When I was about six years old, my paternal grandparents, Nanny and Poppy, gave me a dark red velvet purse with a fluffy white kitten face applied to one side. I recall the purse as being made of real velvet, not velveteen. The kitten face had long silky fur fanning out in all directions, and smooth glass eyes. The purse had a tight clasp of two little metal balls that snuggle past each other, and the purse frame opened wide to reveal a black interior that felt like a crisp taffeta. The handle was a short gold chain. There seemed to be a lot of room inside the kitten bag, but I don’t remember putting much in it.

I carried my red velvet kitten purse to dinner at a restaurant called Patricia Murphy’s in Westchester County. This was probably in 1965. Each winter the restaurant displayed a large sleigh out front covered with tiny white lights. I remember dinner at Patricia Murphy’s as a festive evening in wintertime, with a red velvet kitten purse, and a magical-looking sleigh.