Eye Candy: Baron Fig Vanguard Guardian in Rose Quartz

Baron Fig sent me the Guardian Vanguard in Rose Quartz ($45) back in February and I immediately started using it as a wallet. Its the perfect shade of soft, pastel pink in a touchable leather. There is a pocket in the back to slide a notebook into and two slots in the cover for credit cards and IDs. Behind the card pockets is another slot that could be used for cash or receipts, hence, making the Gaurdian the perfect minimal wallet.

Unfortunately. I’m not a particularly minimal human. So I had to improvise a little to make the Vanguard work as a not-so-minimal wallet. And I did my best to pare down what I carried, I promise!

As you can see, my Vanguard is a bit overstuffed and modified to accommodate a good deal more stuff than it was designed to hold.

I don’t carry many rewards cards (I use an app on my phone called Cardstar for most frequent flyer, frequent buyer and even my library cards) and I only have a one debit and one credit card. However, there are a few cards that cannot be stored in Cardstar: my health insurance, Panera (for some strange reason), Barnes & Noble, and our local museum card. There’s also a few local coffee shops that still use punch cards and I carry a few business cards in my wallet as well.

To accommodate the extra items, I added a Plastic Zipper Case & Kraft Folder Refill Inserts for Passport Size Travelers Notebook (2-Pack for $7.95). I attached them to the Baron Fig Pocket Vangaurd notebook (3-pack for $9) that I slipped into the back cover with a rubber band from the bundle of vegetables from the grocery store. I think the rubber band was holding the stalks of broccoli together. (We joke at our house that we save everything like the its the Great Depression. Does anyone need 37 quart-sized yogurt containers?)

The plastic sleeve for cards includes a zipper pouch to store loose change and arcane things like CASH. I use the paper folder for receipts, postage stamps and bits of paper ephemera.

So, while the wallet/Gaurdian is a little overstuffed its mostly the result of having more cash and change in it than normal. This is “worst case scenario”. I am definitely going to do a purge of receipts, change and other detritus. I probably can take another look through the cards and whatnot and determine exactly what I do and don’t need. But overall, if you can trim down your wallet needs, this is a lovely case that can keep your ID, cards and a notebook handy  for grocery lists and other to-dos.

I was worried that the light-colored leather would soil but, after almost six months, there is only a little darkening of the leather around the edges. Mostly, it just looks lived in, not dirty.

If you’ve been considering one of these leather covers, I recommend them, just keep in mind they are designed to hold Baron Fig Vanguard (3.5×5″) notebooks or Traveler’s Passport sized books. Field Notes are larger and will not fit — they are 5.5″ tall.

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