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a beautiful dark brown MultiSac cross body bag. It was exactly the right size. It had exactly the right number of pockets. It was exactly the right shade of brown. It had exactly the right "feel"--not too leathery, not too velvety but right in between. I have relatives I don't love as much as I loved that purse <g>.

And then I caught the zipper in the inside lining, tore the lining and broke the zipper :-( Plus the faux leather started peeling. So I reluctantly retired the bag.

I've been searching for months for a purse to replace my beloved MultiSac crossbody bag. During the summer, I used an old pink purse that's cute and serviceable but not the right color for fall. During my search, I've found bags that were too big and bags that were too small. Bags that were the wrong shade of brown (I want chocolate brown, or maybe coffee, not tan or camel or burnt sienna or some other lighter shade). Bags that were the right shade of brown but didn't have the right number of compartments (zippered or pockets) on the outside. *sigh*.

After purse hunting at Gabe's (a local deep discount chain), Target, Walmart, Kohl's and a couple other places that won't break the bank (because it's not like I don't have other purses), I turned to Google. An online search showed some promising candidates at, of all places, JC Penney's, so I promised Dad lunch at the food court yesterday if he'd take me to the mall just a few minutes away from our church so I could look. I thought he might mock me but he recently had to replace a beloved wallet with one that he doesn't love, so he got it <g>. I spent probably 20 minutes in JCP (while Dad finished his lunch and then read a book he's smartly brought with him) and finally found a crossbody bag. It's not too big. It's not too small. It has exactly the right number of outside compartments: two zippered pouches and a pocket with a flap. It's exactly the right feel: not too leathery, not too velvety. And it's exactly the right shade of...gray?

Yep. Gray.

I bought the purse anyways, even though it was about $10 more than I wanted to spend on a purse (and hundreds of dollars less than, say, a Coach purse or a bag by Louis Vitton). Partly because other than the color, it really is exactly what I wanted. Partly because I'm tired of searching (though I've saved a few brown bags to my Amazon wish list just in case). And partly because lunch at the Charley's in the food court was...not great. There used to be a Great Steak Escape where the Charley's is now, and it was MUCH better than Charley's; I felt bad for buying Dad a sub par lunch, even though I'm pretty sure he didn't care one way or another <g>.

But I'm still going to look for a perfect brown purse...