This Mama Plans

I’m deep in the throes of motherhood at the moment. Our daughter is now 11 months old and she is soon to be unexpectedly joined by a little brother in a couple of months time!

We got rid of everything newborn after a couple of months of having Amber so we have pretty much had to think about Moses baskets and newborn clothes and next to me cribs (with my daughter I co-slept but I’d like to let our little boy have his own space and have a little more space for myself this time around… or at least have the option! If he is wriggly as he is right now in my belly I’ll be truly grateful of my own space haha).

Once again I’ve been diagnosed with the dreaded Gestational Diabetes and as of last week I’ve begun injecting slow release overnight insulin. For everyone that has to inject themselves or test their blood sugars I salute you; it’s not easy. It’s even harder when you’re sleep deprived due to baby teething and have pregnancy brain fog. Just remembering to test an hour after food and injecting the insulin at the same time each night when our daughter comes first and is demanding bedtime or a bottle (or both) is a challenge! But with only 8 weeks to go now, I am confident only 56 days of finger pricking and injections will pass quite quickly.

When I had Amber, I recall leading up to her birth and especially just afterwards wishing I’d got a planner setup ready and being utilised. The amount of appointments leading up to and after birth is crazy. And that’s in between family and friends wanting to meet new baby… and life stuff. Hindsight is a wonderful thing; but having been there before, I decided to start organising a new planner set up.

Before this decision (and perhaps an influencing factor), we had been researching double prams… because you know… 2 under 14months… practicality wins hands down haha! We decided on a Bugaboo Donkey but damn they look so boring, dark and flimsy! Luckily I found someone on Etsy that does custom work and anyone who knows me, knows I like to put my own stamp on things. So I set to work designing my own hoods, liners and footmuffs with gusto. But when it came, my buldging, battered pram bag looked far too shabby for the new pretty pram… so I decided to look for a new, slightly more glam way of toting around all of my daughters things (and although people say you carry less as they get older I have found I’m carrying more – the usual bottles, change of clothing, muslin cloths, extra dummies, calpol, gripe water, changing facilities, blankets etc… but now we are also carrying toys, food, sippy cups, cutlery, silicone bibs and snacks as she’s now on solids alongside bottles). As well as my daughters items, I’ll be shortly be taking my newborn sons bits and pieces around too. So I needed a new and larger bag. Something organised too; as I’ve found quite quickly that nappy bags can get disorganised very quickly!

I’m not normally one for backpacks so I pulled out my old sturdy LV Neverfull tote and at the moment I’ve got it stuffed to the brim with Ambers items. As well as that, a Speedy 30 is serving as a “Pram Caddy”, holding all of mine and my partners essentials as well as a couple of milk bottles in the felt liner and anything we think might be handy.

Putting the Donkey into double mode removes my “bag basket” so I’m looking to consolidate everything into 1 bag. Side Note: Ambers toys are not in the bag on this photo

However… the lure of the practical backpack was overpowering and I can feel myself giving in to an LV Palm Springs bag; especially as we will not have the (oh so handy) side basket on the pram for much longer and the thought of sacrificing under basket storage and putting the tote bag on its side (of course, I can just see everything spilling out everywhere) and being splashed by mud constantly is too painful for me to imagine.

Anyway; huge digression there! With my love of the LV monogram bags in full force, I have purchased an LV Monogram MM size agenda from DHGate (I mean, Maternity Pay sucks and I have enough to pay out in the preparation for this little lad so real luxury items are unfortunately on the back burner for the next 18 years… am I right?!). When it arrived I was actually so disappointed because the ring diameter was 16mm!

I wound up purchasing a gold 30mm ring size clear plastic binder from Amazon and then de-ringing the planner and getting my partner Tony to drill holes for the 30mm rings to fit in.

I then purchased inserts from Cute Organising on Etsy and I had some custom tabs created from appleblushdesigns on Etsy which I’m super happy with!

I’ve switched out the 16mm rings for 30mm rings: perhaps 25mm rings would be a better fit for this binder as the press-stud is pulling

Beautiful tabs from appleblushdesigns on Etsy!

