What's in my Bag

Hey Everyone!

Hope you're having a great week. So let’s be honest. I’m totally nosy. So one of my favorite YouTube videos to watch is What’s in My Bag. And since I don’t currently have a YouTube Channel, I figured this might work essentially the same way. Another reason why I love this type of video is cause I can make sure that when I’m looking for a new bag, all of my stuff will fit into it. Any links you see below are affiliate links which help me to run my blog.

So let’s get into it!

I normally carry one of two purses. It really depends on the time of year. The first, is the Cameron Street Mega Margot from Kate Spade in a maroon color. It debuted in 2015, and is no longer available, but has been a tried and true winter bag for me over the past couple of years because of its large size and beautiful color. It allows me to carry around everything I need and have minimal use for any additional bags.

The other is the Tory Burch Perry 3 Compartment tote. This purse is definitely still available, and comes in about 10 colors. I have the Light Umber, which is a cognac color and makes for a great every day bag. What I love about it is that it's super lightweight because it doesn't have a ton of buttons and bows or chains, and is also big enough that when I have to go to a client meeting, or take my computer home because I am going to be working from home, I don't have to take additional bags. I also love that it isn't so massive that it's easily bogged down and you can just throw everything in it. Because of the structure of the bag, while you can carry a good amount, you can't just throw everything.

So now getting into what is actually in my bag. This first section is stuff that I have in every bag, and whenever I switch bags, it all goes.

• Kate Spade Wallet - Maroon 
• This is one of two wallets that I keep with me. I'd say this is probably the one I carry around the least. It has a bunch of store cards, my NYC metro card which I don't need because I walk to work, as well as cash, gift cards, etc. 
• Henri Bendel Card Holder - Maroon
• This is the other wallet I keep with me. It has my drivers license, my main used credit card (Chase Sapphire Preferred, let me know if you'd want me to do a review on it), my debit card and the pass to get into the office building for my 9-5 job. This is the one that I am most likely to just grab and either throw in a clutch or in my pocket for a night out. 
• Bullet Journal
• My Bullet Journal is probably my most prized possession and goes literally everywhere with me. Right now I am using a periwinkle blue Scribbles that Matter Pro Notebook and I've been loving it so far. What I love about the Bullet Journal Method is the idea that I can have it be whatever I want it to. So some weeks it's a running tasks list, other days it's a grocery list, or journal. Really it's whatever I need it to be in that particular time. I do enjoy making mine a bit more decorative, but if you follow the original Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carrol the idea is this to be more on the minimal side. I will likely also do a post on my Bullet Journal moving into the new year. 
• Because I carry my bullet journal around with me, I always also have a pencil case where I keep my Bullet journal supplies, as well as my Apple Pencil. 
• Phone - iPhone X (honestly, who doesn't always have their phone with them)
• Headphones (3)
• AirPods - I always have these attached to the keys to my apartment
• Wired Headphones with Lightning Adapter- while I would love to believe that I always charge my AirPods the way that I should, I definitely do not. So I always keep a pair of wired headphones on hand in case I don't have my AirPods to use for whatever reason
• Wired Headphones for Headphone Jack - I also keep a pair of these with the Dongle. It's great for flying or anywhere that doesn't use the lightning adapter, but I can also use it with my iPad as those still have headphone jacks. 
• Kindle - I literally always carry my Amazon Kindle with me. It's so light, and I firmly believe that you never know when you might have a chance for some unexpected reading. A few minutes on a subway, or in the doctors office, and you can knock out a few chapters right there. My dad makes fun of me, but the 3 libraries I belong to makes having this item in my purse pretty on brand for me. 
• Catch-All Pouch
• I also have a catch all pouch that everything else you could ever imagine goes in. Inside there is the following
• Tissues
• Hand Sanitizer - the NYC subways are gross!
• Lipsticks (mostly light pinks and nudes that make for great every day colors. Right now I've been loving Dancefloor Princess from the Hot Lips Collection by Charlotte Tilbury)
• Lip Liners (also in the pinky/nude family)
• Eye drops - I have such bad allergies and wear contacts, so I keep these in there in case I ever touch my eyes or I find them getting itchy. I use Rhoto because that is what I have. 
• A pen - in case I'm ever without my full pencil case, I still have one
• Chapstick - I have both the Nivea and the Agave Chapstick by Bite Beauty (I totally got got on the sample of that one)
• Motion Sickness bands - I bought these on Amazon in a huge pack. I have a tendency to get car sick a ton, so these are super helpful to have on hand. 
• Tide to Go Sick - you never know when you're going to need one.

