I've mentioned before my infatuation with bags, but did I admit I love shoes too? A year ago I bought these great Allen Edmonds that I absolutely adore. The natural coloring on them is what won me over. Well last week I decided it was time to retire my Nau messenger bag and get something a little smaller to carry to work everyday. I've been wanting a good quality leather satchel for years, so I took it as a sign from the gods that I had just gotten a 30% off code at Bonobos and they had the BillyKirk School boy satchel in stock. The hefty price tag and a bad review almost discouraged me from pulling the trigger, but ultimately I decided it was just too irresistible. I've only had the bag for about a week now, but I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. The quality seems superb, the leather is beautiful and soft, and it happens to match my shoes almost perfectly. I snapped the above instagram picture in the elevator the other day when I first noticed it. 

Billy Kirk School Boy Satchel $365

On the other end of the financial spectrum, right before I went to New York last week I picked up this little duffel made by a local company Springbar. They usually make heavy duty waterproof canvas tents, and this Basic Duffel is made out of the same waterproof canvas. Basic is a great word to describe it too. It's pretty much a no frills duffel, it doesn't even have a shoulder strap. The canvas is amazing though. It's a great blue/green/gray color, totally waterproof, and strong as hell. Oh, and the $17 price tag is pretty sweet too. 

Basic canvas duffel $17

I posted a while ago about the Bexar leather tote I got hooked up with. I'm still in love with the bag and grab it for my go to tote. Well if you've been on the fence, now is your chance to get your own. Bexar is having a 25% off sale on everything on their website. Good through July 5th.

Bexar

Day two of my resolution to keep the blog up to date with my day to day doings is a very late recap of the Palm Springs trip I took two months ago. It was the last weekend of Coachella and I flew into LA to meet my girlfriend for the weekend, one night of which we 
spent in Palm Springs. The majority of my time in Palm Springs was spent in two places, the Ace Hotel, and a short strip of MCM thrift stores in an obscure section of Cathedral City.

I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about the Ace Hotel. Everything there was wonderfully styled, and cleverly marketed right down to the paper card holder your room key came in.  The Palm Springs Ace Hotel is an old Howard Johnson and was much larger than I imagined it. There are at least 3 different buildings with rooms, and two separate pool areas. 

The food and drinks there were surprisingly affordable for "hotel food" and were super tasty to boot. I think we pretty much ate all of our meals there, and didn't even think twice about it. In fact it's honestly the first time I have gone to some sort of destination resort type place that I didn't feel the need to get outside the compound as soon as possible.  I could happily spend a full weekend poolside and never leave the hotel. 

Speaking of poolside, it was exactly what you would expect at a Palm Springs swimming pool party. We were fortunate to be invited to a Madewell pool party which meant free food and drinks for the day. It was a perfect afternoon of hot sun, cold cocktails and beautiful people all around. 

The next morning after a few cups of coffee and some much needed chilaquiles we set out to do some furniture shopping. We had a tip from a LA local about row of MCM stores in Cathedral City. After driving past random strip malls and building supply stores we found what we were looking for. Just off of Perez road before you get to  Palm Date Drive is a group of 4 or 5 MCM stores full of treasures. 

Hedge was one of my favorites with its combination of classic MCM and Danish alongside less traditional vintage pieces. 

Others that deserve recognition is the amazing collection of Danish furniture at JP Denmark, and the amazing yet occasionally strange Colin Fisher Studio that was like being in a museum or a famous drug lords home. 

I'm far from being an expert on Palm Springs, I'll leave that to Paul Kaplan and others, but I do have one little neighborhood I always like to drive through on my way out of town. I first discovered the Vista Las Palmas area when I was doing a video for the fiesta movement a few years ago. I still enjoy driving through it and looking at all the classic Palm Springs homes that are so similar and so different at the same time. 

So thats my trip! 

Now I want to hear what YOU love about Palm Springs, and your must do things when you are there. 

When I was in Paris last month, I spent a decent amount of time in book stores browsing and looking for gifts. One thing that I stumbled upon that I probably should have picked up, but didn't is this fantastic Alexander Girard memory game made by Ammo Books. The book has a total of 72 cards featuring textile designs and illustrations by the MCM folk master himself.

New Alexander Girard Memory Game$ 12

As much as I've been trying to avoid it, I am finally back from Paris. I can confidently say that everything went off without a hitch, and it met all expectations that I had. So what did I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, and it was wonderful. I didn't spend the day in any famous museums, I didn't get my picture painted on the street, I didn't go on any tours of famous sites. I just enjoyed good company, amazing food and drink, and spent all day long exploring an amazing city, and I would gladly do it all again in a heartbeat.

I'm happy to report that both my new bag acquisitions worked wonderfully. The Bexar Aviator tote became the daily carry and was perfect for everything from morning trips to the boulangerie to get some baguette to daytime shopping trips or bringing home a bottle of wine late at night. The german garment bag was an equally amazing and swallowed up 10 days of clothes with room to spare. It was a bit heavy to lug around but I didn't miss the option of having wheels at all as I carried it up and down the steps while riding the metro.

While I was gone you guys did a good job taking over for me.  We had reader submitted stories on chairs, clocks, lights, and beds. All the posts got a lot of love, but the winner was Jaren of Modern Union for his amazing submission of the best looking espresso machine I've ever seen.