A Newbie Planner finding Tote Bag Peace

I have a thing for bags and purses kinda like i have a thing for #paper and #stationery. Since the arrival of #gbaby almost 3 months ago, I've been in search of the perfect tote. I needed  something to hold all of my usual 'stuff' as well as my #diy #travelersnotebook or maybe even my #planner of choice at the time. I also wanted to be able to toss in a few small #planningsupplies and even my #kindle along with a baby bottle, wipes, a few diapers, and a onesie (just in case).

Trying to carry the ginormous diaper bag and my usual over-sized purse along with a carseat with a growing baby girl in it was more than I could handle. So lightening my load was a must.

I didn't want to resort to carrying a backpack. I wanted something stylish and purse-like. Thanks to advice from a Facebook friend, I decided a nice large compartmentalized tote would do the trick, so my search began.

I quickly realized that finding something large enough, with enough compartments, and of good quality and style was going to be a problem. I sarted to think I would have to dust off my sewing machine and design my own with fabric and Kraf-tex.

In the meantime,  I visited #WalMart and found a black and white beach tote on clearance sale for $3. It was plenty large enough and had two large pockets on the front. It wasn't the best quality but it would last until I could do better.

I was worried about carrying such a big tote all the time and how ridiculous I probably looked until I was babysitting and had to take my son to dance class in the rain and we had to walk a block to the studio. At that point I didn't care how the bag looked! I was just glad I had it and that everything fit.

As luck would have it, sitting in the dance studio two Fridays ago, I saw a fabulous tote bag with all sorts of compartments and pockets like a backpack but it wasn't a backpack! It belonged to one of the older dancers.

Being a bit shy, I mustered up the courage and I  asked her about the bag. She was very sweet and told me she received it as a Christmas present last year and that she uses it as her dance bag and how it also had a padded compartment where she sometimes put her laptop! I thanked her and immediately pulled out my phone and searched Amazon and Mr. Google.

I was able to figure out what the bag was called and find the best price with free shipping Boscovs. The color options were my next dilemma. My go to basic black (boring, I know, but I like what I like) was not available. Ordinarily I would have chosen the grey but I wanted to break away from old habits.

The other color options were a navy blue that looked more like electric blue or royal blue and light red which looked more to me like a dark red based on the product photo. I went out on a limb and asked my 10 year old daughter which color she thought I should get. She chose the light red. I placed the order.

I was excited to receive my order yesterday, but when I opened the box and unpacked the tote bag, I was a bit put off by the color. It wasn't the deep rich red from the product photo, it wasn't even candy apple red, it was a glaring bright light red verging on a shade of orange. Guess I should have taken the color description of "light red" to heart.

Since then, I've had some time to look at it, and the color is growing on me. I'm feeling better about it. I haven't had a chance to "move in" to it yet but I'm sure there will be plenty of room. I'm already thinking I should order another. Which color would you choose... grey or blue?