Obsessed with her legacy, I sleep with CHANEL handbag purchases.
Luxury designer handbags are my secret luxury obsession.
One Classic Flap handbag costing 100 times more than the average yearly income of a family in Honduras makes me feel even more guilty.
My husband, knowing how conflicted I am about the hunger in the world and my handbag collection, has intentionally stopped asking me "Is that a new bag?" as to not make me feel bad. Bless his heart; my parents have not been able to convince him to make me feel guilty.
Every CHANEL handbag purchase makes me grateful to the Lord for the blessing to actually be able to own an authentic CHANEL and causes me to give even more generously in my day-to-day life; not just monetarily; but with my whole heart.
The rich history of CoCo Chanel's brand is so enthralling. Her choosing to be single. Her secret boyfriend who wrote her love notes. So she made a secret zippered compartment that is found on the front flap of each of CHANEL's classic flap handbags. As an ode to her legacy, my favorite love notes from my husband are placed with intention in this secret zippered compartment as well.
On any day, you will find me relaxing by watching YouTube vlogs featuring anything CHANEL: unboxings, reviews, what fits in the bag, wear and tear, best/worst bags to invest in. So while my husband watches men's workout videos on YouTube, I happily immerse myself in the lives of other designer handbag lovers.
CHANEL entered my life just like a sweet puppy's kiss.
Living two hours from the nearest CHANEL boutique made it impossible to even touch or see CHANEL bag in person. So off I went...scrolling through eBay (I know. I cringe now, too). But due to all the awesome websites letting me know real vs. fake CHANEL, I was able to cautiously navigate through it and found my very first CHANEL: enter.. a pre-loved Wallet On a Chain ("WOC"). I had good vibes from interacting with her seller (ex. no broken English with vague details about the bag :)) The seller is still on eBay: "jolie-coquette". This WOC had an awesome life already as she got to go to Coachella!...which is where the strange sticky area on her inside flap and the small scratch on her base had occurred. I liked the seller and I liked our interaction, and my intuition proved to be right. She came to me with such love already. This beautiful WOC was black lambskin with silver hardware. I still love the credit card slots the most. So easy to slide cards in and out.
As life is life and always has its challenges, my Grandma, who reared me(and loved bags ABOUT AS MUCH AS ME :)), passed away at the amazing age of 101 in 2014. Then in less than half a year, both my Mom and Dad were diagnosed with cancer one month apart (Mom's was breast cancer, Dad's was liver cancer) then within the next month, my 13-year-old Lhasa Apso, Max, passed away from old age.
In 2017, we received the HUGE-EST best news ever and HUGE-EST blessing/gift of life: Dad was going to be able to receive a new liver & kidney transplant, I celebrated and stress-shopped: I immediately Googled "CHANEL at Cherry Creek Mall" (only because I had been to that mall before and the mall directory said they had a CHANEL boutique), called them, and was helped by Sharla, one of the nicest CHANEL Sales Associates. I asked if she had a CHANEL JUMBO CLASSIC DOUBLE FLAP IN CAVIAR WITH GOLD HARDWARE. She did and I paid for it over the phone since it is 2 states away from me. Since Dad had gotten the "holy grail" of a new life, I celebrated this by purchasing the holy grail of YouTubers who love luxury handbags.
Commuting back and forth to St. Louis to visit Dad at Barnes Jewish Hospital for months after that successful transplant surgery was full of challenges. The stress was lessened by getting two tatoos (yes, two, and they were my first tatoos ever) ... and by shopping at CHANEL at Saks Fifth Avenue. My wonderful Sales Associate, Stephanie, is not only amazing, but has turned out to be a true friend and has lived this crazy past year with me by listening to updates on how Dad and Mom were doing every time I went to visit her at the CHANEL boutique.
So, since owning my first CHANEL, the WOC from Cali, I have loved and sold many CHANEL bags. I like to make use of them and if I don't find myself using them much, I will sell them. This is just how I am...plus I have a small closet.. and a job.
Dad is still alive and so is Mom, his full-time nurse, caretaker, and his best friend.
The Tiny Twinkly Lights are always in my life. I'm so thankful for them.
Thank you for letting me ramble.
As always, Look with Intention for those Tiny Twinkly Lights. XO, Jen