. Things That Cause Me Stress: .

Shopping for handbags. 

(Dad? You can stop reading probably right now. You won't miss much.)

For real though. I've been looking for a cute summer cross body bag for ages. Since February at least. The thing about cross body bags? When you have a toddler and you're trying to put him in the cart, pull him out of the carseat, load groceries, or even just carry stuff into school? They're life savers. 

Can I tell you a few little secrets? 

I'm sooooo over Coach. (Like so. over.)

• Sidenote: Do you see how many people carry those bad boys now? Lawdy. They errrrrwhere. And so many fake ones. Goodness.
  

I'm pretty much over Kate Spade Handbags. (Minus their clutches that are so cute, and their accessories that win every time.)

• Sidenote: Do you know how much Kate Spade you can find on Amazon? That's where I buy my favorite studs in the whole wide world and they're cheaper, you guys. But before you buy them - just beware -- they're large and in charge. 
  

I'm largely unimpressed with Tory Burch, but I do love, love, love this tote. I'd buy it if I needed another tote. But I don't. I don't need another tote. I shouldn't buy another tote. But it's been in my shopping cart for two weeks. 

But I don't need another tote. 

But I do love, love, love me some sunshiny yellow. 

And don't you dare think I didn't send the link to my mom and suggest maybe it be a back to school present. Because I DO need another tote. I do, I do, I do. 

I'm currently carrying a Longchamp Le Pliage (the large tote) which is super fantastic if your traveling (because it's a tote ... and I need more of them ... right?). But Lord help a girl if she's at Target searching for her wallet. Thank goodness my wallet is aqua - much easier to find. 

The other day - after shopping through page after page at Nordstrom, praying my mom would just go ahead and gift me her Louis Vuitton, and taking the sunshine tote out of my cart ... only to put it back in again (four or five times), I called in reinforcements. 

Jenny Sanzo - whom I affectionately refer to as Jenny from the Block in my head - is the CEO of Flower City Fashionista. She helps me in times of distress AND she's hilarious. She's a stylist, a Monat lady boss, and a personal shopper. I needed the personal shopper part, and YOU people need the Monat part ... that shampoo is magic, you guys. Magic. 

I messaged Jenny in a straight panic. (Kind of. More like frustration.) I told her I wanted a cross body bag that was cute for summer and under $300. Homegirl pulled through! She made a "collection" for me and all I had to do was follow the link, and pick the one I liked the best. Viola! It sort of made me think that maybe I was crazy for doing the whole shopping thing on my own. Like maybe having a personal shopper is seriously the way to go. 

Here are some of my favorites:  

1) Patricia Nash Barcelona Saddle Bag - $199.99 from Macy's - I love, love, love it. But it's brown ... and this girl over here wears black 90% of the time. It was on my short list, though. 

2) Basically the same thing from Madewell: Mini Transport Tote in English Saddle - $148 -- Love this one too. Oh, I loved this one. I wish I had an unlimited budget and I could buy all. the. bags. 

3) This awesome sunshiny yellow Modcloth 14 Inch Cambridge Satchel Company Bag - On sale for $89.99 - I love that this screams summer to me, but I also love how it would easily transition to fall. 

So? Which one did I choose? Of course the Madewell one. :) After going to their website, I found the black version ... and couldn't help myself. 

Moral of the story? Let Jenny help you. 

Love you like I love how I knocked out day three in a row of doing this writing thaaaaaaaaang. (And like I love my new bag.)

xoxo, B.

PS: Just to clarify - I don't get paid to tell you Jenny is awesome. Buuuuuuuuuut ... she is.