Planning & Organization – Revenge of Eve

Stationery Love

Pen & Paper satisfaction

Oh. Ahh. Ooo.

Ok, y’all… It’s been forever since I posted a shopping haul. So long ago I forgot I did ‘em. But I have nonetheless. Previous versions were of crafting materials. This post will feature…you guessed it; stationery.

As you know paper is my number one ~~obsession~~ love. Well in this haul, I cheated. I bought pens. Granted I have plenty, this order was intentional. Much of my pen collection is random purchases of aesthetically appealing pens. Different types of nibs (the writing point of the pen). Recently I have paid attention to the type of pen trying to discover my style. This includes brands, ink, nib size, and of course, aesthetics.

While searching the hashtag stationery, I’ve stumbled upon quite a few posts unboxing products from Stationery Pal. So I decided to check out the 500 products on their Christmas sale list and I gotta tell ya, not one item is holiday-themed, and did I mention 500 items???? The items range from stick glue, stickers, paper packs, travelers notebooks… O.MY.GOD!! There were so many products to choose from!! Have you ever shopped pens that are sold separately? That’s a task 😂

A list of items purchased — My purchases

The Process

The process was what I expected it to be; almost. Shop, move items to my cart, take things out of my cart, purchase. Buying pens individually is quite a task. Especially when you put an item in your cart and it takes you back to the beginning of your scroll, not where you left off. I find this the most annoying aspect of online shopping. I, of course, was shopping the after-Christmas sale where they had over 500 items listed so losing my spot made the process go much longer than necessary.

Because of this, and a few other reasons I will list, I doubt I use the site again. I had a lot of the same pens in my cart instead of there being a quantity count. I am glad I caught that. The whole point of this haul was to discover my pen type. The last thing I wanted was multiples of pens I did not like. I’ve learned that lesson. Heaven forbid I have a favorite paper and not a pen 😂

A tracking number was included with my receipt except it was useless after day 10 of transit. It seemed stuck at the LAX airport including after day 14, day of arrival.

I failed on my research of the site and on the pens I ordered. I didn’t realize the products were being shipped out of China or that the majority of them are available to me via Walmart. Major facepalm there. I discovered such while my shipment was in transit. The only difference is they are not available individually so there’s that.

I also discovered a much closer stationery store. In the same country at least. I will use them, Jet Pens, for any future stationery supply needs. Not because of Stationery Pal but to suit my personal stationery needs, I will not use Stationery Pal. I think I shop in a higher quality market than which they serve.

My Valentine

For Valentine’s Day, Mister bought me a Tomoe River notebook. Similar to my Galen Leather everyday notebook that I recently filled, this Nanami Paper Seven Seas Crossfield notebook hosts Tomoe River paper. It has 480 pages, about 100 more than my Galen, and is cross grid ruling, 5mm. This will be my first attempt at using cross grid ruling but I am committed now so no turning back 🤓

Tomoe River paper notebook Revenge of Eve — Nanami Paper Seven Seas Crossfield notebook featuring Tomoe River paper

It just so happens to have a deep red cover perfect for the memory of when I received it❤️ I am so stoked to have been given exactly what I asked for. Now I am set for at least a year. I am combining my diary with my Magical Morning Muse routine daily planner. I will do monthly spreads to guide that month’s events and document the days in between. I will date as I go giving me the liberty to skip a day without wasting the space also affording me space to explore. That’s the plan anyway.

What are you loving right now??

A Hobby Blog 😒

TBH

Ugh…so, I am going to be honest with myself and call it what it is. Despite the lack of feedback, I narrowed down the common denominator. Of what?, you may ask. Of my blog. It’s time I burst my reality bubble and call it what it is; a hobby blog.

Cue the dramatic music. Ya know the kind of music that signifies the death of dreams? Yeah, cue that ensemble 😒

While evaluating my blog, I realized the one thing that runs true. Everything I discuss is either a hobby of mine or something I am experiencing. I enjoy stationery, journaling, bits of poetry, accessories, writing… Babbling basically. And while I am diagnosed with co-occurring disorders, I typically speak from a first-person point of view, therefore, offering insight, not solutions.

