A present from my son

Look what arrived for me by post, beautifully wrapped.














A lovely leather baby changing bag. The best thing about it? It doesn't look like a changing bag.

Lots of handy pockets and a strap that fits on the Bugaboo Bee. Perfect!








Lots more pockets and compartments inside...plus a matching travel changing mat. Another great thing about it, the zips open the bag all the way so you can quickly get to the contents.

Wasn't it thoughtful of the Pip to save all his child benefit money to buy me a nice handbag for Mother's Day? And he's only seven weeks old...aaahh, children are so advanced these days :)

(There were also two breastfeeding tops, but the bag was definitely the star attraction)

Any excuse for a new handbag

My sister came to stay at the weekend and had to nip outside for a few minutes, so she asked to borrow my keys so she could let herself back in. She laughed when she saw the contents of my handbag...muslin, spare vest for the Pip, nappy, babywipes and other baby paraphernalia. No more lipsticks, mascara and yesterday's theatre tickets.

The old Katie-Ella is still around though. I'm currently lusting after this bag (sorry, couldn't grab a picture) but you need to go on a waiting list, the earliest availability is June!! Aarrghhh, can I wait that long??

Shirley

*Gasp*

Mr K-E went to New Bond Street and bought me this!

Awww thanks Honey!

The Shirley from Anya.

I remember blogging about the Ebury months ago but I prefer this one - just as practical but sharper and edgier - a bit like me :)

Handbag Girl

Some girls are rucksack girls and some girls are handbag girls. I've always been a handbag girl.



I got this bag from Selfridges today *big smiles*

The bag is from Celine and it really appealed to me because the panelling is unusual and the brand hasn't been "WAG-ged" to death, if you know what I mean. I did look around Dior, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Chloe etc but I don't really want a new bag that people (OK, other handbag fiends) would be able to mentally place immediately i.e yep Dior Gaucho..last season...Chloe Paddington etc...

"Celine" is only shown in a very subtle location - so it's not a bag for waving at the neighbours, hahaha..... And if you guys are as nosy as I am - it was 30% off, and I didn't get much change out of five hundred quid. *whimper*

Quick, here are more shots of the bag to make me feel better.

Here's a rare sighting of Katie-Ella. Taken while I was modelling the new bag and suede boots for Mr K-E.

Wednesday

The new Olympic logo for London 2012 was launched yesterday. Yes, isn't it shit?!

I know that there is a long way to go before 2012 and trends come and go etc etc...but really. If I were giving it marks out of ten, it would be a 3. With "must try harder" next to it.






I was talking to someone at work today and had to take something out of my new handbag. I couldn't resist a bit of handbag-stroking, so I purred, "Look, isn't it lovely?"

Meanwhile, this bloke (most of my colleagues are men) looks confused and says, "Uh GG? Is that a designer?"

Is this man laughing at my precious? "Are you taking the piss?"

It seems not because now he looks even more confused.

"It's a Gucci."

"Is it a fake?"

I reply through gritted teeth, "No, it's not a fake and no, I'm not overpaid."

*crushed*

Paris, May 2007 : Tuesday morning

Our hotel (Hotel Terass FYI) overlooks a famous cemetary. It's a good job I'm not a nervous person, hahahaha.

Mr K- E thought it was really cool - just like Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire. Didn't the vampire Lestat live in Paris?










On Tuesday morning we made a hurried shopping trip to Galeries LaFayette.

A beautiful building full of beautiful things.

There were queues of Chinese tourists at the LV and Gucci concessions. Most of the Gucci, Dior, LV and Fendi staff were Chinese....there were even store annoucements in Mandarin.














Why don't they build shopping centres like this anymore?






My new arm candy.

I looked at the LV leather bags too, but I didn't like the finish. Also didn't want to get the "standard" LV and Gucci printed bags - they are not even leather - then you really are just paying for the logo.

At least I can kid myself that I am paying for the leather.

