Leather Satchel Co. handbag
Here are a few of photos of my gorgeous new handbag from The Leather Satchel Co.
I was very impressed with the fact that the bag was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string.
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite things
The leather satchel arrived wrapped in brown paper
I couldn’t wait to open it, and it didn’t disappoint! This satchel was specially made for me, and it is absolutely perfect.
Leather satchel
This is the 11″ size, which is the smallest size they do. I deliberately chose to have a small satchel so that I could use it ‘cross body’ to carry a few essentials. The next two photos give some idea of scale. The first photo shows the satchel hanging off the back of my chair. The colour is of the bag is ‘Cockatoo’, which is a light green-blue shade which appealed to my love of teal. The colour on the photos below looks more like the actual colour than the photo above.
Leather satchel
And here is a photo showing the satchel filled with my purse, iPhone, pocket Filofax, sunglasses and make-up bag. You can also see the magnetic fasteners. I paid a bit extra for these as a customisation. I thought it was worth it to save me the bother of having to unfasten buckles.
Inside the leather satchel
I ordered the satchel at Cybher on 12th May and it arrived on 22nd May, which is a very quick turn around for a custom-made item.
My reasons for choosing to order from The Leather Satchel Co. were as follows:
- The people on the stand at Cybher were extremely enthusiastic as well as helpful and patient while I considered all the options.
- There were lots of shapes and sizes of satchel on the display and I could see the quality and craftsmanship was excellent.
- The Leather Satchel Co. has been making these satchels since before I was born so they obviously know what they are doing.
- The leathers came in a range of beautiful colours and I could have combined different leathers, including metallic leathers.
- Magnetic fasteners hidden under the buckles seemed like a great idea!
- There was a 25% discount available for orders made on the day (so I paid £64 for this satchel instead of £86, including the price of the magnetic fasteners).
- Even without the discount, the Leather Satchel Co. seems to offer more affordable pricing than the two other satchel companies I have looked into.
I tested this handbag out on my trip into town yesterday and it was lovely to use. I carried it cross body and it felt very comfortable. The magnetic fasteners worked well – opening quickly and easily but fastening securely. And of course they still look like traditional buckles. The colour is gorgeous and the finish is really beautiful. I am sure I will get years of enjoyment and use out of this wonderful bag.
Readers of this blog can get £5 off any The Leather Satchel Co. satchel by quoting “3GTSV4E7NZVNU” when ordering. If you use this code, I will receive a discount of my next purchase of a satchel. Please note – this code will be rendered invalid if it is shared via websites other than this blog.
Am I a Savvy Online Shopper?
I’ve been inspired by Kate on Thin Ice to reflect on whether I am a Savvy Online Shopper. Here are Kate’s questions, together with my answers.
1. How often do you shop online?
Not as often as I used to. After taking a break from online shopping for two months last autumn I managed to cut my credit card bill and ever since then I’ve been much more thoughtful about how much money I spend online. This means I now do most of my shopping in ‘bricks and mortar’ shops but I still shop online a few times a month.
2. If you can remember, tell us about the first time you shopped online?
The first thing I bought online was a book called Windows CE 2 for Dummies from the original amazon.com website back in 1997. This book wasn’t available in the UK so I decided to order it from the states using the newfangled online book shop. Then I became one of the first customers of amazon.co.uk, which certainly saved money on postage!
3. What do you buy regularly online?
Kindle books – which can only be bought online of course!
4. What other type of products or services do you buy online? (flowers, gifts, holidays, insurance etc)
- Holidays, including travel and accommodation, are almost always booked online these days
- Gifts are good to buy online, especially if you want to personalise them
- Cross stitch kits and materials – the selection available online is better than any physical shop could offer
- Large items for delivery – e.g. this week I ordered a new washing machine from John Lewis
- I do all my banking online
5. What are the advantages of shopping online?
- the ability to search for exactly what I am looking for
- broader range of items available
- price is often cheaper, especially if I shop around and use discount codes
- buying gifts online can save time and effort on postage compared to buying, wrapping and posting something myself
6. Are there any disadvantages of shopping online?
Yes – it is too easy to spend too much money! It only takes a few clicks to place an order. And there are so many special offers and discount codes available to use when shopping online that it’s hard to resist the idea that I’m ‘saving’ money when actually I’m spending it. And sometimes I end up buying additional items to qualify for free postage!
Also, some items look better onscreen than they do when they arrive in a parcel a few days later, and it’s a lot of hassle to send them back so sometimes I don’t get round to it, especially if the item only cost a few quid.
And I tend not to buy clothes or shoes online as I prefer to have chance to try things on before purchase. One way round this is to use a ‘deliver to local store’ option as this way I can try items on and hand them straight back if I don’t like the fit.
