This is the Millennial Working in the Big City edition of What’s in My Bag. (Here is the previous edition if you want to take a peek. I also did not realize until just now that it’s been 2 years since my first bag post.)

bag (thrifted):

I’ve tried using a few different bags for work purposes over the last month and this is the one that I kept coming back to. The bag itself is just a PKG laptop bag that I thrifted a couple of years ago but couldn’t really ever use on campus. Usually I have to carry so much with me that I would rather wear a backpack.

It’s a nice pop of colour against all the black and white I wear and the shoulder strap makes it comfortable to wear. I’m also pretty sure that it’s meant to hold a laptop larger than the one I use for work which is how I can shove so much stuff in there.

laptop (macbook air):

Work laptop!

tablet (nexus 7):

My commute into the city is pretty painless as long as I don’t take the 8:25 express train (aggressively packed before it even gets into my departure station, hard pass). The commute length is basically perfect for a quick episode so I’ve been downloading shows from Netflix and watching on the train. I’m not sure what show looked weirder to people glancing over my shoulder without context or subtitles – Death Note or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

purse (the gap):

Don’t judge me. Sometimes my outfits don’t have pockets and I need a purse when I run out for lunch. It’s handy to just have all my important things in one section of my larger setup so that I can remove the purse without worrying that I left something behind. It fits into the smaller pocket of the laptop bag.

wallet (winners):

Speaking of things that fit into larger versions of itself – my current wallet (in the picture) is the removable small wallet from an Olivia + Joy wallet that I bought at Winners. Clearly what I really want is for all of my things to be like Russian nesting dolls.

prescription sunglasses (eyebuydirect):

For years – YEARS – I suffered by not giving in and getting prescription sunglasses. I don’t like my face with contacts (also I struggled so much trying to put them in) so it was always a decision between shaded vision and actual vision. And then I developed an addiction to EyeBuyDirect and holy – prescription sunglasses are such a game changer. I know, I’m so behind on this but I’m sure someone else reading this needs a bit more prodding to just buy prescription sunglasses.

It’s totally worth carrying around 2 pairs of glasses all the time and also EBD is really affordable. They also have a BOGO sale on right now until June 12th so it’s a great time to test them out. Hint hint nudge nudge.

spiral pins (amazon)

I saw these being promoted on Instagram and honestly did not have that much faith in their ability to hold hair so I was not at all willing to buy them from Shoppers at $8/3 pins or something else ridiculous. I found the same pins on Amazon and they were so much cheaper – like $2.50/10 – so then I just sat around and waited for them to arrive from China. Hands down these are the best hair accessories I’ve ever owned. With my current hair length, buns end up looking like stupidly tied knots and if I move around, the bun keeps slipping.

Spiral pins are insanely effective and I don’t get ponytail headaches when I use them. I have to place another order because my mom stole half of them from me.

skull lip balm (rebels refinery):

Okay, I cheated a little – this lives on my desk at work because it’s too annoying to throw into such a slim bag. I spotted it at The Bay and insisted that I needed it as a Christmas present because of the aesthetic but the quality of the lip balm itself is just average. I’m eventually going to just remove the balm and refill it with a nicer one but for now, it’s fine. I know – a glowing review.

 

 

lotion:

All my bags are small and sometimes you just really need some moisturizing. This one is courtesy of Anushka who is the best because my hands were so dry after two consecutive moving adventures.

remote clicker (mynt):

I have raved about this thing in my previous post on cute present suggestions and I stand by it, especially now that I’ve been using it for months. One huge perk of working in my current office is that I have Winnie who takes all my fit pics now, but prior to that I made a lot of use of the remote clicker. It also lets you find your phone/keys and controls your music but let’s be real – the remote is the best function.

travel lint brush (muji):

I don’t even want to know how much money I have spent on lint rollers in my life only to be disappointed that they don’t even pick everything up and annoyed that I can’t take them with me when I go out. I was so happy (probably way more excited than I should’ve been) when I found this compact lint brush at Muji because it’s a godsend to someone who primarily wears black and also loves petting animals on the street. You don’t have to bother with refills and it’s so slim. You can find it on Amazon if you’re desperate but you’re better off just dropping by a Muji store if possible because it’s only about $5-6.

 

 

presto:

If you’re commuting like I am, you should set a default trip between your two main stations so that you don’t have to bother tapping off. The danger of this method is that if you go literally anywhere else that isn’t that default trip you have to override and then make sure you tap off like normal. #GOTrainTipsWithVick

---

And that’s another blog post in the bag.

Hahahah. Get it?

Please don’t unfollow me.

xoxo, Vick