Handbag Heaven’s designer-inspired collection has something for everyone. You’ll find flirty and feminine hobo bags, chic and tailored shoulder bags, date-perfect evening clutches and everything in between.

Handbag Heaven sent me the Caroline City Bag in yellow. I’ve never owned a yellow handbag, and after trying out this beauty, I think everyone should add a little sunshine to their handbag collection!

The Caroline City Bag not only looked stylish but was super functional with its large interior and multiple pockets. The hardware was pretty dang solid and the bag held up well to weeks of abuse normal, everyday use by a mom with four kids. I loved the option of shoulder straps or a longer messenger strap, though I did have an issue with one of the shoulder straps. The silver ring that attached it to the bag would slip off once in a while, but some pliers and a little squeeze fixed that right up. That little hiccup didn’t deter me from checking out—and drooling over—some of Handbag Heaven’s bestsellers and new arrivals.

By the way, I bought my mother-in-law a cute black and pink tote for her birthday and bought myself the Paisley Clutch for my un-birthday. Happy un-birthday to me! I’m thinking I might need to add the Paisley Bow Bag to my un-birthday gifts as well… My other faves? The Claire Flower Satchel in blue, the Valencia Blush Hobo in ivory and the Jackie Patent Tote in black.

Handbag Heaven handbags start at $10 without a single handbag over $85. You can browse by color, size, trend (e.g., citrus colors, animal print, quilted), price and style. The site also offers oversized bags, canvas totes and wallets. (Have you seen the Marsha Daisy Wallet? Yummy!)

Um, I’m thinking Handbag Heaven was the perfect name for this site. How about you?

For any of you who may be handbag challenged, Handbag Heaven recently launched a handbag glossary; you can even subscribe to Handbag Heaven’s Affordable Style YouTube channel.

You can find Handbag Heaven on Twitter and Facebook or you can check out the Handbag Heaven blog about all things handbag (and backpack and clutch and purse and style and fashion).

*** Giveaway! Handbag Heaven is giving away one (1)
$50 gift certificate! ***

Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway; please leave a separate comment for each one you do:

•  Visit HandbagHeaven.com and leave a comment telling us your favorite handbag, purse, clutch…whatever!
•   “Like” Handbag Heaven on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you did.
•  Follow Handbag Heaven on Twitter and leave a comment telling is you’re their newest follower.
•  Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
•  Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: September 2, 2010 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

• Congratulations to Huguette E., the winner of the Handbag Heaven giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

To thoroughly review a tote from the Ann Judge Design collection, the owner sent me one of her Everyday totes…and it arrived just in time for our recent Caribbean vacation. (Whew! Don’t know what I would’ve done without a fashionable tote while perusing shops in Old San Juan. See photo at right.) At a travel-friendly size of 11” by 11” by 5” deep the Everyday bag was the perfect airline carry-on, old-town shopper, port-perusing carryall and even beach-going bag. The two convenient pockets held my cell phone, gum, business cards, Carnival FunPass and a lip gloss or two. The main pocket held a seriously too full cosmetic bag filled with the rest of the lip gloss, mini hand sanitizer and passport along with my wallet, MP3 player, Flip camera, digital camera and a couple single-serving cereal boxes (our snack while away from the ship). And I still had room for a few souvenirs!

The canvas held up wonderfully well to all I threw at it, including sand, sun and a small rainshower while hiking to Trafalgar Falls in Dominica. That tote and I were inseparable! The only thing I wish it had were a sturdier bottom (don’t we all?). I rarely if ever put the Everyday tote down for fear the canvas bottom would get dirty. If it had either a vinyl, leather or even pleather bottom or small brass feet, I would’ve thought this tote absolutely perfect in every way…kind of like the Mary Poppins of everyday totes.

Ann Judge Design offers four styles of totes from the Mini to the Day Tripper and even a line of cosmetic bags and coin purses. Her totes are not only perfect for travel but for everything from a day at the office to a day at the Farmers Market. Plus they’re stylishly affordable—the Everyday tote is only $48. (I swear we paid more than that for Carnival’s in-cabin bottled water my husband mistakenly opened.) Need a new favorite tote or the perfect excuse to go on vacation? Pick up your own fabulously functional Ann Judge Design tote online at AnnJudge.com.—Emily

*** Giveaway! Ann Judge Design is giving away one Pink Star Everyday tote and matching coin purse to one of our readers (a $72 value)! (If I weren’t exempt from this giveaway you better believe I’d be all over it!) Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway:

•  Visit AnnJudge.com and leave a comment telling us your favorite fabric design/style.
•  Become a fan of Ann Judge Design on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you joined.
•  Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
•  Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: November 3, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

• Congratulations to Audrey, the winner of the Ann Judge Design giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

Rebel Green’s product line includes apparel for men, women and children, reusable shopping and produce bags, reusable lunch bags, zipper totes and even a fruit and veggie wash. They offer a variety of designs that make becoming a “green” rebel a heck of a lot of fun! The company sent us a sampling of their tees and though the ones for George and Livi were a bit too big for them to wear, my girls and I have totally loved ours! I feel super cool going for runs while sporting my Peace Girl tank and Lauren’s Bubble Girl short-sleeve tee is now her favorite shirt. Even at her age I have to remind her to wash it once in a while—she wears it as often as she can!

For some of you school has already started and your school shopping is done, but is it ever really done? Did you check off “eco-friendly lunch bag” off the list? Waste-free lunch kits are the newest, greenest trend for school. It’s all about learning your letters and everyone should know about the three “R’s” (reduce, reuse, recycle). Rebel Green has taken the boring organic cotton lunch bag and made it super cool with designs that appeal to both kids and adults.

Did you know the average school age child generates more than 70 pounds of trash a year when he packs a disposable lunch? Each Rebel Green reusable lunch bag comes with a reusable, organic cotton napkin with a coordinating design that can be tucked into the bag’s outer pocket and the bag rolls up easily to fit in your child’s backpack when he’s done with lunch. And get this: all the designs are numbered so if you have a child who’s as into collecting as my daughter, you’ve just taken the cool factor up a notch! Throw in a couple Rebel Green organic cotton, small produce bags and you now have sustainable sandwich and snack bags.

Style has power and our goal is to get people to become fashionably eco-conscious. ... Let’s start with the simple reusable shopping bag. We are not convinced the whole world wants cutsie bags with polka dots, hempy looking sacks with preachy green slogans, or worse, the dreaded polypropylene bag shouting ‘Buy Local’ though the inner tag says it’s made across the ocean. We wouldn’t carry any of those and we think we’re not alone. ~Ali Ruvin and Melina Marcus, Co-creators of Rebel Green

** Giveaway! Rebel Green is giving away one lunch tote and one tee, winner’s choice! Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway:

• Visit RebelGreen.com and leave a comment telling us your favorite product.


• Join the I Love Rebel Green group on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you joined.


• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.


• Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: August 28, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

• Congratulations to Kristen C., the winner of the Rebel Green giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!