OK, call me paranoid, but whenever I do an Outfit of the Week post that even hints at Spring or Summer, the weather then decides to turn gloomy and cold. So cold in fact I spent a good portion of this morning de-icing the car. And I will probably do the same again at 5:30 am tomorrow. Sob.

Anyway, on to the outfit! I chose this outfit mainly because I love this jacket (last years) but also I’ve just bought these jeans and oh my word. Any girl with big bum problems will totally get what I mean when I say if a pair of jeans fit your bum, they don’t fit your waist. If they fit your waist, they threaten to split open on the ass. These jeans from Next have won the eternal battle. They fit everywhere! They also feel weirdly springy. So big up for skinny jeans you can actually bend in.

This outfit also let me wear three of my newest accessories and current faves. No, not the knock-off Channel shades ($5.00 from Crete) but all my lovely goodies from Rings and Tings.

The name of this online store makes me feel a little bit gangasta, ya get me? They stock my favourite sort of jewellery – affordable and fashionable. Seriously, if you buy a ring from here and accidently leave it on the side of a sink in a public loo, it’s not a big deal financially.

I don’t normally buy into the whole ‘simple and delicate’ necklace thing, I’m a statement girl at heart, but I do adore this one. In fact I think I’ve worn it with every work top and vest top I own. It’s two tiered, which makes it feel a bit fancier (I’m easily pleased) and can be thrown on to pull an outfit together.

The ring actually fits, which is an unusual bonus for someone with tiny hands. The arrow shapes also make me feel like I should be all dynamic and ambitious when I wear it.

The bracelet is also from Rings and Tings, and is my exact colour. You know when numerous people tell you that you suit a colour, so you buy anything you can in that colour? Well this one’s mine – just letting you know in case you fancy treating me, ya know. It’s made up of lots of thin separate cords, each with a gold bit on at different places. When my boyfriend first saw it he thought it was some bobbles, but after putting his glasses on he decided he liked it. So there’s that.

I like the bracelet, because although it looks kind of girly and delicate it doesn’t feel it. You can wear it anywhere, doing anything.

So there you have my outfit of the week, hopefully when I go shopping this weekend whatever I buy (and blog about wont jinx the weather.) It may feature more jewellery though – it’s a few days until pay day and I already have another basket full. Oops.

Is it possible to dedicate a whole blog post to one bag? Should a single bag get a whole blog post? Yes. Yes is the answer you are looking for in this case.

I first saw this bag on the blogosphere a few months back, on someone or other’s fashion wish list. I fell in love with it immediately. Now I don’t deny having a bit of a thing for novelty bags (have you seen my house bag? You can see it here) but this one stood out as being extra-special.

I ordered this bag online on Sunday, as my local store didn’t stock it – which at least means everybody in town won’t have it – and it was delivered for Wednesday. Which isn’t bad really for a £2.00 delivery… I couldn’t use it today as it wouldn’t fit in everything I needed, which is a bummer because IT’S SO PRETTY.

It’s made out of polyester, but has a leather like look. I think one of the nice features of the bag is that apple, price sticker and ‘500ml’ label are all 3d, it just makes it look like its worth a lot more than £29 quid.

The top stitching is really neat and cute too. The soft beige colour means that you could, in theory, wear this with everything. Or that’s what I’m telling myself. And trust me; I will be wearing this with everything. My last bag from Accessorize bag lasted ages, so I’m hoping this one will too. The strap isn’t adjustable, but I’m not exactly tall and it reaches just below my hip, which is kinda nice.

When I looked at the dimensions online, they did put me off a bit. It’s basically long-ish and thin. I’ve put a lipstick and pen in this photo so you can try and get an idea of the size and depth. I may have to buy a smaller purse, and reduce the contents of my normal bags massively, but for a bag of this amazingness that doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice.

The only thing that lets it down is the fastening – if it can be called that? The bag closes via two metallic strips at the top, and on mine they are off set ever so slightly. This isn’t a big deal but once you notice it, it is a bit annoying. Also it means if you try to just drop your keys in the bag, they stick to the metallic strips.

When I showed my sister this bag, the first thing she said was “It’s a bag? It doesn’t look like a bag” she then had to re-iterate to my niece that it is actually a bag. Apparently it is a very convincing stand in for an apple juice carton. If your desired look is for a health-freak, feel free to think of this as a perk.

I love this bag, TV stylists love it… so if you’ve been umming and ahhing over whether to treat yourself, do, because you won’t regret it. It’s only a few weeks to pay day, right?

When it comes to beauty, I’m in two minds. Part of me believes that the pricier the product the better quality the ingredients and research behind it… because that makes sense doesn’t it?

The other part of me wants to believe that the pricier ones just have more money spent on marketing campaigns. This is what my bank account wants to believe too. So, with the house-fund (me and the boyf are currently saving for a mortgage deposit) and other projects in mind, I decided to turn a blind eye to all the glossy adverts with scientific sounding phrases and go budget.

