My Week #40

Week #40, a lovely pastel rainbow week!

 The supplies I used this week: Garden Studies Lables & Stickers (french bulldog sticker!), anthropologie; mint triangle washi tape, freckled fawn; pastel stripes washi tape, typo; small notepad, kikki.k.

 This week I was busy doing errands and lots of random things to get ready for our guests. I was pretty productive, but still didn't get a few things done that were really important. Wah wah :( but, it's a new week now! 

Okay, so how was your week? I hope it was amazing! xx

Review of Typo 2014 Luxe Diary in Polka Dots!

Stop. Grab a cuppa tea and a snack. This will be a long-winded, very picture heavy post! I hope you enjoy it! 

I recently stopped in at Typo at my favorite mall, Fashion Valley, here in San Diego. I never really have trouble finding things I like at the lush, whimsical stationery store, and this trip was no exception. I happened upon this precious ringed planner that totally suits my style! I love the light color and pastel polka dots. It's considerably lower quality than any ringed binder I've ever owned (about on par to the Walmart planners) but for $19.95 USD, it refused to be left on the shelf. I've included detail shots of the inserts, which are almost cute enough to justify the whole purchase. 

Of course I failed to photograph the front cover, but it includes 4 credit card slots and one ID slot (clear, slip-in type.) It doesn't include a full-length pocket. The material is a pink plastic faux leather, whereas the outside is made of oilcloth. overall it's quite the solid binder and could take quite the beating. It also includes a black ink, slim silver pen.

The first page is a floral divider for "personal info."

 Behind it, there is the standard information sheet and emergency contact information. I love the font and how simple the inserts are designed.

The next 2 facing pages include a 2014 year at a glance calendar, which lists the months across the top of the page, and each of the days in columns below it. 

And behind that, there is a standard 3 years at a glance reference calendar for 2013, 14, and 15.

Next is a lovely blue "diary" tab.

Then they've included a birthday reference sheet, still carrying on with the clean, streamlined style that I really appreciate!

 The month on two pages layout is absolutely stunning! It features a lovely mint shading. The only thing that totally ruins it is the small saturday and sunday boxes. I mean come on, weekends need love too!

I'm also a big fan of the week on two pages inserts. Each new month has a notes section at the beginning. Depending on how late in the week that particular month begins, it starts further down the page. It is of note to mention, the months that start with Monday do not have notes sections. Also interestingly, they've chosen to include the month and week inserts back to back. So that means that between each of the month pages, there are the subsequent week pages. I kind of like this idea.

Pretty ditzy spot budget section~

The first page includes a very cute "things worth saving for" insert where you can place photos of things you're saving for like festival tickets, amazing shoes, and a dream car. This is what makes me love Typo...the whimsical, fun side of planning and organizing. 

Loving the budget pages. God knows I need them! 

Another very pretty, vintage style to do divider.

 Another simply designed to do / checklist. Kudos to Typo! Even though the paper is very thin, I might even use these inserts for next year! (Would you like to see pen tests on this paper? Let me know.)

The last divider!

Behind that is a standard contact sheet for each letter of the alphabet.

The inserts are identical size and punched for the personal Filofax. The only difference is the ring size, which is definitely on the small side. I have inserted a picture of Filofax personal size pages in the binder as well as the Typo binder directly on top of the Filofax Personal Finchley (to show the ring size comparison.)

A few mm smaller than the Filofax.

 A closer look at the fancy-looking pen, as well as more glamour shots of the inserts.

Overall, the pricetag and lovely inserts really convinced me to buy this little number. It isn't a fancy replacement for my Filofaxes or even Kikki-K binder, but it is a cute, fun binder that screams my personality. It almost reminds me of one of the Kate Spade planners I've been lusting over. As I mentioned before, Typo has created a sturdy binder. The problem I had with the construction was the rings. About 75% of the binders on the shelf had misaligned rings, so be sure to really pay attention to the little details if you plan to pick up this agenda. All-in-all, I don't recommend it as a replacement to the nicer binders you have, but if you're like me, you might be attracted to a sweet little whimsical lovely every now and again. And for $20, what can go wrong? 

What's your opinion on the binder? I personally adore it!

Free Printable "I Heart My Blog" Filofax Insert - Personal & A5

A preview of the "i heart my blog" planner.

