My Week #1

I'm going to start a little post series showing my week in my diary!

Enjoy :)

A John Lewis Filofax Adventure!

So on Sunday I happened to be in John Lewis with my wonderful fiance (we'll call him T), as T has seen a fantastic deal on a dishwasher the day before - £700 down to £250 for no apparent reason!

Long story short we bought the dishwasher (yay, no more washing up!) and my mum will have to store it for the next year, haha.

But whilst we were getting the sale in place I spotted the stationary section and a sign on the wall that said 'Filofax', I pointed it out to T (who rolled his eye, he has no understanding) and went over while he sorted out the money!

The section was only small, but it was like my own personal dreamland! I got to look at all the planner's I've looked at online, open them and touch them! I'm wondering now whether I should've smelt the Malden, but would I have looked just a bit weird.

To my delight they had Ochre Maldens, my dream, in most sizes, so I got to pick up, feel and look at both the personal and the A5. I can tell you I want both.

I also good to look at personal sized Originals and Finsburys, but the Malden still wins! They had some A5 dominos as well, which would definitely be my choice or work planner should I ever need one (please one day!).

In my excitement I took no photos of this wonderful Filofax oasis, but I can tell you, it's made me want a Malden even more. And wish I had a job where I could justify a planner.

Oh to dream!

Blink and you'll miss it...my Pocket Finsbury

I was VERY naughty and on an impulse purchased a pocket Finsbury in Raspberry from Staples last Tuesday.

In my defence it was a bargain and I did go on about my hankering for a new Filo!

I need a new purse, my old one is rather worn and maybe too chunky for my bag.

I really want the Malden Large Zipped Purse, as it looks perfect and would give me my very own slice of the Ochre Malden pie! But it'd probably still be too chucky...and it's £53.00 I can't spend.

So when this Finsbury popped up I figured that I should take the plunge. It arrived on Wednesday, what service?!

I was thrilled, I unboxed it and it's truely beautiful, I love it, the colour, how soft it is. But last night I sat down to look at a purse set up, and realised that it just would never work for me.

And that I had no other need for it, as I've now set up my old Paperchase planner with some wedding info (more on that soon). It felt like a waste, and the money guilt set it.

So now it's up for sale.

I'm wanting around £25-30 for it, so if you're interested, let me know.

Here are some pictures of the beauty, I'll be sad to see her go. But I can't keep her just for the sake of it.

Hankering for a planner

And so that feelings come around again...I got stuck on what to do recently in regards to Wedding planning and how I was finding my personal Filos too bulky to carry around. Well nothing's changed, my planning need has stayed the same, my bag size has stayed the same.

What's changed is that I'm spending more time browsing other people's planners on facebook groups. The influx of pictures of Kikki K's and Webster's Colour Crush planners has left me wanting...

Wanting a lovely summery, light coloured beautiful planner that I can care for and write nicely in.

But I still also want an Ochre Malden, as well as a zipped compact and a Pillarbox Red Original.

And an A5...

But my situation hasn't changed, I don't need and won't use any of the above. And let's not get started on how I can't even think about affording anything under after the Wedding.

I just want one because it looks pretty.

A Planner Pickle

Guess who's back...after a huge amount of time and a bit of a rollercoaster of a year.

I last posted back in May just before my whole changed forever.

I'd just started a new job, then less than a month into that new job my father passed away very suddenly and very unexpectedly. I was away from work for the next month and during that time my priorities changed and my Filofax fell my the wayside, I guess I hadn't got into using it seriously enough and with nothing to do but recover from what had happened I just didn't feel the need for it.

Then only one month after the lowest time of my life two major highs came along, we bought a flat and got engaged!!

Now you'd think that preparing to move into a new flat (it's still being built and won't be ready until Dec 2015) and planning a wedding were perfect ways to get back into my Filo...but here comes the planner pickle...

I'm just finding my Filofax too bulky to carry around in my bag with me, as well as the full pencil case.

I'm a great lover of excel spreadsheets and I've got them coming out of my ears with wedding planning details on...but I feel like I need to have something with me that's more of an overview of all the wedding details.

