You guys know that I can't resist stationery of any variety, especially planners. I have loads, and I'll always buy more - always on the never-ending quest to find the perfect planner for my daily life, work, social life, blog...well anything really.
I've been really happy to blog about some of my favourites over recent months, and today I've got a brand new planner to tell you about! But this one is a bit different...meet the Blog Domination Planner...
It doesn't seem like two minutes ago since I was writing my October lookback, and yet here we are - kissing goodbye to November... I can't say I'm sad to see it go either!
Yep, this month has been kind of..sucky. I say that without an inch of self-pity, just pure fact. (Okay, maybe a tiny bit of self pity.) The worst part has been this last week - having been stuck in bed with the worst bug known to man...the only plus point is that thanks to said bug, I've lost so much weight that I don't need to worry about the pre-Christmas diet. #winner
Okay, so November wise - lets be recapping' ya..
Boyfriend
Firstly, I broke up with my boyfriend. That truly sucked, especially because I would have loved to go through the long haul with him. Watching the fireworks on Bonfire Night with tears falling down my cheeks was not one of the best memories, but hey ho. We *almost* sorted things out...I say almost but lets say, honesty and loyalty is needed for a relationship and there was a night where that clearly wasn't a priority for my ex. So alas, there was to be no more trying again and I'm back to being single - which is fine, because quite frankly, I'll never understand men anyway!
Birthday
It's looking like November was a month for 'B's! Yep, twas my birthday and I turned the ripe old age of 28. I have no idea how this has happened because I still don't quite class myself as 'adulty' enough to actually qualify as one...apparently being an adult is just googling how to do stuff anyway - who knew? Mumma and Dad Writes treated me to some new perfume and two new Pandora stacking rings for the celebration, which cheered me up no end...(being newly single makes your birthday suck)
Yummies
Oh there's nothing in life that can't be solved by my two favourite men - Ben & Jerry. And when I finally managed to get my hands on their brand new Cinnamon Buns (oo-er) I couldn't have been happier...boyfriend who? I've been looking for this ice-cream for weeks and finally tracked it down and indulged myself. Also these amazing new Cadbury's brownie bites were discovered at the same time, and good Lord, they are better than...most things. Probably my all time favourite Cadbury product now - and that's saying something!
Planners
As you all know, I'm a full on stationery addict, and this month has been all about the planners for me. I've been getting organised and have been sent some amazing planners from amazing brands and I'm going to use them all slightly differently next year - can never be too organised right? I had a particularly lovely Friday evening spent watching Once Upon A Time while decorating my MAMBI Happy Planner with all of the bits and pieces in my latest planning haul. Glass of wine, good TV and a bit of crafty time and I'm a very happy lady.
YouTube
I have been loving making and uploading YouTube videos, I've done six this month and I'm pretty chuffed with that. I still feel so new to vlogging but I'm loving every minute. I think my favourite video this month had to be my Sephora 'Kissing Stories' review which was for an amazing set of glossy lip crayons from Sephora. It was really fun to film and you can check it out here if you haven't already...
Instagram
And lastly, here's my Instagram overview for November..
Hope you've had a great November, leave me links to your monthly lookback for November below!
As you know, I am a HUGE stationery fan. I just love stationery, scrapbooking and journalling. I'm a sucker for cute, pretty and lovely stationery in any form. AND when I first started getting obsessed with planning, I began to research the huge amount of planners that were on the market - and I have to say, I can't wait to tell you all about this one...
The Happiness Planner!
I'm so excited by this planner, it's unlike any others I've seen, it's unique - which is really saying something! What makes this one different is that it's designed to help you get to know yourself more, set more goals, focus on your dreams and as a result it should help you to live a more positive life.
You might be wondering how a planner can do this, so let me tell you...
