Privilege Blog

5 Accessories I Don’t Leave Home Without

Sophie, at les anti-modernes, tagged me for 5 key accessories. Sturdy Gals aren’t big on accessories unless they are useful. These days I live a pared down life.

If I go out for a walk, I bring my iPhone. In a pink case so I can see the dang thing in my purse. I can’t stand missing phone calls, being of the fully-duplexed generation. We didn’t use to have text messaging, remember? Now that I think about it, my peers and I may have been one short blip in modern history where real-time communication – in-person, phone – eclipsed the atemporal – letters, email, texts.

I talk to my best friend in Belgium, as I walk. Very useful.

iPhone with monogram

If I have to get into the car, I’m going to need keys. I always used to buy my best friend goofy keychain fobs from my travels. You know, plastic potatoes from Idaho, I <3 New York from, well, New York, and La Rue Des Mauvais Garcons from Paris. Her daughter brought me the pink puppy back from Paris in turn. Traditions, however questionable, passed down.

Keychain with Paris tag

I’ll also need a bag if I go out. I’m monobagamous, carrying one and only one until it tells me I need to move on. The LV Monogram Vernis is going strong, in this, its 2nd year.

Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis in Aramanthe

Finally, I wear this jewelry, almost all the time. The year of my divorce, I went down to visit my mother and stepfather. I told them how strange it felt, after 20 years, to wear no wedding ring. How I worried people would see, how I would reach to touch the hard metal on my finger only to find it gone. For my birthday, a few months later, they gave me this ring, which I wear on my right hand. The pendant was also a present, in different, happier circumstances. But not from parents.

Since it’s so much fun to take pictures of things that sparkle, and fun does count as useful, a 2nd picture. As we all know, diamonds like to go outside and frolic in the leaves.

Diamond Ring, Diamond Necklace, With Sparkle

Useful can often be defined quite broadly.

I’m going to tag 5 of you. This is entirely optional, of course. I’m only indulging what Rudyard Kipling called, “‘satiable curiosity.”

Muffy Martini
Deja Pseu
Duchesse
Jill at Stella’s Roar
Jessica at The Entertaining House

Thank you in advance for your indulgence.

39 Responses

  1. My iPhone is of course part of my stable of accessories but am now loving having a keyless car – you have to have the key on you but don’t need it start or unlock the car. It took a bit of getting used to but now I’m hooked – I just love never having to look for them in my bag full of (too many) tricks!!

  2. What great photos Lisa, the jewellery ones are so enticing.

    Mine are keys and iphone, I only carry bags on long trips or nights out and rarely wear jewellery, after 12 years i still don’t wear my engagement/wedding rings – they feel like manacles to me.

  3. Interesting – and not all that different from what I won’t leave home without. The exceptions being my phone is a Droid and I rarely wear jewelry except for my wedding ring. I’m also a one-bag-at-a-time girl.

  4. Great post! I also loved the jewelry pictures. However, my favorite part was the story about the key chains. Traditions like that are what makes a life more fun.

  5. i LOVE your picks and the stories behind them! :) and i’m with you on wearing jewelry every day – my pinky ring and earrings are like my talismans…mus have them on before i leave the house.

    do you like your iPhone? i’m retiring my crackberry and debating between an iPhone and a Droid. :)

  6. I am very touched by the thoughtfulness of your parents in giving you this ring. What a wonderful idea…it is a beautiful ring. Happy Monday my friend. XX

  7. iPhone is at the top of my list, too — mostly because I’ve stopped wearing a watch regularly and sometimes still want to check the time.

    Trinity ring worn on my little finger, so I can fiddle with it when I’m thinking.

    Sunglasses — I’ve got the world’s most light-sensitive eyes, and I hate squinting. Mine are go-with-everything oval RayBans in tortoise.

    Silk scarf — to keep my neck warm in cold weather, to tame the curly monster mane in hot.

    Liberty of London hankie — because I really use them! Much preferable to tissues in nearly all cases, and Liberty’s are soft, colorful, and last forever. (I’ve got a few that are 20 years old.)

  8. hi lisa,

    i too love the story of your parents buying you the ring. how thoughtful.

    i love your minimal accessories. i don’t use a cell phone but i would love to get down to one bag. do you use the same bag even in the summer, or do you switch then?

    xo
    janet

  9. Thanks for the tag! Will have to think about this one, as I generally travel with the entire purse unless I’m just walking the dogs…

  10. I love your diamond pendant. I was initially loathe to wear my diamond necklace every day, but I’ve been really surprised at how it adds a little touch of sparkle to every outfit, so now I almost never take it off (except for pearls).

    Similarly after my divorce, I kept touching the nakedness of my ring finger. I still feel a bit bare/plain on my hands, so your ring from your parents is such a lovely and sympathetic gesture.

  11. Keys, phone, and a slim wallet/card case are my must haves. Additional accessories added as needed. Camera, almost always, but not on errands. The bigger the bag, the greater the tendency to fill it. Have a great week!

  12. Excellent choices and practical too. Love the bag – and I’m just getting to grips with my first iPhone, it has a black cover but now I’ve seen your pink case I might have to brighten up.

  13. There are times when diamonds express feelings better than spoken words.
    I love the simplicity and magnificence of the pendant. What a timeless and versatile piece!

  14. I love the monogram on your iPhone screen, I think I’ll take a photo of one of mine for my Droid.

    Lipstick or balm, mascara, and earrings are my necessities.

    Such a treat to read your blog! Thank you!

