What's In my Kate Spade Handbag?

"I think playing dress up begins at age five and never truly ends." -Kate Spade

I bought this Kate Spade bag from Winners about a month ago now. It was an absolute bargain at only $129.00! I couldn't resist. 

Now that I've been using this bag a month, it's gotten to the point where it needs a bit of a clear out. I thought while I did this I may as well share what I keep in my handbag!

As you can see, my handbag was in sure need of a clean out. I tend to shove receipts and papers into my bag and forget about them until they're piled up so much I can't seem to ever find what I'm looking for. The bag is a great size. It holds everything I need it to without being a tight squeeze or having tonnes of extra space.

To start: the trash. I've got a couple receipts and an old shopping list. Along side this I have the wrapping from my new Sears points card, last weeks church bulletin and the ticket stubs from the last three shows I went to (Rogue One, Logan, and Beauty and the Beast).

I would consider these items my necessities. I think every girl carries spare tampons in her handbag, if not for herself but to save a friend in need! My EpiPen is obviously a must with my plethora of food allergies. Lastly I always carry hand lotion as my hands tend to get so dry they crack if I'm not quite liberal with the lotion. I usually also have a pen and chapstick but I'm not sure where they've run off to.

I'd consider these items to be miscellaneous. I mean, you never truly know when you'll be in need of a USB stick so I carry one with me at all times. When I get change back from a cash transaction, I typically throw it in the bottom of my purse... whoops!

These items are not exactly necessary but I don't go anywhere without them. Wrigley's Doublemint is my all time favourite gum! I like to carry the Polaroid camera Josh bought me because I never know when I'm going to want to take a photo with it. I'd rather have it with me and not use it than wish I had brought it along. Finally, my sunglasses are a must. I have quite sun-sensitive eyes and I like to have my sunglasses for driving and spontaneous walks.

Lastly I, of course, carry my keys and wallet. I keep my keychain minimal with just my fob, car keys, and house key. Josh bought me this Matt & Nat wallet for my birthday and I'm obsessed with it! It holds everything I need and is absolutely stunning.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what's in my Kate Spade bag. Are there any other handbag necessities you have that I don't? Please do let me know!

Canadian Fashion Brands I Love.

"I wish retail therapy was covered by my health insurance."As a proud Canadian and a lover of all things clothes, I love when I can sport some homeland fashion.

I feel like every Canadian loves Roots. There is no other store than compares when it comes to comfort. My personal favourite in the Roots line-up are their sweatpants. My goto comfy pants for lounging at home are my Roots slouchy sweatpants. I also love their transition clothes for early summer. They're a breathable light cotton that still give you that warm and cozy feeling.

It seems that everywhere I go around town I see Herschel products. The brand is best known for their backpacks. I'm sad to say mine somehow got lost in my move back home from Ottawa. The backpacks are amazing quality and great size for fitting textbooks, snacks, and a laptop.

I personally love everything I've purchased from Lululemon. I feel like every girl has at least one Lulu headband, but what I love them for is hoodies. They make warm and breathable athletic-wear sweaters that are great for running, walking, and generally being outside during sweater weather. I love the way the sweaters look as well. They have an amazingly slimming effect that gives the illusion of an hourglass figure. 

If you're an Estée fan on YouTube then you've probably heard of this store before. Aritzia may just be my favourite place to shop! They have their own named brand and also carry other high-end brands in their store. One of my favourites that Aritizia carries is TNA. From the leggings to the sweaters to the cute dresses and bar shirts, TNA has it all. It's a tad bit expensive (comparable to Lulu) but the quality is undeniable. It's a winner of a brand!

Matt & Nat is a brand I wasn't familiar with before. However my boyfriend got me this wallet as part of my birthday present and I've fallen in love! It's made from 100% recycled water bottles but has that genuine leather look and feel. It's amazing quality and I love it so much (not just cause my bf got it for me either haha). 

RealTechniques Sponge First Impression.

"Foundation should unify tone, but it shouldn't take away from the individuality of the skin." -François Nars

I've been wanting to try the beauty blender for ages now but can't bring myself to spend $20+ shipping and handling and taxes just for a sponge! Our local drugstore finally got the Real Techniques miracle complexion sponge in stock and I snatched one up!

Upon first glance the sponge was nothing special what so ever. I was so afraid that I had wasted $10.99! Once I wet the sponge it became really soft and bouncy. It felt like a cloud when I was using it to pat my foundation into my skin.

I love the finish of the foundation on my skin from using the sponge! It left a natural look to my skin without any streaks or cakiness. 

Upon first impression I would highly rate this sponge! It blended my foundation beautifully, left a natural finish and provided great coverage. I would recommend this sponge to everyone and anyone!

International Women's Day.

"The empowered woman is powerful beyond measure and beautiful beyond description." - Steve Maraboli 
I've never celebrated International Women's Day per se. I like to think that as a feminist I celebrate being a woman every day and so have never seen the point of straying from my daily schedule to celebrate the day. 

This year was different. A couple of my friends and I are volunteering with our local women's shelter for a school project by collecting donations of clothes, toiletries, etc. They mentioned they were holding an event at the Delta hotel in celebration of International Women's day and asked if we would be interested in volunteering at the event to run a table where women were able to fill a bag with free items. 

The items included shampoo and conditioner, perfume samples, pads and tampons, hair dyes, and hats and mittens. We were honoured to be asked and when we found it didn't interfere terribly with our class schedule we said yes. 

It was such a fun experience to see the women so happy. I realized how much I take simple things like tampons for granted. It doesn't ever cross my mind that there are women who can't afford them.

There were performs and guest speakers there to help celebrate the day. My favourite performance was a group of four native women from the reserve just outside of town who sang and played their hide drums. The song they chose was The Women's Gathering Song, very fitting for the day.

The guest speaker, inspector Monique Rollins is the city's first woman inspector. She gave an inspiring speech about women empowering other women in leadership roles. I walked away from her speech feeling strong, confident, and encouraged.

It was an amazing way to spend the day. Celebrating being a woman with other women made me so proud of my gender.

 Women are so powerful.

Photographs of February.

"Why, what's the matter that you have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?" -William Shakespeare

Emma.

He laughed so hard when this printed from my Polaroid.

This quote turned my month around.

The photo Josh posted on his Instagram of my birthday.

Duke has started touching noses.

Girls night at Sex Toy Bingo hosted by Spenny. Of course I won haha.

The jacket Josh and I picked for Oakley.

My handsome man.

Valentine's Day dinner date.

Cuddles with Oakley.

February was an amazing month for me (sorry to brag if it wasn't as good for you! Get 'em next month). I think you'll notice in my 10 favourite photos taken in February that it was a month of time spent with Josh and our dogs. There were some bumps in the road, of course, but I feel really at peace with where my life is right now. Excuse the low quality as the majority of these photos were all taken with snapchat and the rest with my Polaroid camera, but I hope you can see the joy in them that I got to feel this month. May March bring you all the best.