accident… It’s because someone has told them  about their new obsession. I want to know what I’m missing out on! Share, share, share!  

Xoxo,

Summer

The post August Fashion Faves appeared first on Summer Adams.

We’re talking handbags for the Spring today!  ***squeal***  These are a few of my faves!

Yes, it’s only February but when you live here in Vegas and it’s 75 degrees and trees are budding, flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, your A/C is on and you’re in shorts and flip-flops (have I rubbed it in enough yet? haha)….well, ya just can’t help but start looking at your Spring wardrobe and especially your accessories.  Good-bye boots and scarves and leopard handbag (here in Vegas at least) because I’m pulling out my spring accessories and getting a pedicure with a bright pink polish.

Yesterday, our UPS man dropped off the newest addition to my handbag family……this aqua baby!  I love her!  It’s the Kate Spade Sawyer Street Maxi Handbag (I bought online last weekend and it’s now sold out but look on eBay).  It’s such a beautiful aqua color, stands up on it’s own, has nice long handles so I can throw it over my shoulder AND has just a small bow accent.  I loooooove bows, if you didn’t already know.  Perfection!  Now, a little secret…. go to http://surprise.katespade.com and sign up for their Surprise Sales!  This handbag below was about $298 and I got it during their Surprise Sale for $110.  Sign up now!

If you can’t afford this bag or don’t want to spend the money, Target has one HERE at just $5 that is pretty close and also comes with a clutch inside, just not the bow.
My other fave is one I bought last year…this gorgeous Kate Spade Pink Bow Handbag (sold out but again….you can find them on eBay).

I bought mine for around $130 at Nordstrom Rack last summer. Target has one HERE that is a great alternative for only $35 (wow) but it comes in black, red, and then a pretty cream/black option also.

My next favorite, The Kate Spade Madison Chaplin Drive Maeve, I actually do NOT own because it’s almost $1200 (wowza) but it’s to die for!  I don’t know if it’s the Italian pebbled leather, the Italian satin lining, or the 14K gold plated hardware that makes it so expensive but it’s not in my “handbag budget” right now.  I do love a blush handbag this time of year though.  So classy and feminine and neutral.

Kate Spade makes another gorgeous blush handbag which is MUCH more affordable at a sale price of $278 called the Mattie Street Amelie (below) and I love it!  It’s screaming my name BUT since I just bought the aqua bag I’m gonna pass and find a “steal” that’s similar.

So….here’s another alternative (below) from Target!  I just purchased it online with my Target RedCard (free shipping and 5% off) for only $42.  Now that’s a steal!  And it’s more blush than beige in person.  Either way, I LOOOOVE taupe and it’s close.

Now, when it’s spring and summer, I always believe in having a pretty cream or white handbag,  And I love this one HERE from Coach called the Crossgrain Leather Crosby Carryall.  The color is “Chalk” and has light gold hardware accents.  It’s gorgeous.  And Crosby is my maiden name so I might be a little impartial ha!
I hope this inspired you to clean out your closets and to get thinking about spring handbags!  Sell your out-of-date bags and accessories on eBay or at a garage sale etc. and then turn around and apply that money towards a really GREAT bag for this spring and summer.

xoxo, Summer

The post Spring Handbag Fever appeared first on Summer Adams.