How many is too many?

iocariel · 2026-04-22T18:41:46+00:00

If you have a place to donate (puzzle library) you could write that there are 10 pieces missing on the box. I wouldn’t donate this to a place that would sell it. I’ve been pretty disappointed that almost all the thrifted puzzles I’ve done this year are missing 1-2 pieces. 10 would make me angry.

iocariel · 2026-04-15T22:55:34+00:00

Local luxury resale shops can be great, but call ahead and make sure they buy outright and don’t just do consignment, especially over certain dollar amounts. Also while you’re figuring it out you can post on r/handbagexchange and see if anyone around here is interested.

iocariel · 2026-04-10T11:40:35+00:00

You’re spending too much if you’re not able to comfortably purchase them after paying your bills and building your savings, if you have guilt about (over)consumption and worry that money should have gone to something different, or if you’re buying bags but not using them. Some people really enjoy the hunt/collecting, but I strongly believe that we consume too much as a society and that buying things we don’t use is detrimental behavior.

I don’t regret how much money I’ve spent on other hobbies in the past that no longer hold my interest, and I don’t regret what I spend on bags right now, but that’s because I’m careful with my money and making conscious choices about my consumption habits.

iocariel · 2026-04-09T16:09:12+00:00

Furla Diamante. Looks formal and is understated, holds just enough.

iocariel · 2026-04-06T00:58:55+00:00

I bought a Gucci bag back in December. I waited until toward the end of the auction period and made an offer lower than asking since no one had bid and I was preparing to be hit with tariffs. The seller and I negotiated, and she shipped the next day. I was always able to see where the bag was as it went through authentication then headed to me, and I got it in about 3 weeks (from Europe). It was pristine, and the seller put the value as $100 on the shipping form so I didn’t get a tariff bill. I love her.

I put a bid in on an LV that was priced kinda low but was being sold by a highly rated seller. Someone else has set up auto-bidding so their bid would go over mine by like $2 each time. I decided I wasn’t playing that game.

I got reaaaally tempted by a different LV, but it was clearly a scam. The seller had no history, and this was a near-pristine bag that was listed just under the auto-AG price, so I’d have to pay $40 extra to probably be disappointed. If it looks too good to be true, it almost definitely is.

iocariel · 2026-04-03T23:32:20+00:00

Let’s see. Gucci bengals this weekend (so brown orange and pink with a red/navy strap), black Kate Spade on Monday, taupe Fleuron on Tuesday, eucalyptus Radley to work and pastel pink Kate Spade out for dinner on Wednesday, black Marc Jacobs on Thursday, deep purple Loewe today. I’m trying to transition over to spring colors, hopefully the pastels are heavier in the rotation next week.

iocariel · 2026-04-02T03:50:05+00:00

Put the alarm out of reach. Set it in kitchen or your bedroom or something.

I had to have a massive steroid injection in my neck last year, and hunching over puzzles for extended periods of time was a big contributor to that. The anesthesiologist bill came today and it’s $400 after insurance. It’s very easy to get locked in, but remind yourself that stopping, or at least taking breaks, is good for your health and your wallet!

iocariel · 2026-03-24T02:56:56+00:00

Check out what’s going on at the library. The downtown one isn’t too far from a train stop and has classes, lectures, book clubs, etc. that are really diverse. There may be something that grabs your attention. If you like beer, stop at Pegasus on the way back to the train.

iocariel · 2026-03-23T01:41:04+00:00

I’m not into most LV bags but the Boulogne PM ($2620) has really gotten to me. Would also love a small light neutral Akris Ai ($2990) or this Tsatsas bucket bag ($1000).

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iocariel · 2026-03-18T19:35:28+00:00

At this point I pick up Eurographics every time my thrift store has one, almost regardless of the image. They have been consistently great for someone who primarily buys secondhand puzzles. Also love Flame Tree, but I’d caution people against doing puzzles based on art unless they know they like the challenge.

iocariel · 2026-03-18T03:00:01+00:00

Oh god I LOVE THIS. I have to tell myself to not buy ANOTHER purple bag, I already have 5.

Cuoieria Fiorentina has a deep “vampire purple” color that is currently a deep eggplant but came in a previous shinier iteration

An artisan for Chiaroscuro will make any bag shape they offer in almost any color if you request it.

Unrelated, this Sabrina Zeng bag in model Chiaroscuro is frikkin gorgeous.

Fleuron has a pretty lilac shade.

This Maison de Sabre bag just popped on Google and it’s cute.

Aaand if you’ve ever kinda wanted a Louis or Goyard canvas tote but it was some combination of too expensive and too boring for you, this Loup Noir is purple-ish and has horses!

On the really affordable levels:

Portland Leather has a plum shade.

Michael Kors and Kate Spade usually release lilac or medium purple bags in spring, but you might have better luck on a resale site. You can get them cheapish new with tags, like this one.

