Heirloom Edition Traveler's Notebook

Hey TN Lovers!

Today I am going to give you an overview of my standard size heirloom travelers notebook from Ray Blake. I choose the dark chocolate colour, which is even more stunning in person than it is in photos! I decided on 4 interior elastics and asked for all the elastics to be black. Here is a photo of the outside cover and the interior (without inserts).

Front Cover (BTW that is a coffee cup charm)

Inside (W/O inserts)

Outside laying Flat

The person I ordered from as I said is Ray Blake from the blog my life all in one place (www.mylifeallinoneplace.com). You order by emailing him and he is wonderful to work with. This edition is the special heirloom edition which comes in four different colours: café au lait, dark chocolate, maroon, and mustard. The leather of this travelers notebook is extremely smooth and beautiful. While it holds its shape well, it is very pliable! Great for those who don't like really stiff leather, but also do not want a TN that flops open when they are holding it. I should also mention that this TN lays flat with very little to no training.

 This particular TN is slightly more expensive than the others, costing £35. However one of the really great things about buying from Ray is that he does not charge shipping!

I am absolutely in love with this Travelers Notebook! So much that I decided to use it as my EDC! I never thought I would use a standard size TN as my planner and EDC but I can't help myself because it is just that amazing :)

Also super excited because a family member has decided to purchase another standard size TN (from Ray) for me to use as my journal!! Of course as soon as that arrives and is set up in May I will be posting about it!!

If you enjoy my blog please follow and share with a friend! If you are interested in seeing more of my TN's and planner stuff add me on IG! My username is Stephanie.Emmiline. I post photos of my planner pages, my TN's, my journal pages, and my dogs! Would love to follow your TN IG's back!

Talk to you in my next post!

Xo, Stephanie Emmiline ✒︎

My Traveller's Notebook Collection

Hey Everyone!

I'm back to show you all my collection of Traveler's Notebooks. When I say collection I am referring to four TN's... which is not a lot in comparison to some people, but I am a poor student so that's all I can afford at the moment! :)

I will show you all four and tell you where they are from and how much they cost. I will do separate reviews on each one individually, so if you are interested in that keep an eye out for those! So lets begin:

My first travellers notebook is a standard size from Ray Blake. It cost about $70 CAD or £35 GBP. I use this one as my journal, and currently also have a recipe book in it as well.

My second TN is another from Ray Blake. It is a field notes size and cost about $43 CAD or £21 GBP. I use this one to track my health issues, keep notes, and I'm still trying to decide what else should go in here. This one use to be my planner and is well used! I like that this one scratches easily!

Next is my Field notes size ButeoBunker (found on etsy). This one cost approximately $59 CAD. I am using this one for tracking information such as online orders, books to read, etc. I am at some point add in bill tracking, or a food journal to this one, but I haven't decided yet.

Finally I have my baby. My personal size ButeoBunker. This is the TN I use as my everyday carry. It contains my planner (MO2P and WO1P w/notes), routine tracker, and "common place" book and a folder.

Hope you enjoyed this post. My next post will be a review of one of my travellers notebooks. So if you want updates when new content comes out please follow. If you like what you read please share with a friend! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments below. Thanks so much for reading!

Stephanie xo

Blog Update!

Hey everyone! 

So a little update for you all. I am guessing at this point you have noticed the name change and are thinking what's up with this? I didn't follow this blog. I change the name from the Filofax lifestyle to The Traveler's Notebook Lifestyle because I have found a new love! I have traded out my Filofaxes for Traveler's Notebooks and I have truly found my planner peace! 

The set up and content for this blog will basically be the same, just using TN's instead of Filofaxes. Hopefully some of you will stick around because a lot of the items and methods I use in my TN's will work just fine in a Filofax, and who knows maybe I'll convert some people!! :)

Anyway if you are new to my blog welcome and if not thanks for sticking around! As always thanks for reading. Follow for updates and if you like what you see share with a friend! 

P.S. New post will be up shortly! 

Stephanie xo

How I Use: DIYFish Weekly Chart

DIYFish has many different versions and styles of planner inserts and not all look the same. I personally use the personal size version 3 style 1.

Personal size V3S1 includes:

• A monthly chart
• A monthly calendar
• Week on 2 pages
• A weekly chart 

The weekly chart included in these inserts is much smaller than the one that comes with other versions. I really like the size of this one. It is incorporated into the weekly page but there is still tons of room to write things. 

Personally, I use the weekly chart for things that I want to specifically focus on that week. For me it is not meant to track things for future reference. I use this chart to make sure I am getting specific things completed in the week without having to assign them a date. For example, sticking to my cleaning zones for the house, this is not something I necessarily care to look back at months from now to see if I was consistent, but it is something that needs to get done during the week that does not have an assigned time to be completed. 

As always thank you so much for reading. If you liked this post please follow and share with a friend! 

Stephanie xo

How I Use: DIYFish Monthly Chart

DIYFish inserts are some of the most unique inserts I have come across while using Filofax. When I first purchased them I was unsure of how I would make use of the monthly chart that came with the set. From January to March I barely used that section except to track sick days from school. 

