Frugal Mama... in training

I'm sure all of you moms out there know, babies come with a lot of baggage! Your hands are full carrying diapers, bibs, extra clothes, blankets, and other baby necessities. Unless you are an alien, there are not enough hands to carry all of this and mom's handbag too. After several outings with Elijah, I realized I had to downsize my handbag for something that could fit inside his diaper bag. Being that I am so practical these days, I figured I'd hit up the discount stores first. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have the patience to do discount stores. I will pay extra for the convenience of an organized rack, NOT anymore. Well I didn't find anything at TJ Maxx, Marshall's or DSW. Luckily I had a roadtrip coming up that passes directly through an outlet mall. Seriously, you have to go through the outlet mall before you can proceed. At least that's what the little devil on my shoulder told me, I didn't ask him any questions, I'm just telling you what he said. Anyhow, I ended up going to the Coach outlet to find a wristlet. 2 hours later (I had to go through a lot of stores before finding Coach) I came out of my shopping coma holding these goodies. I got all of this for under $200! I could not have purchased a Gucci for that amount so I applaud myself for saving so much money! I'm trying to be frugal, but I'm not crazy. That was a good deal. You can't tell from the picture but the bag is huge and will make a perfect 'Mommy & Me' bag when Elijah gets a little bigger. Oneday I hope to reunite with Gucci, but right now, I am crushing on Coach! There are so many fabulous bags out there, it shouldn't take a fancy name and big price tag to look good, right? Have you made any changes in your choice of  handbags after having a life changing experience?