TOPAZ HORIZON

Correction:I measured the bag and it's actually 14 inches long!

Hello, bag lovers! The prototype of the 13" satchel is here!

This is the dark chocolate color. It's darker than the photo.

Still a prototype. We think the flap has to be shorter, about midway the bag and not two-thirds of the front.

Comes with a strap pad to protect your shoulder

The strap is removable.

Strap is also adjustable. Hardware is sturdy.

A lot of people requested for a top handle so here you go! That's added cost, though, so I have to rethink the pricing!

A 13" laptop fits fine (the laptop is halfway in so that you can see it). We also put a divider made of goat skin (it's stiffer) but I think it's best without. What you think?

The dark chocolate finish is cool. Remember how I was iffy about the uneven tanning? Well, Uncle Buck improved it and so it's now more uniform, no more swirly bits. If you want to see how that looks like, drop by Cole Haan this weekend and ask for the hand-painted messenger bag:

As you can see, Cole Haan's finish is uneven, which is the same finish as our bags. A lot of people have assured us that this adds character to the bag. Also, no two bags are alike because of this handpainting we do!

The 13" satchel will be offered in two colors only: tan and dark chocolate.

But we have to talk to Uncle Buck about the leather inside. I kinda think the unpainted side looks so white. It's actually cream but since the outside is a deep dark brown, when you open the bag, the cream is just suddenly so white. Do you think we should put a cloth lining inside? What kind of patterns and prints would be nice? But a lining is extra cost! Things to think about!

About the 15" satchel
We decided not to offer the 15" size anymore. We saw the prototype and here's what we found:
1. At that size, a bag made entirely of genuine cow hide is just so heavy.
2. Being heavy, magnetic snaps just won't cut it. When you lift the bag, the snaps fly open. So buckles are necessary. Didn't we say we don't like buckles?
3. A 15" is actually huge. So it looks so... manly! No likey. Unless you're a guy reading this or you're a woman who wants to have a bag custom made for your man.

I wore a K & Company forest green shirt dress that is absolutely unforgiving. It's soft and comfy but if you have fatty bulges, good luck. I squeezed myself into a Spanx body suit and I still got asked how far along the pregnancy I was.

No, I'm not pregnant.
The bag is my old, worn out super soft moss green leather sack from Topshop. Love it!

I wore my Urbanog multi-color platform heels. I was towering over everybody! I miss towering over everybody! I'm mostly in flats these days. Result of mommyhood.
Then, because my dress was beyond simple, I had to wear something a bit flamboyant. Nope, the shoes weren't enough! So I took out my feathered headpiece from Singapore and now I felt perfect!

Of course, when I posed beside society columnist Tessa Prieto Valdes and Visions & Expressions PR powerhouse Ginggay Joven, I looked so plain Jane!

For more on Pond's latest skincare line, click here.

I'm greeting all the new people popping by my blog. Yes, new blood! Was checking my blog's stats today and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'm now getting close to a thousand visitors a day!

Click to enlarge so you'll see that the highlighted part says I got more than 900 visitors last week!

That's an average of 800 unique visits and 1,300 page views daily. Not bad, not bad. My goal is a thousand visitors a day. I've been told that once you hit a thousand, the blog grows exponentially thereafter.

My Google Page Rank has also gone up. I don't exactly know what PR means. It's not about popularity, I read, since most sites score a 3. A high PR rank means your blog has more value to Google. What does that mean?!

Topaz Horizon scored a 4. I'm impressed! I don't know what I'm doing but I must be doing something right!