Duh! Accompanied by an eye roll – where have I been to even question the category of my hobby blog?? It’s right there before my very eyes. So close that I tap on it almost daily. Sheesh, Candace. Can dreams of success be so blinding? Apparently in this la la land they can. But all of that aside, I refuse to throw in the towel on the idea that I can run a successful blog. By successful I mean a blog that generates an income. I don’t know how I will get there but I do know that I will get there! Stay tuned 😉

Keeping with Be

To keep with my word of the year I must be intentional with all I do. For me this mostly includes purchases. The renewal of my plan is up in February of 2022. While I was intentional in paying it, I didn’t realize that my renewal doesn’t include the renewal of my domain. This sucks because if I think about it that is the only part I need to keep updated. I am only realizing this days after my renewal, therefore, requiring a separate purchase of $18. For information purposes, if you purchase a plan through Word Press, the domain is included the first year and not thereafter. Just a heads up!

If I am being totally honest, all I really need is the domain and not the plan seeing as how I do not utilize any aspect of a paid plan. So basically this purpose slipped through my intention radar. Whoomp whoomp. I like having the paid themes to choose from and the one I currently use is one, however, it is an expired theme. I am waiting to update my theme for when I have my laptop fixed. If my intentions about the whole thing were in order then I would’ve applied the plan renewal funds to the repair of my laptop. It would have covered half of the cost of the repair. Yeah, kinda kicking my own ass on this one. Sure, I could get a refund because the timeframe is available but I don’t have the wherewithal to deal with. So there’s that.

My Magical Morning Muse routine is going strong. It’s basically an analog routine of journaling, planning, and documenting. I added an aspect of being to this list by incorporating a be for the day. For example, today’s be is be consistent. I dedicated a journal to this so that at the end of the year I will have 365 days of being ☺️

Conclusion

I am accepting Revenge of Eve for who she is. It’s hard some days as I wish her to be more. So ultimately I have to come into acceptance that she is what she is supposed to be right now. Looking at the bright side I reap her benefits without ever making a penny. Can I get ‘ah witness?

Oh yeah!! I emailed Mailchimp and I await the return email to see if it’s possible to gain entrance into my account. As a backup, I went ahead and started a new email list. If I gain entry to the old list, I will subscribe all the emails to the new list. It’ll be work for me but I know it’ll be worth it. So with that said, do me a favor and subscribe to receive the new and improved Garden newsletter!!! I will cherish each one of you. And I do not spam. Promise. This is the last I ask of y’all for awhile 🤞

Ok. I’m done being needy.

Please Help!

#11 on Feedspot

So about the heading…??? First off, thank you to whoever submitted R.O.E. to Feedspot. Before purchasing a plan and my domain, I submitted R.O.E. to gain exposure. I was pleased to be featured in the top 100 mental health blogs but unfortunately, I did not gain much traffic from the source. Fast forward four years and now I am #11 on the top 100 mental health blogs!! I received an email stating the great news but as #11 came a great surprise. I am grateful to receive such accolades considering I am a personal blog without many resources. It makes me want to step up my game to fill the shoes of the #11 spot! But not only that, it caused me to question if I am classified as a mental health blog.

The last time I was mysteriously nominated for recognition, my blog was categorized more towards personal development, and to that, I can agree. I was then humbly nominated to receive a bloggers bash award. The nomination itself was an award for me. But this leaves me to question, how do I categorize Revenge of Eve? The simple answer is as an unconventional lifestyle blog but to be fair, that isn’t technically a niche.

If I plan to grow beyond what I have here as of today, and I do, I must gain a better understanding of what direction I want to go. I candidly captioned an unconventional lifestyle blog to afford me a variety of discussion topics. This has given me a wider net to cast but the question remains, what kind of blog is R.O.E.?

Insert You

This is where you, my avid reader, come in. If you had to categorize us (R.O.E.), how would you do so?

A. Personal Development

B. Mental Health

C. Lifestyle (unconventional or otherwise)

D. Just a Blog & you don’t care 😒

Feel free to use the comment section for your answer. And thanks in advance for taking the time to help me gain direction to further provide more useful content!

Monday’s Deadline

Nothing to brag about…

Saturday

Who turned up the heat? Or is that just my anxiety? I’ll go ahead and call it; anxiety. I am finding that stuffing things away tricks my mind into thinking I am doing a fine job. I have a dresser that wasn’t pictured in my last post. It is in the closet. I forgot to disclose the drawers need rummaging through. As do these few remaining boxes but I can’t seem to begin on the boxes and I’ll be honest, the dresser wasn’t in the original plan of Monday’s deadline.