Miscellaneous Items: So these items you might find in my bag on occasion, but not all the time.

• 10.5 inch iPad Pro - I love my iPad. I use it for reading, watching TV, really a whole bunch of stuff. It's a bit on the heavier side, so I really don't carry it around often, but I know if I'm traveling

Book Review: Twisted Twenty Six

Hey Guys - me again! Hope you all, had a very merry Christmas if you all celebrate. If not, hopefully you had a great day nonetheless. I’m back this morning with another book review. Over the holidays I’ve had a chance to get a ton of reading done that I couldn’t with work. So in just a few days I finished the latest book in the Stephanie Plum series, Twisted Twenty Six. You can purchase this book on Amazon or wherever you purchase books.

I’ve been a fan of the Stephanie Plum series since the beginning. It follows Stephanie who is a bit down on her luck financially, and her decision to become a bail bondsman for her cousin Vinnie. Each novel, which is usually released late fall every year focuses on her trials and tribulations in that role as well as her relationship with Joe Morelli her long time boyfriend, and Ranger, a bail bondsman friend who has had the hots for her since book one.

This book in particular focuses on a set of “keys” that are missing from Stephanie’s grandmother’s new husband when he passes away. The keys have a connection to the Trenton NJ mob and whoever wants them is out to kill.

Overall, I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a series that I always get enjoyment out of reading and is definitely a quick and easy read. The characters can sometimes be a bit annoying and I still don’t understand how her hamster is still alive after 26 books, unless they take place consecutively after one another. If you like this one, I would definitely recommend reading the others. And there isn’t really one signature plot line that runs through them all so don’t be afraid to read them out of order.

Hope you enjoy!  Moving forward I’m thinking I’ll do more of a recap style of reviews at the end of the month versus you guys hearing about every book. Let me know if that is something you’d enjoy!

Love and Christmas Wishes from NYC
Celia

Book Review: Everything I Never Told You

Jumping into our first book review here on my blog. The book is called Everything I Never Told You.

I know I’m a little late to reading this book. It was originally released in 2014 by the author Celeste Ng. It’s about the Lee family in Ohio and starts out with their daughter Lydia dying. I felt like that for me was a really aggressive start but it got better after that. They ended up connecting everything at the end which was better.

It took place in the 70s, so it was interesting to see the racial profiling that Asian families dealt with during that time period, especially considering that is likely something they don’t experience in today’s culture.

At the end of the day, it was a book I’d recommend but I’m not sure it was worth the hype that I think everyone gave it. If I had to give it a star ranking, I’d say it was probably about 3 stars for me. I had an enjoyable time reading it (and believe me I cannot say that about every book) but it was not my favorite book this year at all.

The First of Many

Hi Everyone -

Most of you don't know me (although I can't imagine why you would), but this is going to be my first post on my blog. I got inspired to write a blog for two reasons; the first to document my fitness journey. The other was to review books. I figured that the best way to cover off on both, would be to do Lifestyle.

A little about me: I'm Celia, and I currently call NYC home. I've lived here for about 4 years so far and have loved every second of it. During my full time job I work in Advertising as an Account Manager. So basically I help brands buy ads on the internet. I have big dreams to go to law school and hopefully will be able to make that happen during the second half of 2020. I have visions that this is going to be a big year for me!

This is me!

Keep an eye on the blog for both info about my fitness journey, book reviews (I read a lot) and any and everything else. And who knows, I might even have a few other things for you guys.

I'm sure this will get better as we go along, but this is all we've got for now!

Love from NYC,
Celia