Dear Handbags of Hope,

There is a lot going on in my mind today. About holidays. About service. About organizing my closet. About pageants. About friends... and all of it ended up tying back to one thing. But let me walk you through my thought process. I was thinking about the holidays...

Christmas and Thanksgiving are coming up. It is a time when there is lots of giving and getting going on. And I sort of miss being in high school where service projects are huge, and they are just there for you to do. I should start figuring out what service I can do this year. I have a lot of things in my closet in Utah and in Idaho that I don't really need. I have collected a lot of things through dance, pageants, weight changes, and style changes. I should clean it out and donate it to a shelter or something... but then I got to thinking... pageants... and my friend Whitney who is currently Miss Idaho... she probably would love some help with her platform. So in addition to cleaning out my closet to take to to a shelter, I am going to clean out my handbags. I have really only been using my Miche bag... so it is time to give the purses to someone in need. And I wanted to share the opportunity with all of you!

My sweet friends Whitney Wood is Miss Idaho 2012. I have a special connection with her because we were sister title holders her first year competing. I truly think of her as a sister. She is incredibly smart and talented. Plus. She is gorgeous. This is where it all started...

Well in 2011 she was first runner up to Genevieve, another incredible friend, at Miss Idaho. And this year Whitney won! And she is honestly amazing. I couldn't have picked a better girl to be Miss Idaho... unless it was me (kidding...we all know losing was probably the best thing that happened for me!) These are a few photos of Whitney and me from Miss Idaho week.

Her platform is Handbags of Hope. She collects lightly used handbags and hygiene items to take to women's shelters everywhere. She has had a VERY successful year because of people like you and me that take the time to donate.

So for my big holiday service, I am not only cleaning out my closet, but helping Whitney by getting the word out to my blog friends. If you have ANY handbags or items in the list above PLEASE let me know. I would love to help you in getting them to Whitney for a great cause. If you live near me I can pick the items up, and if you don't you can ship them over to me or Whitney.

So clean our your closets so you can make room for all the things you buy on Black Friday and help out women in need! Please contact me if you have any questions and I can't wait to start collecting!

What service projects are you looking forward to?
How do you help in your community?

Love,
Deidre