Favourite Bloggers and Vloggers of 2013

As I sit here on NYE Eve and contemplating the year that has passed, I realised I've seriously gotten into blog reading and and while I still watch YouTube videos it's funny how your faves change over time. If I had to go through every video and blog I've come across over the past year - taking the whole year into consideration, what would I pick to be my favourites? Well, in no particular order... 

my birthday / christmas wishlist

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Boxing Day!

Having somehow had a very un-festive Christmas Day (fried eggs for brunch, krispy kremes for my mid afternoon meal followed by shepherd's pie for dinner.. mmm) I've already been out with someone at 7am and they got a laptop and tv and now I'm browsing the sales online - but I'm not one to impulse by having seen a low price.

So then I thought, well, what do I want for Christmas next year? Or my birthday? Or just as a treat for being myself? May as well start compiling a wishlist eh? Read on for more info - FYI I will probably be regularly updating this page.

new super schedule monthly divider

Alrighty folks, just when I thought my monthly super schedule thing (click here) couldn't possibly get any better... I found fault. 

Fault: 

• There's no month at a glance view on my week on two pages schedule

That's it. Read on for details of how this little thing was resolved... 

Christmas themed super planner 2013

I know we're already half way through December but look what I did:

How Christmassy and cute? I'm surprised by how well it turned out in the print! Download details are at the end of the post - don't forget to comment!

quick update

I've been quiet again so here's a round up of what's on the way, in no particular order:

1. What's in my trash/products I've used up
2. Christmas themed (and others) superschedule pages - now posted, click here
3. Superschedule divider by month - now posted, click here
4. Make up organisation
5. Favourite beauty and fashion items of 2013
6. Current skincare routine
7. Current shower routine
8. Pampering routine

So hold tight... this baby is still in play!

Winter fashion and accessories haul

I've been up to no good, but who can blame me. I went to H&M last Sunday, concious that I other than one jumper in 2012, I hadn't bought any new winter stuff since 2010. Disappointed with quality and variety, but I had to get something so I did, but then on Wednesday New Look in Birmingham was full of almost nothing but woolly goodness - and at the till they gave me a voucher for 25% off if I went back on Friday. Which I did. and re-bought some stuff for less (ssh).. And then this morning ASOS sent me a text warning of an up to 60% off flash 24 hour sale. It's a conspiracy. I caved. Here's what I got (click read more for details and prices of each item), with a few earlier purchases thrown in, and one I resisted!

Reorganised filofax / paperchase planner update

Part 3 (the last part, honestly. For now)
Hello. I said I would get back on track with blogging, but I'm still unwell, so here's what I can do to organise with minimal effort. I can sort out my filofax. Which I already did right? Well, there's always room for improvement. 

The original reorganised planner v current state:

custom personal info page

You know that personal data page that comes with your Paperchase planner, or the important information page with your Filofax, or whatever it's called? Well they tend to get a bit dog-eared after a while. Plus, you might want to edit it a bit. So I did edit it for my personal sized planner. You can download it here, and edit to your heart's content. You'll get one double sided page which looks like this:

Quick note of apology

With my last post being all about having a strict blogging schedule, you'd think I'd have posted something by now right? I must apologise. I'm afraid I came home early from work with nausea, ate something, bad idea... I'll leave it at that. I basically have felt so lethargic  barely able to stand or sit up straight, and unable to eat much since, but I've had a lucozade, a nutty cereal bar and even some cornflakes just so I think I'm on track.  I promise, as soon as I'm 100% better the blog will be on the top of my to do list. A shower might sneak in first though.... eesh...

Filofax / paperchase blog planner inserts: part 3

Oh, hello!

Yes, it's me again, two days in a row - can you believe it? In all seriousness, I've been just awful lately with posting to my blog. I'm at a crossroads in my personal life* and add to that the darkening for the skies for Autumn (yeah right, it feels like winter already) and add to that the fact that I've had so many ideas swooshing around in my head I don't know where to start!

Well, let's put an end to that, for one and all, for once and forever!**

I've created a third part to the blog planner inserts - a simple weekly/monthly schedule. Have at it:

Pinspiration from each of my boards - October

I've been quiet for quite a while haven't I? Well lets mark my return with this self explanatory pincentric post

FASHION

http://lookbook.nu/look/4920869-Bb-Dakota-Dress-Painted-Gold

Packing list for hand luggage

Nearly set for my long weekend abroad!  How exciting!! I've nearly finished packing my main luggage but then I was met with the "suitcase or handbag" conundrum... so it was time to seriously plan what was going with me on the plane. 