Planner pages from Cute Organising on Etsy

Planner pages from Cute Organising on Etsy

My super happy daughter at 3 months old

If anyone has any suggestions on how to get about stylishly with a newborn and a 1 year old of different genders – please let me know as the bag situation has got me flummoxed right now!

All the best

Kel

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Kate Spade?

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I confess, I’ve been out of the planner world for a time. I moved in with my partner during lockdown, changed jobs to a part time role just down the road and ended up using a *gasp* wall calendar in our kitchen.

Then I got pregnant. I should have probably utilised the planner because I was so busy with the amount of appointments I had I could hardly tell what way was up most of the time let alone when my next appointment with the community midwife was or next scan or blood test… and inching into the 3rd trimester, gestational diabetes with even more appointments and eventually insulin. I did try utilising a moleskins but I just couldn’t make it work. I bought a beautiful vintage pink personal Finchley thinking I would start over in a personal size after being in a pocket size for so so so long. But nothing seemed to work for me. I JUST wasn’t interested.

Then once I gave birth, we had more appointments to check her over and we were re-admitted for jaundice. So again, I could have done with a planner.

But still, in my new mummy haze, I just didn’t have the time to spend on setting a planner up in the way that I’d like.

My daughter is now 3 and a half months old and I’m just coming out of the sleep deprived fog now, and I’m at the point where she doesn’t need me every minute of the day so I will be able to get my craftiness on whilst she sleeps in her Moses basket next to me.

So I think I’d like to try something a little outside of the Filofax community for a little while. I’m looking for a Kate Spade Wellesley zip around in either pink or black. I know I’m late to the party on these and I’ve been searching the Facebook groups but nothing so far. Anyone around selling one at all?

Stickers on Leather?

Mini sticker from the 2012 Dovecraft Collection – knew it would come in handy!

Aaaaaaand I’m back in the Malden. I wish I could tell you what it is about this binder I love, but I simply can’t put it into words. The antiqued leather, the contrast stitching, the relaxed feel to it, the larger ring size, the full length back pocket, the pocket at the back that enables me to slot my iPhone SE (I’m aware it’s old, but I prefer small phones and I’m not sure I want my face to be how I unlock my phone!) into the back pocket, the suppleness or the leather… I don’t know. But here I am, back again.

The roundel sticker is from Amazon

Now I follow a lot of planner addicts on Instagram and although many pages are loaded up with stickers and washi and a myriad other ways to decorate their weeks or monthly spreads… but most protect their planners and as well as putting their planners in protective bags, many tend not to decorate the actual planner itself.

What are people’s thoughts on popping stickers on their actual planner? Or pins/badges/brooches? Has anyone done this?

Sorry for the short post today, I thought I’d send the question out to see people’s thoughts on this… as for the change of style in the Pocket Malden, more info will be coming once I’ve finished playing around with it 🙂

If I don’t get to you sooner, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all!

Kel

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Pocket Chameleon is my personal rock star planner!

Hello, hello!

Nice to see you all, you see you nice, and all that :). How have you been? It’s been a while hasn’t it?

For the last 18 months or so, I’ve been in my pocket Malden’s (I have ochre, fuchsia and kingfisher blue now). I must admit when I think of a “planner”, I automatically think of the Malden. It’s such an iconic design, don’t you think?

I’ve also moved house (during Lockdown #1, buying and selling was sure fun!) and tried and failed to help an ex battle alcoholism. I’ve also been working constantly through lockdown, like many others, mostly from home. Taking part in the Thursday evening doorstep applauses for the Keyworkers and doing the double back to my car almost every time to grab my mask before entering a supermarket/convenience store. It’s been an interesting year for sure!

Coming slowly out of lockdown and starting to get a little life into my world other than work or decorating, I was forgetting things I needed to do or places I needed to be. I wasn’t utilising my planner. I wasn’t reaching out for my beloved Pocket Malden’s, I noticed.