The very first thing you do with this planner is to take the time to invest in yourself and record the results in the first section. (I've talked about the details and shown some of these pages in my YouTube video here). There are pages of 'self quiz' type details which you need to fill in before you start and it's so fun! You're asked to record the things that you like doing the most, what you're happy with - what you're unhappy with. The idea of this whole section is to help you get a better grasp on things, on yourself and on your plans, goals and hopes for 2016. Once you've answered all of these sections, it's actually really revealing about what areas you should focus most of your energy on, and likewise, what you shouldn't.
The planner also helps you to realise what you enjoy most by asking you in that initial section, and it then encourages of you to do more of this throughout the year - 'find what makes you happy and do that' style! Likewise it shows you where you waste time and energy, which is great for helping with time management. Especially if like me, you're constantly on the go.
Another thing that I love is that when you set your goals, there is constant prompting to revisit these goals. By recording your new years resolutions, your goals and more on the detachable printables, you can make a note of the things that you want to achieve and then, if you're feeling demotivated or have lost sight of your goals - you can revisit them to motivate yourself afresh. This is going to be great for me, because I sometimes find that I can get so caught up in everyday life that I loose sight of the bigger picture, so being able to record my hopes, goals and dreams and to keep them in my planner, means I've constantly got them with me for when I need motivating again!
Throughout the year, and on a monthly and daily basis you are asked to evaluate your happiness and record how you feel, what you've achieved etc. I love this, and with all of the other options to record your thoughts, feelings and accomplishments, I love this planner because it's like a journal too, where I can record my emotions and thoughts about everything as well as keep myself organised - win/win.
A key feature is that throughout the planner there are amazing and inspiration quotes constantly. And as you know, I love quotes as much as I love stationery, so I especially love this! It's a lovely touch, and perfect for me as I'm words obsessed!
On a practical note this planner runs for 12 months - January to December (although in their shop, you can buy a 100 day version, which is dateless - meaning you can start it at any time throughout the year). From an organisational perspective, this planner has a whole page per day - which earns it some major brownie points from me. Most planners have a week per double page, but with The Happiness Planner you get a whole day per page - which means there is plenty of space to record the things you need to remember, the appointments you've got etc. So it's excellent at giving you plenty of space to get yourself - and your life organised. There are sections specifically for your To-Do lists, your schedule, your food plans, your exercise routine etc - everything you need to get your day in order. As well as this, there are thought recording sections for what you're most excited about each day, what the good things were and what your hopes are for tomorrow. As well as this, each day starts with a quote - huge love for that!
I absolutely adore The Happiness Planner for one main reason - thanks to all of it's little extra's (daily quotes, thoughtful promptings, opportunities to record and make memories etc.) it's like a practical planner and a journal combined in one. I don't have time to write or keep a diary or journal any more. Between work, mummy duties and blogging - my days are pretty full. So this planner gives me the option to record the emotional side of life - in cute and concise individual sections. And because of that, I'm so excited to start using this, because when we reach December next year, I feel like I'll have a real tool of reflection to treasure and look back on.
As well as their planners (the 100 day version and the full year version) you can also buy Happiness notebooks and cards on the website and download extra printables to use in your planner. And there are links to the blog of Mo Seetubtim who is the mastermind behind The Happiness Planner too - so I highly recommend you check that out too.
The practicality of a planner, the personal ability of a journal, means that The Happiness Planner really is one of my favourite finds this year.
As you know, I'm a huge fan of planners and planning. I love scrapbooking and anything creative like that. So the added bonus of being able to keep myself organised while also making things look pretty was an absolute no brainer!
Now, you may not be one of the #planneraddicts who spends hours decorating their planner, and may be needing an agenda or diary for the purely practical reasons - that's okay, because this is still for you...
This planner is now SOLD OUT here in the UK (unless you pay over the odds from places like Ebay) and is really hard to find..so in the spirit of it nearly being my birthday, and generally being so excited to share this with you - I decided that I wanted to do something nice and so I have a brand new Kate Spade planner up for grabs!
It's really simple to enter, just use the rafflecopter below to enter. There's lots of ways to enter, just check it out...
Good luck!
P.s - this is open internationally, so everyone can join in!
