Uh oh. I think she’s broken!

Hello folks!

How are you all? I hope you’re well. Me? Well, that’s the thing…

So, if you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m the stationery nut of my circle of friends right? So, technically, this week is MY SEASON – I mean, it’s National Stationery Week. So you’d think that I’d be in my element right? You’d think I’d be happy about this and celebrating… Well… No, not really.

As you’d expect, I do have wish lists. Of course I have, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have wish lists as long as my arm. But nothing is really jumping out at me. I’ve made one purchase that was was more out of… Obligation maybe? More of a “this person has the rest of these, and I can’t find them anywhere else, if I don’t get them now I won’t be able to find them again,” – that sort of thing. Not that whole “OMG! Want! Need!” Yeah, this is unusual for me. It’s weird and I don’t like it.

In somewhat related news; I’m thinking about rearranging my desk again. That’ll be fun. No, I’m actually serious. I enjoy sorting and tidying things. It’s for for me. I have to rearrange my notebooks again anyway; the stack of used ones touches the top of the shelf that they’re on and there’s no more space on top or next to them to keep them all together. So, rearranging must be done. And I’m half tempted to stack all the unused ones again to take a better photo; maybe even one of my short self next to the stack. Of course I’d need the boyfriend’s help with that. So yes. I might do that on Saturday or something; we’ll see when I’m able to get around to that.

Writing’s going well, I’m not reading again though, which kind of sucks. Well, not unless you count copious amounts of fan fiction, which I do. Ahem. I’m still writing at least 500 words a day, and that’s not including all the planning for various AU stories I want to write. Which is all I want to write at the moment, but hey, Alternative Universes are stupidly fun! Plus, they’re that step away from pure fan fiction and a step towards original fiction. The pens are getting used and thrown in the used pen cup (an empty pick n mix cup) and seeing that pen cup fill up is the most satisfying thing ever. We just won’t talk about the stupid amount of ink cartridges that I have to use up after the gel pens and the ink samples. Although, ink samples re easy to get through.

Apart from feeling oh so broken about stationery (a feeling that I think is disappearing quite quickly the more I think about it, hurrah!), all is well! Oh! Y’know, I might’ve just been rudely slapped around the face by next week’s post. That’s what listening to podcasts while you write does to you I suppose. It might be next week’s post, it might be for the week after. It depends how long it takes me to write it. We’ll see. Stay tuned for that.

So yes! Until next week folks!

Danni x

My favourite writing equipment.

Hi guys!

So, this week, we’re talking about favourite writing equipment, as the title says. Guess who’s idea that was? Oh wait, that would’ve been mine. Of course.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. I prefer pens and paper. But when it comes to narrowing that down…

This is actually a really tough topic for me. It’s like choosing your favourite child when there shouldn’t be favourites, because that’s kind of wrong. Ahem. Erm. Yes. I wish I could say that I have a bunch of brands and names and things for you but I really don’t, as I found this tough. Basically though, I will write on anything, with (almost) anything if that’s I have to hand. Yes, I’m one of those types. But, I do have my preferences.

Paper wise: I would prefer paper that doesn’t make the most basic pen bleed and feather like god knows what. But really, if I have to write on plain, I really don’t mind. It’s not an issue. I would prefer to write on lined, as long as the margin doesn’t take up half the page. Actually, I’d prefer if there wasn’t a margin but either way. I like squared paper and I like dotted paper too. Hey, I’ll even write on that graph paper stuff I used a lot of in my Science classes if I have to. I don’t mind. I don’t even mind if it’s a pad, a notebook or loose sheets. Or if it’s A4 or A5 or… Whatever. As long as it’s not A6 I’m not fussed. Actually, even if it’s A6 – I don’t mind the size as long as I have plenty of it.

In regards to ink, ’cause talking about that is a bit easier than talking about the actual instrument right now… I’ll use cartridges and bottled ink, I’m not fussed. I have more cartridges than I do bottles of ink because I’m only just getting into that. Colour wise, I’ll try anything once. But I prefer blues, greens, turquoises and things of that spectrum. And purples, like Lamy’s Violet ink cartridges (and it really annoys me that you can’t get a bottle of this). Love love love that colour. Although, I’m not overly keen on black ink, for the most part. In biros? Maybe. In fountain pens or gel ink pens? I’d really rather not thanks. But if it’s all you’ve got then that will do. I don’t really think that I’m a fan of using yellows, light oranges or light greys either, but I’ll really try anything once and use anything if that’s all I have access to. But, I’d prefer blues, greens and purples.

Now for the actual writing tool. I’d really, really rather not use a standard pencil. If I’m going to use a pencil, I’d rather use my Kura Toga (with or without the squishy gel grip, I don’t mind) and I’ll use a ballpoint/biro if there’s nothing else. I’d rather use a gel pen, but would love to stick to fountain pens.

Speaking of gel pens, I like Uni-balls the most I think. I mean, I seem to have the most of them. Or Pilot pens. I like those too. Or, Pentel Sliccis or something. I have quite a few gel pens so I guess I’m not overly fussy regarding the type. My colour preferences for gel ink pens are pretty much the same as my colour preferences for fountain pen ink.

So, the order of preference for the actual instrument, from least preferable to most, would be this: standard pencil, biro, mechanical pencil/Kura Toga, gel pens and fountain pens. Somewhat obvious I think?

But, here’s where I come unstuck. I cannot pick a favourite fountain pen. I have been seriously thinking about this for a week and a bit, maybe a touch longer, and I honestly don’t have a clue. I don’t think it’s because I have so many, I think it’s genuinely because I can’t pick a favourite. a couple of favourites maybe, but not just the one. I will however think on it some more.

