Why we LOVE lunch totes

Lunch totes are like a trip back in time to when you had a lunch box, except now you’re in charge of what it looks like. No more hiding your Josey and the Pussycats lunch box in your junior high locker so you can take a paper bag to the lunch room! My mom bought that thing about 2 years after I asked for one, and then insisted I take it to school each day, ensuring ridicule by my peers! Now, I can choose leopard print or rainbow flower neoprene or hot pink with lime handles – a wide range of looks to match my outfits!

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that more working adults than ever were taking their lunch to work, primarily to save money. As gas prices went up, first people gave up their daily Starbucks fix (remember the 600 stores they closed across America?) The next move they made was to stop eating out at lunch.

I have brought my lunch to work almost every day for many years. The original reason was to be certain that I actually got to eat. For years, I had a very hectic work life, with back to back meetings and piles of work. While I could send my assistant out to pick something up, it was not a great use of her time. So most Mondays, I carried in fresh flowers, fruit, and other items to sustain my energy through the week. Eating light and healthy breakfasts and lunches also helped offset the many business dinners and Friday and Saturday night date night, which always involve eating out.

These days, I come to work with lunch tote almost every day. I have more time to make delicious homemade soups and salads, which really help me keep my weight down. So I can eat healthy food, and the time I save gets me out of the office earlier at the end of the day.

Our best selling lunch totes at Give Simple are from Murval. Murval develops cool fabrics and fun prints, and then translates them into clever totes and functional bags of all kinds. Their insulated totes come in leopard, giraffe, polka dot, leopard, and argyle patterns. A new addition is Built, with their fabulous neoprene lunch totes. French Bull patterns on neoprene? Sign us up!! I only wish I could get them to make me a custom wetsuit in rainbow flower! Neoprene is PERFECT for lunch totes because it is lightweight, rugged, and insulating! Simply brilliant. Last week, we added bright and fun Lunch totes from Milano at the amazing $14 price point.

So you see, it really is possible to save money, watch your girlish figure, and look great while toting your lunch to work. So many lunch tote choices at Give Simple!

My friends are asking me even more these days, “How can I reconcile the desire to be stylish with the necessity to be frugal? “ Shop at Give Simple of course! While I can’t address their clothing needs, I can suggest something that honestly has always struck me as brilliant – Buy fabulous accessories that are priced right, plus some great tops in the hot colors of the season (purple, fuchsia and teal for Fall) and magically, your black pants, your simple skirt, your favorite suit can all look fresh again.

I myself used this strategy this week at Banana Republic, where I bought sweaters in you guessed it, purple, fuchsia and teal, that will update the wool clothes from “The Archives” aka the depths of my closet for a weekend trip to New York. I’ll throw a Big Buddha Snake Texture handbag, heap on some Stein & Blye chains with Semi-precious stones, and their fabulous cuff bracelets, and I’m ready to hit the big city.

I’ve always collected beautiful pants and skirts mostly in black from the designer sale racks. While I don’t need the Armani suits any more, those well made black bottoms will survive as wardrobe staples for years to come with careful care and continuous updating with new tops, shoes, handbags, and of course jewelry.
This Saturday afternoon, I’m planning to do my semi-annual closet flip, where summer goes to the back and winter comes forth. This includes shoes and bags too. I also empty all of my jewelry out and look for what hasn’t been worn lately, or can be combined with something new. Because big jewelry is especially in style, combining several necklaces in a layered look is great fun right now. Wine helps in this process, and if I can get a girlfriend to come over and critique, even better.

So what should you buy? First, a great handbag that is NOT BLACK! It is a season of color, and while yet another black handbag may look elegant with last year’s clothes, a colored bag gives you much more bang for the buck. Something about the way Big Buddha designs their bags is just so of the moment, so trend right, that I just LOVE them. And at $70 to $80 each, you’ll feel oh so virtuous!

Second, BIG JEWELRY. If you really feel uncomfortable in big jewels, maybe you can’t go there. But upsize a little, please! The easiest way is with a bigger necklace. You can stick with your stud or hoop earrings if you like; the fashion interest is at the neck or at the wrist. I come from Texas, land of big hair and bigger jewelry, so I wear a big necklace and 20+ Metalsgirl bangles, or a big cuff with no problem. I love the Stein & Blye jewelry. It is costume, but with semi-precious stones, and designer inspired. I actually had to give a friend the Triple Multi Chain Necklace right off my neck at a wine bar on Wednesday night –it’s that fabulous. And at $30-$60, again, so much bang for the buck! Their cuff bracelets are real attention grabbers, too. And $35-$60 can’t be beat!

So live a little without spending a lot! Update for Fall with a new bag and some new jewels, add some colored tops, and feel pretty and virtuous at the same time.

It’s such an exciting time of year at Give Simple. Every time the UPS and Fed Ex delivery guys visit, it feels like Christmas! What’s in all those boxes they just dropped off? TONS of new and wonderful products, that’s what! New items we discovered at market months ago are just starting to arrive.

In the Spa category, there are two fabulous lines that are new to Give Simple.
Thymes is a long time successful company that makes wonderful body, bath and home items. Made with essential oils and natural ingredients, and artistically designed and packaged with hand-touched details, Thymes products pioneered an entirely new category of botanically based Bath & Body products. They have grown a lot, but Thymes is still a company that is run by and for women. And to this day, everything Thymes does – every single collection they create, every fragrance they develop, every formula produced, and even the packaging they design – is done with women in mind. This is their motivation for coming to work each day and the reason why Thymes is still going strong after more than 25 years in the business. Their master perfumer creates signature scents that are fresh, inspiring and distinctively Thymes. Their chemists are all women, giving them invaluable insight into what other women look for in skin and body care, making them uniquely able to develop products that meet those needs and desires. I am enjoying the Eucalyptus soap these days. Amazing how one bar of soap, just sitting in the shower can make the whole master bath smell fresh!

Our other new spa treat is Lollia. Where Thymes is clean and fresh in their packaging and scents, Lollia is over the top girly. Satin robe, marabou trimmed mules, light the candles, champagne in hand girly. Rich floral fragrances and ornamental packaging work together to transform your mood to the ultimate in femininity. Magazine editors rave about Lollia products. O, the Oprah magazine, is excited over the Relax and Breathe bubble baths, Lucky says the relax hand crème is pure heaven, and Self calls the Wish Luminary candles gorgeous and dreamy. Makes me want to pop a champagne cork and jump in a bubble filled tub!!