On 1/5/2015 Kimi-Eliz said: Perhaps you made her feel crummy when you didn't share her excitement and shifted focus to your own bag. It sounds like an awkward situation that hopefully won't affect your friendship.
That's what I think too. But I think it's more than that. She probably picked up on the reference to a less expensive bag being perfectly fine. I'm sure feeling she was judged led to her going into defensive mode.
It's completely up to the friend to spend anything she has - money, gift cards, anything - the way that she chooses. The OP probably thinks she hid her true feelings about it, but it sounds as though she didn't.
IMO, gift cards should be used for splurges! Isn't that pretty much what they're intended for? If she saved them up for so long, she obviously really wanted this bag. A simple, "It's beautiful!" would have been the only appropriate thing to say. With a smile.