Hello lovelies and happy Friday! As a treat for all you Filofax-using Bloggers, I've uploaded a printable page for your enjoyment! You may click on each to preview and download to your heart's content. And don't worry if you can't find one you love, there will be more.

A5 Size  i heart my blog planner*

Personal size i heart my blog planner

* if printing on A4 or US letter size paper, please print two per page.

I hope you like them! What other printables would you like to see on cafe et papier?

Psst...have you entered my giveaway? One week left...

monami essenti-soft highlighter review

First, let me start off by saying that Asian stationery companies have it right. Many different brands have released their ranges of pastel highlighters, one of which I'm featuring today - the Monami Essenti-Softs. These, among other easy-on-the-eyes highlighter pens can be purchased at JetPens.com. I have to admit, I first stumbled upon these when searching for a one dollar item that would boost me into the free shipping bracket. So I picked out one, the purple, which still is one of my favorites out of the whole bunch. On my next JetPens order, I splurged (for me) and got the rest of the set. They really are beautiful and I think the concept of lighter highlighters is genius, half because I'm obsessed with anything pastel, and half because I like the idea of less-vibrant shades to soothe me during finals week.

Monami Essenti-Soft Highlighters, $1.05 per pen, available at Jetpens.com.

 You may be thinking, hey! These don't look very pastel to me. And you would be correct. The other brand I've tried, the Zebra Mildliners, really do have that light, dreamy color. These Monami brand on the other hand are brighter and more vibrant, while still retaining a more subtle tone than mass-marketed American highlighter pens.  As far as the colors go, I think the orange and yellow are too bright and the blue is slightly generic, whereas my three favorites are the pink, green, and purple.

I've tested them here on the notoriously tissue-thin Filofax paper (back view). They are considerably more liquidy than their Zebra counterparts. I actually prefer the liquid content of the Monamis, though not with my Filofax. In reality I don't do much highlighting there anyway - it gets a little hectic if I do. There is considerable show-through on the end of each line, where I press my pen down before picking it up. Does everyone do this, or am I crazy? 

Overall, I really enjoy the performance and color payoff these markers give. I will most definitely be using them in my textbooks this semester, in reports, and possibly even to decorate some outgoing mail. I suggest you throw one in your cart next time you're on JetPens.com. They're only about a dollar, sold separately, so there isn't much to lose. I bet you'll find a color that makes you oh-so happy!

a look at my brand new personal finchley filofax

There is nothing quite like finding something you've been desperately searching for...It's like the perfect cookie dough recipe. (I finally found mine here. Just don't tell my mother I use the plastic baggy method.) Such is my experience with this particular Filofax. The Finchley model was discontinued a few years ago, much before I was a fan of the Filofax brand. I've tried a few Filofaxes-and cookie recipes- and I liked them all, but now I know that they weren't perfect. It wasn't until I had seen a few photos here and there of the Vintage Rose Finchely that I knew I had to have it. The whimsical color yet polished design absolutely made me swoon. It wasn't until my good friend made me aware of one for sale on Facebook that I really thought it was possible for it to be mine. And as I sit here, indulging in my edible, baggy-made cookie dough, I can safely say I'm a very happy girl!

These are some close-ups to show the lush "deluxe" leather. It is notably squishier and floppier than my Finsburys ever were. I absolutely adore the fact that the leather is not stiff, and the organizer lies flat straight out of the box. I've never had a Personal size Filofax do that. 

I moved in as soon as I got it! 

You didn't think I'd get through this whole lovely blog post without some polka dots, did you? My new Finchley is pictured here with one of my Kikki.K dividers from the Dreaming collection. 

 Of course I couldn't resist another polka dot shot. I think pink Filofaxes and polka dots are meant to be together. It's pictured here with my Uni Style+Fit 5-barrel pen from JetPens.com.  Looks like it's a  match made in planner heaven.

Finally, my two (and only) planners. I love them both to bits and couldn't be happier with any other system. Safe to say I'm really happy with the purchase of my new Finchley. It might just be the best Filofax I've ever owned! I feel good about downsizing my collection, as I'm trying this new thing called minimalism. Ha! Remind me of that next time I go on TwoPeasInABucket and buy all the things! 

Stick around for the setup of my A5 planner which I use for school. 

For more shameless Filoflashing, check out my Instagram account here. Oh, and I have also opened a Twitter account- you can follow my tweets here.

Thanks for reading! What's your favorite Filofax? Do you own it, or are you just dreaming of it?