7. Do you ever shop online in secret?
Nowadays I tend to consult with my husband before making large purchases. It’s a good way of double-checking whether I’m spending our money wisely.
8. What is the very last thing you bought online?
A father’s day present for my dad.
9. If someone was buying something online for you, what would you like it to be if money was no object?
If money was no object, I would like someone to buy me a holiday! I’d really love to go to The Valley in Cornwall again.
10. Have you heard of Give As You Live?
Yes I think Give As You Live is a really great idea and I’ve signed up to use it. The idea is that everytime I buy something online, a donation is made to the charity of my choice without it costing me any extra. So when I ordered the washing machine, John Lewis made a donation to my chosen charity (Oxfam). Lots of companies have signed up to this. You can find out more here http://www.give.as/kateonthinice where a video will show you all about it.
Savvy Online Shoppers started over on Kate on Thin Ice’s blog where she encourages you to check out an easy way to ensure that money goes to charity when you shop online at no extra cost to you. Read more here http://kateonthinice.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/what-support-does-tommys-offer-to-parents-and-parents-to-be-how-can-you-get-involved/
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Magpie Monday – more cross stitch books and buttons
I grab any opportunity I can to pop into charity shops to see if there is anything good on sale. Earlier this week, I was in Cambridge for a two day work meeting. I thought I’d been stuck in a basement meeting room the whole time, but it was decided that people needed a comfort/fag break so I nipped into the Cancer Research shop across the road.
I returned to the meeting room clutching this:
‘Picture it in Cross Stitch’ was published in 1996 and is one of the all time classic cross stitch books. This revised and updated edition was published in 2008. The charity shop copy I found was in mint condition and it only cost £1 because there was an ‘all books £1′ offer. The book contains lots of ideas for creating your own sampler designs. The page shown below contains instructions for designing a sampler including a picture of the house where you live.
I also found a couple more cross stitch books recently, including ‘Two-Hour Cross-Stitch’ with lots of ideas for little motifs and a Jane Greenoff cross stitch book. The latter book was in a Birmingham charity shop that I popped into when I was heading to BlogCampUK.
Two more cross stitch books
One of the things that attracted me about the ‘Two-Hour Cross-Stitch’ book was that some of the motifs include buttons.
Motifs with buttons
I’ve been buying more old buttons, including two more of little bags of buttons for £1.99 a bag from the local Oxfam shop and a strip of little pink buttons.
So these are my pre-loved finds. What have you found?
I’m linking up with this week’s Magpie Monday at Me & My Shadow.
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#SilentSunday – 20/05/12
Wedding questionnaire
1) When was your wedding day? August 13th 1999
2) What day of the week was it? Friday (yes it was a Friday 13th, but that was the only way we could get the venue we wanted without having to wait two years)
3) Did you get married in a church? No. We got married at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
4) How many in your wedding party? 35
5) Where was your reception? at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
6) How many guests were invited to your wedding? See question 4. Not as many as we would have liked because we didn’t want to overwhelm my husband’s family by inviting all of mine. But at least it was a small enough number of people that I got chance to spend time with everyone who came.
7) How long did you wait to Tie The Knot after your proposal? 8 months
8) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer? We didn’t hire either.
9) Did you have a DJ or a band? No but my cousin Anne sung ‘This Kiss’
10) Did your father walk you down the aisle? Nope. He asked not to have to walk me down the aisle or do a speech or anything.
11) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests? N/A
12) Who was your Maid Of Honor/Best Man? My sister Lucy and brother-in-law Alun
13) Did you have a Bridal Shower? Nope
14) What type of limo did you get? A taxi!
15) Where did you go for your Bachelorette/Bachelor Party? See question 13.
16) What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear? Brocade sleeveless bodice and a skirt plus a hat. I had bought a purple frock but was persuaded to wear something more traditional. Here is a photo of me in my purple frock, which I still think of as my ‘proper’ wedding dress!
My purple dress
17) How was the weather? Overcast but at least it wasn’t raining.
18) Where did you go on your Honeymoon? San Francisco & Northern California
19) What was your favorite part of your wedding day? All of it
20) How long have you been married? It will be our 13th wedding anniversary this year (lace)
21) How old were you when you were married? 28
22) Did you live together before you were married? yes
23) How soon after your wedding did you have kids? 9 years
24) Did you change your name? No, but I don’t mind if people call me by my married name outside work.
25) What was the first dance song? N/A
26) Favors? Nope – decided against favours, limo, photographer, etc. Wanted a special day with friends and family more than we wanted the traditional trappings.
27) Any drama? Not for me. But my friend Andre was a bit worried when I went for a walk around the gardens with my mum before the ceremony.
28) Any regrets? No I’d do it all again tomorrow. Well maybe it would have been good to have some proper photos.
29) What was the weirdest gift you received? No weird gifts.
