my bullet journal arsenal: pens, paper and random bits of paraphernalia

As much as I love that bullet journaling requires the bare minimum of materials (a notebook and pen is enough!), I'm someone who likes to have a few more things to make my 'bujo' that bit more neat and reflective of my personality. My bujo arsenal now looks as follows...

Paper

My first bujo was a Papier one, my 2021 one was a Leuchtturm and this year, I've opted for an Ottergami one (blog post in due course!). I like notebooks with paper decent enough for fountain pen and some wetter inks and these all offer me this feature. I also like a decent number of pages in my bujo and again, these all met that requirement. 

Fountain Pens! (Of course...!)

As most of you probably know by now, I like a fine nib and it's no exception when it comes to my bujo. If I'm at home, the pens I would most likely use are:

- Platinum 3776 Century Nice - top of the picture

- Kaweco Student 70s Soul (honestly, such an underrated pen!) - 3rd pen

And if I'm out and about:

- Platinum Procyon - 2nd pen

- Pilot Kakuno - 4th and 5th pens

There are a few others I use for other purposes (I have a journaling fountain pen and a 'One Line a Day' fountain pen too - one can never have too many!) but these are the ones that seem to work best on the notebooks I choose to be my bujo. My Sailor Pro Gear is seeing a fair bit of use in it at present too... Essentially, any fountain pen will do; as long as it is a fountain pen!

Fountain Pen Ink (a natural follow up!)

My brands of choice here are Diamine (affordable, great quality and come in a fantastic range of colours), Sailor and Pilot (not pictured). I have one of the massive bottles of Pilot blue-black ink which I use to top up my work pen; alternating it with a Diamine work appropriate offering. 

Coloured Pens

I feel like one cannot have a bujo arsenal without including Tombow brush pens and Staedtler fineliners. Tombow brush pens have replaced Zebra Mildliners as my highlighters of choice too. Both of these pens mentioned look great in my bujo - not too bright or garish and just the right amount of colour to add a bit of interest to the pages. 

Monotone Pens

Of course Muji have to make an appearance here - their gel pens are a staple and having been using them for the last 16 and a half years, they had to be included. The Unipin finaliser is also great for those doodles and setting up of pages. Highlighting anything written with the Unipin fineliner is great because the ink doesn't smudge. 

A white gel pen - of course. I alternate between this Uniball Signo and a Sakura one. Both have their merits and uses. 

And of course, the Zebra Mildliner. Included here for now while they still have ink in them. Once they're finished, I think Tombow brush pens will end up taking their place. 

Other Random Bits

Kraft paper adds a bit of texture to my pages and I like how white ink looks on it. I've also been experimenting with black paper too which I quite like. It adds a nice contrast to the white pages of my bujo. 

As someone who aims to have a minimalistic bullet journal, I feel that these tools lend themselves nicely to that goal. 

Do you have any essentials in your arsenal that are similar to mine? Or any that you think should be essential for everyone that I've missed out? 

christmas planning and card writing

As a huge lover of Christmas and festive tidings, every Christmas, I take great pleasure in ensuring a Christmas-appropriate ink is in situ in one of my fountain pens. Last year, it was De Atramentis Santa (which confusingly smells of chocolate) and this year, I've opted for a personal favourite within the collection: J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor. My full review of it from 2018 can be seen here. 

I also make a note of who needs a Christmas card as my worst nightmare is leaving someone out by accident. This allows me to spend one afternoon, sat in my lounge with the heating on and a lit candle, writing out Christmas cards ready to post out. I still can't let go of pen and paper which I know is terrible for the environment. However, growing up giving out Christmas cards every year at school, it's a tradition that I can envisage carrying on for decades in my household. 

Now the next question is, which ink to use for next year? Do I purchase a new one or see the festive qualities in one I already own? Guess we'll find out next year!

Do you do something similar with your inks at Christmas time? 

planning ahead with a bullet journal

The one thing about bullet journals that I struggle with is putting in important dates for the year after. Because I'm not buying a planner every October in preparation for the next calendar year, I knew a set-up within the current year's bullet journal was essential. 

So this is how I plan my year ahead. 

Each six months' get a double page spread of their own. This is to ensure there's plenty of space for important dates and also any other things I wanted to make a note of. 

To-dos for those specific months are noted, as are important dates where renewals may be coming up or appointments made in advance. I also make a note of upcoming blog posts and as you can see, there's a few coming up for next year! 

