What's In My Handbag?

As January is renowned for being that month of the year where the old goes out with the recycling (I'm a big fan of recycling!) in order to make room for the new, I thought I'd dust off the old receipts from purchases I know I shouldn't have made, throw away empty chewing gum wrappers and bin bus tickets in order to give my handbag and its contents a bit of a makeover. Being a self confessed bag lady I have more than enough arm candy to use one for every month of the year, and this month is the turn of my gorgeous Cath Kidston day bag in the iconic Trailing Floral print. I love this bag, it's just the right size to contain all of my day essentials if I'm popping to the shops or out to lunch, but it's also large enough to fit an A4 document wallet and my pencil case when I'm off to lectures. The only problem with Cath Kidston bags are there they're all beautiful and I feel it necessary to purchase every single pattern (I joke - honest!).

The revamped contents of my handbag are all there for a reason, I no longer wish to feel weighed down by odds and sods I don't need to be carrying around with me! As you can see I have a bit of a love affair with Radley, my purse being a large flap-over wallet that houses my collection of 'points' cards for places like Boots, House of Fraser, Boux Avenue etc and my bank cards, my umbrella was a gift for Christmas a year ago, and the black folio looking item is actually my Kindle encased in a Radley case I received for Christmas in 2012. My brand loyalty doesn't stop there, oh no! I continue with the Cath Kidston theme with the lanyard for my keys and the little round mirror. I also carry around two MAC items, the first being a lipstick in whatever colour I choose that day from my collection and that lives in the teeny tiny clear plastic makeup bag (also from MAC) alongside my Soap & Glory hand sanitizer, a Balmi lip balm, a plaster, hair tie and a hair clip for when my new fringe gets annoying. I also like to carry around a perfume of reasonable size, and my current scent of choice is Armani Diamonds which is going to run out soon - boo.

The last 4 items are definitely essentials, my railcard goes everywhere with me, just in case, and is housed in a Durham University card wallet (got to show some love to my school!). A pen is always essential, and if I'm not carrying my Filofax, which I don't carry often 'cause it's so big, I definitely have to have a pen lurking about somewhere. My phone and my earphones are usually the last things to be added to the mix. I love listening to music on the bus/train, my current iPhone case of choice is the fab floral print design that I found in Primark of all places for a mere £2, bargain!

I usually also carry around a homemade lunch, but I didn't include that 'cause no-one really wants to see a picture of an old sandwich do they?!

What everyday essentials do you have to have in your bag?
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