30) Who did the cake? No wedding cake but we did have lovely mini deserts.
Photo by Laura Gosling
Q3MDPSKHYEQR
I went to the CybHer event for female bloggers on Saturday and popped into the Freya bra fitting booth to check my bra size.
I was asked when I had last been measured and had to confess that it was years ago, before pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight gain and weight loss. I felt a bit sheepish about this as I know you’re supposed to get measured every so often to check whether your size has changed.
So I probably shouldn’t have been too surprised to discover that I should be wearing a 32F and not the 32D I had on. But I was very surprised indeed. ‘F’ sounds huge and ’32′ sounds very slim. I would never have guessed that I was a 32F.
I tried one of the Freya bras on to check the fit and it felt much more comfortable than the old 32D I was wearing. I didn’t want to put the old bra back on.
On Sunday I went into Nottingham and bought myself some new Freya bras from Bravissimo. My ‘What I did at #CybHer‘ audioboo includes a description of being measured up on the Saturday and explains why I bought the new bras.
The style of bra I chose is the ‘Faye Balcony Bra’ - I got one white, one black and two ‘creme caramel’. I also got some matching shorts.
I have been wearing my new bras for 3 days now and am looking and feeling much better for it. (And my husband is quite impressed too!)
This is a slideshow which shows I look wearing the same dress with my old bra and new bra underneath:
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In order to take the photos for this, I have just put my old bra back on. It feels extremely uncomfortable. My boobs feel too heavy and unsupported and my shoulders and back are already starting to ache. I don’t know why I didn’t get measured sooner.
Oxfam are accepting donations of bras at the moment as part of their ‘Big Bra Hunt‘ so next weekend I’ll be taking all of my old bras to the nearest Oxfam shop.
What I did at #CybHer
This one is an audioboo: What I did at #CybHer
Plus a couple of pics:
The first session at CybHer
Lovely CybHer leather satchel
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Favourite Etsy finds for my little boy
There is some really amazing stuff on Etsy. I wanted to share details of two of my favourite Etsy finds for my little boy. Both of these items are rather special and they will probably last for years.
I got this absolutely beautiful personalised table lamp with moon and stars from Hannah Nunn for my son’s third birthday last summer. His name is on the front and his date of birth is on the back. You can also get these lamps with different designs including flowers and seed heads. Hannah is based in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire and she will supply the lamps with UK, European or US plugs. The current price for these lamps is $99 (approx £63).
Another favourite Etsy find was this gorgeous quilt/throw from Chic Throws in Leicestershire. I always wanted to make a quilt myself but never found the time to do it and there is no way I would managed to make something as nice as this. This quilt is a big favourite with my son, even now he is in a full-sized single bed. He calls it his ‘shapes blanket’. It washes really well too and looks just as bright and lovely as it did the first time I saw it.
This particular design is not currently available, but there are some other really lovely throws for sale at the moment and the shop will ship to anywhere in the world. A similar-sized throw in a sugared almonds design is priced at £57.
I bought both of these items myself. Photos are from the Etsy stores for Hannah Nunn and Chic Throws.
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One word answers
1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? Home
3. Your hair? Messy
4. Your mother? Perusing
5. Your father? Working
6. Your favorite city? Worcester
7. Your dream last night? Nonexistent
8. Your favorite drink? Champagne
9. Your dream/goal? Rest
10. What room you are in? Office
11. Your hobby? Stitching
Stitching
12. Your fear? Pain
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Seaside
14. Where were you last night? Bed
15. Something that you are not? Rested
16. Muffins? Chocolate
17. Wish list item? Sleep
18. Where you grew up? Marple
19. Last thing you did? Sipped
20. What are you wearing? Trousers
21. Your TV? Big
22. Your pets? Goldfish
23. Friends? Widespread
24. Your life? Ok
25. Your mood? Sleepy
26. Missing some one? Nephew
27. Car? Someday
28. Something you’re not wearing? Spacesuit
29. Your favorite store? Lush
30. Your favorite color? Red
31. When is the last time you laughed? Earlier
32. Last time you cried? Monday
33. Who else will try this meme? Unsure
34. One place that I go to over and over? Malverns
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What I’m wearing at Cybher
I’m going to Cybher on Saturday! I hope to see some of you there.
Lots of people have been posting photos of their outfits, so here is a photo of mine. The photo was taken by Penny at the #BlogItForBabies Nottingham event.
My dress is from Nomads. It is really comfy and I love it. I wore it for BlogCampUK as well. I’ll be taking my Mia Tui Grace bag.
If you want to see what other people are planning to wear, there is a Cybher Style linky.
My original Cybher meet and greet post may also be of interest.
PS my hair is still at the inbetweeny messy stage as I am growing it out from a pixie crop to a chin length bob. Nearly there now!
