Lug Love From Tango Diva

If you're a woman into travel and haven't heard of Tango Diva, you're going to be bookmarking their site right ... now. As they say, it's a "community for women to share solo travel experiences, ideas, and questions in the hopes of creating connections with other women throughout the world." They've just posted a great story called The Trendy Traveler: Avoiding Theft in Style, where they highlight none other than the Skipper Shoulder Pouch by Lug! (We just blogged about the Skipper here.) Check out the story, then head to Lug to buy the bag. Use the code TANGODIVA until Aug. 6 to get 15 percent off. Thanks go Tango Diva for spreading the Lug love! Happy travels!

Traveler's Check: The Smart(est) Satchel

Whether you're heading out for a fun weekend excursion to the Taste of Wisconsin (July 30-Aug. 1), for example, or off to Europe to celebrate Contador's Tour de France victory, the Cable Car Satchel is a great grab-and-go bag for any occasion. It safely stores the essentials in organized pockets and zip-pouches, yet leaves plenty of space for souvenirs (like a yellow jersey ... or some cheese).

The Bag You Thought You Knew: Skipper Shoulder Pouch

You know the Skipper Shoulder Pouch? Sure, you do. It's the cute little bag with the adjustable strap that lets you sling it over your shoulder or shorten it like a purse. The one that holds all of the essentials even thought it's a petite pouch.

What you don't know is that this little purse also works as a wallet. Take off the strap, and toss it into any bigger bag. All the essentials are intact!

And that's the the Skipper Shoulder Pouch—the bag you thought you knew!

Live-Life-in-Color Photo Contest

Contests and food—two of my favorite things. If they're yours too, you are going to love the latest Lug contest. Just go here and upload the photos you think best represent what "living life in color" means. Winner gets dinner for two at (insert your favorite restaurant here)! $150 value! How delicious is that? ... Pretty delicious. Get to snapping those photos, people!

Happy Bastille Day! ... Yesterday

We posted about Canada and the US, so we certainly didn't want to leave out all our French friends. Hope everyone had a wonderful Bastille Day!

... July is a busy month for national holidays.

The Echo Laptop Backpack: A Smart Lug Bag for Students

If you've walked into any major drugstore or discount retailer recently, you've no doubt been bombarded with back-to-school gear of every sort. Pencils, erasers, highlighters, pens, paper, binders—everything you thought you needed plus more. But all that stuff doesn't scare us. Lug bags are made to keep you organized, and the Echo Laptop Backpack is a perfect example. It's lightweight and has pockets and pouches for everything from those papers and pens to your electronics. While an A+ in astrophysics might be a stretch, you can rest assured your book bag will score top marks.

Beachy Keen: Brilliant Lug Bags for the Beach

It's summertime, which, for many people, also means it beach time. And what word goes with beach? Bag! Also ball, umbrella, and towel, among others. But the bag is clearly the most important. If not for the bag, no other beach necessity would arrive on shore. Luckily, at Lug there are many viable options. Of course, the Gondola Slouch Tote is an obvious choice, with its big belly for beach towels and a book, as well as it's wipeable bottom. Add to that, the Clearview Envelopes, which keep any bigger beach bag tidy and are great for stashing messy sunscreen, and the Freight Box Lunch Cube for snacks. But an unexpected option is the Eco Shopper Foldable Tote, and here's why it's great:

1. It folds into a tiny envelope and takes up less space in a suitcase than that itsy bitsy teeny bikini.

2. It unfolds and easily packs two towels, book/magazine, sunscreen, and any other little beach necessities.

3. It's made of specially treated water repellent material, so it'll look just as good leaving the beach as it did when it got there.

4. You can get it in Ocean Teal (pictured), which just makes sense.

Happy beaching!

Lug + Joe Carter & Friends Golf Tournament = Good Lug-ing

We love spreading the love here at Lug, and that's exactly what we did on June 23 at the first annual Joe Carter and Friends Golf Tournament. (There's lovable Joe, pictured above!) We sponsored the 11th hole, where we hosted a beanie chair toss—a high-skill, high-stakes competition where participants gingerly toss the beanie over their shoulder, trying to land closest to the marker and win. (See P.K. Subban's excellent form.) Winners scored a naturopathic remedy kit (click here if you have no idea what naturopathy is), and we also gave away our beanie chairs, luggage tags and coupons, plus Frommer's laptop sleeves and digital cases. We also custombranded our Shuttle Bus for the tournament and provided it to all the players. It was a great event, with proceeds going to a great cause—the Children's Aid Foundation. We're already counting down for next year's tourney!

Quote of the day comes from Canadian hockey great Rick Vaive, who said, "You gotta Lug life!" We Lug you, Rick Vaive.

Click here to see all the pics from the event on Facebook.

And Happy Birthday to You, America!

Hope everyone had a star-spangled holiday weekend full of picnics and parades in the States! Here’s a little fun fact: The Continental Congress actually voted for America’s independence on July 2, two days before the holiday we know and love. Read more about it here. (Thanks, Wikipedia.) And here are some fireworks if you missed them.

P.S. Do you know which Lug founder is from the US?

Good Day, Canada!

Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians out there! Let’s celebrate the 143^rd anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act! Wahoo! What’s that, you say? (I’m looking at you, Americans.) Well, it’s only the act that united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into the single country we know and love called Canada! Join with me now: O Canada! …

P.S. Do you know which Lug founder hails from Canada?