Just popping into town for a budget buy turned into a budget beauty haul… If it costs less, that means you can buy more, doesn’t it?

The foundation and lipsticks were from Poundland. When Poundland announced that it was bringing out its own brand make-up line, it created a huge buzz and gained positive reviews overall. Part of me thought that it would probably turn out to be a bit overhyped, but at a quid a piece, it’s not a big deal if it is naff.

The foundation didn’t inspire confidence when I squeezed it out of the bottle. Rather than a normal liquid foundation, this one had a stodgier, almost mouse-like thickness; however it went on and blended like a dream. The coverage is OK, it’s not brilliant, but it’s better than some of the some foundations I’ve paid twenty-odd pounds for.

It also lasted really well. I applied it about 9 hours before the photo of me was taken and didn’t feel the need to re-apply once. As you can see, it didn’t cover my massive bags paticularly well, so if your a bit sleep deprived like I was on Sunday you may want to hunt out an under-eye concealer.

The lipsticks are possibly my new favourite things. I’ve let everyone know just how utterly amazing they are, even blokes who aren’t really interested; but I just cannot stop raving about them. I was worried about how these would apply, I hadn’t used lipbalm for a day or two so thought they might dry out my lips and look all cracked and horrible.

I just applied the lipstick directly, it was Sunday and I couldn’t be bothered messing about with a brush. I swear I could feel my lips being instantly moisturised. The range has some great shades, but just a heads up they do transfer quite easily. I’ve so far found lipstick on my hand, on my chin (classy) and on numerous mugs, so yeah, just be careful about that. Weirdly, the colour lasts quite well, it does fade slightly, but it does so evenly – none of that accidental lipliner look going on. The darker one did last better than the Barbie pink; however the Barbie pink is more of a soft, shimmery shade when its on. The next time I do dramatic eye make-up I’ll be using this on the lips.

The eyeliner is a gel one for about £4.99 from Collection. I was a bit worried about gel, but found this easier to apply than others I’ve had in pen-form. The colour is intense and again, it can last a long, drunken night (as Valentine’s day proved.) I should have taken a photo of this when it was all nice and new, but I just couldn’t wait to get into it. Besides, showing it like this kinda shows the thickness of the gel… right?

The contouring kit is from Sleek and is about £6.49. It does look a bit dog-eared here, but just take that as a good sign… I use this every-day without fail. It can cling to dry skin, but the tones (I’m using the light version) are enough to make a difference but not overpower. The highlighter alone makes it worth buying the palette.

The mascara is the most expensive thing here, at a whopping £7.99 – I know, last of the big spenders on this blog. I’m wearing the flared version, but to be honest, it’s not any more flared than the rest of the Maybelline Falsies range. What I love about this range is that it doesn’t clump, even when you get down to the dregs because you forgot to buy another when it first started to run out. If anything it gets better as it goes on.

Confession time now, I totally forgot to buy anything for the brows; I’m currently using a product from Mii (you can read about it here) but I wouldn’t really class that as budget, so sorry about that. From desperate experience though, I can tell you a Rimmel brown eyeliner works fairly well, as long as you’re careful.

If the calendar is to be believed spring is on the way. So, if you could let the people in charge of the weather know, that would be awesome.

For now we will ignore the biting winds and the threats of sleet, and pretend the only thing we are worried about is brief showers of rain; the kind of rain that gets you damp not soggy. Even if it does make your hair frizz to the size of a small principality. We shall put away the big coat, that you’ve probably had for too long, but you keep because you don’t mind it getting drenched when you’re just popping out.

This mac is perfect for spring, and despite it being from Primark it gets pulled out every year without fail. My sister actually wanted this coat but I bought it (sorry) and my boss, a fabric expert (literally) described it as being made from “very interesting fabric”. It’s light enough for when it is sunny and warm; but strong enough to protect you from the wind and rain.

I love both the colour and the style. The colour is so bold you neither look like a detective or a flasher (always a perk) while the tie pulls you in at the waist, with a cute little bow at the back. The frill at the front also is rather strategic, adding the illusion of bigger curves… which is perfect for me.

The bag is one I got on holiday for about 40 euros. The guy in the shop promised that it was a genuine something-or-other, but I’d never heard of the design house… and neither had the bag in all probability. It may be a blatant rip off of an obscure brand, but I love it. A lot of people go out of their way to comment on it, which is quite nice; I’m not going to lie.

Due to the ‘look at me’ colour/nature of the bag and coat, I’ve paired thiswith some simple nude patent shoes. I got these from New Look, they cripple me but I bought them for a wedding when I realised it was the coming weekend and my girly, floral dress would be paired with some old trainers if I didn’t buy something that day. Still, they’re quite nice to look at, aren’t they?