Happy Hanukkah, 2018! We’re three days into our festival of lights, bookish joy, giveaways, and mayhem.
I look forward to this week all year, and I hope you enjoy it, too.
Ready for today’s giveaway? Seriously, as much fun as it is to build the gift guides and shop for all of you, it is extremely enjoyable to shop handbag stores looking for adorable bags that are low-maintenance, not too heavy to carry, and above all, hold a book (or books) (or ereader) (or ereaders) easily.
So let’s do this!
Today’s prize is:
A kate spade Dawn Place Mini Kona Deep Plum Velvet cross body bag!
Want some specs?
- Lots of carrying options: it has double handles with 4.5″ drop, plus a detachable adjustable strap that can expand to a 21″ drop
- Triple entry top with front and back zip compartments, and a main center compartment with snap closure
- Interior double slide pockets and zipper pocket
- Bag measures 9″ W x 8″ H x 4.5″ D
Want to enter? Yay!
Just leave a comment telling us your favorite purchase this year! Some awesome fluffy socks to keep your toes warm? Did an Instant Pot change your life? Let us know!
Standard disclaimers apply: I am not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and ready to lint roll the heck out of this purse if you own pets and/or children. We also won’t judge you if find yourself absently petting your new velvet purse. And romance authors, feel free to steal the euphemism of “petting your purse.”
Comments will close Wednesday 5 December 2018, at or near 12pm ET, and winner will be announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches!
Winner update: Congratulations to Make Kay! Please check your inbox and spam folders shortly.
We have several days of Hanukkah-palooza giveaways left!
My favorite purchases this year are my appointments with my massage therapist. I always feel so amazing after she is finished. My knee don’t hurt and I feel so connected into my body. Everyone should get a good massage. They really have helped me see my body not as an enemy and burden but as a wonderful treasure to enjoy and be comfortable with.
Love the bag. Thank you SMTB for this website and all you do for the romance community. Keep up your fabulous work. You are amazing!
Fav purchase…prob my 1st Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette. Pricey but SO worth it IMO!
My favorite purchase this year has been new fall clothes. After having a baby last year, a wardrobe update was a must.
My new purse, I wanted it forever and hubs told me to buy it!
New couch-we needed one badly as the old one was 8 years old and falling apart-but damn this thing changed my life, automated reclining AND USB chargers=things I didn’t know I needed but now complete my couch potato existence.
Yeah, my first answer would be the instapot. It’s great on steel cut oats, it made a fantastic pot of matzah ball soup, and I like the saute function.
In terms of smaller gifts to myself, I bought a cute glass tea infuser/thermos (somewhat like this one at BBB https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/manna-double-wall-glass-14-oz-tea-infuser-bottle/3304525 , but I found it at a local tea shop) and love it for afternoons when I’m at home and writing
I bought a tufted ottoman for my reading chair after years of thinking I could do without. READER, it has made my reading time SO pleasant to be able to sit in my chair and prop my legs up.
I bought a train set for my child and I love it! So much fun!
The best thing I bought this year was my new floral comforter. Warm enough for the winter when paired with a blanket, but light enough by itself for the summer months as well!
My favorite purchase this year was a plane ticket to visit my two baby great-nieces (who are first cousins, not sisters). Spent a good part of the week cuddling and playing with them, as well as beeping their noses.
My new sofa doesn’t poke me like the one we had before (it was my husband’s and he got it from his parents, so it has to have been 30 years old), so that’s pretty swell. But I really love my tablet – I can bring movies when I travel, or read books on it, or look up knitting videos when I’m in a bind, and it was way easier to buy train tickets on it than on my phone when away from home!
I love my instapot so much!
My first pair of real snow boots! Living in Virginia Beach we get very little snow, and it has never seemed worth the expense to get something I will wear maybe once a year. But hey – did you know that they keep cold rain out too?! And we get plenty of that. So worth it!
Harry Potter stickers for my bullet journal!