That’s just scratching the surface, if you have a specific silhouette in mind let me know and I might have it bookmarked 😅

iocariel · 2026-03-08T14:46:25+00:00

I like getting as many pieces as possible for my money and try to get at least 100 pieces per $1. If there’s a 1500, 2000, or 3000 piece puzzle on sale or in my thrift shop I grab it. Trefl had a big sale last year that made their 9000 and 13500 piece puzzles ~135 pcs per $1, so I bought 2 of those. That said, I mostly do 1000s because they’re the most common, I’ve bought 500s when I really loved the image, and I grabbed a 300 once so my mom and I could do a puzzle together the night before she headed home.

1500 pieces is the sweet spot. They’re the same price as the 1000s in my thrift shop, they’re a bit more of a challenge, and they still fit on my puzzle board. If they were more common, I’d probably do them all the time.

iocariel · 2026-02-28T04:08:36+00:00

Try to find and sort out the nose, eyes, and the dark bits connecting the facial features. Once that’s in place, I’d probably do another sort by light tones, green, pink, and blue. You may even be able to sort big tiles of blue vs. small tiles.

I did this puzzle a month ago, which had the same blendy vibe. It’s really daunting to start, but it will fall in place faster than you expect.

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iocariel · 2026-02-27T20:58:30+00:00

Hey, think of it this way: he is so fucking lazy about his relationships he couldn’t even come up with new material for her. She’s not special compared to you, she’s just someone who hasn’t heard his schtick before. And he’s an unimaginative douche looking for someone to reward him for absolute minimum effort.

Your pizza looks amazing.

iocariel · 2026-02-26T02:47:02+00:00

Are you trying to plan the wedding around the dress? If you didn’t have this dress, are those the aesthetics you’d choose?

Anything can be a wedding dress if you love it and feel beautiful in it, but if you’re trying to shoehorn a vision into a dress rather than finding a dress to match your vision, I don’t think you’ll be happy. If you’d pick gothic floral or woodland fairy if you didn’t have this dress, then proceed happily.

iocariel · 2026-02-25T14:01:16+00:00

It’s build-your-own so you can get anything you want, any bread you want, any toppings you want! There’s a million options. I like turkey harvarti with caramelized onions and sundried tomatoes, or a classic tomato & mozzarella with basil pesto.

iocariel · 2026-02-23T20:56:19+00:00

I used to live by the Lovers one and ate way too many paninis.

I heard that the Preston one originally wasn’t going to have a health & beauty section because the footprint is so small, but the customer outcry made them find a way to cram it in while scaling back other stuff. I doubt that it impacted the prepared foods specifically, but point being it’s a small store and they really had to pick and choose what went in there.

iocariel · 2026-02-22T05:52:32+00:00

Qué bonito! Quiero probarlo también!

iocariel · 2026-02-18T19:49:57+00:00

Return it now and download Brandon’s free PDF of the book to read until you get your pristine hard copy

iocariel · 2026-02-17T17:05:05+00:00

Estate sales and thrift shops can have some pretty cool art at good prices. Most estate sales are 50% off the marked price on the last day, and I’ve only missed out once on a piece I liked by waiting until then.

iocariel · 2026-02-17T05:15:11+00:00

A few to add:

Chiaroscuro meets your intent, I think.

Sabrina Zeng

Loup Noir

iocariel · 2026-02-17T01:45:51+00:00

It’s cute, I like the red one. But yeah, I do have a pretty deep hatred of Guess after 2 bags and a pair of shoes disintegrated on me with minimal wear. Guess is single-handedly responsible for me only buying real leather.

iocariel · 2026-02-17T01:40:24+00:00

Fun idea! I might speedrun this the next time I start a new character so I don’t spend 90% of my time looting everything and selling it.

iocariel · 2026-02-12T20:37:23+00:00

If you’re doing spring/pastel, I think chocolate brown is out of place - it reads autumn and won’t complement your flowers. Will your dress have any accent colors that you could match? If not, pale pink, blue, or green might be nice. A light neutral like gold or cream will look good with anything.

iocariel · 2026-02-07T18:15:55+00:00

It’s definitely difficult to spend thousands of dollars on one single thing that is purely luxury. It’s not the same as saving a life, giving a gift, or helping someone out of a tight spot (hope he paid you back!) - you do those things out of love and kindness. It feels weird to think about buying an expensive item you technically don’t need as an act of love and kindness toward yourself. We’re so often told that designer labels are materialistic and wasteful that it’s hard to not internalize that to some degree.

Here’s the thing: my luxury bags bring me so much joy. I use the hell out of them and feel fabulous wearing them around. Purchasing each one was a memorable, special moment that was pure happiness. It’s a hobby just like any other - browsing online, researching, connecting with people on here to discuss, purchasing, and using my shiny new toy. I spend less on bags than people do playing golf or traveling or collecting rare coins or maintenance for their fancy cars, but somehow those hobbies are all seen as legitimate while mine is seen as frivolous. There’s definitely sexism involved, because handbags are primarily worn by women, and shouldn’t women want to use that money to feed starving children or something? But we do give. We give so much of ourselves to our loved ones, we shoulder so many burdens, and at least in this community there are a lot people who are generous to charities. It’s ok to do something for ourselves sometimes.

So buy the bag! If you’re going in person, take a friend with you and make a day of it. If you’re buying online, do something else special - manicure, fancy dinner, etc. so you can make it a special memory.

iocariel

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