Speaking with my best mate and fellow planner enthusiast (who has just bought a pocket Filofax croc and loving it), Carrie, she also felt that she associates certain planners with certain times in her life, as do I. Are there any planner people out there that do this too? I have filofaxes that remind me of happy times, and Filofaxes that remind me of down times in my life.

Anyway, I thought with things beginning to happen again (and just as we sailed into Lockdown 2.0!) I decided to change things up again and find a planner that would allow me to create a bit of a rock and roll/music vibe.

I did have a Croc in mind but I feel the Chameleon had a bit of a “glam rock” shimmer and texture to the leather.

The Chameleon is a discontinued model of Filofax therefore I took to EBay to find this beauty.

Firstly, I must admit, the leather feels sublime and as usual on all Filofax models, the planner feels sturdy and well made.

The clasp opens the planner to reveal a part leather-part elasticated pen loop to the left. It is leather throughout he interior also, with a full length back pocket like the Pocket Malden’s (however with much more structure). The left also boasts 5 vertical car slot holders and a full length pocket. The right hand side has a outward opening zip pocket.

The layout is so practical it is easy to see why many have opted to utilise this organiser as a purse/wallet.

But for me, I’ve tried and failed miserably to use my planners as a purse, so I’ve resigned myself to use the planner as I find easiest for myself at the moment… as a planner ;).

The card slots hold my “London” theme Starbucks card, Cartology paperclip, a few London flag sticky notes and a tartan card stock through the full length pocket detailing “In Case of Emergency” contacts and allergy information. The first page is a plastic transparent dashboard with yellow butterfly sticky notes I write down things I need when I am out and about.

Behind the dashboard, the back holds a project life card stuck with washi tape. My first divider is my “Info” – dividers made with 2 leopard print card stock stuck together and an Avery tab. I’ve used an embossing label maker to label the tab.

Behind the tab, I have my personal information: name, email address, phone number just in case it gets lost.

In the info tab, I have two top tabs, with a £ sign and a **** sign. The first details my bills: the supplier, amount and date it leaves my account. The 2nd is my passwords (all coded of course).

The next divider is my Calendar section. Divider made with 2 black sheets of card stock with an old flyer of a club I used to attend stuck on, and again, an Avery tab.

The back of the divider has another project life tab on affixed by washi tape. This section holds a pull out Filofax 2020 horizontal Year Planner which I haven’t used, due to lockdown! It also holds my monthly calendar, by NBPlanner:

All of the information is colour coded and transferred from this page, to the outer half pages of my weekly section.

This section is my Diary section. the divider is made of 2 tartan card stock sheets glued together, a project life card held by washi tape and another Avery tab, with the label being printed out from Excel, cut and glued onto the tab.

The diary section itself is Filofax Week on 2 Pages, I try to keep the events to the outer part of the page and any “to do’s” or “to check” on the rings half of the page. Anything that is happening throughout the week will be detailed at the top of the page in the “This Week” box. I use Sharpie Highlighters, and a Faber Castell Ballpoint Pen to plan. I reinforce the ring area with washi tape. The today marker is taken from Project Life, with a cut up Project Life Card help on by washi tape and labelled with an embossed label maker, and the highlighting key noted. On the back of the today marker I usually put a London flag sticky note detailing the Christmas purchases to be made that week.

My Lists section divider is red card stock with a record fair flyer stuck on, with an Avery tab and an excel label. The lists section has 2 top tab sections, Xmas and £. The Xmas tab details Christmas Eve box ideas, and gift ideas. I’ll likely add a Christmas card list shortly. The £ tab is a spending log, detailing date, item and price. I asterisk items that are Christmas items.

My notes section is again, cheetah card stock (2sheets back to back gullies together) with a project life card washi-d o and an Avery tab. This holds a few random note paper that my may wish to utilise in the lists section of the planner.

The final section is untabbed, zebra print card stock. It has a top loading pocket with film reel washi tape stuck to it, so that I can place the tape in the diary section of the planner to remind myself of upcoming films on TV I want to watch. This will be well used over Christmas! Inside the pocket holds a few “payday” stickers and the Avery tabs just in case I need to make more.