I missed a few things out before I took the pics of my lists:

- travel pillow (I got mine from boots but there's some good ones cheaper in primark. Drat. But then I figured virgin Atlantic probably provides those anyway?)

- ear plugs (I get sinus problems which basically leave my whole face in pain n one Dr suggested ear plugs at start n end of flight  although a later dr discredited the idea completely)

- tissues

- there must be something else.. headphones!!! Travel guide! ! Flannel!!

Packing list for 4 night holiday in the sun!

That's all this is, the packing list. Whether or not it's abided by is yet to be seen but I'll keep you updated. Look out for posts on my holiday make up and skincare products, as well as in flight routine, all yet to be determined. 

This is list of the things I just know I'll need while on holiday and may or may not include things I'll take in my hsnd luggage. I'm so excited! 

Have I forgotten anything? Tell me please!!!

Diy filofax/personal planner cover

Ok after a long hiatus I finally got around to sewing the diff components of the cover I made templates for all the way back when.

And here's the result of the first attempt! I don't know how obvious it is but it went a bit wrong which is probably down to the aforementioned hiatus,  so my next attempt will be done in a shorter period, maybe a free Saturday.

Filofax / paperchase blog planner inserts

I'm always coming up with great blog post ideas. Trouble is, I don't keep track of them, I forget, so all you guys are lumbered with reading from here is this nonsense - sorry about that by the way. 

Well, the time had therefore come for me to improve things, and incorporate blog planning into my personal sized planner. I used the printables noted in a previous post as inspiration and came up with the below.

part 1: a list of the ideas, indicating when they're posted 

Reorganised filofax / paperchase personal planner

Part 2 (the last part) there is an update/review part coming your way!
Ok So everything is in groups, I need to think about the order I want them in, put them in that order, reshuffle if necessary and then bung them in the planner, if it'll let me.

I'll show you the order and how they ended up looking in my planner, cos, why not?

1. Personal Info - to be redesigned at a later date - i stuck some sticky notes on the back of this

Filofax / Paperchase personal planner reorganisation

So... this bad boy's a bit messy huh? For my main daily organisation it's doing fine, but the rest of it's a mess. I think it's time for a good reshuffle?I've not finished but here's the beginning.

I started by taking EVERYTHING out and spreading it out... photo time...

First I sorted everything already in my planner and everything on standby into piles as follows, after removing my payslips which belonged elsewhere ...

Body scrub review - Soap and Glory: Sugar Crush Body Scrub part 2

Happy Saturday, visitors! Remember my Body scrub post last week? (you can read it here) I promised a follow up review on using it on dry skin before a shower, as in that post I had only tried it on wet skin. So here you go... starting with some dark dark pictures...

Ok so you may recall that on the whole I wasn't very impressed by this scrub when used in the shower, or on wet skin. On dry skin however it is excellent! A few thoughts, in the order they occurred to me:

Body scrub review - Soap and Glory: Sugar Crush Body Scrub

It's Sunday, which for a lot of us is pamper day, getting our bodies prepped and primed for the week ahead. 

It's been a while since I used a body scrub but I have quite a few on stand by so it's time I got to using them, and while I'm at it, reviewing them too!

Usually I exfoliate in the shower - quite easily done just by wearing an exfoliating mitt or 2 when when applying shower gel or soap. But my usual soap of choice, your usual Dove cream soap was all gone and I didn't feel my Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake shower gel was going to cut it, so I rummaged through my box of stand by goodies and this is what I found!

Chores (or general mega to do) List 2 - Sticky Note To-Do list v.2

It's Saturday again - which means chore time for me.

You may recall I said in my previous post on this (Chores (or general mega to do)  List 1 - Sticky Note To-Do list) that I said I had 2 options I had thought of. Well, let's forget counting because I find that as you try one option, depending on the success you have with it, you end up finding ways to improve the method.

As I have done below...

ASOS Wish List

Hello world!

It's 03 August  2013 and I thought to myself, I haven't been shopping since 01 July, which - trust me - is quite an achievement. And trust me, when I did go shopping last I went all out, so I really want to see how far I can go with this!

If I'm not shopping, I can still browse what's out there and, although I might not be able to bring anything home, I can share with the world.

