Pictures of my cute new purse AND a giveaway

You know I don't do many giveaways here at all, and when I do, they're almost always sponsored by me. This one is no exception, although it's kind of co-sponsored.

AND it's got an interesting back-story ... you're kind of going to get a Throwback Tuesday in addition to the chance to win $50 toward a purse.

The back-story, complete with pictures of me from the '80s:

When I was in high school, I dated a great guy named Charley -- you've seen him in a few of my Flashback Friday posts.

He moved to North Carolina in the middle of high school, but after our freshman year of college, we tried dating once more, this time long-distance. It didn't take, but we gave it a shot.

Not long after that, I met Grayson, he met Sheri, and the rest is history! They are a wonderful couple with three beautiful children, and Sheri has built a successful career as an Initials, Inc., salesperson.

Sheri and I are friends on Facebook, and she messaged me a few months ago about giving away an Initials, Inc., product on my blog. She offered to send me a bag of my choice to review, which she did, and I offered to give away a $50 gift certificate to her Initials, Inc., store to one of you. SO, that's where we are today.

I would have waited a little longer to do this since I didn't post most of last week, but Sheri's running a Free Shipping deal for November only, and I wanted you to be able to take advantage of it! So, if you win this giveaway, you'll have $50 to spend that will go completely toward product and taxes, not shipping. Yea!

So. To be brief but perfectly honest, I LOVE MY PURSE.

And you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't say that if it weren't true. If I hadn't liked it, I would have just sent it back and never mentioned it here.

I chose the Signature Satchel in Graphite, and it's gorgeous. And I chose yellow thread, because I'm loving the yellow-grey color combo that's been so hot in the design world for the past couple of years.

If you care, I had a HECK of a time deciding between this one and the Signature Barrel in Camel. But ultimately I went with this one. Seemed like it would work best with the things I carry around on a daily basis.

I also liked that it comes with a shoulder strap and handles, although I'll tell you that after about a week (I've been using it for about a month so I could give you a thorough review), I took the shoulder strap off. It turns out that the handles are long enough to act as the shoulder strap, so the strap was actually extraneous to me.

It's got high-quality stitching and clasps, and I get compliments from women about this purse almost daily. Mostly on elevators, whatever that means. But a couple of weeks ago a MAN even said to me, "My wife would LOVE your purse." Ha!

Oh, I can't forget to show you the inside ... it's like a little jewel box. It's lined in turquoise!

And it's got plenty of room. This particular bag is pretty deep -- a little over 14 inches -- which I love. But it's not dark down in there, so it's not hard to find things. Perfection.

Even the little front pocket where I stow my keys and cell phones is lined with the turquoise fabric. It's the little things, you know?

Please be sure to go by Sheri's Initials, Inc., site to see everything she has to offer ... you won't be disappointed! And remember ... for the rest of the month, you qualify for Free Shipping.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a Comment (only one, please) telling me where you live (to satisfy my curiosity, not for any other reason). I'll announce the winner on Thursday. GOOD LUCK!