My anxiety spiked as I was sorting through my binder clips. Yes, I have many to sort through. I made my way through with dignity. Fighting anxiety and negative self-talk I remembered the mandatory meeting for work at 4pm. This became my excuse to exit my studio.

Sunday: It’s My Birthday!!

The first Sunday of the month Mister and I spend the day with my Ma. Last Sunday I made enchiladas to take to my Baby Momma (my daughter’s stepmom) so we forfeit our visit until this Sunday. I woke up ready to power through the remaining boxes. One box down and time caught me at a stopping point. Now at my mothers my mind wants to be sorting. I feel distracted but I was happy to arrive at a stopping point. Who’s to say I’d be sorting if I were home.

We ventured out to lunch at an organic-focused restaurant where my daughter once worked. Ma suggested a slice of cake to celebrate my special day. I forgot to mention – Mister made me strawberries and creme cake ☺️

While eating a slice Ma suggests we take an ice cream cake home where Girl Other, Kid, and B.I.L. (brother-in-law) wait our arrival. After we shop at my second favorite store we scoop the cake and head to the house. After a short visit, we head home to our house an hour away.

Monday 🤭

It isn’t evening yet but I’ll call it. I knocked out the one box, leaving one. Mister woke up today feeling ill…probably from all the cake!! I had to run to town to get different pants for work. And now… I am ready for an early afternoon nap. Am I pathetic?

Since this has turned into a play-by-play, I’ll finish it that way. I was able to find my work pants after trying on six pairs. I also had to get new solid black shoes and I scored on those. I bought the dogs in my family their Christmas toys. And I wrapped two gifts. I’m calling it a day. The finale studio post will be once my wall system is hung, Christmas is put up, and when the stars align. Lol. Jk. I’ll do it soon. Maybe a video tour! Who knows??

How did your weekend go? Do you still have shopping left to do?

My Process of Sorting

Tying up new year loose ends. Trash or Stash?

Trash or Stash?

I’ve mentioned unpacking my studio and part of this process is deciding whether to trash or stash. I have done exceptionally well. No, seriously. I have, however, down to my last boxes I am at the point of leaving things boxed and stashing away to deal with later. The only problem with this is that I want my new year to start fresh. Purposefully sorted. Done away with. I have given myself until Monday evening to be sorted and ready. Today is Friday. I am hopeful because of my progress yet over it. This can go one of two ways. I either say eff it and trash most of it or I organize it into my already packed full studio. Fingers crossed it is the former.

The thing I am finding are my doodles, journals, and notebooks. How many can one have??? No matter the answer, I have too many.

Last year I purchased a cubby cubicle from Amazon. I love it. It is frosted white with 9 cubbies. I bought fabric labeled boxes, with a lid, around the same time. I bought 4 white and 4 black. They conveniently fit in the individual cubby’s. The organization of this is to die for not to mention the aesthetic!

Images Description

Wall #1 (below) is the largest area I have for storing materials. This beginning photo has two storage containers with drawers stacked on top of two flat storage containers (far right). I end up moving the top two containers to my desk wall. Pictured next is the desk wall. Or should I call it my desk corner? Hmmm 🤔

In photo number 2 (below) you’ll see more drawer storage containers stacked. This ensures every inch of space is taken advantage of. Stacking vertical I’ve found is the best way to utilize space so … I stack. And stack 😂 You can’t really see it from this photo but the dark space behind the desk is my grey, leather craft couch. I need to remove it because I get stuck sitting instead of crafting. I removed the stool from my room and put it under our bar that separates the living and kitchen space.

Next to the couch is a rolling cart with five drawers inside it. This houses the tools I use the most. It has wheels if I need to take it to a different room but it stays put for the most part. Next to the rolling cart are two crates, then two stacked containers with drawers, and a stack of shelves decor piece. This wall is the closet wall with the entrance after the stack of shelves.

In photo 3 (below), the window wall, I pulled out my fabric storage solution which is a shoe rack turned fabric display. I keep this stored in the closet but it is my favorite recycled project. To the far left (near the closet entrance) of the window there is a vintage mailer. It has different sized slots meant for incoming or outgoing mail. A friend of mine gifted me this piece and I absolutely love it although it doesn’t necessarily fit my black and white aesthetic. Hanging in the left corner of the window is a hanger full of scrap lace. I use my artwork as a curtain to allow natural light through the cracks. I will soon be hanging more lighting.

