Did I mention....?

That we're going away tonight? We're going to Cologne in Germany to see the Christmas markets, which is all very exciting as none of us have ever been to real German Christmas markets before. The packing has had to be left to the last minute due to it being the busiest week of the school term. We're only going for 2 nights so we're travelling as light as possible to avoid having to lug cases and tired children around too much.

One of the things that I'm most excited about is I have a new handbag to take with me. Accessories Direct got in touch and offered me the chance to review one of their products and as my current handbag - which was lovely new, all purple in croc skin effect - is showing significant signs of wear (OK, it looks tatty), this seemed perfect timing, almost fateful. It was time to get a new one but as my husband will tell you, I'm quite particular about what I want out of a bag. I'm not bothered about the "name" as some are - I wasn't even like that before I had children and I still had money - but I do want a bag that looks nice and allows me to use it the way I want. I've trailed poor husband around shops in Spain on holiday - which seems to be where I have bought most of my bags in the last few years - and looked at tens, if not hundreds, before making my decision.

I was rather taken by this Kate Benjamin bag (great name!) out of the products on offer to review as I could carry it like a satchel but I can also use the strap and wear it across my body, which can be handy if your hands are taken up holding small hands when out. Missy Woo is always telling me off if she holds my hand and I'm still carrying my bag. "Mummy, I don't want to carry your bag, thank you". So, I put it at the top of my list and waited hopefully.

The bag arrived well packed and came in a lovely dustbag. You mean, people actually put their bags away occasionally? No, not for me. Mine is going to get some serious use! As you open the dustbag, you get that wonderful smell of real leather which is just fantastic. The leather is soft and supple so it's very tactile. Inside, there is plenty of room without too many little compartments which detract from some bags. There is a mobile phone pouch inside (bag designers, please note - smartphones don't fit in them anymore: please make them a bit bigger!) which I will probably use for sunglasses, and a well proportioned internal zip pocket to keep things safe inside. I love the patterned lining too; bound to raise a comment or two.

Looking at the product on the website, I notice now how much it sells for. Eek! I have never owned a handbag costing more than £50, let alone £140. I've never really got the designer handbag thing but just from looking at this bag, you can see that it's good quality, which is what you're paying for and it is actually reasonably priced compared to the real high end designer bags. I also noticed that this bag is an exclusive to Accessories Direct, so if you want to buy one like mine, you won't find it anywhere else.

Talking of buying, Accessories Direct are offering all you lovely readers a hefty 20% off all non-sale items. To get this discount, use the code FESTIVE when making your purchase. 20% would mean you could buy the same bag as I have for £112 but there are tons of other bags, including this wide rang of across body bags, plus they have jewellery and other accessories too. Hurry if you want to use the code - it is only valid until 13th December, which should mean you get it in time for Christmas. I also noticed that delivery is free for orders of £30 and over, thus saving even more.

So, I shall be off to Germany today carrying my lovely new bag and looking far more stylish than I deserve to. Oh yes, did I mention that we're off to Cologne? More of that after we return.

(Accessories Direct kindly sent me the above mentioned handbag to review and keep. I have not received any further compensation for writing this post. All opinions are my own and genuinely held.)

I am a Twitterholic!

I have been considering starting a Twitter meme for a while and I'm just getting around to it now. That's the problem you have when you have too many ideas for blog posts in your head.

I decided to start this, because I love Twitter more than is healthy for a grown woman. I had a slow start but it's now reached fever pitch, and there is no hope for me; I'm hooked. I am a Twitterholic So, I have concocted a few questions about Twitter and you, which I hope will make for interesting blog-type reading. And of course, in time-honoured fashion, I get to go first. Eyes down, look in, ladies and gents, here are the votes of the kateab jury.

When did you join Twitter? (You can find the exact date at bwitterday.com)

28th November 2008.

Why did you join Twitter?

