The new university term started last week so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do a 'what's in my bag' post. I've just started my 4th and final year at university and it is completely terrifying and stressful already (I say this as I lie in my bed whilst blogging and watching QI, it's a tough life really). I went shopping the other day and bought myself a new everyday bag that's big enough to carry around all my stuff to the library and my classes. It's from Accessorize and I really like it, even though it's black and I promised myself I would definitely not buy a black bag this time.
Notebooks: The small Moleskines are for my seminar notes and my dissertation. In 1st and 2nd year I had lots of lectures that required taking down pages and pages of notes, but now I only have seminars which don't really involve a lot of writing so small notebooks are much more practical. The big notepad is one I take with me to the library to scribble down notes, reference numbers for books, stuff I need to look up etc.
Filofax: I've had my Filofax (a raspberry Metropol Personal) for around a year now and I love it. Organisation and stationery are two of my favourite things so it pretty much couldn't get any better than this. Everything is colour coded which makes it easy to see when deadlines are and how long it will be before I'm allowed to go on a night out!
Pens: I always carry loads of pens around with me, even though I'm sure one or two would suffice. They must be black, however, as blue pens are the work of the devil. I always think things look much neater in black pen and if I have to write in blue pen for some reason it makes me feel all squirmy and horrible (just me?!)
Books: I always seem to be carting books back and forth between the library and my flat (currently have 14 checked out, supposed to be reading them right now, oh well). These are a couple that are in my bag just now that I've taken out to do some research for my dissertation. I'm actually really enjoying doing the reading for my dissertation at the moment but I'm pretty sure I won't be saying the same thing in April!
Electronics: I recently joined the modern world and upgraded to a smartphone, the HTC Wildfire S. APPS ARE AMAZING OMG. It's so good to be able to check Twitter or read your emails without a computer. My MP3 player is a Sony Walkman which my parents got me as a present after my last one died. Sometimes I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't own an iPod. Anyone?
Water: I usually take some form of water or juice with me, and sometimes snacks too if I know I'm going to be out of the flat for a long time. I should probably invest in a reusable water flask, but at the moment I'm refilling this Isklar bottle. I really like the design of this bottle, mostly because it reminds me of the Finlandia vodka bottles - I'm such a lush haha!
Purse: My purse is from River Island and I really like it because of the gold art deco sort of pattern on it. It's really big which is useful as I never throw anything out and my purse is full of a strange selection of loyalty cards, receipts for electrical appliances and one pence pieces.
Keys: Pretty self-explanatory really, if I didn't take my keys out with me life would be rather difficult. My keyring is a little frog as they are one of my all-time top 5 favourite animals. Fun fact: the others include (in no particular order) wolves, otters, bats and meerkats.
Weather Defence: In Scotland it is definitely necessary to carry an umbrella and sunglasses with you at all times. When people say you can experience four seasons in one day here, they're really not lying. The Wayfarer style glasses are from ASOS and the umbrella is from Boots. I love bright and patterned umbrellas but the wind always destroys them so quickly I stick to whatever is the best combo of cheapness and sturdiness, which usually means black.
Makeup Bag: I always take a makeup bag with me where-ever I go even though I hardly ever need to use it, it's like a security blanket! I got this bag free with some No7 offer and it's the perfect size for daytime. I usually take with me some finishing powder and a brush, eyeliner, chapstick and whatever lipstick/gloss I'm wearing that day. I also take a mirror and a wee hairbrush in case of emergencies!
What's in your bag?
Gillian x