And that’s my current planner setup! Are there many pocket users still out there?

Until next time Rock and Rollers!

Kel xx

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Pocket Filofax Malden in Kingfisher Blue

Hi Everyone!

WARNING – PICTURE HEAVY POST! 😉

After an agonising 5 day wait, today I finally received my Pocket Malden in Kingfisher Blue. Oh my. It’s a beauty.

All over the bank holiday weekend I worked on inserts for it and, inspired by the colour, I decided to stay vibrant and go for a mermaid type of theme. You know my Filofaxes always seem to have themes!

I’ve used a lot of papers from “Hunkydory’s Twilight Under The Sea” collection and also the “First Edition Beyond The Shore” to create these dividers, markers note papers etc.

It’s by no means finished yet, but I just couldn’t wait for you to see it!And so, without further ado, please meet my latest addition 🙂

When I took it out of the box, I did my new favourite thing to do with the lived in Malden range – I massaged it with Coconut Oil so that it became buttery and soft and aged.

In the pockets I have an In Case of Emergency card that I created on Excel and stuck onto one of the scrapbook cards. In the pocket behind is a sticky notes section full of little tiny sticky notes – from Dovecraft. The Dashboard is an absolutely beautiful piece of art I just had to print out from Pinterest. It’s perhaps my favourite mermaid illustration ever. It’s so vibrant and mystical!

Behind the dashboard, another Pinterest find which is again, sublime! Then I have a credit card pocket with a die cut or topper from the Twilight Under the Sea range.

My tabs were all created using the “We R Memory Keepers” Bracket Tab and the labels were simply created in Excel, cut out very roughly and stuck onto the tabs with packing tape. I’ve used no laminate in this filofax.

The Today Bookmark was made with the “Twilight Inder The Sea” Cardstock and again, the labels were created on Excel, cut out very roughly and stuck onto the card.

Lastly I created this credit card holder with side pocket which I’m still not sure about… I don’t know if I’ll be keeping it in here just yet!

And that’s it! Like I say, I’m still setting things up and things are likely to move around as I find what works for me – it’s been a VERY long time since I was in a Pocket Filofax!

Pocket users – how do you utilise yours!? Any ideas will be great fully received 🙂

Until next time – carry on planning!

Kel

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Filofax Personal Malden Ochre

These Malden’s are the same age. I know, crazy isn’t it! They were both taken out of the box the weekend and yet the one to the right looks really worn in and the patina looks supple and shiny through years of use.

I have to admit, I’m kind of in love with the one on the right, a lot!

I’m going to tell you the tale of the 2 Personal Malden’s in Ochre:

Firstly, I’ve been away from my Filofaxes for a good 18 months or so. I’ve felt that I didn’t really need to be planning at work so much and I promised I could keep it all in my head… and what ended up happening was a lot of agreeing to go somewhere or do something only to be contacted weeks or months later asking where I was as I’d organised something and forgotten about it!

I figured I needed something. So I tried my Travelers Notebook and then a Moleskine, and then a “normal” diary from Laura Ashley. All with very little success.

So I decided before the weekend I would go back to my trusty old Filofax, or rather, a new, trusty Filofax hehe. I had seen on one of the Filofax Facebook groups that a few people had gotten their Kingfisher Blue Malden’s and I kind of really wanted one: a lot (spoiler, I ordered one…!). But I also spotted the Ochres on sale on Amazon, and I had always been one foot in the Ochre camp; whenever I went into WHSmiths to feel then though, they felt quite… plasticky and not as soft as I thought they’d be. But in my moment of weakness, it didn’t stop me as I ordered from Amazon and received the very next day.

When it arrived, I was so excited I opened it up but to discover that there were 2017 diary inserts (which was fine, but I thought I would let Amazon know just in case they had any issues with any other customers etc) and they told me I needed to return the Filofax and get a replacement. I told them I didn’t want to return it, and I just wanted to get the correct inserts instead. After too-ing and fro-ing I eventually agreed to return and they would send a replacement the next day.

