Remember I asked you for the bag advice? Well, I did some field research this week and I picked the winner: Michelle barrel satchel in black!
I even liked it with my black coat!. Soft pebbled leather is distinctly a different texture from the cashmere wool coat and gold hardware makes a subtle statement and not over the top.
It is also very well made and feels well in my hand. It is not big but not small either: I think it is good for my frame. Unfortunately they do not have side look pictures on the site so I have included 2 pictures from the catalog. I really love the shape and the fact that zipper goes all way across to the bottom: makes it very easy to find things in the bag.
I was also considering Shannon's dome satchel but I was concerned with the quality a bit: in the one I saw the zipper was a bit uneven, not perfectly round but otherwise it is a very cool bag ( and teal color is gorgeous!). But satchel rally won my heart today! Also I thought I would enjoy a different shape: this dome satchel is a bit similar in overall shape to my red Chromia...
Hubby got the item# and going to the store to order it for my birthday. They do not have them in the store as this is the last season model but hopefully it will come in time!
I also looked at that two-tone bag and was disappointed. I love black and white but the leather itself did not impress me - and also the zippers were uneven on top. Too bad because I really liked the two-tone effect and the shape.

Oh and there is another bag there I may hint to my hubby about: it is not on sale now but by the time our anniversary comes around it very likely may be. I did not like the black one too much because of the color: I prefer rich deep black and this one was kind of greyed out black...but I fell in love with the cobalt one! Such a deep nice color and such a simple and bold shape! One day, Sveta, one day...

I was so excited today - it is not often I fall in love with a bag - and just wanted to share!:-)