During Halloween time I love to seek out some of the creepiest books out there. I usually turn to Stephen King or his son Joe Hill. Once I read Horns I was immediately obsessed with Joe Hill and  have read every one of his books since then. I think the creepiest by far is NOS4A2, that book is just terrifying. I love to be just scared senseless. Well, the other day while looking for something creepy I ran into  a thread of people sharing some of their favorite Stephen King books and Geralds’ Game was mentioned a few times. I had never heard of it before but happened to find it at a Half Price Books store. I was beyond excited and felt as though it was meant to be. 

Without giving away much of the story I couldn’t wrap my head around how this could happen and how we could turn this into an entire book. I should have known that a master like Stephen King could take something so simple and twist it into something that is a complete nightmare! He really and truly turns something that seems innocent and fun into something that quickly becomes your absolute worst nightmare!

The book is of course written as any other Stephen King book with great detail so you feel the pain that the main character is experiencing as well as the creepiness of it all. Something I love about this author is that he holds onto the more classic feel of a horror scene. He is just so great about setting the scene whether it be in a hotel or even in a high school, he manages to just make it creepy. He does the same at this cabin, something that should be jovial and a place to spend happy summers suddenly is a desolate and creepy place.  A fun sex came turns bad and now as the reader we spend some painful minutes with the main character. There is a scene with some blood and gore so perhaps for those of you with a weak stomach you may want to skip a few pages. King manages to involve a dog in this book and not as a friendly companion but instead as a feared beast!

The book is told through the eyes of the main character and all of her feelings and voices. There were times that I wanted to put the book down because I was just so creeped out. I’m using the word creepy alot but it’s really and truly what I felt the whole entire time.

If you are searching for the creep factor and just some great classic horror entertainment give this book a whirl. It’s housed on my shelf with my other King favorites!

Have you read this book?!? If so please share your thoughts!

Recently Avery reached out to me and had shared that they noticed I use alot of their products within my planners. I couldn’t believe that they noticed but I was so flattered. They had shared with me that they are having a go with planners and would like to see what I could come up with. I personally love making my own planners. I have found in the past that whenever I find myself in a planner rut or I can’t decide what I want I make my own. I love making my own planners and it helps me to play with all different kinds of layouts.

Many times I watch videos and watch people struggle with planners and they buy so many things and then feel frustrated and lost, this is where I reccomend making one yourself. You can just buy a notebook and draw out what you would like your layouts to look like or if you would like to dry rings you can pick up a binder and see what you like as a set up there. The options are just endless when you start making your own.

Pictured on the left is a really gorgeous planner choice. I love this one but I also love the binder that allows you to slip in your own picture so you can really personalize the planner!

You can see that I went a little crazy with printing out stickers. I can not get over how fun and easy the software is to use. If you haven’t seen my video be sure to check it out and see for yourself how much fun I had!  On some of the labels I choose and image from Pinterest and others I went with the images available from Avery.

I used a full sheet  of the Avery labels and printed out some fun Starbucks stickers and some Christmas countdown stickers. For these larger sticker sheets I love love using my gyro cut to kiss cut them. It’s such a great tool to have with me at all times and I just love it! You can cut a bunch of stickers all at once or just do them as needed. 

Something else that is really great when you print on these Avery full sheet labels is I can use my copic markers and I can add some great colors and really personalize my planner stickers.

In the picture featured on the right I printed on full sheet labels also but this time I used the software that is available on the avery site. I love the really cute images that they offer and then I added my out text, I added Olivia’s School where the little school house is and I just thought it was adorable and eye catching to just pop into my planner.

The little donuts are also on the Avery page I thought they were just the perfect sticker to use for my little newborn. The poor little newborns I feel go in all the time, at least once a month for shots and wellness checks and I thought I could keep on top of it with these super cute stickers.  With colored stickers I think they are great to use for color coding but because I don’t do much color coding I put ‘remember to’ so that I can highlight important things  and the bright colors stand out in my planner! 

Moving on to tabs, this is what can make your planner very personal. Many people tend to change these with the seasons and I can see why. It not only makes it pretty but  also is a place that your are drawn to and you want to open the  planner. It’s fun to dress up the planner just to keep your interests. Not everyone likes to do this but I do on occasions. I used little rectangle stickers again to add headers on the tabs and I like how they turned out. I found some really cute images of a squirrel and so I added that along with the text. I also thought it would be fun to do some personal art work to once again make it feel personal. It’s so much fun to add personal touches to really make it feel like your own. January has the little snowman and a little heart tree for February.

In the picture on the left I took out the inserts and printed an image that I found on pinterest. I love doing this because it dresses up a page without adding too much bulk to the planner. I also feels like it keeps it simple and clean. I also feel this makes it more appropriate to bring to a meeting and have out in front of others without it feeling too much like a scrapbook.

A final touch that I wanted to add was that you can add Daytimer inserts or Franklin Covey as well as the inserts from the dollar spot at Target!! Just because they have seven holes doesn’t mean that it doesn’t fit into the three ring punch.

There are just so so many options when you choose to do everything yourself. I personally love to do this whenever I need a little reset with my planner or just feel lost or overwhelmed. I think that when you are able to just figure things out on your own and use inspiration from all kinds of sources your mind is forced to focus and select things that work for you.

I really enjoy all the Avery products and have been using them for a very long time to make my planners and journals feel very personal. Check out my coordinating video!  Do you use any Avery in your planners or journals?

