Thank you to everyone that sent me some 'ade' yesterday to help battle the lemons, I appreciate the kind support :)

I'm deviating from my usual sewing posts to show you a little of my first love... stationery.

September fills me with joy, I'm a natural organiser (though baby brain has trashed that of late), and to quote one of my favourite films it makes me want to buy "a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils" (You've Got Mail). With a brain like a sieve I have to make notes about everything and, even though I've tried the technology method (iphone calender, reminders and the like), the best way for me to stay organised is to write things down. 


I've seen the 'bullet journal' system (that Trudi is proficient in!) and it appeals to me but since I already have a organiser that I love it makes sense to me to use that. I have used Filofax organisers since I was a teenager and my very favourite thing growing up was stationery. I still love stationery shops and all things cute and useful. Before I had kids I treated myself to a beautiful Smythson Bijou Organiser, small and perfectly formed. I carry it around with me all the time, it's chucked in my bag daily and it's still looking good. The twist closure is one of my favourite things about it, as well as the gorgeous orange colour. All the rings close perfectly and the original card dividers show no sign of wear or tear, which is pretty amazing.


So armed with my organiser I came up with a way for it to work best to suit my needs; a realistic way for me to keep up to date with what I need to do and my schedule. I came across one of the nicest online stationary shops I've seen, full of gorgeous things at reasonable prices: The Journal Shop. I shopped the sale section and got this cute Mnemosyne note pad, which has graph paper perfect for to do lists! The yellow first page has now been been torn out (and kept because it's nice!) and I love that I can open my organiser and see my 'to dos' straight away.


The only thing my organiser was missing was a 'today' tab/bookmark. I thought about getting a Filofax ruler page marker but they're so boring (I totally would get a clear one if they made them for pocket size though). It was fun to find these cute Midori Arrow Magnet Markers and they work perfectly as tabs at the top of my organiser so I can find the important stuff like what day it is! (...reminds me of Reality Bites where she hasn't used her filofax for years!!). I also couldn't resist buying a super sweet Midori Otegamo Memo Pad, notes that turn into hexies?! Yes please! They also have bows, fish, hearts and more. It also meant I had just more than £10 in my basket so I got free delivery, I love that! The Journal Shop offers free UK delivery on orders over £10 and has free delivery worldwide if you spend £75.


I already had a photo sticker of Fred as a baby on the front of the diary and decided just to go for it and make it more personal with kawaii stickers from this Etsy shop and washi tape. I've been using the stickers as a fun way of adding cuteness to my schedule and to do list.


I adore the quality of the Smythson paper but since I'm not working full time and now have 3 kids there's no way I can justify buying the refills. Instead I have used the Filofax diary refills in the past (the pocket size fits my organiser perfectly) but while googling alternatives I came across the Paperchase own brand refills so I snagged a pocket week to view refill for £4. Total bargain considering it comes with divider tabs, some note paper, graph paper and spare address pages. I'm not using the dividers because obviously I like the Smythson ones and also since I have a pocket size organiser I really don't have space for an agenda, planner and diary (nor time to write all those things?!). Obviously you get what you pay for and the quality of the paper isn't great but it's not terrible either and it will do the job. I really like the plain layout of the pages, not full of holidays etc that aren't relevant to me and I can just add those dates in myself. My organiser also has two slip pockets, which I have kept sweet notes and pictures of family in. 

 It's early days but I'm hoping to stop scribbling notes everywhere and really use my organiser to the full. By having my to do list in there I might even remember to keep my appointments as well, that is if I can get out of the rabbit hole that is watching YouTube videos of how people organise their organisers... really Lucy get a life!!
*just so you know I bought all this stuff myself and I've provided links should you want to go get yourself some new stationery, this is not a sponsored post.