So what to do next...here are the options:

The Moleskine Wedding Planner

I found this online and thought it was the looked perfect

It covers all the main wedding areas, looks nice and has well planned out sections.

It also has a pouch for loose bits of paper etc.

Vital flaw 1: it has no diary

Vital flaw 2: the pages are 

A Plain Diary

May not have enough note pages

Wouldn't have the structured sections - without that I'd just get messy

Nothing to hold loose paper

A Mini Dodo Pad Diary

Has the diary and notes sections

Wouldn't have the structured sections

Has a storing pouch

A Plain Notepad

No diary

Not structured

Nothing to hold loose paper

So what do I do, what combination do I put together?

Do I stick with the Filofax that I'm not using?

So I have a diary and the Moleskine?

The Moleskine has printable sections on their website, could these be somehow incorporated?

I'm also trying to save every penny I can for the flat, the wedding and Christmas so I don't want to spend a lot of money.

And my biggest worry, will I use it?

I'm always buying notebooks, diaries, downloading apps, trying online calendars...anything to organise myself, but for me everything turns out to be a fad.

How can I find the right thing for me?

Advice please!!

DIY Money Box

After Christmas we picked up some bargains in the form of containers of nibbles (Twiglets/Mini Cheddars)

I had already been thinking about turning the leftover container into a money box, as we have loose change everywhere and mugs full of coppers.

As we've just decided to go on holiday to LA and Las Vegas later this year, that was the push I needed!

Here's the finished article, and guess what...no glue!

I cut some scrap paper to the right high to match the container and wrapped it round.

I used some washi tape to seal the join and then, as it didn't quite reach the top and bottom or maybe my cutting wasn't quite straight. So I put a strip of washi around the top and bottom too.

Then I had to try and cut a slot in the top, which was not so successful.

It involved a wine bottle opener and some very bad attempts at cutting with scissors. It's a pretty shocking attempt, hence why there's no close up of the top! But it does the job even if you can only put in one coin at a time.

But now I can free up the mugs that were holding coins and put change straight in our holiday fund!

Moving into my Personal Swift

So I've finally made the move into my new Personal Swift after getting it for my birthday.

I've basically kept everything the same for the moment, but I've taken out some stray bits of paper and other bits that were tucked in the pockets. Oh and the Swift has a notepad in the back which The Paperchase Planner did not!

Before the move...

The Paperchase Planner and Personal Swift together

The Swift all moved into

A peek inside

What I have realised is that the Swift has bigger rings...every planners dream!

And the pockets are much studier and deeper.

It doesn't lay flat yet, but as I have it open next to me on my desk everyday at work, we'll see if it gets there.

I'm enjoying it so far, we'll see how it carries on.

Cath Kidston Sticky Notes

I got given some Cath Kidston stick notes for my birthday...they are amazingly pretty.

I love Cath Kidston stuff, as the patterns are so gorgeous and I'm a sucker for floral patterns!

I thought I'd show you some pictures, but as they're bigger than my Personal, I'm not sure how to fit them in...

And a larger one to see the detail

Aren't they lovely.

Too nice to use

My new Personal Swift

I finally got a chance to snap a few pics of my new Personal Swift that I got for my birthday.

I still haven't moved into it, too scared to start using it!

Here it is...(sorry, I don't think the pictures are great quality!)

Front Cover

 Back Cover

 Spine

With the lovely Filofax 'F'

 Inside Cover - Front

I also got an extra set of diary inserts, I'm not 100% sure why and

I haven't busted them open yet to have a look

 Inside Cover - Front

As you can see it doesn't lay flat yet, but I'm hoping in time it will

I love the birdcage details in the front cover and I also love the colour of the dividers

 Inside Cover - Back

I love the note pad, it's not something the Paperchase planners have

Inside Cover - Back

No notepad

I need to move into it soon...all ready for Spring! 

Using my Filofax for Meal Planning

I'm technically still using my Paperchase planner at the moment, as oppose to my Filofax, as since I got the beauty last week for my birthday I haven't had time to set up and move in. It's also too pretty, and I'm scared to start using it!

But I did think that 'Using my planner for meal planning' didn't really work as a title...

Anyway, onto the main event!