Oh, happy day.....

We're back

We are back from Paris, woohoo! Going on holiday is lovely, but oh isn't it nice to be home again?

The most exciting thing about Paris?

Shallow? Moi?

Retail Withdrawal Part 1

As part of the general K-E household retail ban; there will be NO purchasing of books, DVDs, CDs, clothes, shoes, gadgets, computer games, cosmetics, household items etc etc until we have moved house.

Even though I haven't bought anything since Christmas, I still have piles of books to read, numerous DVDs to watch and brand new clothes that I haven't got around to wearing. If I don't hurry up and wear them, summer will be here and they will be relegated to the back of the wardrobe. Then when it gets cold again, I won't want to wear them because they will be so last season and not new anymore.

So maybe this ban is a good thing for me, as it will teach me some discipline . :)

The whole thing is getting quite painful, as one of my favourite things to do is browsing in bookstores and buying books. I probably used to buy at least 10 books a month, they were my "guilt-free" purchases, ha ha ha, money spent on books doesn't count.

So now I do "virtual shopping" instead, looking on the internet and planning all my future purchases. (Please don't tell me to join a library, it's just not the same...)

Books I want:

Peter Godwin: When a crocodile eats the sun. About Zimbabwe. I read an exerpt and it was v. good.
JD Robb : Innocent in Death. I don't think I can resist buying this book actually. I'm going into town to get it tomorrow. Jeez I'm so weak. :)
Bill Bryson : The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Why oh why didn't I get this book for Christmas?
Anthology: Mortification: Writers' stories of their public shame
Will Ferguson : How to be a Canadian

I could just link all day, but I don't think anyone is really interested in reading my book list. I even have £35 of book vouchers (a christmas present) to spend! Oh, the irony.

As for handbags, look at these honeys:





Gucci Princy - I posted this picture yesterday.
Doesn't it look great? Perfect for work - not too flashy or chav-ey at meetings. (For details of "chavs", see here and here for the phenomenon that destroyed the Burberry brand)







The Chloe Ava. Much nicer than the "Bay" I think. This isn't a very good photo, check out the Chloe website.









I love this Anya Hindmarch clutch. Cracked metallic gold leather, yummy. I have promised myself a bespoke Ebury when (should that be if?) I get my next promotion. All the more reason to work harder!




Next time: shoes and CDs

To consume or not to consume?

Since Christmas, Mr K-E and I have been on a strict retail ban. The main reason is that we are going to put our flat on the market this summer (fingers crossed) so we are trying to get rid of stuff, not accumulate more. When we move to a bigger place, the retail ban will be lifted and I will probably engage in a shopping frenzy.

We have already performed several "culls"; getting rid of clothes, shoes and other assorted crap that just fills up your living space. I have taken several binbags of shoes and clothes (some still have the tags on) down to the charity shop but man, there's still a long way to go.

However, symptoms of retail withdrawal have begun. I spend my evenings looking at handbags on Gucci/Dior/Mulberry/Balenciaga websites, licking my lips and whining. I haven't bought shoes for more than three months. I don't even dare to go into shoe shops because I know I am weak.

This is a dangerous weekend for me because Mr K-E is away and Selfridges is just a bus ride away. Must resist.

The hardest thing is that it's not about the money - I can easily afford that £850 bag. In the grand scheme of things, it's just a blip. (That makes me sound like such a show-off biatch, but I'm not, I promise.) It's the fact that the handbags I already have lie around on the bedroom floor and sometimes I even forget about them because they are buried under piles of semi-dirty clothes. Not to mention my Catholic guilt about people living on $1 a day while I feed into the great consumerist lie i.e. that buying more "stuff" will make me happy.

I also don't want my Boss to think I'm overpaid. Note to self : must keep up air of genteel poverty at work.

That's a Gucci "princy" in chocolate leather. Be strong, Katie -Ella, be strong.