The first three months of 2013 have turned out to be quite a grizzly bear at work, which is both a blessing and a curse. Good for business and bad for stress. To de-stress, I stick to my one hour of workout each day. Recently I’ve moved from dance-related routines back to more physical drills that involve punching and kicking. Unfortunately I think I went too far last weekend and aggravated a muscle strain. So today looking not so fashionable in my foam cervical collar I’m trying to cheer myself up with a sartorial entry. I digress, but I have to say I feel quite Elizabethan in that collar…how the heck did women get anything done back in those days while wearing such an insufferable collar?

Anyway, I should preface today’s post with an admission that I’ve been trying very hard to not wander into boutiques as a way to unwind from a protracted negotiation round. Or browse (and by browsing I mean clicking on “buy”) online when trying to stay awake during long, boring conference calls at ungodly hours. Wait, did I just say that out loud?

But sometimes, something comes along that’s so outside of your comfort zone yet resonates with you in an almost animalistic way, you just have to give in. Case in point, an early bday pressie from moi to myself:

It’s the bright pink sueded caviar mini flap. I know, do I look like Barbie to you? If you know me, you would shout no. Heck, no. I’m way on the other spectrum of Barbie. Anti-Barbie even. But what can I say, sometimes the purse gods do things just to laugh at me.

BTW, just to show that everything really is relative, here’s a pic of the shocking pink bag next to something that makes it look so much more subdued–it is paired with a magenta chiffon Marchesa dress that I got for Lil A for our next April 18 Club meeting:

Hmmm, no, it’s still a pretty bright pink bag :D.

So next time you see me, I’ll be toting this little number, completely out of my comfort zone but sporting a grin. Sometimes you do just have to laugh at fashion and live a little.

Last shot? This is the most clever I’ve seen Chanel in cutting holes in the protective felt pieces: