What's In My Bag // Kate Spade

I was so lucky to receive a new handbag and purse from my other half for Christmas; The Kate Spade Cedar Street Medium Harmony Shoulder Bag and the Kate Spade Lcey Continental Leather Wallet. I never expected these in a million years and feel so unbelievably bless. And with a new handbag comes a new (first) 'What's In My Bag' post!

Bag

The bag itself is the most gorgeous shape, it is a tote style shoulder bag in a similar style to the Louis Vuitton Neverfull. I have always swooned and drooled over all of Kate Spade's designs, they are all so gorgeous and cute. I did want something a little more sensible and suitable for day to day use and this size was perfect, and of course black goes with everything. The boy did good!

The bag itself is in a soft Saffiano Leather, this is a more grainy leather than the usual leather, meaning this it will keep it's shape longer and will not show up as many marks as a softer leather. Inside there are two small pockets and a larger zip pocket, and there is a lovely spotted lining on the inside of the bag. There is more than enough room inside the bag for all of your essentials, and I can not recommend this bag enough.

Purse
The purse that I am using is also a new item too, it is the Kate Spade Lacey Continental Leather Wallet. In the same Saffiano leather as the bag. It has three slots for note or receipts, twelve for cards, and a zip in the centre for your coins. It is super spacious and fits in my new bag perfectly! *cheesy grin*

Sunglasses

Living in London (well, England in general really!) you always have to be prepared, which means I am constantly armed with sunglasses. And usually an umbrella also, but I lost mine *note to self: purchase new umbrella!*. So the sunglasses I have are the RayBan Clubmasters, I love RayBans, they are such good quality sunglasses and seem to be the only ones that I don't break or lose. I already have the Wayfarers, and have had them for nearly 2 years and am totally surprised I haven't lost them yet.

Makeup Bag

I do my make up before I leave for work and carry a few things just in case I need to top up throughout the day or if I am going out somewhere. This one is from Designers Gulld but they don't make this one anymore, but you can find some similar ones on their website. The bits I like to carry are my Rimmel Stay Matte, The Eraser Eye Concealer, Lord & Berry Eyeline, Maxfactor Masterpiece Max, and my Soap, Glory Brow Archery Pencil & Clinique Chubby Stick Intense.

Hairbrush
Being a long haired lady, I need a hairbrush with me at all times. I love this little one from Wet Brush, it does the job and I love the sunshine colour! It also means I can spot it in my handbag.

Hand Cream

This hand cream is the best hand cream in the world. It is the Hemp Hand Cream from The Body Shop. It is quite thick and luxurious, although it soaks in really quickly. I cannot live without this and would recommend that you try this out if you can. It is gorgeous!

Notebook & Pen

I admit it ... I have a bit of a stationary obsession, with wayyy wayyy too many notebooks, but never seem to carry any with me. A few weeks before Christmas I was picking up the last few pieces and wanted to list everyone, and what I had bought to double check but had obviously forgotten all my notebooks, So I popped into WHSmiths and bought this one for a few pounds. And I love it!

Phone

As with most people, I cannot live without my phone. I have the iPhone 6, in a Skinny Dip Unicorn Case that my sister bought me. Enough said I think ...

Keys

These are my keys, I need them to get into my house. I have some home and work keys, a fob to get into my house, a trolley token (everyone needs one of those!) and a leather key ring from UnderCover!

I hope you enjoyed my first 'What's In My Bag' Post ...

What do you carry in your bag?

Favourites // December

Seeing as Christmas has just passed us by (in a flash!) I thought I would combine this December favourites with a bit of a 'What I Got for Christmas' and make it a bit longer!

Before I start, I just want to say the usual, this is not boastful, these are just my favourite posts to read so think it's only polite to write my own.

