Accessory Tuesday: Bella 2-in-1 Convertible Backpack Tote
This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This new-to-me Australian brand features thoughtfully designed handbags like this 2-in-1 convertible backpack and tote.
You can wear this soft, slouchy bag over your shoulder or as a backpack. It has wide straps for comfortable wear, a zip closure, and internal pockets to keep your things organized. This Italian pebbled leather bag can fit a 16-inch laptop and more making it ideal for travel (or a really long day).
Vestirsi’s Bella XL is $399 and comes in five rich neutrals. It’s also available in a smaller size.
Looking for more convertible backpacks? As of 2025, some of our favorites include options from Lo & Sons, Vestirsi, Senreve, and M.Gemi.
Our latest favorite work backpacks in 2025 include options like Tumi, Lo & Sons, Samsonite, Everlane, and Cole Haan.
Sales of note for 5/8/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Up to 50% off select styles + 15% off fragrance (exclusions apply; ends 5/11) + give $150 in gift cards, earn a $25 promo card (ends 5/13)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your full-price purchase + extra 40% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 40-60% everything + extra 25% off
- Eloquii – $25+ select styles + extra 45% off all sale
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off must-have styles + extra 50% off select sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + extra 50% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 25% off all tops, pants, jeans, and shorts + 25% off all markdowns
Toddler travel question. I’m looking at tickets to fly to my hometown in September, shortly after my daughter’s 2 birthday. The flight will be about 2 and a half hours, so I was thinking of trying to book it over her nap time. Does that make sense? I’m a little worried that if we get delayed, she won’t nap at the airport and then be overtired on the flight. But it seems like it could work out great
I’m plan to take my 20-month old on a weekend trip in June to avoid Trump’s military parade. We live in DC and would be less than a mile from it, so want to get out of town.
So far, my main idea has been Sesame Place. I was thinking we would spend Saturday at the park, and then do some stuff on Sunday and drive back to DC ideally during her nap time. I’m looking for activities to do Sunday that are not that out of the way on our drive home. The only idea I’ve come up with so far is the Please Touch museum in Philly. Is a toddler old enough to enjoy that? Does anyone have other ideas?
I’m way overthinking this but help. I’m volunteering for an elementary school field trip, most of the day, much of it outdoors in hot weather. Can I wear athletic shorts for this? I think yes, but I’m second guessing whether I should wear regular casual shorts (less comfortable in the heat but might look better and a little longer). I’m brand new to this. Public school.
My kids are getting to that age where they want to be able to play music in their room and I am fine with sharing my Spotify with them, but would like to avoid things like Alexa in my home due to privacy concerns. What are my options? I basically want the equivalent of an iPod hooked up to speakers for them but with the ability for them to discover new music on their own without me having to download everything for them in advance
A young lady who has been a lead aide in DS’ preschool classroom for two years is leaving for a new job in a different field. I usually give a heartfelt card and cash for this situation, somewhere around $80. Just checking in if that’s still ok or if it’s weird.
Any suggestions for all inclusive resorts in Mexico/the Caribbean for November? I feel like a resort for a family of 5 with a swimmable beach is going to cost me their college fund. It’s a warm weather bonus week to our main vacation next April so trying to keep the budget reasonable. We’re looking for:
– accommodates a family of 5 in one room or guaranteed adjoining (kids ages will be 11, 11 and 14)
– prefer waterslides or waterpark onsite but okay if not
– great beach and ocean swimming
– flexible on all inclusive if someone has a condo to recommend
We’ve stayed at Grand Palladium in Playa del Carmen about 5 years ago but I found the swimming off the beach wasn’t great and rooms were mediocre. Especially hard to find something for families of 5 with tweens/young teens.
TIA for any ideas!
Just wanted to say thanks for the advice about choosing between schools. We went with School A – the one we originally got into that was logistically better for us. Got a chance to do a short tour last Friday which helped solidify the decision. Thanks for being a great resource to bounce things off of.
Help me figure out how we are going to eat dinner on this trip with kids.