Now I have figured out what works for me and I use this section for two reasons:

1. To track tasks I want to do monthly 
2. To see how often I do certain things or to see patterns in what I do 

As you can see below I colour code this section to match the rest of my planner and because I am slightly obsessive about how my pages look I try to group the colours together because each colour represents something (Ex: Pink is for my dog).  

Not everything on this list is a daily task. For example, Plan week is a task I want to do on Sundays so I use this chart to see how consistent I am with planning my weeks. 

Some things I like to track on my monthly chart include: 

• Exercise (one to four times a week)
• Tracking my diet
• When I weigh myself (once a week)
• Wearing my retainer
• Planning the following week (once a week)
• Grooming my dog (once a month sometimes twice)
• Brushing my dogs teeth (few times a week) 

As always, thanks so much for reading. If you liked this post please follow and share with a friend! 

Stephanie xo

How I Use: DIYFish WO2P

I have been searching for planner peace since I bought my first Filofax in May of 2013. I have tried many different inserts and many different methods of planning. However, I think I have finally found something that just works!

After almost giving up on ever finding the perfect inserts, I stumbled across DIYFish on Etsy. I figured I would download the 3-month trial version and see what I thought. I mean what could be the worst that could happen? ... I wouldn't like them?

After a week of using the V3S1 inserts I fell in love! If you want a full review of these inserts check out my previous blog post here.

I have decided to break up this post up into four parts:

1. Part 1: WO2P
2. Part 2: Monthly Chart
3. Part 3: Weekly Chart
4. Part 4: Life Mapping System/Colour Code

I use the monthly fold out calendar (note this is different from the monthly chart) to write important dates and appointments. My colour coding is used across all sections of these inserts, but I will discuss that in a later post. Also on my monthly calendar I track birthdays and anniversaries by colouring a small triangle in the bottom corner. 

Next to my monthly calendar is a blank column, which I use to write birthdays and anniversaries. I write them there instead of on my monthly calendar because they don't take up valuable space in the small boxes. 

Next to my birthdays/Anniversaries column there is a to do list column. Here I write out all of the items I can complete from my monthly calendar. This includes items such as, appointments, tests, assignments, events, etc. I do not write important dates here (ex: no school) because they are not tasks or errands I can complete. This may seem redundant but it allows me to see what I have accomplished that month in one location. 

The following page is just blank grid paper. For a while I did not have a use for this; however I have decided that for my spring semester at University I am going to use this page to make a master list of all the school related tasks I have to complete that month such as, reading, papers, assignments, exams, forum posts (for online courses), etc. 

After this we get into the week on two pages. Here I write out my to do lists in detail for each day. I will break tasks down into steps if necessary, I list appointments, exams, reading, errands, and even notes on these pages. For school I will take items off the previous master to do list and assign them a date when they need to be completed. I do not keep a separate to do list, everything goes on my weekly pages. 

As always, thank you so much for reading. If you liked this post please follow and share with a friend! 

Stephanie xo

Filofax Personal Original Review

Recently, I purchased a Fluoro Pink Filofax Original in personal size. I had hear many negative things about this line of planners, but still wanted to test one out for myself because I love the way they look. In the past I would never have considered myself a minimalist, but as time has passed I have come to like a less cluttered, minimalistic look. The Original is perfect for this! 

The outside cover of the Original is very simple. It is very plain, with a button closure. The stitching around the planner is a light tan colour which stands out on the fluorescent pink. Personally, I think this is very appealing. 

These planners are made of a solid piece of leather, which means there is no cardboard insert. This means the planner lays flat much easier and quicker than most others. I have had no issues with my Original laying flat (no matter how long it is closed). Keep in mind this makes the planner a little floppier than others. If you like a stiff cover you may not like this planner. 

When you open the Original there is an elastic pen loop on the inside cover along with two card slots and a full length pocket. The elastic pen loop is divided into three sections: a large pen loop, a place to put sticky notes or a smartphone (my iPhone 6 can fit in this part of the elastic without a case), and a smaller (much tighter) pen loop. The card slots are literally slots, they open up into the pocket behind, so you may want to keep that in mind when putting important cards in them. That being said, these two slots are fairly tight so there shouldn't be much issue with normal sized cards slipping out. The full length pocket is great for storage, but it is a little stiff. However, since it is made of leather it may loosen up over time with use. 

The Original has standard sized rings for a personal: 0.9" (or 23mm). 

The back cover of this planner has another full length pocket along with two slots one at the top and one at the bottom which can hold a slim notepad, which comes with a new Original. Again, this pocket is somewhat stiff, but still useful. 

Overall, I have fallen in love with this line of planners and cannot imagine using anything else. A lot of people dislike the pen loop being on the left; however, that does not bother me as I don't really use it. Instead of using the pen loop I use a zipper pocket because I carry multiple pens. As for the lack of pockets, it helps keep your planner decluttered! 

In my opinion, if you are looking for a really nice planner that feels good, looks good, and is simple this is the planner for you! However, if you like lots of pockets and big pens this planner probably isn't what you are looking for. 

As always, thank you so much for reading. If you liked this post please follow and share with a friend! 

Stephanie xo