I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I'd read an increasing number of press articles about it and was intrigued. However, I made the rookie mistake of assuming it was like Facebook (which I'd joined early 2008 having resisted for a long time) and so protected my tweets for quite a while. It did mean that I didn't get it at first. It was like tweeting into the abyss. I don't think I got my second follower until February! A few months later, I got Tweetdeck and was hooked.

Who is/was your first or oldest follower? Who did you follow first? Tell me all about them. (firstfivefollowers.com will give you this info)

These are one and the same person for me. It is Blaise Grimes-Viort who tweets here. I have known Blaise for 6 years or so, when he joined Handbag.com as their communities manager, which is now part of National Magazines. I was a regular on their discussion boards and was one of the volunteers who helped to moderate the boards - dealing with spam, abuse and so on. I also helped on a new discussion board which Blaise set up connected to some websites, aimed at mums-to-be and new mums, until NatMags decided to close it down. Gah.

I don't really use Handbag any more. I stopped visiting because most of the users I knew stopped visiting after an upgrade radically changed the boards for the worse. We all found new homes to go to, but I still kept in touch with Blaise via Twitter. Blaise tweets some personal stuff but mostly tweets information about being a community manager (and job vacancies, if you're interested). He left National Magazines last week and is now Head of Social Media Services & Engagement for Webjam.

The other thing I know about Blaise is that he has a famous sister. She's a supermodel - reckon that could be a bit of a conversation stopper! Her name is Benoit, better known as Ben Grimes. It means nothing to me as I am so not into fashion but she appears in celeb features.

Do you have any celebrities following you, or have you ever had a DM from a celeb? (This was inspired by Paula getting a DM from John Cusack - still jealous!)

Erm, I have a couple of radio type people (the lovely Helen Blaby and Phil Williams) who have become followers somehow. And the lovely Dhruv Baker, winner of Masterchef 2010, got talked into following me.

I did once get a DM from a former Apprentice contestant, offering telephone numbers and an email address. They weren't for me, but for someone who is not on Twitter. I was just the messenger girl. Honest, m'lud.

I had a real phase of following celebrities in my early days on Twitter. I do still follow some but these days, I am more interested in interacting with people, which is hard for celebrities who get thousands of replies to every tweet. I keep some for banter, amusement and nosiness, because that's what following a celebrity is all about.

If you could follow anyone not on Twitter - alive, dead, real or fictional - on Twitter, who would it be?

I think it would have to be someone literary, just to see how they get on fitting their ideas into 140 characters. So it's between two authors. The first is Thomas Hardy, whose books I read as a challenge, because the language was so difficult. Most of his books are fairly depressing so I can't imagine his tweets would be a laugh a minute. The other is Kahlil Gibran, who wrote The Prophet, one of my favourite books. I could imagine him tweeting some great lines from that and his other works, all of them guaranteed to delight and uplift.

Which came first - Twitter or blog? 

Definitely Twitter. It is because of Twitter that I got into blogging, through "meeting" bloggers on there who got me to write, leading me to set up this blog. The same people regularly give me advice, offer their opinion or input, and for that I will be forever grateful. It just so happens that Twitter is the perfect platform for telling the world about my blog, so I can't imagine blogging without Twitter. Twitter also helps me find some great blogs, some of which are in my blogroll down the right hand side of the page.

So, that's me. It now falls to me to pass on this Twitterholic meme to some other great bloggers. I am therefore tagging to receive my wonderful Twitterholic award:

Garry at The Blog Up North
Wendy at Very Bored in Catalunya
Joanna at At Home With Mrs M
Karen at If I Could Escape
Kirsty at Gone Bananas

to have a go. The rules, such as they are, are:

1. Nick the badge at the top, and mention the person who tagged you.
2. Answer the questions. (Duh!)
3. Tag some other great twitterholics bloggers.

Alternatively, tag yourself, mention me in your blog post and link to it in the comments below. I'd love to hear about your Twitter experience.