I was thinking about getting some fancy inserts to use for this, but realised I'd never find something that worked perfectly for me, plus that meant shelling out more cash or having to grapple with printing my own inserts (and as I still don't have a personal hole punch, it's not a great option!)

I decided to use some note pages and stickies to make my own.

This means I can reuse the pages, and be flexible with the meals in the week, easily changing things around if I need to.

I chose to do them in two weekly blocks, as we originally thought that we'd be doing our online shops that regularly. In reality we haven't been doing them as we've been buying meat from the local butcher and fruit and veg at the market. So we only have a few extras to buy at the supermarket.

I also have a To Do list as a shopping list on the page after this to jot down anything extra we might need to pick up.

I track what meals we have in my daily pages in the diary as well, so I can always check back to see what we've eaten recently...and if we're eating out (Pizza Express above).

A really simple idea to keep track of meals, and the only cost is replacing the sticky notes!

April Filofax Photo a Day Challenge

I've decided to take part in Carla's (from Yay! for Fridays) April 30 Day Challenge.

Yes, I am starting a day late...

These are the categories

1. I Heart
2. Starts with 'A'
3. On my Dashboard
4. No. 1
5. Up Close & Personal
6. Writing With
7. List it
8. Spinal
9. Upside Down
10. Artistic
11. Eating
12. Right This Minute
13. Highlight of my Day
14. Script
15. Where You Live
16. Wanted!
17. Something Made
18. Very Special
19. Floral
20. Today's Plan(s)
21. Stickies
22. Starts with 'B'
23. A Name
24. Throwback Thursday
25. LOL!
26. Before
27. & After
28. Underneath
29. Monochrome
30. Sentimental

I'm not promising I can keep up, but I will try.

I'm either going to put the photos on here on Photo Friday or I may post them each day, I haven't decided yet! The will also be going straight onto my Instagram page.

You can search for the photos using this #fflovephotoaday

No Spend Month

I've decided for this month I'm going to have a 'No Spend Month'.

I'm not going to be super strict with this, as I know there are some things I need to get (Birthday presents etc.) and can't avoid spending.

Last month on my lunchtime trips to Paperchase I kept just buying the odd thing, and buying the small things adds up!

This month, I will not be buying little things, nothing extra for my planner or anything like that.

I've looked ahead at my month and tried to work out where I need to be spending money and predict my expenditure for the month. I'm going to fill in the actual amount I've spent next to it and work out how I've done at the end of the month!

Obviously this is all done in my planner :)

I'll keep you posted...

Stuffed Planner Issues

As I mentioned before my planner is already stuffed, and after less than a month.

Now I've got a bit of a dilemma about what to do...the amount of pages is already overtaking the rings, so if I open the rings near the front or back of the planner everything starts moving off the rings and I have to put it all back and squash it down whilst I clip the rings shut.

In my eyes I really haven't got that much in there...

• I've got a couple of info pages, important numbers and some useful info that I can refer to often.
• Then I have my To Do Lists, I write a new one each day (but continuing on the same page from the previous list), so these can take up quite a bit of room. I guess I could take out my old lists, but I like having them in there.
• Then I have yearly/monthly/important dates section, which I admin, I hardly look at, but it's only a few sheets.
• Following is my diary pages. I could take out the previous pages or some of the months towards the end of this year. But as keeping track of things and keeping myself organised is my goal for using this, I'd really rather not take out the pages.
• After that there's my household section incl. my meal planner, shopping lists and cleaning rota. Only 3 sheets, so not out of control!
• Then I have a projects and goals section which has my weigh loss goals, books to read, general organising to do, blog ideas and a few other notes. I guess that I don't use all of these on a regular basis, but it's useful to have to jot down ideas or if I see a book I want to read.
• Next is my financial section, with some goals spending logs and bill info.
• And lastly I have my addresses. I don't use this regularly, but if I suddenly realise I have to send someone a note or card I have their address to hand. Again, surely this is the idea of the planner!

So my question to you (if there's anyone there) is what can I cut out? What can I switch out to make my planner slimmer?

I am getting a Swift for my birthday next week, and expect that I'll move into that as soon as I have it.

