Stylish Lunch Bags for a Girl-on-the-Go

I have high expectations for my lunch bags. They must be both cute and durable. I tried using those gift bags you receive when shopping, but my water bottle inevitably spilled or my fork punched a hole in the bottom. Either way, the result was a ruined lunch bag.

Several Christmases ago, my Aunt Lynne gave me a wonderful lunch bag. She purchased it at the British Museum gift shop, and it has an Egyptian motif. I have carried it almost every day since. It folds flat for storage, it can be washed with a damp sponge, and it is easy to carry. In short, an almost perfect match for the 'cute and durable' criteria, especially because it carries my water bottle and tea cup and still leaves room for lunch.

Being so well-loved, this poor lunch bag is being to wear around the edges, and I fear for its eventual demise. Also, it is not insulated, and I am only in one place long enough to refrigerate my lunch perhaps twice a week. For Valentine's Day, Pablo surprised me with a new, insulated, polka dot,  lunch bag that he picked out himself. I'm a lucky lady! It would not be a stretch to say that I adore everything about this lunch bag. It has a zipper, it is a great color, it has polka dots, it is insulated, and did I mention that it has polka dots...

I will still use my Egyptian lunch bag on certain days, especially if I need to fold it up and store it in my tote bag. There are some situations for which it is not appropriate to arrive lunch-bag-in-hand, even if you are but a harried graduate student.  But, for the every-day-dash, I will use my new polka dot bag. Like the Egyptian lunch bag, my water bottle and tea cup fit nicely, and now I can enjoy my string cheese as if it were fresh from the refrigerator. Life is good!