Chores (or general mega to do) List 1 - Sticky Note To-Do list

My goodness what a disastrous mess my bedroom and bathroom have become! 

This is of course to be expected with a creative-shopper-hoarder type, which I admit to being. The peculiar thing is that I actually enjoy being organised and the sense of satisfaction that comes with a de-cluttered and thoroughly polished dwelling. A de-cluttered environment leads to a de-cluttered mind. 

Yet there is so much to do it's overwhelming - where to start! 

There are 2 options I've come up with and this is the first - probably great for the first time/one off stuff you need to do before you can actually make a regular structured way of doing things. Here's the how..

Pinspiration from each of my boards - JULY

This is never a small post, but at least it's self explanatory!

FASHION

Marchesa

WEDDING

unknown source

Social Media Tracking Insert (and best blog planner printables)

I've been a bit quiet for a while eh - I'm just nearing the end of m my third month at my new job and spent a month training my colleague while continuing with my normal role - so I've basically been trying to do a two person job and teach at the same time. I'm not complaining but I'm weary it's leaving me little time and energy for my hobbies including the blog!

Anyhoo,  I reckon it's pretty important, if you're going to commit to developing your social media, that you somehow track your progress. 

There are some amazing printables out there which I'll quickly share below, but these are all surplus to my needs. At the moment I just wanted to track my followers, my posts, my most popular posts. SO here is what I came up with, as an insert for my filofax:

(again, I'm printing in magenta as that's all the ink I have (we don't do much printing in this household and we're frugal with the ink and paper!))

Pinspiration from each of my boards - JUNE

Bonjour. Ca va? Oui Oui, let's move straight on to it, this is never a small post!

FASHION

oui oui oui - yes, full triple oui, albeit not the correct time of year (source)

WEDDING

waaa waa weee waaa... I can't find the original pic on their site but this masterpiece should be from this source

Wedding Gift Ideas

A close male friend of mine is getting married at the end of the month, and usually in Punjabi weddings the guests would gift the couple money at various stages of the event, as a form of blessing. Gifts are optional and usually only given by close friends and family - a lot of the time it's just a lot more cash.

However, although my friend and his bride are of Indian descent neither are Punjabi, so I'm not too sure on the traditions I'm too expect on the day. I'll probably keep enough cash on me to cover any such blessing but I thought it would be great if I could get a gift for them.. But somehow, I've never had to do this before. The first English wedding I went to, the couple requested money instead of gifts for them to buy their honeymoon - great idea I think. 

Any ideas? Leave comments!

Here's what I've come up with, varying gifts of varying monetary value and size, and maybe I can use a combination:

Weekend blog browsing - filofax and planners

Happy Sunday!

When I was growing up imagining my weekends as an adult, I thought I'd be jogging around the blog looking fashionably stylish with my ipod secured around my arm, or having a lavish brunch in bed with the Sunday papers in my hands and the tv on - most likely the Sunday Times, paying particular attention to the Sunday supplement, and watching Will and Grace on channel 4.

Fitness goal tracking insert - number 1

Look at what I've been up to now:

I'm not feeling too perky today - it appears seasonal allergies manifest in ways other than the usual runny nose and itchy eyes. When I get ill I get crafty, and annoyed that I have to get into shape for an event at the end of June but I've not even started!!

DIY sneak peek..

Can you guess what I'm making? 

Don't be misled by the print on the paper - I'm recycling the super schedule pages I printed before correctly inputting the dates.

Templates v1.1 without seam allowances done. Next stage templates with seam allowances and then a prototype!

I'm fully expecting I'll need to do templates v1.2 at that stage as this is looking too simple to be true... but for now, if you can't quite tell from the picture it's quite late here in the UK and I should probably get some sleep!

Goodnight xx

Update of what I've done and what's to come...

Hello world! How are you doing today?

I just wanted to talk for a moment, randomly, as you do. 

Planner things to come:

images of my superschedule in use - I had a few problems with my mail merging the dates and then printing the pages off with the right things on the back of each page. BUT I fixed it YAY! I'll be uploading pics and the actual files themselves.

Reading List & Review planner inserts

Here's a quickie for you. 

I wanted to find a way to list the books I wanted, and keep track of whether I've bought them, whether started them, whether I've finished them (does anyone else have the problem where they have shelves full of unfinished books? Comment below!), a rating out of 5 and whether I've posted a review. 

