A while ago I started doing “Things I am Liking” for posts on here.  Then I got away from it for a long time.  Nowadays I have found a few different people and shops to highlight instead.  Today is a combination of the two 🙂  I have a new thing  that I looooove.  I cannot express my love for it enough.  And it comes from a wonderful shop on Etsy called “a la mode stuff.”  A la mode is run by the awesome Linda Demers and is based right here in Rhode Island.  (I met Linda at an event a month or two ago and she is incredibly sweet in real life as well!)  Her shop is a delicious mixture of fun things – from jewelry to custom (fun) switch plates to seat belt bags.  Seat belt bags you ask?  Yes.  Seat belt bags.  And that is where my love comes in full force.  For I own one of these delicious bags.  They are made from repurposed seatbelts.  Literally, these are seatbelts (she terms them “post-industrial scraps”) from cars that were destined for the trash / landfill but have been recycled into modern day beautiful products.

I have not carried a real purse in close to five years.  I fell into the trap of carrying a diaper bag everywhere.  About two years ago I finally invested in a cute small leather bag from Nine West that was on sale because if I ever went anywhere without a child I would undoubtedly panic about the fact that I did not HAVE a purse and would end up just carrying my wallet.  I was a sad, sad case of mommy.  And then I stumbled upon a la mode stuff.  And I found her bags.  And I fell in love.  I got the chocolate brown woven envelope clutch with a copper handle.  It has a magnetic snap closure and the cool part is that as I have the purse and as I carry it, the copper handle will naturally patina so the look will always change.

When I opened the package I immediately felt prettier and more stylish.  For the first time in a long time, I felt like an adult and not just a mommy.  And when we went out to dinner with friends a few nights later, I eagerly grabbed my bag (which by the way holds a full wallet, cell phone and lip gloss easily) and headed out the door.  It’s silly, possibly, to feel like a bag can make you better, but eh, maybe it’s something just a woman understands.  So go and check out her store.  There are a few more things I am also lusting over if anyone needs a gift for their favorite photographer 😉

You can find Linda’s work at:

http://www.alamodestuff.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/alamodestuff

http://www.facebook.com/alamodestuff