The next day, the replacement arrived and again, it was the 2017 inserts, so now I had 2 Ochre Malden’s, but both with 2017 inserts. I got onto Amazon to let them know that I had still received 2017 inserts, and they credited me £5 to my account so I could purchase 2019 inserts.

The collection of the original was supposed to happen today however they never turned up, and I ended up on the phone to Amazon and even offered to deliver it to their branch, which is opposite my workplace.

Amazon turned around and told me that they didn’t want the Filofax back, and I could dispose of it or do what I like with it. So effectively, I have 2 Ochre Malden’s that I’ve only paid for 1 and it was in a sale as it was!

Anyway…! The one on the right was the replacement and when I took it out of the box it felt a little plasticky, so I decided I would try my normal method of moisturising it, but with coconut oil instead of normal moisturiser. After rubbing the oil onto the surface of the empty binder, I noticed it getting darker in places and I initially panicked, wondering if it was taking the colour off the leather. But it suddenly felt so soft, buttery and luxurious, I had to keep on going! The colour you see above is after 2 attempts of coconut oil, and I think it looks beautifully aged and rustic and very loved.

Even the grain looks better and more moisturised.

I have to say, it’s even much more pliable than the untouched one!

What do you prefer? A brand spanking new Malden that looks absolutely pristine, or so you prefer one that looks a little more weathered and aged?

Until next time keep planning!

Kel

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Wishlist: Filofax A5 Holborn Zip in Wine

Hi everyone!

I’ve been promoted! December our Assistant Manager left and I took the reigns assisting the Branch Manager. I’m all moved into my new little office area now and more and more work is coming my way… Par for the course!

However, I need a decent planner to keep me on track. So I’ve been searching for the perfect work planner, and as I need to remain true to my bohemian roots, a rustic looking wine Holborn Zip in A5 seems to match me perfectly.

Is there anyone out there willing to part with one?! Pretty please?

Give me a shout I’d be happy to hear from you 😉

Mwah!

Kel

Xxx

Filofax Wishlist – Personal Finchley Antique Rose or Personal Chameleon Raspberry

Hi Guys!

Summer is ALMOST over here in the UK, and I’m going back to college in September!  I’m decided I would bite the bullet and do a beginners course in French.  I was taught German in High School, and was so upset as I wanted to learn French.  Years later, here I am, about to go back to the classroom!

I am still currently in my Midori Travelers’ Notebook Passport size, but I miss the ability to move things around more freely.  So I’ve been staring at Filofaxes longingly.

I cannot find the next Filofax to re-vamp my love – I think I’d like that elusive Personal Finchley in Antique Rose, or maybe a Personal Chameleon in Raspberry.  Do you think I can find any of these anywhere?!  I’ve scoured E-Bay, Amazon, the Facebook pages, Blog Posts…  Ugh!

If any of you lovely people know anyone that would be willing to part with either…  let me know!  🙂

Catch you later!

Kel

xxx

Goodbye Filofax – Hello Midori!

Hello you!

I know I’ve been quiet lately, but I’ve been in Kefalonia on holiday!  After dodging my partners excuses, I finally managed to get him to book time off work and decide where we wanted to go.  Actually that’s a lie – after being fed up of waiting for the right time to sit down together and put some concrete plans in place, I booked it online and told him where we were going haha!

It worked out quite well because, thanks to my extensive research, our hotel was on the sea front and close to the bars and restaurants (and shops, of course!).  Our holiday consisted of sun drenched beach days and lilo’s in the sea… and relaxing evenings around the shops, retiring to a restaurant and sipping Robola Wine… and then having last minute cocktails and a pool match back at the hotel outside pool bar.

I miss it terribly already (I don’t miss the mozzie bites however – they’re seriously itchy!).

But anyway, you may ask – what has this tale got to do with Filofaxes – or Midori?!

Well I wanted something to take on holiday to sort of journal with and to write down my thoughts and feelings and things that happened while away.  Looking at my beloved Amazona, I thought “honey, you just don’t look like you should be on the beach”.  And so, my lovely Marilyn Amazona was dismissed to the cupboard for a break, with the rest of my collection.

