filofax spot: in Gossip Girl (again!)

This is quite a late post in reference to when this episode was actually aired but anyway, better late than never, eh?

Here is what I spotted...

It looks like an A5 size Filofax; model I am unsure about and inserts I have never seen before but then again, Gossip Girl is an American drama and I know next to nothing about American alternative Filofax inserts :)

Here are more pictures from a later episode:

Have to say, I love the look of those inserts! Definitely makes me want to get my hands on them; and look at those dividers.... Definitely having planner envy at the moment!

Can anyone help? :)

UPDATE: Due to some very, very knowledgable readers, the diary can be found here (from Smythson) and the inserts are from here (also from Smythson). Pricey but they look so classy!

my filofax week #8

This week has been quite relaxed at the beginning but more stressful towards the midweek and the weekend.

Reasons for this include the fact that my dissertation is due on Monday the 11th of June; but I set my own personal deadline of Friday the 8th, and that is, in fact, when I handed it in. Also, the extra long bank holiday weekend meant that dissertation fear didn't set in til about Wednesday afternoon! But essentially, that wasn't a problem as I was done anyway, apart from editing, editing and editing. Plus, of course, proof reading!

{ a quieter week means more stickers to fill the gaps }

{ I added a more personal, journal-like aspect to this week by writing in any social activities that I did. This is so that when I decide to look back on this week in years to come, I can say to myself, "ah, so that's what I did that week." I guess that having a photographic memory helps so although I might forget the exact date I did something, I'd remember the event pretty well in my mind. }

What was your week like? Have you changed any aspects of it for the better?

Would you like to be featured one week? If so, send me an email to fadingskylines[@]gmail.com with a picture of your week and a brief bit of text. Remember to include your blog URL or Twitter username (if you have either) so I can link back to you too! 

why I think everyone should downsize to a 'compact'

NOTE: This is not me telling people what to do; it is merely my opinion on the Compact sized Filofaxes!

As most of you will know by now, my main Filofax in use was The Affair by Temperley for Filofax (until it's unfortunate demise, sob sob). The Affair isn't strictly a personal size Filofax, nor is it an A5 although the size does appear to be so - but more like a Compact-cum-A5 Flex.

Anyway, having used this for round about two months now, I've found it more of a relief than the Personal Finchley I had been using before. Yes, the rings are smaller, yes there are slots for Flex notebooks but  I find the smaller rings liberating!

It's very tempting to cram a Filofax's rings to as full as possible - to lug around a whole 365 days' worth of diary pages, a whole load of blank lined inserts in case you needed to jot something down and also a load of reference sheets loaded with information you deem important and necessary to daily function. But do you really need those pages? The only reference pages I carry are the ones of my medical information such as my GP, his telephone number and my UCAS information - which is actually now defunct as my UCAS cycle has now ended and so I will be removing this in the next few weeks.

And did I really need the next 365 days in my Filofax? As it turns out, no, I didn't really - all I needed was really about three or four months from the current date in there. Any dates that came up after that could be written on a small post-it as these were few and far between for me. Obviously, I know this won't work for everyone but for me, this was another way to cut down what was in my rings in my Affair.

Finally, thoes blank pieces of paper. With a Flex notebook slot, I really didn't need these. I found that I usually used the blank paper for my 'Thriving on Less' minimalism project but this could all be moved to my Flex notebook instead.

Because I lightened the load of my Filofax considerably with the weight mainly dependant on what thickness Flex notebook I had in the Flex slot, I found that the weight of my bag also decreased; not to mention the fact that this helps me on my quest to be a minimalist. Next up - my bedroom and study area!

But now that I no longer have the Affair, I have to look for an alternative and at the moment, that is the Compact Osterley. And because the inserts are of the personal size, I don't have to invest in any new ones, winner! I'm also hoping that new Compact sized Filofaxes will be released in the near future

Credit: Pens and Leather

Next step? To downsize even further to a Slimline!

Nahhh, just kidding. Downsizing into a compact was hard enough for me! (And it only made me even thirstier for a Compact but none of the current ones do it for me, unfortunately.)

chameleon aqua review

And the second Filofax in my order! The personal Chameleon in aqua...

And the spine...

And the Filofax. I have to say, my first thought was that the colour is just beautiful and the leather is a cross between that of the Finsbury and that of the Finchley. More supple than my Finsbury but it doesn't lie flat out of the box like my Finchleys, and the leather is still quite sturdy.

The inside: card slots to the right...

Notice that the pen loop is on the left: something that I'm not used to...

And the back: a zipped compartment.

Overall, I have to say that I LOVE this organiser! The colour, the style, the hardwearing-ness of the leather, I love it! 8/10 for me. Reasons?

{ it does not lie flat out of the box but it might do with use }

{ the pen loop is on the left; as a right hander, I find this a bit impractical }

I have since moved into this as my main Filofax - and a set up post will be up in a few weeks!