Laura Chapman Writes

My one goal for summer break was to find a new bag to carry when school starts again.  I wanted something that was large enough to hold my computer and the plastic file where I keep my important papers; plus my wallet and personal stuff. It had to be comfortable on my shoulder but also stylish and unique. But most of all it had to make me smile every time I grabbed it to head out the door.

My daughter knew about my quest and surprised me for Mother’s Day with a bag she found in a new store I didn’t know about at our local mall. It totally fit my size and style requirements and made me eager to check out the store myself.  I was not dissappointed.

The HAPPY WAHINE has two locations in Hawaii at Ward Village and Pearlridge Center and the owner, Nancy Cheung, is a Sacred Hearts Academy classmate of both of my daughters (yes, we live in a very small pond!) Nancy and her boyfriend and co-owner, Roland, personally design the bags and have succeeded in achieving the “something unique and special” component in all their designs that will certainly keep me coming back to add to my collection!

In addition to the perfect size of my bag, I LOVE the cut-out details on the sides and contrasting colored gussets that peek out from behind convenient, stylish zippers that serve to increase or decrease the bag’s size as needed.

The roomy inside has organizer pockets and I choose to add an additional bag organizer to carry my wallet and smaller items I don’t want to get lost in the bottom.  As an additional perk, when I stop off after work to run errands, I can simply take the organizer out of the bag so I don’t have to carry the whole bag plus computer and other work items into a store with me.  Before, I would just grab my wallet, phone and keys and always be mindful of how easy it would be to lose any of them if I wasn’t careful.

The super cute tassels were a necessary addition that further contributed to my “Oh, I love this bag!” feelings and were a tough choice from the hundreds of others the store carries.

And here it is all packed up and ready to go back to work–after a much needed summer break, that is!  But I’m already looking forward to heading back to the teaching trenches with this cutey on my shoulder.

If you aren’t lucky enough to live in Hawaii to take advantage of both locations of this great store, you can check them out online.  I know you won’t be disappointed.

Please leave me a comment below if you liked this post!  Thanks so much!