So, here we go. Some paper that can handle ink, ink that falls under the colours I favour and a fountain pen. Those would be my favourite writing devices. I so prefer doing things by hand. I know I should have some brand names and samples and whatnot for you all but I honestly don’t think I’ve had enough variety to give you those.

That’s it from me this week, I’ll see you next with with Jon’s choice of topic!

Until next time,

Danni

x

Blog post word count: 768 words.

Review Revisted: Bureau Direct

Hey guys!

So; the first week without the aid of the alphabet project – I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit lost without it right now. I am in the process of making a list of possible blog post ideas, but today I’m going to do something that I came up with on Monday night.

Right. Way back when, I wrote a review about the services / website / company in general – Bureau Direct.

Now, I have been a (very) frequent customer of theirs since I wrote that review, so I figured that an updated review was in order; just to prove that it wasn’t love at first click or something.

They are still amazing. Their website and their business has grown and expanded, and it’s still growing, which is fantastic. They are the first website I check whenever something new comes out and I always try to buy from only them. Actually, on that note, I don’t think there’s been many occasions where I’ve had to go elsewhere for something I’ve wanted.

Their postage system is still great; still free if you spend over a fiver. I always get / use the free delivery option and the whole process goes something like this: I place my order on the Wednesday, it gets posted the Thursday and I get it on the Saturday. Marvellous.

If I have to find one, slightly negative thing… I would like them to stock more in the way of pens; any sort really, but especially fountain pens. However, they’re always expanding their ranges and whatnot and they have so much stuff I just wouldn’t be able to get otherwise, so I’m really not that fussed about it all. It’s such a minor thing, and hey, it might still happen. Either way I’m still so happy with what they have and what they do.

So. Overall. They’re still awesome, still totally recommended, and still my favourites. I just love the whole company.

What more can I say?

Until next week,

Danni x

Blog post word count: 333 words.

X is for… X Rated.

Hi guys!

So. X Rated. You know, the hard stuff. Not the rubbish ’50 Shades of Grey’ bollocks (because I’ve read better erotica written by virgins) but more… Hardcore.

Nah. I’m just kidding.

We all have that one thing (maybe more than one) that gets us way more excited then it should, it makes your heart beat that little bit faster. For some, it’s video games, comic books, new books by a particular author, new music by a particular artist or band, new films… You get the point.

I get over excited about new stationery items. New BRIGHT stationery items in particular. For example, as of late, I’ve been totally in love with orange and lime green stationery items, so when Leuchtterm 1917 announced last month that they were going to be adding a nice, bright, juicy orange to their notebook colour choices, I squee’d. And possibly salivated a little bit. Now I just have to wait for a ‘release date’ for lack of a better term.

Another thing that excites me more than a dog outside a butcher’s shop is the news of… Well anything. Any news from my favourite bands / music artists (which isn’t happening very much at the moment) Or a new, decent, Sims expansion pack, like Supernatural that was released last Friday, and Seasons that is coming out in… November I believe.

Those things are really exciting for me. We all need things that make us tick – something that makes us a little bit giddy. For ‘addicts’ it’s often whatever they’re ‘addicted’ to – stationery for example, y’know? It’s even better when your friends totally get it too – they understand it and help you indulge in it.

I don’t see how being that passionate anything is bad. I know some people who are borderline obsessive about things.. I’m just very passionate. Stationery is essentially my porn. Well, that’s what my boyfriend says – at least it’s slightly healthier!

Hm. This is not quite the post I imagined it was going to be. No matter!

Until next week!

Danni x

Blog post word count: 339 words.

Q is for… Quirk.

Hey folks!

So, Q is for “quirk” this week for me.

The first thing would be my preferences in regards to my stationery which I wrote about in a different blog post but that’s covered in that there post.

I consider my love of stationery and so forth a quirk. I mean, it certainly sets me apart from… Well, a lot of the people my age / people I know. Not everyone is a stationery nut like me. This in itself kind of sucks because it means that I have no one to geek out over stationery with. Boo However, thankfully, with me, there are plenty of people (who are kind of nutty about stationery) on the internet, which means a few things a) I’m not alone in having this quirk and b) I do have people to talk to and “geek out with.” It’s just unfortunate that I can’t do it in “real life.”

It’s an odd quirk, I think, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Fortunately my mother agrees. I’m not sure that my boyfriend’s parents do though… They seem to really disapprove of me getting post. Oh well. I actually really don’t care. My stationery doesn’t take up very much space in our bedroom. It’s not like they have to dodge around my stuff or anything. So they shouldn’t care, but, apparently they do. Oh, well, never mind; there’s nothing I can really do about it.

I like this quirk. It makes me good at something – I know more about pens and paper than most people I know. I’m not an expert by any means but I consider myself knowledgeable. A friend once sought me out for advice on which pen would be better to use on a certain, popular brand of notebook, not too long ago, ’cause he thought / thinks I’m the “expert on the subject.” (As I just stated, I wouldn’t call myself an expert but it’s nice to know that my friends think that I know what I’m talking about.) I also had a good chat with a different friend about notebooks, not too long before or after, before I think, the pen conversation. Both very enjoyable conversations that I felt very comfortable in. (I don’t always feel comfortable in conversations because I don’t always understand what people are talking about, or I don’t really have confidence in my opinions or… Something.)

So yeah. My quirk is that I love stationery and I like to think that I know a fair amount about the items I use for my craft. If I’m honest… I actually take a little pride in it and I don’t care what people think about that.

Until next week guys!

Danni x

Blog post word count: 453 words.