I think I will start with makeup, it is something that I gave really got into this year. I received the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette and I never thought it would live up to the hype, but it truly does. The colours and the pigmentation of the shadows are amazing. They blend together beautifully, and the result on the eyes is just amazing. They stay all day and I cannot recommend them enough, totally worth the money. Another beauty item I am loving is the Beauty Blender, I have used versions of this before and thought they were OK, but my sister gave me the original for Christmas and the ones I have used before are not a patch on it. It just smooths out the whole of your face and make the foundation look natural. 

In the skincare and fragrance category is the LookFantastic Beauty Box, my boyfreind bought the Limited Edition Christmas Collection for me (October, November and December) and the combination of products in them is amazing, the October box included an Elemis Day Cream, Reve de Miel Hand Cream and a Balance Me Face Mask, the November box included a Korres Shower Gel, a Bellapiere Red Lipstick and a Kebelo Face Mask, and the December box included a Codage Face Serum, Eyelure lashes and a full size Eve Lom cleanser. They are amazing to get a trial of some more high end brands, and testing out what works for you. I am tempted to set myself up for the monthly box any way! For perfume I am loving, my classic Nina Ricci L'eau, this is just 'my smell' and I love it and a new one, Viktor & Rolf, Flowerbomb which is gorgeous, and so incredibly sweet smelling which I love. If you can get somewhere to give them a sniff then you should!

Probable my favourite favourite, would be my new handbag. The Kate Spade New York Cedar Street Medium Harmony Shoulder Bag (What a mouthful!) and the Kate Spade Lacey Continental Leather Wallet. They are just absolutely amazing, and beautiful and I feel like such a lucky girl to have received them! There is a 'What's in my bag' coming in the next few days so I won't ramble on about this now ...

I love the idea of buying people experiences for Birthdays and Christmases Experiences, giving them s memory instead of a physics item. Send And this year I received two, the gift package, chose your own for me and my other half from my Dad, and also for my sister so can do that together, and my little sister bought me indoor skydiving! Which I am super excited, and also super scared about.

And lastly, a couple of misc items from my Mum. She gave me a keyboard for my iPad, It is one of the most amazing presents ever, and has completely revolutionised how I use my iPad. Writing complete blogposts comfortably from my iPad, and the sofa! I would highly recommend one to you! And another really thoughful gift, which I think could be bought for anyone. And lastly, she bought us a set of martini glasses, a cocktail making book and a selection of spirits, such a lovely and thoughtful gift too and I cannot wait to tuck into those!

What are your favourites this month?

Happy 2016 // New Years Resolutions

Image from here

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all brought in the New Year in style. I cannot believe that we are in 2016 already! I know we all say it and it is probably getting boring now, but this year went so fast! They are getting faster every year. I stumbled across the image below and felt it was so appropriate for the New Year. Although New Year's Day is just another day, it is also the perfect time to reminisce about the past year, and wipe the slate clean. Using that motivation to make any changes in any aspect of life that you wish in the coming year ...

Image from here

2015 was a good year ...

- I got a new job!

- Two of my best couple friends got married

- One of my oldest friends got engaged and asked me to be a bridesmaid! *excited dance*

- We celebrated living in London for 5 years!

To name a few highlights. And as for New Years Resolutions there are only a few. Last birthday I listed 28 things I want to acheive before I turn 28, and I am still working my way through to list. Reflecting about where I am at in my life at the moment, where I am on that list and any other changes I would like to make. Here are my three ...

- Blog 5 times a week: One of the things on the 28 before 28 list was to blog 3x a week for the next year ... so ... that failed! And this is my way of making that up. I will still have made the same amount of posts, just in an unorthodox way.

- Have made a step in my career: Either career progresion, taking a course, or a job in a new comoany. Not that I want to leave my current role, I am very happy where I am, but I have been in the same role for 11months now and feel that by December (Which would be nearly 2years in the role) something should change.

- Take up running again: I used to run all the time, and have done competitively in the past (many years ago) and would really love to take it up again!

What are your New Years Resolutions for 2016?