Cambridge.

The cambridge satchel is a bang-on fashion trend at the minute. But it's not just the usual tan colour that everyone is sporting: think pastel, think bold, think neon. The timeless satchel has had a 21st century upgrade!

The Cambridge Satchel Company have a range of gorgeous satchels. They range from about £70-£105 in price, so don't suit everyone's price range. However, I've found some lovely satchels from high street stores that will fit this fashion trend perfectly (and at a price that doesn't break the bank!)

H&M have lovely satchels in for £19.99. Online they only have black/tan colours, but instore I have seen neon pinks and yellows!

New Look have this showstopper satchel for £44.99 by Steve Madden.

Topshop have lots of satchels to choose from, whether it's a neon whipstitch satchel for £50 or metallic snake skin satchels for £28.

Warehouse have 'mini clean satchels' in delicious leathery brown colours. It has an across the body strap as well as a short strap so you can change your look. It costs £34.

Another great place to look for a satchel is eBay. They have a range of different colours and prices, so you are bound to find something to suit you!

I'm lucky as I have a lovely vintage satchel I got from my mum's next-door neighbour. But, I think that for this season, it is definitely worth investing in a bright, bold and beautiful satchel to carry all your everyday essentials. I think I might go for a bright postbox-red or an electric blue! If you see either of those satchel colours when you're out and about, let me know!

Alphabet.

I can't get over how much I love these cotton tote bags/purses from Alphabet Bags.
They have so much choice, and are quite reasonably priced for a nice treat!
I love the typography and the simplistic style of the products. I always love to have a cotton tote, and I am definitely going to purchase one - when I decide which one to get!

So much choice! My heart could explode with tote-love.
Also, I love the wedding collection totes they do. I am devastated I didn't know about them sooner, otherwise I would have definitely had them at my wedding. Look how delicious they are! (I love using the word delicious in a wider context!)

I only discovered Alphabet Bags yesterday, can you see how much of a fan I am already?
I want it all!
They also do canvas purses, which are a big season trend at the minute, with letters of the alphabet on.
So, naturally I'll choose R.

Thank you Alphabet Bags for jazzing up the tote bag in a classy, bang-on-trend way.
Your converted fan,
Rosie.

The high street.

This morning I read an article on The Drum about 'can social media save the high street?'. I thought it was a pretty interesting question to ask, considering more and more high streets and town centres are dying a rapid death, and more and more people take to online shopping.

I think the reasons for this shift in shopping style were highlighted in the article when it said that there are not as many stay-at-home mums and people generally work longer hours now and don't have time to walk around the shops, or the town centre shops are not even open when they finish work! Also, mostly you can find what you want cheaper online, and you have the zero-hassle of trying to transport bought goods home - especially if you use public transport.

But what is to be done?

I think that generally, people want their high street to be a great place to shop and eat. There seems to be a shift in values where people want to make their area more of a community and encourage local produce and small to medium businesses rather than the national chains, but this is hard to do because of their domination in the market place and their ease of use.

So what can I do to help?
I can visit my local high street to buy my groceries instead of going to the ASDA supermarket. I can buy from small local businesses and then promote them through word of mouth/social media.

Sometimes I think our grandparents got it right. When everybody in the street knew each other. You could talk with your butcher about how the family was doing and buy your bread fresh from a bakery. It may seem a simpler way of life, but maybe it was a better way of life.

Under a rock.

Well, if you haven't been living under a rock for the past week, you would know that there is a huge, new Kripsy Kreme store at the Metrocentre in Gateshead.

The husband and I attempted to go for a mini-date on Friday night (the day after it opened). I knew it was a bad idea from the start, and I was right. There was a queue of people weaving their way out of the store just to get a glimpse and bite of a delicious doughnut. The drive-thru was as equally packed with cars and we decided that it wasn't our night for Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

So, we went back on a Tuesday morning and had doughnuts for breakfast (DON'T JUDGE US!). They were delicious. The hotlight was also on so we got free glazed doughnuts to nibble on while we waited in the much smaller queue. I was shocked by the 'panic' buying approach people had to the doughnuts, with some people buying multiple dozen-boxes of doughnuts as if they were here for one day only and it was an emergency! Another lady and her friend bought 24 doughnuts each, and then sat down in a booth with a tray filled with doughnuts, where they took a few bites of each doughnut and then just left the rest. Greedy!

Anyway, I come the bearer of great news. Krispy Kreme have officially announced that they are opening a KK Sunderland branch on the 23rd October in the Bridges Shopping Centre and a KK Durham on the 30th October on Silver Street! So you don't have to flock to the Metrocentre to get your hands on doughnuts. It looks like Krispy Kreme are here to stay! Long live Krispy Kreme!

Sweet treats: eggless cookie dough

If you're anything like me, then you love eating cookie dough!
My mum finds it appalling. I think my sister does too. I don't think they like the whole raw eggs thing.
Anyway, I was baking a batch of cookies yesterday, using an eggless recipe, and I thought...this is perfect for cookie dough eating as it has no raw eggs in! Now everyone can enjoy cookie dough!

Here's the recipe:
(It's pretty huge, so I'd advise you share this out...or just half the amount!)

3oz light brown sugar
4oz margarine
6oz self-raising flour
2tbsp milk
2tbsp golden syrup
a packet of chocolate drops (optional)

All you do is cream the sugar and margarine together, then add everything else and whisk it up!

And, if you don't want to eat the mixture (why wouldn't you!?!?) then this makes about 14 cookies in the oven at 180°C for 8-10 minutes, which are delicious!

(source)

This recipe was taken from allrecipes.co.uk - source.