That’s a pretty bag! My favourite purchase this year has been a Royal Robbin fleece hoodie, so comfy cozzy.
I have discovered Hedgehog Fibers yarn, and I’m in love with its brilliant colors. I’m also a fan of independent Dyer Lollodit and Long Dog Yarn. It has really freed me to be more adventuresome in my knitting, and has loosened my creativity!
I think the best thing I bought this year was a few bags of random yarn that I found at Value Village. I crocheted an awesome (and I do mean awesome) sock
monkeyshark hat that I am loving now that the weather has turned cold. And I’ve used up a lot of it making warm hats and scarves to donate to local shelters.Oh this bag is so pretty! I bought super adorable Levis overalls and Kindle Unlimited. Now I just want to stay inside looking adorable and reading all the fantastic books!
Beautiful bag! My favorite purchase this year came from IKEA. We used to have a console under the TV, and my kids were always piling stuff underneath it. I bought a cabinet that has doors and drawers (!), and all of the mess is now hidden. I love watching TV without constantly being distracted by piles of shoes and papers and who knows what else. By the way, I sometimes wish I could live in IKEA.
An experience purchase – spending the money to go to both of my quilt guild’s retreats, even though I should have put the money towards something else.
My favorite purchase this year was some of the items from the Fresh Sugar skincare/makeup line, including the face polish. They have great lip balms too.
I bought this really soft, warm sweater that I just love to wear.
I just bought a new house (signed for it last Friday). I guess that better be my best purchase of the year.
My best purchase this year was a 2003 Mini Cooper S in British Racing Green. I loved my mini when I lived in Hawaii and it’s great having that fun back.
My brand new MCi laptop! It’s so powerful and shiny and red!
My favorite purchase was my new Frye boots:) Brown slightly distressed leather, low heel, round tow, knee length. Love them.
It isn’t a thing, really – my husband and I purchased a mystery trip from Pack Up & Go (which y’all mentioned a year or so ago) and had a fabulous weekend in Washington DC.
One of my favorite things I’ve bought myself this year were new slippers. My feet are always cold, and they make me absurdly happy.
I’m getting my parents a gift card to Sips by….so they can try new teas.
My favorite purchase this year was tickets to see Hamilton! It was expensive but an amazing experience to see it live.
My favorite purchase this year was a circular, red silicone/ rubber gizmo to open jars! It’s a small, silly thing, but for those of us with little hands who are forever swearing at impossible-to-open jars of pasta sauce, it’s been a lifesaver!
My best purchase of the year was an airline ticket to L.A. to get a library card.
My favorite purchase this year was Harry Potter socks from Out of Print (I love that website!). I feel happy every time I see them in the drawer.
My dog! She shook up the household, gave me impetus to remove toxic people from my life, has provided support to me and my grandson through some difficult times. I sleep better with her around. She is just a big puppy (8 mo Great Dane) but she is a joy.
My favorite purchase this year are the old navy sculpted jeggings. Look like jeans, but don’t stretch out, and have an interior elastic waistband so they’re comfy when sitting. I just with the front pockets weren’t sewn shut.
My favorite purchase of 2018 was a plane ticket to visit my college bestie, after the birth of her first child. 🙂
Love the purple color of that purse!
A new sweatshirt. It’s really comfortable!
My Ember mug! I love this thing beyond reason. It comes with an app for your phone that adjusts the temperature to your preference. It keeps my coffee and tea hot all day. You can find it here: http://www.ember.com
(I’m not affiliated with them, I just love this over-the-top, fancy shmancy mug!)
That is a lovely bag! My favorite purchase of the year might be the two nutcrackers that I just bought over the weekend. For years now I have wanted to have two tall skinny nutcrackers to put on either side of our fireplace as a Christmas decoration, and this past weekend I found them on sale for 60% off PLUS I had a coupon. My bargain-hunting heart was full! And they look just as awesome next to the fireplace as I thought they would!!
I bought a kitchen island on wheels this year. So. Much. Storage!