In Link Love

Link Love: My Teef, encore edition

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Link Love: My Teef, encore edition

A little life catch-up: Unfortunately, my dental surgery got postponed until tomorrow. Apparently, I was too nervous a patient for them without anti-anxiety meds. I warned them when I called to schedule the appointment. Why were they so surprised? I know its not a huge big deal for most people but I’ve never had anything like this done before so I am a little freaked out. So think shiny, happy thoughts for me on Thursday.

Pen news: It looks like wrap-ups, end-of-year reviews and faves-of-the-year posts are starting early this year. I like to see what everyone fell in love with and maybe find a few things I might have missed.

Pens:

Ink:

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Thanks for being a part of The Well-Appointed Desk community. If you want even more content, consider joining our Patreon. You will receive an exclusive bi-weekly podcast, free printables, and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Stalogy 018 Editor’s Series 1/2 Year Notebook B6 Slim Size

Author Laura CameronPosted on 1 Comment
Notebook Review: Stalogy 018 Editor’s Series 1/2 Year Notebook B6 Slim Size

I’ll admit it. I’m a notebook junkie. I like trying all different sizes and formats to see what works for me. So when Stalogy came out with a new B6 Slim Size Editor’s Series 1/2 Year Notebook ($21.00) I was game to try.

The B6 Slim measures 3.9″ x 7.2″ (100 x 180mm), and the 1/2 year volume contains 192 pages and is about 3/8″ (0.75cm) thick. This notebook ends up somewhere between pocket size (think regular Field Notes and the like) and then larger B6 and A5 models (think Traveler’s Notebook at 4.3″ x 8.3″ and larger). This thinner volume seems like it would fit easily into a purse or a work bag, but not quite a pocket.

The pages have 5mm Light Gray grid, with small dates/days printed at the top of the page (which can be circled as you wish). The paper itself is 52gsm, which makes this a good comparison to Hobonichi paper which is the same gsm.

Stalogy notebooks has long been Ana’s favorite for her daily journal and I reviewed another Stalogy notebook a few years ago and really enjoyed writing in it. The paper is of excellent quality with no bleeding or feathering. As with other lower gsm paper, the only detractor for me is that there’s a significant amount of show through.

I would probably use this notebook for day to day to do’s, or jotting down notes as I think of them. It would fit neatly in my purse with a small pen (perfect for adding a Leuchtturm Pen Loop) for a great EDC.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Preview: Robert Oster FranklyX

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Ink Preview: Robert Oster FranklyX

In honor of their 10th anniversary of Federalist Pens created FranklyX, an exclusive Robert Oster Shimmy Ink ($20). The ink is a black base color with champagne/light bronze shimmer particles to create a golden color-shifting shimmer showing green, grey and blue hues as well as the top color of gold.

When compared to other inks in my collection, J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey is also a dark grey/black with gold shimmer but Frankly X is a good substitute to the coveted PenBBS The White House is Burning which has been discontinued. Van Dieman’s Midnight Sky has a similar vibe but the shimmer is different.

I definitely admire the Federalist Pens team for their 10 years of success, I feel like the market has quite a few options for a black ink with shimmer so sadly, I was a little underwhelmed by the color. Of course, I love Robert Oster inks so its no shade to the ink, the brand or Federalist Pens, I’ve just seen this black-with-shimmer quite a lot and there are others I think I more interesting like Wearinguel Hades. But I may be biased overall since I got in to fountain pens to use all the colors rather than just back, even if it does have sparkles.

What’s your stance on black ink? Black ink with shimmer?

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Federalist Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Happy Halloween! (Tomorrow is Nov. 1!)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Happy Halloween! (Tomorrow is Nov. 1!)

First, Happy Halloween!!! May your day be filled with pumpkins, costumes and all the thrills and chills you can handle. I’m a fan of cute spooky, not scary spooky so I’m more Hello Kitty in a ghost costume than horror films. But I will be eating my weight in candy and drinking as much pumpkin spice beverages as I can stomach. I need to keep my strength up for the half a dozen trick-or-treaters who show up on our front step.

Historically, we take time at the end of October (Inktober!) to talk about the upcoming writing challenge, NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge to write 50,000 words (approximately 200 pages of a first draft manuscript). The web site provides chat forums and support from other writers who are also tackling the challenge. You know how we love gamifying any project or task…

Last year, NaNoWriMo as we knew it imploded as a result of some unpopular decisions around the use of AI among so many other issues. If you want a deep dive into the rise and fall of NaNoWriMo, check out this episode of Girlfriend Explains.

