Designer bag = piece of art? Or is this my crazed form of justitication?

A few months ago, we received a small windfall into our bank account. Since then, Dave and I have been plotting on how to spend, oops I meant, save it.

So, we have our short list of expenditures/savings buckets we've discussed:

• spring/summer wardrobe refresh for Clarissa (check)
• Clarissa's shoe collection refresh (check)
• crown moulding in great room and master (check)
• Hannah and Luke's 529 accounts for college (check)
• Big overseas trip in 2009 (jury is still out. ask us about our 2007 fall trip to Europe with the twins)
• New 3 row seat hybrid SUV in 2009 (still under consideration)
  
• integrated audio/stereo system for the house (ummm, and what's the benefit of this??...still not sure about this one.)
• other random nice-to-have house enhancement knickknacks like new barstools, drapery on the main windows, etc. (check)

And then there's the hidden item.

And only a few of my friends know about it. It's the one I'm most excited about but also the most ashamed of. It's this.

Yes, the Pelham from the House of Gucci, at a whopping price tag of $1330.

And this doesn't include tax. Nor does it include the $8 of gas I will probably consume just to drive to Fashion Valley Mall to purchase it. And it's not even all leather. It's the classic Gucci canvas with leather straps (but not just any set of leather straps, according to the Gucci sales guy).

I have been coveting, oops I meant admiring this purse for some time now.
And it's within my reach if I just don't let my own perceived overindulgence and my designer purse and sunglasses addiction get to me.

Actually, never mind about my adoration of beautiful purses and sunglasses. Again, it's my Catholic guilt sweeping over me. How could I spend that amount of money when it's about 2/3 the amount of the twins' monthly preschool tuition?! Or when it's the amount that some folks in mid-America pay for a mortgage payment?! Maybe I feel guilty because the rest of the family can't enjoy it like they do with some of our other big ticket splurges like vacations. Or pieces of art. Or furniture.

Only I will reap the rewards of the Pelham.

Call me practical. It's not that we can't afford it. It's just that it feels just so...wasteful... indulgent...irresponsible. Especially when I think about what I could put that money towards in terms of the kids - their 529s, for example. Not that this amount will make a dent with the growing inflation of college tuitions. But when taking into consideration the compounded interest over a couple of years, hey - it's like $10K, which by 2022 (when the kids are college freshmen), can buy maybe food for a semester assuming the same rates of inflation. Who knows?!

My girlfriends remind me that I need to treat myself because I deserve it. And yes, I've worked hard at home and at work. They also remind me that this is my thing and the occasional luxury splurge is OK.

But still, I feel guilty for entertaining the thought.

One of my work colleagues (and friends) once told me that buying designer purses is like buying a piece of art. Like fine art, fine purses only grow in value over time. (This is the same woman who has Manolos and Fendi shoes out the wazoo). Of course, you display fine art, and alternatively, you wear purses and then eventually put them in their dust bag in the closet along with the other countless purses you've collected and swore "I just have to have this."

(Clarissa is still obsessing over the purse and has not taken action. She anticipates that she will continue to think about the purse all summer and spend at least that amount on useless other accoutrements. She will justify the lack-of -designer-purse-transaction by attempting to enjoy all of the accoutrements she was able to purchase as a result. And then she will end up regretting that she just didn't go ahead and buy that damn purse. But also by then, she'll be obsessing over the Fall collection.)