A Perfect Bargain Travel Tote

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I’ve been in the market for a tote bag. I’ve looked at Louis Vuitton, Coach, and every other high-end place in between.

I needed something that could hold my stuff, my kid’s stuff, and my laptop, when going places.  I’d been eyeing the Louis Vuitton Never Full.  I read great things about it on the LaJolla Mom Blog who highly recommended getting it.

But even she says

After I purchased this bag, someone alerted me to problems other Louis Vuitton enthusiasts have with the leather splitting on the handles of Damier Ebene Neverfull bags.

I might rather spend a little less for this purpose and save the LV for later in life when I’m not hauling who-knows-what for a toddler as well as everything I need to haul around for work.

On my recent trip to Maui the salesperson informed me that LV’s are priced about 10% lower there than where I live in NorCal and with 4% sales tax I’d save another almost 5% because sales tax in my home area is ~9%.  I was tempted, but didn’t end up buying one in Maui because according to Cloversac, the cheapest place for me to invest in the LV would be Paris. And guess what –  we have a trip to France in the works! So I figured I could wait until then.  But I would like a bag now.

So, how happy was I when I walked into Target and saw this tote!?  The picture and description on Target’s website don’t do it justice.  I think it looks better like this.

Yes, it’s a Target brand (Merona) tote, and it’s bonded polyurethane, but it’s going to get heavy use with a lot of travel, lugging a laptop, and lugging whatever my Flying Lad needs

as well. I don’t have to be scared of every nick and scratch it gets.

It’s good to know that you have the option of your bag expanding like this.  Even my 15 inch laptop fits easily in the bag.  I got it in what they’re calling tomato orange, but I’d call it coral.

It’s perfect for being on the go while carrying toddler needs and work needs. Also, it’s great for summer, which is right around the corner.