There is so much currently out there when it comes to planners and journals. It’s a wonderful time really when I think about it. I have never had so much access to inspiration while at the same time being overwhelmed with all the wonderful ideas. I have mentioned before that whenever I am choosing a journal or a planner it will speak to me. I know that sounds odd but it’s really very true for me! What I mean when I say that it speaks to me is that when I hold a planner in my hand things that come to mind. The size, is it big, small? Do I want to put stickers in it? Keep it professional? Travel with it? Leave it at home? Do I want to also capture memories? Is it bound or loose pages? All these things come to mind with planners and with journals. This is how I love to then use and manage them. It may seem strange to some because I know in the past my family has always said to me, a notebook is a notebook what’s the big deal? Well to me it is. It’s just like any other passion that people may have and journals and planners are a passion of mine. Each planner and journal has worked for me at a certain  time in my life and if something did not work I  changed it. I can confidently say that I have never ever only used one planner for an entire year. Since being a child I have always used at least two! I think  in college is the one time that I came closest to only using one. The reason for why I used really only one was because I became so detailed with my days that included studying times, assignments, syllabi, meetings, work, interviews, etc, that made it difficult to easily transfer information without being too paranoid of losing information.

To the topic at hand, is it possible to combine your journal with your planner? It’s an idea that I love and sometimes I am very excited for and then notice that I end up doing more journaling and planning in another planner. I had spent many days looking through Pinterest to see if I could find anything that would inspire me and I did! I found something along the idea of an omni-journal. Meaning one journal for everything. So it would be a place to not only plan but to also document my days. I love the idea but how to make it work for me. With planning I often need it to be something that is clean and when I journal and memory capture I love it to be very colorful and creative.

Why would I want to combine the two? I have used a similar technique during #onebookjuly and found that after using it I love having everything combined. It helps to map out my life. What my days are about. I love to use a bound book and leave it on my shelf. When I come back to it and flip through it I just can’t get enough and I am absolutely in love.

I have recently been itching to make an omni-journal again and I thought that I would take you along for the journey. I would like to share with all of you how I make this work or not. It’s a really great journey to embark on because it can be challenging but definitely rewarding in the end. What I will do is see if I like adding pictures and how much of my tasks in the book. I want to explore and see if I can make some of my planning more creative and see if things get done or lost. Do you omni-journal? Do you like to capture your memories in your planner? Please share your thoughts!

I not only get asked  all the time how I use so many planners but I ask myself this same question. It’s honestly difficult to pass up something beautiful that I see on Instagram and just buy it!! I know that since the beginning of my time using planners I have always used more than one planner but not like I do today. Social media is a huge influence on what I am using and also why I feel the need to use so many things. I get frustrated with myself because I say to myself ‘ Can’t I just love one?’. I am filled with guilt that I have so many that are beautiful and are not being used all the time. I want to use them all and I try and find uses for them all to justify having them. I have the same thoughts that most people in the planner community have. I have times that I feel at a loss and then some times that I feel i’m on top of it!

What I have found since being in the community which was back in 2012 is that I have relaxed a lot more. I don’t have quite as much guilt because I know that it’s my passion and my hobby. I like to change out my planners and they all speak to me in a different way. Some of them are more strict and some are more free flowing. Some allow me to draw and watercolor in them while in others I’m setting a time management plan. In some of them I like to just use stickers and in some of them I like to only use pen. I have found this to be the answer to feeling overwhelmed and guilty.

I of course will use some examples to paint a clear picture of what it is that I mean. I will begin with travelers notebooks. I have them in all kinds of sizes from field note, personal, regular to extra wide and they all speak to me in different ways. When I want to plan on a larger scale and use the planner perfect method for example I will dive right into an extra wide travelers notebook. I love setting the notebook up and the excitement of the journey that it will take me on. It’s that experience that I really enjoy and love. In a regular size midori I tend to try and plan more creatively in it. So I love to make tabs and splash my water colors through out. I like to experiment with all the wonderful printable inserts that can be found on etsy and see what I like and what I don’t like.

I do highly recommend taking notes while using different planners and journals. This is how you will most learn about what you love. In addition to choosing a size I like to use I also have to consider what size depending on where I am in my life. When I worked on the unit as a nurse I had a small planner that I kept in my scrub pocket. It helped me to stay on top of crazy schedules and also keep little cheat sheets for different drips in the back. At this time in my life this is what worked best for me.  I currently work from home and have a toddler and one on the way so I’m not limited to which planner I can use but I like to have something more on the creative side and more portable. I love documenting everything that my daughter does. I love keeping track of the things she likes to do. If she is ill and has a fever I like to write down her symptoms and when I am giving her tylenol. I write down questions about my pregnancy etc so planning has changed with me because life changes all the time.  The planner that I had in college was letter sized and filled with appointments and time trackers and very very regimented. Having options is really wonderful because I can let them change as my life changes and with so much on social media I am able to allow that influence to add to my creativity and make sure that I am making the most of my days.

Since the age of 8 when I first picked up a planner I have learned that ring binders like filofax and franklin covey open up the more strict side of my brain. The cap that I put on with these planners is much more business. I’m more serious and use a lot less creativity with them. This is the place that I keep my information for my online classes as well as a more structured schedule for youtube videos and social media analytics. I like to keep notes from people who ask to do reviews etc and I consider this to be a very professional interaction so it all goes into rings. I struggle with ring sizes from the personal to the a6 to the a5. These are all things I like to change up. I tend to leave the A5 at home and the other sizes I will take with me and throw into my bag. It all depends on how much I am leaving the house and if I need anything for a business meeting.

Allowing myself to feel the freedom of different planners and travelers notebooks and exploring so many different methods keeps me interested in using a planner. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me excited to set up new planners and try new sizes. In my opinion if my planners did not change over the years I would have never grown as a person. I look at my planners as an addition to my life. It adds to my day and doesn’t take away. It keeps my brain sharp and allows me to not only make plans but pull together ideas for what I want out of my life. It’s really very exciting if you look at  it this way!! Do you love all your planners and switching in and out of them?