the RED purse

When I was little I really didn't have a favorite color. Whenever anyone would ask me I'd think and think and would usually end up saying that I liked all colors. I'm not sure why, maybe I just didn't want any of the colors to feel left out. Then one day, and it was only a few years ago so I've had a long time to think this over, I KNEW which color I liked the very best. I'm not sure what made me decide. Maybe it was a boiled wool jacket that I bought. Or it could have been when I BOLDLY painted my kitchen (I should add, thanks to my daughter and her wonderful bathroom of the same color). It could have been the coat that I saw at Wal Mart and loved so much. I have received so many compliments on it that I won't EVER get rid of it. Possibly it was when I went to a junk sale and bought three huge enamel ware cups with lids, MY FAVORITE COLOR AGAIN. Well whatever it was I knew which color was the best in the whole world. I loved it because it went with every holiday. And I loved it because it made me happy and warm and comfortable. I loved it because it was spicy and delicious. I loved it because it was bold and when I wore it I felt powerful and in charge. Now I would be the first to agree that too much of one color is a very bad thing so I've tried to limit it to just wonderful accents. There are times though that I probably go a little, or maybe a lot, overboard but ------------ as one of my sons would say, "that's okay!!"

So now the dilemma has been to find a new purse. I had a garage sale and my favorite purse found it's way onto a woman's arm. It rode around with her as she checked out all of my wares and as I looked at her I thought she looked very smart. I almost decided to tell her, "No sale, that purse has to stay with me!" But in the end I understood that it was time that my purse and I had to part company. (Let me tell you though, it was a steal! I should have charged twice the price. And I just hope that purse is as happy with her as I am sure it was with me!)

So fall has come and the purse I had been using just didn't work anymore. I looked high and low for something wonderful. And what I found was just not wonderful enough. I had my check list: 1. it had to be a deal (expensive looking or actually but cheap), 2. it had to impress me as being fabulous, 3. it had to be roomy but not too large, 4. it had to look like genuine whatever it was, and 4. well, it would be best if it was my color but I was willing to consider other contenders, I seriously considered a yellow purse, looked for silver, and although I don't like purple I thought about that too! I looked at several stores several times in a row and found nothing, NOTHING. So the other day I was returning my most recent disappointment and decided to stop in at TJ Maxx just in case, although I had been there many times and they just didn't have anything, I mean nothing at all that even tempted me to test drive it on my arm. But, low and behold, to my absolute astonishment, there it was. Just hanging there looking at me. It tipped it's handles and winked a little. I walked over, took it off it's hook, and placed it on my arm and I felt just like Cinderella with the glass slipper. It fit. IT FIT!! I walked over to the mirror and checked out the total picture and man oh man it was good. And that was that. I marched right up to the check out and checked out. And we've been very happy ever since!

the post script - in a restaurant today a woman said to me, "Where did you get that purse?" "Oh I found it just the other day at TJ Maxx!" "Did they have any more?" "Well, yes, as a matter of fact they did. However, the TJ Maxx I was shopping at is in Arkansas (at that moment I was in Oklahoma City)." "Oh," she laughed a little sadly, "well, who is the designer, I might be able to find it on the internet." Now that is a sign to me that I have done the right thing!