This would leave the Paperchase Planner free, so maybe I could leave the extra bits in him as a 'stay at home' planner.

But what about One Life, One Planner?

Using Washi Tape in my Planner

I recently got some washi tape after seeing a bazillion people using it to make their planners look super pretty.

After hours trawling ebay I finally decided on which colours/patterns (even thought there are a million more, I want every colour!) I couldn't see the point in getting plain and as I love floral patterns I knew that some floral tape was on my list!

This is what I decided on

Green and Purple are my favourite colours and I also

thought the green would match my new Swift

I attempted the fairly standard lining the top and bottom of my pages with tape, but I'm still not great at getting it straight or the right length.

I really like the way it brightens up my To Do list!

I was also bored with my dividers and had loads of photos that I've printed out and never done anything with, so I trimmed the photos like a five year old with some scissors and stuck them down with some tape.

This is a photo of the Royal Albert Hall in London, taken so

that the colours came out really brightly

Some flowers that lined a bridge in a little town

in the south of France

While I know they don't look great/professional, they still brighten it up a lot!

And that's where I become stuck, I have no idea what else to use it for.

Does anyone have any good ideas for using washi?

A Disappointing Filofax Delivery

Filofax...disappointing...these words together? Yes, it's wrong, I know.

I snagged what I thought was a cheeky bargain last week by buying a Burgundy Sherwood on eBay, in what was advertised as A5.

Now for various reasons (that will hopefully be one day explained) I have set my sights on an A5 planner. I had accepted that due to my funds I would not be able to afford a really lovely leather one...until I saw this spot on eBay. I knew it would get snapped up quickly and at a bargain Buy It Now price I continued to look at it every 5 minutes 15 or so minutes wondering whether it would go. I finally took the plunge and hit Buy It Now and excitedly waited for it to be posted and wing it's way to me.

Even better when I got home yesterday I found this waiting for me

I was very restrained and instead of ripping it open I carefully cut the tape and opened it (not to damage the FF inside!) and pulled out my purchase.

My first thought was, Wow, I didn't realise that A5 was so small. Then I grabbed my Paperchase Planner and compared it and realised that this was in fact a personal that someone has mislabelled as an A5. It had also been sold as being in 'very good condition' and on not so close inspection, it's got quite a few marks on it and I would not class it as

being in very good condition.

Here are some piccies of it

The Sherwood in the middle, compared to my phone case (brown leather) and my Paperchase Planner

 Front

Back

Inside fron cover, card pockets

Inside back cover, full length pocket and zip pocket

Long story short, I was very disappointed. Although the leather is very soft, I just can't bring myself to love it.

Needless to say it's going to be sold to someone who will love it and my search for an A5 planner continues...

(If you happen to be interested in buying this from me, just let me know!)

The Paperchase Planner

So as I mentioned in my Planner Bug post, I have upgraded my rather sad looking DIY planner for the real deal...well sort of. Sadly the real deal is not a fancy leather Filofax (sigh...Malden), but a Paperchase planner.

I thought to myself that it's still a month until I get my Filofax and I wanted to try out a proper planner, so I can switch things in and out, instead of not being able to move anything because it's all tied together.

I had a little walk around on my usual Westfield walk at lunch to scope out if WHSmith had any bargains on Filofaxes (they did on their website), but no deals in store. So I resorted to Paperchase where I knew that they were around £16 for a personal planner.

I spotted a plain brown 'leather-look' planner, popped it out it's box and had a feel.

I settled for that, and nervously took it to the till, wondering whether I'd done the right thing all the way back to my desk...

I didn't take it back...so here it is.

The feel of it is very soft, and I'm not too bothered about it being not real leather (I want to get myself a fancy leather Malden Orche Filofax one day anyway).

The box said it's brown, but it's actually got a bit of deep purple tone to it, which I really like. It's also not a solid colour, but has some very slight tone variation running through, which again, I really like.

Card slots on the inside cover holding stickers and sticky notes

It did take me a couple of days to realise where the pen loop was (on the strap - silly me), it's pretty small, but as I tend to use a black bic as my main pen to write in it, it's fine.

My main problem is, it's stuffed already!