In between my nifty fabric display rack and the mailer is another rolling cart. This one has two pull out wire drawers that are as wide and long as the cart itself. This makes good for all the larger papers in my stash although they haven’t made it there yet. It’s a process folks, a process.

I finished one wall. The final photo is the finished product of Wall #1.

I like recycling. I use milk crates I’ve found loose in vacant yards. They were covered in leaves but I saw the tips of a few so I grabbed them and rinsed them off. Whalah! Stackable storage solution. Then I purchased a few things. Acrylic floating shelves add dimension to my walls until I can add further shelving.

My desk wall will soon feature an acrylic wall system (Russell+Hazel) care of Mister ☺️ I already got my inbox and stapler for my birthday. The rest will be Christmas! I am so excited.

I will post an update Monday evening to see if I accomplished my task in the time frame allotted. Mister has a short list of things to hang and there remain a few boxes for me to sort. I believe I can tackle it. Look out for the finale post 😍 that’ll be featured once my wall system is hanging.

Are you tying up any loose ends before the new year? What’s that look like for you?

My Current Stationery Obsession(s)!

A Plethora

The spectrum of materials stationery encompasses seems endless. Stationery is often innocently thought of as customized paper with matching envelopes but below you will see the plethora of materials this one word encapsulates. While it does include envelopes and paper it is oh so much more!! The official Wikipedia definition is:

a mass noun referring to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies.^[1] Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer printers.

See??

I can scroll for hours looking at aesthetically pleasing storage solutions, paper, office accessories, etc.

Gah!

Over the years I’ve touched a bit on my infatuation with stationery. Truth be told I was embarrassed by it until I stumbled upon hundreds if not thousands of Instagram accounts of others who appreciate it as much as myself. It didn’t take long before my feed was dedicated to all things stationery (and art). As an adolescent, my favorite pastime was playing school. I was Ms. Debbie Smith. I took my job seriously 😂. A few stories are floating around about my school playing days. Not too long ago I realized what drew me to it and low and behold it has always been… You guessed it… Stationery.

These days I get stuck more so on a brand that suits my design style than a product. The quality is of utmost importance. That is part of the criteria. Followed by the aesthetics. Both must align for me to consider making a purchase soooo in saying that, allow me to list my current obsessions.

While I am an Amazon associate, none of the links included in this post is affiliate. I did not receive the products mentioned in an exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Favorite Brand

I am currently stalking Russell+Hazel. Like seriously. I look at their website at least once a day. The selection is minimal therefore making my efforts slim but I can’t help myself!! I am goo-goo over the color scheme of black, acrylic, grey, white, and gold. They do offer a few other colors, pale blues and muted pink paired with gold foil accents.

The selection of acrylic organization and desk accessories hypnotize me ☺️. I was introduced to the brand by accident. Some of you may be familiar with Dirt Cheap but if not it’s an unorganized store that purchases product containers from certain retailers and then resells the products for a cheaper price. Well, I was digging through the store’s stash and I came upon a nice leather planner, the one I am currently using. It was already halfway into the year but at $5, I couldn’t pass it up. As I began using it I fell in love. I found myself using it instead of looking for another one. They call it planner happiness for a reason.

I Googled the brand when deciding on 2022’s planner and to my amazement, I opened a treasure chest!! Have a look for yourself. If you are anything like me you are sure to be pleased.

Favorite Pen

For a little over a year, I have used the same brand of pen. The S-Gel by Sharpie is a gel .07 tip pen that glides smoothly across any paper. The dry time isn’t long and the ink is deep black. The white design pairs with my love of the black and white aesthetic. They sell this pen at Walmart so it is fairly attainable for anyone who wishes to give it a go.

Favorite Paper

Now this category is tricky. While I collect paper, my exploration of writing paper is almost non-existent. The papers that my collection consists of are of the vintage kind and designer kind. Don’t get me wrong, my collection includes notebooks purchased on a whelm as well as others gifted to me, all of which have writing papers. I’ll break this favorites section down a little different.

Since stumbling upon my favorite pen, I now know I prefer gel ink. Check. I know that I do not like ink to bleed through the paper. Check. I have come to conclude that while I enjoy college-ruled I prefer my pages without ruling so that I am not limited to writing, however, 2022’s journal has a faint grey ruling and will be dedicated to writing. Weird, I know. I discovered I like the freedom blank pages offer so three out of four for 2022’s stack are blank paged. Now that absolutely no sense has been made, my choice of blank paper is Tomoe River. During my paper research, I learned Tomoe River recently changed the quality of its paper product, to the dismay of many. My opinion of the quality is based on the older product.