We are traveling to Bar Harbor with my in-laws in a few months. We will have a 4 year old and a 9 month old. We are staying in a hotel that provides breakfast. The room has a mini-fridge but no microwave, etc. 4 year old is currently hit or miss in restaurants. He often finishes eating before we do, and then we end up having to entertain him, etc. We have been working on this, but since the baby currently likes to take a cat nap in the middle of dinner, we are not really going out to restaurants much right now. SIL that planned the trip has two kids– one of whom does not do well at restaurants (special needs and has an allergy).
I am actually very much looking forward to this trip… except for the dinner part. For lunch, I think we will do a lot of picnics. There also seem to be a few grab and go sandwich places near the hotel. For dinner…. I’m honestly not sure what to do. On a previous trip, MIL made a lot of reservations for 5 pm, which meant the reservation kind of took over our whole day (DS still took a long nap), and it was too early for him to be hungry. (It was 4 pm our time– we’re on Central time). I’m afraid though that if we don’t do reservations, we’re going to be stuck with long waits with little kids… and just will end up making DS a PBJ in the room, which is fine, but then I don’t know what we do as adults.
Any suggestions for how to handle this? Bonus points if you have specific restaurant recommendations. Fwiw– DH and I wanted to stay in a VRBO for this reason, but MIL vetoed this because she “didn’t want to cook.” Trip is for various milestone birthdays in the family. (Otherwise, we would not have tried to do this with such young kids.)
i know that there are many cultural differences around eldercare expectations. my dad, who has plenty of $ (not like unlimited, but more than enough to afford help), does not live near me or my sibling and needs to have a procedure done. he said he wanted to do it near where i live, so I could help him for ~2 weeks after while he stays with me and then he had said he would rent a furnished apartment/airbnb for the duration. we’ve been talking about this for like a year. yesterday i accompanied him to the surgeon and now he wants to stay with us for 6+ weeks so I can help him after the surgery. I have two young kids, a job and a husband that travels a lot for work. while we have a guest room in our home it shares a bathroom with our kids and is smack in the middle of the house. to say i was totally caught off guard yesterday is an understatement. i realize that perhaps i’m being somewhat self centered, but I think it would be really really really hard for me/my family and disastrous for my mental health for my dad to stay for 6+ weeks. He could also have this surgery where he lives and hire someone to help him. Or, the surgeon even said he could fly after a week or two, so he could stay with us at the beginning and then head home. when my mom was sick 5+ years ago, my parents hired help because my dad couldn’t do it all on his own. it also admittedly makes me somewhat uncomfortable to help my dad with showering, etc. but maybe i am the strange one? for some reason hiring help for my mom was ok, but not for himself. he told me that he is super hurt after everything he’s done for me. he is my only remaining parent and we have a generally good relationship, but he isn’t the easiest person to always be around. (he’s been visiting since Friday night and I have twins and he has made multiple unsolicited comments about how hard it is to be a twin, being a twin is h*ll, etc., for example). growing up, my dad’s mother never lived with us and neither did my mom’s parents. i dont think they ever visited for more than a week at a time so it’s not like this is some family expectation. not really sure what i’m asking, perhaps im just venting.
Does anyone have one of those “conversation starter” card sets that their kids actually use and like? I’m currently looking at “TableTopics” and “We’re Not Really Strangers – Kids”. I want one that has legitimately interesting questions and not just, like “what would your superpower be?”
We have a road trip coming up for a baby who will be almost 7 months old by the time we leave. Any advice on handling an 8-hour-each-way drive? We’re planning to stop every 2-3 hours, but we’ll be going through some pretty rural areas and might need to fudge the times in either direction so we’re not stopping on the side of the highway when it’s feeding time. He still eats every 3 hours and is now formula-fed (any tips on bottle management/cleaning appreciated). Would you have a parent sit in the backseat with him for some or all of it? What about toys?
Also, he’s still in his infant seat (small for his age) but I wonder if we should get a convertible. He almost looks a little cramped despite being well within the height and weight limits.