DIY week to view super personal planner page

That's right, I've come up with the ultimate planner page for personal size organisers - ultimate for my needs anyhow. Scroll down for the actual product or read on for the explanation of how this came about...

Aims

The criteria in mind when designing this were:

1. Week on 2 pages

2. Meetings schedule

3. After work and weekend schedule

4. To do list split by categories:

    a. work deadlines

    b. work things that I aim to get done because I should really

    c. chores - why not?

    d. other non work things to do

    e. calls to make - Being at work during normal office hours and only half an hour for lunch can make it easy to forget to do simple things like call to book appointments, but also I find I always remember my friends and family when I'm busy but when I actually have a moment I just think.... who do was it I was planning on calling?! NEVER AGAIN!

5. For the these separate lists to appear in some kind of prioritised order

Paperchase or Filofax Personal Inserts

Of course your Filofax, Paperchase or whatever planner - I hear Kate Spade, Mulberry, Staples etc all have their own - will come with standard inserts and if this is all you need, then great! Go forth and plan your life and enjoy living it! However, if you really want to maximise your organisational capabilities, there are so many inserts available out there, to buy or download or even make yourself. 

The sky is the limit with DIY but today I'm going to talk about the inserts I bought from Paperchase (in Selfridges) when I got my personal planner. So lets begin! Here's the link to the inserts page on the Paperchase website - you'll see they sell Filofax and their own brand and the inserts are interchangeable for both brand's planners of the same size, in my case personal and here's what I got, with piccies. 

Paperchase Personal size sticky notes insert. 

Its excellent and really I can just leave it at that, as the uses are obvious are they not? Its on a thick cardboard and each sticky pad is glued on securely - they ain't going nowhere. There is also a pocket size which may be interchangeable with the personal size looking at the binder holes, but you don't get the bigger square sticky notes which I think are the most useful. 

Where does it live? 
At the the front - it's the first thing in my planner and is my first form of dashboard. Simply write the note/entry on the sticky note(s) and later transfer them to the relevant section. 

Downsides or difficulties?
1. I wanted to have this at the front or back of my organiser facing in, so the back could be used for something else, maybe decorative, and when reaching for a sticky note whilst writing in the planner, I wouldn't have to close the planner pages so much. Ok, I'm struggling to describe what I mean but at least I understand myself! Basically the problem was that it wouldn't fit in the ring binder that way, and if you tried this with a full organise you know what I mean, it takes up a good 2-3 mm of valuable ring binder space and the only way to avoid that is to have it at the very front, facing the front, or at the very back, facing the back, whereas I wanted it at the front facing the back or at the back facing the front.

An alternative would be to have the plastic backed sticky note inserts in the front/back pockets, but I have my insert and that's what I'll be using.

2. How to explain this... hmmm. Ok so because it has to face outwards rather than in, this insert finds itself face to face with the organiser's pockets. Which would be find if it was a book but because of the very nature of a ring bound organiser, the front and back organiser pages brush/move/rub against the organiser cover horizontally. Does that make sense? Well that's all good and fine but this particular insert has the sticky notes which then catch on the pockets. My big and small stickies seem to be fine  but the darn medium one has lost a few sheets and very quickly. SO IRRITATING! 

There are solutions:
- a front page/dashboard/blank insert at the front... although as discussed the sticky notes insert takes up a lot of binder space.
- a folded piece of paper, half tucked into the main pocket and remaining half covering the whole pocket section... could be unsightly but could be utilised productively, again as a dashboard, decoration, index - whatever you can think off.
- a large sticky note strategically placed to cover the part of the pocket that is catching on the medium sticky note... this is what I have done for the time being, and it features a list of Filofax-y things to get/make. Word of warning - this gets scruffy after a time so is a short term solution, or a long term one if you are expecting to need to replace that note regularly anyway.

Alternatives?
1. DIY - I have an array of post-it notes, index flags etc that are lying around doing nothing: Strong glue onto a firm piece of card would have done the trick
2. Stick sticky note pads in the pockets of the organiser!
3. DIY a sticky notes swing pad - I might do a tutorial for this later
4. Stick sticky note pads in a plastic wallet insert or envelope insert

NEXT!

