My Work Bag Essentials

Hey guys!

So, if you haven't all clued in, I work quite a bit. For my internship this summer I'm working full time, but fairly long hours. For those of you on the same boat for the summer, or working full-time, I wanted to talk about my survival kit! 

So here's a peak inside my Kate Spade leather tote, that allows me to carry just about everything!
first of all, the bottle on the left is my tanning lotion for the days I go tanning after work (my eyewear is also thrown in there somewhere). Then I've got my wallet and my sunglasses. You can't seen the pocket too much, but I've got a few pens in there as well as a hand sanitizer and lotion!

But the four books in there are the most crucial to my daily routine!
1. The gold and white striped personal planner is what I use to keep track of everything and have it in one central place. It allows me to keep up my to-do lists and things wherever I am.
2. The Vacationers; the novel I'm currently reading is what I like to keep with me if I get a little time during lunch to take my mind of work and the real world a little bit!
3. The gold foiled Notebook, similar concept to the planner but a little less organized. I can use it to jot down anything from outfit ideas to budgeting rough drafts. I find it helpful to have an open space to put ideas on paper whenever my mind's wondering off from work.
4. A simple moleskin paperback notebook. I constantly need to jot things down on the spot while I'm at work, so I like to use this almost as organized scrap paper.

let me know what you need in your bag!
see yah soon,
Diana xx

Planner Preferences

For those of you who don't know, I'm a planner ADDICT. As a matter of fact, I'm addicted to pretty much anything stationary related; if we're being honest. Planner's seem to give my scattered brain some sanity. So, after using my Kate Spade Planner for the past year, I'll tell you why I'm off the moon about trying the MAMBI Happy Planner. None the less, Both of them will cover the next six months. So, I'll also be trying to balance the (in)practicality of having two planners. 

Here's a little run down of the two of them, 

They're both 18 months and start with a preview of the two years. That's about where the similarities end. 

The Kate Spade Planner ran from 2015-2016 and it's a horizontal planner which has a month overview and then a weekly view. Between months, there are simply polka-dot pages as dividers that give a lot of room for personalizing and decorating.

Being a full-time student in university who also is on a school team, and works, and has a social life, I found bullet points to be the only functional way to pencil things in. I like to add in the time and location and found this to fit quite awkwardly.

That is what started my hunt for a vertical planner. 

and then I found the "Me and My Big Ideas" Happy Planner!

This one runs from 2016-2017 but has custom rings that allow for inserts additional pages to be popped in. Literally. 

Aside from being extremely customizable, the planners themselves come in plenty of variations to really match your style. They're also newly available to Michael's Canada! and that means couponnnss. The Planner hasn't started just yet, but I'm dying to try it out!  

Can't wait to review which one works best for me,
see yah soon xx

CALL TO ACTION: Want List Prioritization

Hey guys, this may seem like a bit of a strange concept but for as long as I can remember, I've been making want lists. Yes, my shopping addiction started young. But, in all seriousness, this helps me make decisions that are well thought out when I have a little extra money in the bank.

Basically, this can be done on paper, or on your phone using the notes app or any organizational app. If I'm going to do it digitally I love using Wunderlist for it, since it updates on all of my devices and keeps everything organized in lists and folders!

The Basis of this is to keep an updated list of things you want to purchase. If you're anything like me, you're probably thinking "... so like, everything?" well, my rule of thumb is if I would want it in my shopping cart, I want it enough to potentially purchase it. This is also good for stopping impulse buys, since you may very well look back and think, I don't actually care for that.

So, every time that wallet itch comes around and I'm able to make a good purchase, I then start looking at my list a little more critically. I start by eliminating the things I don't want as much and then prioritizing as well as weighing in all factors; such as money, upkeep, usage, etc. Eventually I'll come down to a decision. If it's down to a few and there really is no better option, I usually just go with my gut on which I choose.
(Lets be real, sometimes I just get both) 

The key is everything in moderation really! I hope this helps some indecisive shopaholics like me.
I'll see yah soon,
Sandianaa