The other thing I like to do is make a note of things that need to be in a future future planner. For example, my passport renewal will be due in September 2031 - I'm still yet to work out whether this belongs on the first page of my bullet journal or in this future plan spread. Likewise with my mortgage! 

I'm still working through how this works for me and there's definitely room for improvement. However, this seems to work at present; allowing me to keep my planner neat and tidy whilst ensuring I still feel organised inside my head. 

Do you do your future planning another way? I'm always on the hunt for a better and more logical way! 

review: galen leather notebook cover and the everyday book (plus a discount code!)

In the last ten years or so, the quality and variety of notebooks available for fountain pen users has increased vastly. There's also been a shift to higher quality materials from what I've seen online and in person. One such company which marries the two very well is the family-run Galen Leather Co. who are based in Turkey. The pandemic caused a shift in my purchasing habits and anything family-run and not owned by a mega corp have instantly caught my attention and my support. I suppose it's seeing the demise of the traditional high street which has altered my mentality and there is now a conscious effort to try and source things as locally as possible. 

Anyway! Galen Leather Co was started by Zeynep and is now run by her brother and husband. Her story can be found here and I have to warn you, have some tissues at bay. She sounds like an amazing and inspirational lady who saw the best in everything - a quality we can all learn to have. 

I hope I can do her and Galen Leather justice with this review as I have to warn you, it is overwhelmingly positive. Just look at the contents below: it's the little touches that count and the pouch containing some samples of Turkish coffee and teas with a little tag about Galen themselves is truly heartwarming. 

Onto two Galen products. The first one is the Leather Slim A5 Notebook Cover. At the time of writing, they are priced at an extremely reasonable £33 and they come in a neat little box. 

Within the box, there is the cover itself, a card detailing the colour and who made the cover, along with care instructions. There's also a postcard with a handwritten message on the reverse. 

The cover smells delightful and is buttery soft. I can imagine it ageing extremely well and becoming even softer and more characterful with time and use. The quality is divine and feels like it would hold up well to daily use. 

On the inside, there is a card slot on both sides of the cover and also a pen loop. 

And at the reverse, we see the Galen Leather Co stamp in case anyone asks you where it's from so they can get one of their own. It comes in a whole host of classy colours including navy, 'crazy horse' navy blue /brown/forest green/tan/grey as well as in the sizes A5, B6 or A6. 

The Everyday Book in A5 fits perfectly in the A5 leather cover shown above. It comes in a box with a magnetic closure which makes ideal as place to file away documents/papers/anything else you wanted. At £23 for 400 pages of 52gsm Tomoe River Paper, it represents pretty good value. 

And just look at the paper in all its glory. It comes with writing guides as well so no excuses for wonky note taking! 

We all know that the usual reason for buying Tomoe River Paper is for the fountain pen benefits and it doesn't disappoint here... Of course there's significant show through with the permanent fineliner but otherwise, it performs as expected. 

Overall, Galen Leather Co is a family-run company who produce leather and notebook products of the highest quality. If you're after something a bit different or a gift for a stationery-lover, you won't be disappointed. 

If you're tempted, Galen are currently offering a 5% discount using the code WELCOME5.

Disclaimer: The products reviewed are complimentary direct from Galen Leather Co in exchange for a review. However, the review is an honest one and written as if I had bought the products personally. 

another hello and a re-introduction

Firstly, I need to apologise for the unexpected hiatus. Earlier this year, I was re-deployed to help with the stresses put on the NHS but the pandemic and since then, I've been trying to recover my mental health. It really has taken its toll on me personally. This isn't me asking for sympathy or trying to make a big deal of what happened; it is purely how it has affected me personally and why I have not been blogging. 

I'm slowly recovering though and I am keen to get this ball rolling again. My love for stationery is still ever present and was rejuvenated earlier on this year when I met a few colleagues who seemed to love it as much as I do! 

Anyway, with this new start, it felt like a good time to do a re-introduction?

So, hello - I'm Angela and here is my re-introduction.

P.S. Please do not judge my junk food choices - I know they are terrible! 

journaling: a little every day goes a long way - my one line a day journal by leuchtturm 1917

Over the years, I've mentioned journaling quite a lot on here. In 2019, I decided to start a five year memory book and opted for the Leuchtturm 1917 offering because it was guaranteed the paper would take fountain pen well. Orange is one of my favourite colours so that was the colour I opted for. This is a thick notebook as you can imagine and so far, the hardcover has held up well. 