Paperchase Personal undated day planner inserts

Originally I was going to get a to do list but this seemed like an upgrade. On a double page spread, you have one page for notes on the left and your day breakdown on the right, with appointments on the top third, a "remember" section at the bottom section and the biggest part in the middle is a to do list. it's good how yo can list all your to dos and if you have a lot, or if they are big tasks, you can then set the task priorities - you can always do that anyway but its good to have a dedicated column - and then you can tick them off as you go along. 

Where does it live? 
Currently, I have a few of the pages behind the Planner divider - useful for planning the occasional BIG day of doing things. It can also go in between a week to view in the diary section, so when assigning to dos you can look at the week just buy going one page forward or back. The remainder of the pages go in a backup inserts folder, because they take up unnecessary space!

Downsides or difficulties?
1. The remember section has tick boxes too - I would have thought if something to remember needed to be done it's go in a to do, but if you can think of a use for it, do it.

2. There is only one day to a view - it would have been useful to have a week, or at least two days, that way you could go through your day, assess the tasks, anything that needs to be reassigned to the following day you can stick it in. Likewise, if your on today and you want to see what you didn't finish yesterday, it's right there to stick it in. But space wise, this format would suit those with several tasks and appointments each day.

3. A whole half a view to notes? There is a notes section in the organiser which is rendered pointless, or else this page is rendered pointless if you prefer to use the notes section. Again, I guess this format would suit those who just want to keep their organiser on one page and have everything there. You can always transfer the notes page to the notes section when you're done with a day - but it would have been better if this was on the right hand side of the view rather than the left. 

Alternatives?
1. a bog standard to do list... it can be dated/undated, day at a time/accumulative, whatever suits you
2. DIY a day planner/week planner whatever you want... I've been having a play around with different formats and will share them in due course
3. In theory, there may not be a need for this... you can list all of your tasks or to dos in your diary pages, depending on the space available and how hectic your life is or is not

Paperchase Personal 2 organiser zip wallets

Why did I get this? What are you asking me for, I don't know! It just seemed like a SMASHING idea. Literally - I saw them and thought 'that's a smashing idea!' picked them up and ran to the till as fast as I could. I have used one of them, to store a mechanical pencil. But then I stopped using them and am saving them for something else. Something special. Alright, I just don't know what for. 

Where does it live? 
Riiiiiiiiiight at the back, where I would stick all redundant smashing things. 

Downsides or difficulties?
The zipper is on the edge which is good, but its quite bulky, so you can't have both of the zippers closed right to the top - it would pad that section of your organiser by OVER 1 CM. wowser.

There are solutions:
- Have one of the zippers slightly lowered so they just miss each other - as in the pic
- Have one of the zip wallets upside down

Alternatives?

1. Don't get them if you don't need them

2. DIY - there are so many possibilities... reuse A4 clear wallets, reuse projectbook wallets etc

3. Get paper/plastic envelopes or even better DIY them... you can reuse pretty envelopes you've received cards or letters in

Finally...

Notepad

This doesn't need much explanation, nor reasoning, but I should point out I didn't buy this. Well I did, I got it from WHSmiths about 11 years ago for 99p. But basically there is the lovely pocket at the back of the organiser into which you may, if you wish, insert a notepad. I have so many unused notepads lying around the house and I just went for this because it's colourful, but I don't like how it says "sex" on it because that all someone will notice at work... "this girl has a book for sex! Oh no i don't. I believe the design should read sex bomb, but it appears to be saying bomb sex. Which I can't fathom. But I just remembered playing Mario on the N64 and there's the level where the little bombs just walk around.

Alternatives?

1. Well I don't have to use a pad that says anything on the cover, do I?

2. Insert a shopping list pad in this pocket

3. Insert a to-do list pad in this pocket

4. Insert a swingpad in this pocket.

5. I believe you can insert something in here, that will make it appear as if your planner reads horizontally. I'm not sure what or how but I do believe and I shall investigate.

Next, I'll start showing you the different sorts of inserts I have made :)

Please feel free to comment!

How to make a London Underground map fit in your planner

One way, is to bung it in one of the pockets, or even easier, just bung it in between any of the pages. Job done. Here's a couple better ways, I keep one behind the information divider of my planner, behind the personal data page. One is quick and one super quick. 

Introduction to my wannabe filofax

Ok making life awesome pointer no.1: Get organised!

So there's some boring background at the end but basically instead of a pricier Filofax I got the following planner and I'd like to share my first impression 
"Paperchase Dark Brown Personal 13-14" 18 month - July 2013 to December 2014 - for £16.00