I knew I wanted something that could withstand life on the sand and wouldn’t look too out of place – somewhere I could store our passports and flight tickets and hotel information etc…  my eyes settled on my Raydori I purchased about a year ago.

So on the run up to our holiday, I scoured youtube for ideas and pinterest for printables… and I ended up doing a half job on it making a couple of notebooks for it using A5 exercise books and trimming them down to size.  I also made a little Craft File using scrapbook paper.  It was all so badly done and rushed, I can’t even show it here haha!

My partner, not into Filofaxes/Diaries or planning tools at all, even commented on the Raydori several times (and several times since arriving back home, too), saying that it looked “cool”.  “Nice” was another monosyllabic word he may have uttered also (you know what guys are like when they don’t really know what they’re talking about).  So I took it that the Raydori was a success.

With all these youtube video’s in my brain, when I got back from too much thinking on the beach and not enough doing… I ordered myself a Midori from Amazon.  The Passport size.

On 12th June I ordered it.  It arrived today… 19th July.  From a Japanese company.  Seriously, I’m amazed.  I’m based in the UK, and I strongly recommend this seller:  Arigatone Fukuoka-Japan @ Amazon – I’ll be ordering from these guys again through Amazon, definitely.  I’ve never been one to order from Japan etc due to their shipping times.  I’m one of those brats that has no patience!  But if there are shipping times like these, I have no issue whatsoever.

Here are some of the photo’s of my unboxing 🙂

Such a cute little thank you note and origami present!  Perfect colours to match my new free spirited journal 😉

I love how Midori have wrote that this little notebook can totally change your life.  It brings me hope and anticipation – bring on the adventure!

A replacement orange rubber band, and the white muslin bag that contains the Midori Traveler’s Notebook

Ta Daaa!  It’s finally here!  

This is the back corner of the Midori  

Interior.  The Midori’s come with a black notebook inside.  

And the back of the notebook is like a passport – clever Midori!

I’m in love already! I recall a few other YouTube videos mentioning that they had white powder on their Midori’s when they arrived… And I’ve noticed the same thing, you know, just a few specks here and there!

And so, just like that, I’m now part of the Midori Revolution!

I shall update you very shortly on my progress, for this weekend it’s all about getting that old Craft Head on! Yippee, “Project!” (As Cher from Clueless would say).

Until then

Some of those dreams you have… It’s ok to follow them 🙂

Kel

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I’m a Giveaway Winner! And my Sparkly Red Filofax Amazona

Greetings Peeps!

I seem to have stumbled on a few really good days this week already! Not only is it a short week for most of us in the UK with Good Friday almost on us… As many as you may know if you’re a regular reader, yesterday I got Personal Amazona in Red (I’ve named her Marilyn… Yep, my PA has a name… It makes me feel I can bond with it better and will utilise it more) which I’ve been really thrilled about, but more on that (yep, even MORE!) in a moment…

A couple of weeks ago I was so lucky enough to win my first ever giveaway! I never win competitions or giveaways so I was really shocked and amazed!

Sarah of the site:

Adventures in Trying to Organise my Life

Sent me a lovely lovely package and I think she knew I was getting a red Amazona so I saw lots of Reds and blacks etc… PERFECT!



I am in LOVE with the chevron washi tape and the keys washi tape… And the little red hearts… And the stamps… Oh, everything is lovely! Thank you so much Sarah!

Course, I had to get using these little bits and bobs… So I got to work on my April Month spread:



It wasn’t until later I realised I’d placed the keys upside down -Doh!

Also… One of my favourite perfumes is Valentina by Valentino. Each birthday or Christmas I’m guaranteed to open up a set of the perfume and moisturiser. It’s got to a point I have shedloads of that gorgeous moisturiser (because I only use it on special occasions) so I slathered it all over my Diva Amazona last night before moving in. 

Course, it smells amazing… And I completely forgot that it shimmers and sparkles in the light! Here you may be able to see:





Told you she was a star 😉

Get moisturising!

Til next time

Kel

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