Petunia Pickle Bottom's City Carryall Review

As discussed prior, I am a bag wh*re. I hoard bags like some women hoard shoes. I just love them. Hand bags, diaper bags, reusable tote bags, I really don't care what kind of bag it is, if it's cute, I'll probably try to buy it. It's a sickness I swear. When my favorite diaper bag company came out with their newest style of bag, the City Carryall, I just had to try it. One problem....I'm cheap, I don't like to pay retail for bags, and honestly it's not as though I had an extra $160 laying around. So I lusted, and lusted, and kept my fingers crossed, and attempted to save my pennies (yeah right), and I lusted some more. Then I got lucky. I won a $100 Amazon gift card. Then it was Christmas, and Mr. Hunky gave me some "Christmas Cash" to buy whatever I wanted (I was under strict instruction not to spend it on groceries, household items, or the baby). It was my green light. My push in the direction to buy the City Carryall. So that's exactly what I did.

Being that it is a new style of bag, a lot of buzz has been circulating in the Petunia Pickle Bottom chat and buying pages that I am a member of on Facebook. Some loved it, some hated it, some were skeptical. If you are familiar with Petunia Pickle Bottom, or PPB as I will refer to it as from here on out, the City Carryall is said to be a cross between the Boxy and the Touring Tote. Ironically, I dislike both of those styles of bags. So why the heck was I buying a City Carryall? Because I am a bag wh*re.

Lets talk about the City Carryall.

I love this bag. I didn't think I would love it, in fact I was very nervous while waiting for it to arrive and I had convinced myself that I would return it, but as soon as I ripped open the box, I fell in love. This print I found on Amazon and was instantly smitten, I had never seen it before for sale anywhere else and I was excited to had found such a gem. It's name is Sicilian Soriee (appropriate since I am part Sicilian), the bag itself is black and white, and as you can see it has that red embroidered section in the middle of the bag. It's such a versatile bag whether you are going casual or out to a fancy dinner, this bag can play your outfit up or down which is perfect for daily use. The bag is glazed which means that it is water resistant, not to be confused with water proof as many women think the bag is. It is not. If you submerge your bag into water, your belongings will get wet. Water Resistant. Not proof!

The bag takes on the familiar feature of the boxy by having the changing station zipped onto the front of the bag. This is the feature that I thought I would for sure hate, but in fact it doesn't bother me at all and I actually sort of like it. Because of the pattern and colors, when you look directly at the bag you won't notice the front compartment at all unless you are close up whereas on other patterns it is more noticeable. A lot of mommy's love the fact that they can store their changing pad, wipes case, diapers, and ointments in the front of their bag rather than inside. I will admit that it saves room, but it isn't a selling point for me.

The pockets in this front area are quite fantastic though and if you choose to forgo using it as a changing station as I have, you can conveniently store your child's toys, your "mommy items" or whatever else you choose to in those three pockets. My kindle fits perfectly and so does Baby A's toys that we take with us everywhere.

If you do chose to not use the front area as a changing station, or if your child is potty trained, the changing pad actually unattaches quickly and effortlessly as it is secured by a strip of velcro! It is noisy though so don't take the changing pad off around a sleeping baby!

In a diaper bag I have to have lots of pockets for organization. I cannot handle bags that are bottomless pits and eat your keys. We all have had a diaper bag or purse that has done that, right? One minute your keys are there, the next, your bag has eaten them. Or even worse, it's eaten your phone. I really can't handle when my bag eats my phone. The City Carryall offers TONS of pockets inside and out of the bag. As you saw above, the front changing station houses two medium pockets and one small pocket. Outside of the bag you have four additional pockets, two side "sippy cup" pockets, or if you're like me, one sippy cup pocket and one sunglasses pocket, as well has having two pockets on the back of the bag. Inside the bag you have two large pockets, one zippered pocket (I was surprised to find that it is actually very deep!), two bottle pockets, and of course your main compartment. Needless to say, I find this bag very easy to organize!

The City Carryall offers three different carrying options; shoulder (like a purse), messenger, and on the stroller. My biggest issue with this bag is that it does not come with stroller clips, you have to purchase those additionally. The bag's straps are made out of nylon seat belt material and it is comfortable to carry both on the shoulder and as messenger, however, if you stuff your bag full it will get heavy and not be as comfortable to carry on your shoulder. For this bag I will primarily carry it on my shoulder, but I am 99.9% sure that I will be taking this bag with me while I travel next month and for that I will carry it messenger!

Simply detach the messenger strap and attach your stroller hooks!

Now, as much as I like this bag, it's not perfect. It's close (in my opinion), but the thing that drives me absolutely nutty about this bag is the main zipper. I love that this bag zips closed to ensure that your belongings don't fall out or no one swipes your wallet, but the flaps from the zipper get in the way when I'm taking things in and out. I realize that it is something that I need to get over and overlook, but for some reason, it just drives me batty! It's really not that big of deal though, I'm just fussy!

So what the heck does this bag hold? This bag holds a lot. I tend to be an over packer, even for just a quick grocery run. I like to keep my bag packed so that I can grab it and go, with the exception of throwing in snacks and a sippy. Tomorrow I will have a post about what exactly I carry in my diaper bag, being the mom of a one year old boy, so you can see in detail what my essentials are, but for now I will just give you a glimpse into my bag!

Want to see it all packed up?

I was even able to shove my ipad in there!

Here's a picture of the City Carryall completely packed up, from the side, so that you can see how "thick" it gets. 

Overall I am very pleased with the City Carryall and I highly recommend this bag to any momma who wants a fashionable bag that will last even past when her children are out of diapers. 

I hope you enjoyed this review on Petunia Pickle Bottom's City Carryall!

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions, what works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been not been provided with product to review by Petunia Pickle Bottom nor have I been compensated monetarily for this review.