The Great Purse Hunt Is Over!

I wasn't inspired by the Mama Kat prompts this week, so I decided to write about something else.

I've been on a hunt for a new purse for the past 3 months to replace the one I've been carrying since 2009.
I've held onto it so long because it has a rare feature: a coin rack on the outside that zipped open or shut to hold quarters, dimes, pennies and nickels neatly in place.
But, that purse was reaching a point of being just worn out. The handle strap was all cracked, the exterior was peeling off and I'd already mended it several times.

So, I started looking in department stores, since I needed to actually see and touch the bag.
I'd looked in every department store available to me:
KOHL'S, Penney's, TJ MAX, Stein Mart, Walmart, Belk's and...came up empty handed. 

My specifications were exacting. 
It had to be relatively small in size overall and be shoulder bag.
It had to come with a transparent I.D. window.
The compartment holding credits cards had to be able to completely fold-out or unzip.
 It had to have at least one zippered compartment adequate for carrying extras and my coin rack purse (since I'd decided I could simply cut it out of the old purse and have a cute little change purse. You see it cut out in the photo.)
 And it had to have a pocket on the outside suitable for a Galaxy size smart phone.

Then, this past weekend, we randomly went into a Bealls store, which shares the same plaza as the movie theater we were planning on seeing a movie in, and Hubby and I looked over their stock of purses.

Believe it or not, I finally found it! A purse that met all my specifications!

It's brown and slightly larger then my old black purse, but still generally small and it's a shoulder bag.

Under the outside flap unsnaps, and under it, is a second flap that can be unsnapped that completely folds out and is full of organization pockets and slots for bills, cards and has a transparent I.D. window.

(In my world, I carry a military ID and, for me, a transparent window is an essential.)

Behind that is a pocket space full of more card slots and room for my checkbook.

It also has another space, a spacious zipper compartment where I can put my lipstick, my keys, my cute little coin rack change purse and even my sunglasses.

It's waaay roomier then the pocket in my little black purse. 

And finally, on the back, it has a pocket of suitable size for my  phone.

I knew, if I kept looking, I'd find what I was looking for.
So the great purse hunt is finally over.

(Bealls, by the way, is a Southern discount department store chain along the lines of TJ Max. It's pronounced "Bells".)