As you know, these past few weeks have been a little bit rubbish over here in the life of Lady Writes. I split up with my boyfriend last week and have been moping around since - boo. It's my birthday next week and now without Boyband (my affectionate name for my ex) I'm dreading it. Ageing is something that is freaking me out now that I'm getting nearer to the big 3-0 (still a couple of years left) and with a boyband shaped hole, I'm dreading it even more.
So, I decided to invest some time in looking at pretty things on the internet to cheer myself up - it always helps. I've been obsessed with planners and planning for a few months now, having been introduced to it on Instagram and I now spend more time than I care to admit, looking at planners, layouts, extra's and watching videos on said items. I don't have a planner yet but it's become a bit of a habit and my absolute adoration for scrapbooking (my hobby since age 10) is waining slightly as I become more obsessed with planners!
The one I really want is the Erin Condren Life Planner. I've spent hours watching and looking at reviews of all different types of brands, but this one is the one I've got my heart set on! As a mummy, a full time Social Media Manager during the day and a blogger by night, I need a great planner to help me organise my life, and this seems like it would be perfect to help me do that! (No easy task!)
Firstly there are so many options every step of the way, starting with front covers. I just love how many different options there are. You can personalise your own completely, or add your own wording to existing designs. I'm torn between these two - one that says 'She designed the life she loved' (because this is one of my favourite quotes) or the animal print version.
One of the main reasons that I like the Erin Condren Life Planner the most is for the layout. Having tried various different layouts in diaries before, I love the vertical weekly layout that allows you to separate your day into three sections. Now, I know lots of people would use this for morning/day/evening, but for me it gives me the opportunity to have one section for me, one for my son (and all his activities and hospital appointments) and one for blogging - this means I wouldn't need to have three, and keep them all in different places any more.
Another thing I love about the Life Planner is - it's just so pretty! As you guys all know, I love all things pretty! And the planner comes with special sections just for looking pretty and displaying quotes (another one of my favourite things, because as you know, I've got over 1600 quote pins on Pinterest - I'm a HUGE quote fan!).
It also has amazing stickers to help you organise your time even more, and you can make your own colour co-ordinated system too that's subject to your life and your needs - brilliant for people like me. As well, you get a two sided pocket folder and perpetual calendar and zip locked bag for keeping all your cute bits and pieces in...all just other reasons that I LOVE the Life Planner.
The huge amount of options you have when setting up your planner, right down to how you use the stickers to coordinate your planner (and your life) means that you really can get so organised you'll never need to feel panic at being overwhelmed with things to remember again.
And then there's the decorating part! That's when even more fun kicks in! I've got a whole board on Pinterest just with cute ideas for decorating my planner with things like paperclips, stickers and chipboard shapes, and with my love of scrapbooking I have lots of materials that I could use too.
Erin Condren knows the life Planner best - because she created it! So she's thought of everything and has added a whole section of accessories to fill in any needs you may have for your planner. For example - the coil clip connectors means I would be able to clip in my sons hospital appointments, and some of our cute photo's and use it as a way of storing memories - as well as remembering appointments.
Then there's the snap in dashboard to-do lists. These would be great for me because I can move them around when needed as my to-do list changes so frequently and it would be a good way to keep track of everything. Especially those potential ideas/plans, so you don't have to add them into the planner until they are confirmed.
Then there's the cute pens, the compliment cards and the sticky notes - literally everything you need to help you get the most out of your planner.
I think this pretty much covers why I love the Life Planner so much. Of course I could keep going on - it's the perfect size, the interchangeable covers, the special coil system won't snag in my bag...but I think you've got the idea that these planners truly are awesome!
Interchangable Covers
As a single mummy, this time of year is always a bit financially tight for me as I have to don my hat of 'Santa' too - which means not a lot of spare money in my budget. But I'm really hoping that by the end of January I will be able to afford to buy one as a treat to myself. And who knows, maybe I will be able to find a new boyfriend by then too? Does Erin Condren provide them as well?!
Please feel free to share your layout and planner pictures with me on Instagram.