I've filled in every day of 2019 and 2020 so far. Whenever I write that day's entry, I always find it fascinating to read the previous year's entry and it instantly takes me back to that day in 2019. For this year, I decided to try using prompts instead and to save what I did for my main journal where I write freely.

Other things recorded in it are my workouts and how much effort I had put into it. My sister gifted me a MyZone belt in May of this year and I've been using it regularly to stay fit and ensure I'm putting maximal effort into my HIIT sessions which I do a few times a week at home. Seeing my progress and effort keeps me motivated for my workouts, along with the competitive element (against my sister which is a guaranteed losing battle as she is an army reserve officer).

The next three years will be interesting and I'm already looking forward to seeing what memories are recorded when this notebook is filled.

introducing the trigg life mapper

Bullet journals are increasing in popularity and though the system does not work for me, I can see why it appeals to so many. Bullet journals are customisable, enable you to brain dump if you needed to and also record anything else you wish. How good would it be if you could have a planner which also enables you to brain dump, work towards your goals and aim to become a better person within a year but would not require you to set up each week as a chore?

Well, here's where Trigg's Life Mapper comes in. And I can tell you it's not for the faint-hearted. Trigg's Life Mapper is a day-per-page planner and has prompts every week for you to review different parts of your life. I can see this being especially good for mental health in general because there is ample space for noting down deep, dark thoughts and feelings. Because of the day-per-page layout, the planner is very thick. However, there is an elasticated band in lime green to keep all of your pages together.

The personal page is a good space to put your pledges for the year. These are akin to new year resolutions and below you can see some of mine. I'm not the most patient person, hence why that one is on the list and working as a doctor means I often flake on plans if I'm tired or have had a long shift - I am trying to change this!

There is a year to view too which can be useful for all sorts of things.

Some introduction pages can aid the user in getting the most out of their Trigg planner. Very useful as it can appear overwhelming with all of the added features.

Next, there is a space to note down the values most important to you in the next few years and also assess how happy you are with different parts of your life. I have blurred mine out as these two pages are very personal!

Month to view pages! Each month has a different focus. For example, you can see July's is willpower, and August's is mindfulness.

At the beginning of the year, you can write down your goals for each part of your life: self, relationships, passions and work.

Each day has its own dedicated page where you can write down tasks which absolutely need to be done that day, a plan for the day and other tasks which can be deferred if time does not allow them to be achieved within those twenty four hours. At the bottom, there is a space for appointments or whatever else you wish. There is plenty of free space for each day.

At the beginning of each week, you review each of the four sections of your life along with a reflective note or two.

And half-way through the year, there is a six-month review of each section too.

At the end of the year, you do another visual assessment of each part of your life and record how satisfied you are with each of them again.

And each area is again reviewed in more depth as twelve months have now passed.

There is ample notepaper at the back which is plain so can be used for drawings, diagrams or just text.

The paper is of a high quality and takes fountain pen extremely well. I used a Lamy Safari fountain pen with an EF nib in it and it took it well. The cover is thick and seems durable enough to last a whole year of being bashed around (which it most certainly will be if used consistently!). My only critique of it is that there is only one page marker where there should be, perhaps, another one at the very least.

Overall, this is a very impressive planner and definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Disclaimer: though this product was provided free of charge, it has been reviewed as honestly as possible and as if I had paid for it.

mission accomplished: journal once a week for a year

When I first started journaling, I did it sporadically, too sporadically for it to make a difference. Therefore, I made it a goal to journal once a month back when I wrote my '101 in 1001' list in 2014. When I wrote my '100 things in 2016' list, this was upgraded to journal once a week. This was also a feature in my 2017 list. I now journal almost once daily!

And it seems to have made a difference. Journals have been filled with thoughts from every crevice of my mind and I have noticed a change in how I approach different situations in my life. My stress levels are lower, my mind is more rational and I just feel happier in general. Reflecting on what I perceive to be the negative points of my personality and life have allowed me to tackle them head on - and those sort of changes take time.

If you struggle to journal (which I also do on occasion), just write whatever comes to mind - no matter how silly. Alternatively, google a list of journal prompts and have them to hand during your journaling sessions.