This year, a new web site was launched called NaNoWriMo 2.0. This iteration will focus on community and helping folks get their words. More than anything, the people involved just want to keep the habit of writing through November continues. No prizes, no swag (yet). So if you are hoping to tackle that first book, maybe this new incarnation of NaNoWriMo might be the challenge for you.

If you are knitter or crocheter, consider NaKniSweMo – National Knit-A-Sweater in a Month. Laura is the organizer for this crafting challenge. I occasionally design logos for it and pop my head into the forum. Again, this is a challenge to get that sweater knit. There are no prizes except that completed sweater and you get cheered on by other participants in the forum.

Do you like to participate in challenges like these? I am inspired by anything that encourages me to finish the many projects I aspire to do. Go forth and write, knit, draw or ink!

In Planners & Organizers

November Planner Set-Up: Bountiful Fall Vibes

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
November Planner Set-Up: Bountiful Fall Vibes

Another month, another chance to start over on my planner. This month, inspired by autumn vibes and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am pulling out all my leaf washi tape, mushroom stickers, and anything warm brown, russet, golden like the leaves that are finally starting to change color here in the Midwest.

I was hoping to have my new sticker sheet that matches the November printable (available free to download to all Patrons!) but alas, the process for getting them printed is a little slower than I hoped. I will let you all know as soon as they are ready!

Products shown in this video:

I hope you enjoy these planner set-up posts. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see in the future!

 

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this post were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items come from our shop (self-promotion feels so weird!) Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: My TEEF!

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: My TEEF!

I am scheduled for dental surgery on Tuesday so I am writing and editing Link Love ahead of schedule. Hopefully, all goes well and I will just be all “Thanks, Past Ana! Now you can sleep late on Wednesday.” But, on the chance that I am completely high on Tylenol with Codeine, enjoy Link Love and be sure you brush your teeth, floss and get regular cleanings.

Update: I did not get the dental procedure done yesterday. They postponed the surgery until next week so I have more time to worry and basically be a mess of stress and nerves. So you might hear about this again next week. Apologies for that now, but you have been warned.

Pelikan Hub Prep & Recaps:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

My teef need your love. If you join our Patreon, you can get free printables, a bi-weekly podcast and potential reminders to floss regularly. Your patronage supports this site and helps offset my shitty dental insurance. Without you, I might have to gum my food. Thank you!

In Planners & Organizers

Ordering overseas in the tariff era.

Author Laura CameronPosted on 12 Comments
Ordering overseas in the tariff era.

I’ll start this post by saying two things. First, I don’t intend this post to be a discussion of politics, rather it’s an anecdote of my personal experience in the world we’re currently living in. Second, I apologize to our international readers since this post is going to be entirely from an American perspective. I’ll return to more universal coverage next Tuesday.

It’s close to the end of the year, and I am nearing 2 years of entries into my daily journal: my Notebook Therapy Tsuki Kinoko Bullet Journal. Which means it’s time to start thinking about the next book. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a Type A person. I like everything orderly and neat (don’t look at my craft room though.) Basically, the idea of having a shelf full of journals that are matchy matchy appeals to my aesthetics. I know I could use anyone one of the notebooks I have acquired over the ages, but I kind of wanted to buy myself another journal that more or less matched the first. When I told Ana, she suggested that if I was going to do it, it could make an interesting blog post.

So Notebook Therapy is located in China and as you may know the United States has enacted heavy tariffs on items originating in China. (The US has also done away with the de minimis exemption which allowed individuals to purchase foreign items under $300 without triggering customs duties.) I do love their notebooks though, and decided it would be an experiment. On October 8, I placed an order for a Tsuki Whimsical Woodland Bullet Journal ($34.08). And then I sat back and waited. Once I received my tracking information, I waited some more. And watched as my order bounced around… a lot.

So what’s the final result?  The journal was delivered with Saturday’s mail on 10/24. There was no delivery fee or customs charge that I know of. Sort of anti-climatic, eh? Based on the fact that it took only 16 days, I also don’t think there were significant delays in shipping.

Again this is just an anecdote. This is the first item I have ordered since tariffs have gone into place, and it certainly wasn’t an expensive fountain pen. But I also expected I might have more trouble than I did. I guess I also don’t know if that’s because it was delivered via USPS for the last mile, versus UPS or DHL who would charge administrative fees.

Have you ordered anything internationally since tariffs went into effect? What are your experiences?