52 g/m2 fills the Galen Leather co. notebook I’ve almost used from cover to cover. Filling a notebook has been a goal of mine for some time and I am 10 pages away from accomplishing said goal!! Yay!! Ok on to the paper. Tomoe River paper is thin, fountain pen-friendly paper. There is no bleed-through or ghosting which from its thinness is shocking. It is a Japanese company with a reputation for the quality of its paper.

As I unpack my studio, I will document other favorites. What types of pens and paper do you prefer?? Do you have a particular brand that captivates you?

Show and Tell

A peek of some of my favorite things!

Expanding R.O.E.’s Vision

All too often I am critical of myself. I understand many of us to share this restricting, less than desirable quality but during my transformation, I decided no more! Perfect I am not, not to mention the awareness it takes to break an old pattern. Anywho. This pesky pattern resurfaced in all its glory.

How?

Thanks for asking.

I’ll tell you how.

Lifestyle

About a year following R.O.E.’s debut 😂, I declared her an unconventional lifestyle blog. I did so for two reasons: 1. To discuss mental health openly 2. To offer me a wide net to cast as far as discussion topics go.

Wait a sec, maybe 3 reasons why

3. To be different.

Well, once again I found myself steering away from topics I enjoy. I for one LOVE jewelry. More specifically, accessories. So instead of shying away from a topic because it is common, I’m gonna share with y’all how I accessorize!

1. Rings

Considering my personal preferences, my style is defined as simple and delicate. I like solid but thin bands, however, I wear one thicker band. I don’t like gaudy and flashy stones. I never take my jewelry off so the quality has to be top quality. My rings must withstand banging, clicking, and misshapen. All of my bands form to the wear of my hands. What was once perfect circles are now bent and more of an oval shape. I wear a mix of gold, white gold, and silver. Throw a few mini diamonds and ceramic in and you have the material of my five-ring collection.

If including my toe ring, I have a six-ring collection. I wear it on my right index toe. It is a double white gold, thin band. I never remove it either. I shower, work, play, and sleep in my jewelry. I wear one necklace my daughter got me for Christmas last year. It’s a Kendra Scott mother of pearl stone.

2. Purses

I am fairly particular when choosing a purse. I prefer two small handles over a strap. The opposite was true until about 3 years ago. The one purse to sway my prerogative was a runway purse I snagged about three years ago. It is a muted purple and black bowling ball-style purse with gold hardware. I still own it today and it hails as my all-time favorite, ever!

Typically, I choose a purse with lots of pockets. The purse I carry now doesn’t offer many pockets. In fact, it only has one but because the purse is small for my liking, the one suffices. The colors are earth tones of cream and pink. Girl Other (my sister) donated it to me when I was living with her. It’s a Louis Vuitton label, medium size with two handles. It has a fancy inscription on the bottom of it of the maker’s name.

3. Sunglasses

I wear prescription glasses but I also collect sunglasses. Right now my collection is low and a bit more on the older side than I prefer but pst… I can’t complain.

4. Analog System

If you’ve been around for any length of time you know I am ~~obsessed~~ in love with stationery. Like. In. Love!! Since that is the case, I have a separate bag I tote my analog stack in. I am working now on 2022’s stack (the term for a paper lovers collection) but 2021’s stack will be hard to compete with.

I carry a mini Louis Vuitton backpack, again courtesy of Girl Other, with a Russell & Hazell vegan leather daily planner, a faux leather journal boasting Tomoe River paper from Galen Leather Co., and my Prima Marketing Inc. standard size, black leather, travelers journal. 😍 just typing all of those things left me starry-eyed!! 😆

I 🖤 Black!!!

Already 2022’s lineup is black and gold so it’s a possible competitor to this year! I.am.such.a.dork!

There ya have it! A few of my favorite accessories. I suppose this post will fit the lifestyle category of my unconventional lifestyle blog!

I am curious, do you enjoy these types of posts? Do you share more personal types of posts or do you keep your personal life separate from your blog? Or are you like me and share a mix? What are your favorite accessories?

Let’s chat in the comments!