  15. No scratches on the vernis so far? I am not sure if this photo shows your purse, I was sure the vernis would be be delicate and show some wear and tear after 2 years …

    I understand what you went through with the wedding ring gone. Years ago I lost a ring and there is this phantom-feeling, I touch my finger to turn the ring but it isn’t there anymore. Only a new ring can cure this sort of phantom-pain.

  16. The ring is beautiful, and the thought of giving it to you a kind and graceful one. What nice people your family are.

  17. Quintessence – The first time I had to start one of those cars I felt like I was on Candid Camera. Could NOT figure it out:).

    Tabitha – Thank you. It was really fun to take the photos. If you don’t carry a bag, what do you do with your money and driver license?

    Jan – See? Sturdy at heart:). Only my phone is Artsy…

    Aleysa – Thank you. The traditions are such graceful glue.

    miss sophie – Thank you for inviting me to play. I like my iPhone, I LOATHE my ATT service. So check out service in your area first, and go with Verizon if you have bad ATT.

  18. Lori – It was such a thoughtful present. My family was very supportive during that time.

    Karena – Thank you! If it’s cold, I’ll wear a scarf too.

    Rubiatonta – I loved your playing along. I check the time on my phone but since I kind of have to peer at it, I wear a watch in formal situations. And my mother always carries a handkerchief, but I had no idea Liberty of London made them. Thanks for the info.

    Janet – I use the same for summer and winter. Of course, in the Bay Area we don’t get summer humidity, so I don’t have to worry about sticking to my purse:).

    Deja – If you travel with the entire purse always, your accessories then are your scarves, shoes, jewelry. Much artier and more creative:.

  19. Cosmic – Thank you. It’s become another sort of talisman to me. And nobody ever tells us about naked finger syndrome, do they? I have been very comforted by mom and stepdad’s present.

    Hostess – I try to keep my bag contents minimal, checkbooks, notebook, makeup bag, hand sanitizer, nail file, hairbrush, and my Xanax for flying. Which, of course, I don’t need to keep there, but then I never lose it. I could do better pruning.

    Stephanie – My wallet is fat. It’d be fun to get a slim one next time, one that could fit in my pocket. I hope you have a good week too.

    That’s Not My Age – Why thank you! The bright case really helps mitigate fumbling.

    EntertainingMom – I’ll be waiting. You should get a new ring for your right hand. It’s a good step. That and new pillow covers.

  20. Russian Chic – Thank you so much. Maybe I will post on deconstructing diamonds some day. All the better for sparkly photos too:).

    chicsinger simone – Thank you! BTW, that monogram was from an app I downloaded called 3initials.

    DocP – Sensible:).

    Sensible – Thanks. Me too.

  21. Paula – No, no scratches that I can see. It’s a very sturdy material.

    Mise – Thank you. That they are.

    Preppy 101 – You are welcome. And how are you?

  22. Dear Ms Lisa, I am monobagamous too! However, my bag which is simply a nice two tone grey number from Argentina is heaps less glamourous than your beautiful number. Having little children, it is filled all manner of things which I can pull out with the aplomb of a magician – however generally it takes me half an hour to find my keys which migrate to the bottom. I love love love my iPhone. I love the ability to look things up whenever they occur to me such as when I am reading the paper at the cafe. How wonderful that the items you cannot leave home without are all useful and beautiful. William Morris would be proud of you!!!! love Linda

  23. I highly approve of all of it! And how sweet that present from your mom and step-dad. I believe that God is in the accessories…okay and lots of other things, but definitely the accessories.

    xo Mary Jo

  24. Love your choices and your bag is so gorgeous… I remember when you bought it too! x

  25. Why thank you! Was your pendant always a pendant? (Many of my friends have repurposed their old engagement rings.) An elegant witness to the charms of both genuine and vintage pieces.

  26. Ah! A true peek into the life of our faithful servant! I do believe each of these items speaks volumes about your personality and it is all just as we expected– a sturdy gal at heart, with brief characteristics of the artsy cousin. I will be interested to see what my own pieces say about me.

    How very kind of your mother and step-father to give you that ring. True love and support. Divorces are so very terrible, no matter the circumstance. Just terrible. So sorry you had to go through that.

    Ahhh, now I shall spend my day not working, but rather, thinking about what I cannot leave the home without! I will get right to work on this!

    Have a good day,
    Muffy

  27. Oh my, “monobagamous” made me smile, even though I’m not. the iphone and the keys are always with me, the same watch, the same sunglasses. Everything else changes: not the same purse, not the same jewelry etc. But I’m fascinated by people who stick with something personal

  28. Linda in Chile – When my children were little, my bag was an enormous canvas painter’s bag, painted in fact with a flamingo. I don’t think I even had a purse:). And I too like to be able to look things up – no thought has to go unfinished.

    Mary Jo – The stamp of approval is much appreciated:).

    Sarah – Oh, it’s so nice to have friends on this little adventure, isn’t it?

    Mama Henley – Once soccer enters your lives, it’s hard to do without. All those team notices:).

    Duchesse – I hope you decide to participate. And yes, this pendant has always been just that. But it certainly has some engagement ring vibrations.

    Muffy – I have really enjoyed seeing what people have to say with this meme. It does make me feel as though I know them better. I’m happy with what you think you saw in my personality, and also what you say about my mother and step-father. They are very kind people.

    Mardel – Glad to make you smile. I think I stick with it just because I can’t be bothered changing out all my stuff:).

  29. Monobagamous! Perfect! I’m so happy to not be in the minority anymore. Everything important needs to fit in one bag and if I have to change bags all the time, there is a risk of finding myself without something I really need, when I really need it. Most importantly, a purse needs to accommodate my Tumi Passport wallet. It is the single most important piece I carry whenever I leave the house.

    Love the photo of your jewelry (and leaf) on the glass!

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