Revert to Draft...

I began this blog in 2009.  I have written fairly regularly; even if every post never made it to publish.  I need to change things now.  The tone of Barely Balanced Belle needs to shift just a bit.  Although I truly enjoy writing about Tervis and Junior League, my life is less of that these days.

I wanted to reserve this blog as a happy place.  I wanted to write under a new name.  Instead, I came back here because there are few words that summarize what I need in my life right now like the word "balance."  Although, I am embarrassed to lay down the letters and numbers of a black and white truth, my gut says, "do it."  

via Flickr & seychelles88's photostream

I don't know if my story will reach a single person.  I just know that I need to write it here.  I need to organize my chaos in the form of blogger bullet points.  I don't want to burden anyone with my negative experiences.  I simply want to record my life in a way that forces me to stop hiding from it.  I want to work out the bad stuff in a public way so it doesn't feel like such a shameful secret.

I'll start soon.  It's a busy day today.  Hopefully, I stay on task and can be back to write more this afternoon.  In the mean time, I have clicked "revert to draft" on all of my old posts.  I may re-activate them in time but, for now, I feel better only being represented by the new words I'm putting on this page.  I'm thankful for the outlet.  I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Erin Condren Life Planner, Part 2

I am a planner nut.  True story.  I've spent way too much $$$ on them over the years.  Sometimes, I will buy a new one before the last one has expired. I enjoy filling in the dates, color coordinating, sticker-izing, and then, referencing it each time I have a new date to save!

I stumbled onto the Erin Condren Life Planner's via the blogosphere and, not to get ahead of myself but, I think I have found my planner for the next several years.  I posted about it earlier here but now have an update since I received the corrected version of my planner.  Customer service was super busy so it took nearly a week for a resolution.

However, I'm VERY happy with the results.  Here's a super long photo post detailing the planner...

Yay, shiny laminated front cover & laminated tabs.  Metal spiral binding!

Laminated back cover - it is very thick lamination, heavy duty

Inside front cover - Space to write name, contact info, inspirational quote, etc

Quote on one of the first few pages...

Notable Days section...

Extended View Calendar...

2-page Monthly View - laminated around spiral edges & laminated monthly tabs

Weekly View...this is how month divides in weekly sections

On most weeks, goals and to do section...

Some of the lined pages...

Some other blank pages...

Important Numbers page...

This is the only address page included with the planner...

Stickers - a page of birthdays

Stickers, various

More stickers, various

All planners come with 1 blank sticker page

Single sided folder...

Extended calendar on back of folder, plastic zipper pouch, and back inside of planner...

Some adorable freebies!!! Labels...

Different View of Labels.

Included with the planner is a laminated bookmark/ruler...

The lamination is clear so it is hard to see the marker inside the planner...

Quick fix, take a matching sticker and place on top of the mark...

Final freebie, a few samples of the Call Me Cards...

Planned...

BONUS:  My kitty decided to help open the planner...

Box Opening, attack to sit on lid...

Refusing to move...

I was trying to entice her to remove herself from the box by shaking  a toy...

I finally got my planner out, she hopped in the main box, and started to play with the freebies...

Settled, resting, at peace in her new box...

She stepped back on lid, main box flipped up in her face... poor kitty, she left after this...

New Planner Time...

I've been obsessed with planners since middle school.  I remember my first DayRunner.  Black, fake plastic, binder rings --  a little advanced for a 12 year old but I LOVED it.  Since then, I've spent major $$$ on various planners.

My Lilly planner from a few years ago

Most recently, I have used Lilly Pulitzer agendas.  I had calendar management systems for my clients and the Lilly agenda was good enough for Happy Hours or evenings out with the girls or Junior League meetings. I've left my previous career and fancy e-cals behind... so, now, I need something with a bit more organized space.

Enter the Erin Condren Life Planner in Green & Teal - Peacock.

My current planner! New!

I received it today and SQUEE'd loudly.  I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a little weird.  I was thrilled.  When I say I'm obsessed with planners, I mean that I stopped talking to one of my best friends for 24 hours because she squiggled and doodled on my color coded desk cal in undergrad.  I mean that my sister's favorite way of hurting me when we were little was to rip out my planner pages.

So, it is with sadness that I admit to being a little disappointed with the planner.  It had a design issue and some quality issues.  I don't want to address them here until the company has a chance to review them and respond.  I'm not looking to them for a refund and I'm not sure what can be done at this point... I know they got slammed with new customers (me being one of them) and so I understand how these things happen when your production increases dramatically in a short amount of time.

Otherwise, I REALLY do love the planner.  I've already started making dates and have clipped off sections.  I would still recommend it to everyone but mine just wasn't what I expected... but I know that once these issues are corrected I will be THRILLED.  Back to write in some more plans... yay.

Plastic Rainbow

My obsession with stationary and associated products began when I was a young child.  New crayons; that smell, the colors, the sharp edges, and the pride.  I think that's how it all started for me.  For decades, every "free" dollar I've had goes toward new and better pens, paper, or similar items.

Yesterday, new pens landed in my mailbox.  I bought them earlier in the week with the intention of starting a color-coding system for my paper planner.  I've color coded my e-cals for a decade but I not yet translated that onto a real appointment book.  I'm still hesitant about setting up color coding as practice BUT I'm thrilled with these new pens.

I paid $9.06 for Paper Mate Profile, Retractable, 1.4 mm Point, Ballpoint Pens- 12, Multicolor from Amazon.com.   According to camelcamelcamel, this is the lowest price for these pens EVER. Any deal can get me excited but a deal on stationary products is straight up party-time.  I do not have unlimited funds but I'm willing to work for a little extra cash to cover this luxury.

via Amazon.com

The pens write very well. Although, they were a bit slow to get started.  I tested all of the colors.  They seem very true to the barrel color and I was surprised how well the brown pen wrote and how beautiful it was on paper.

The orange pen has the least appealing writing quality/color.  It was just too faint, even when the ink was rolling, and I feel like I won't be using that one too much.  My favorite colors were the dark purple and dark blue. Their ink flow was exceptional.  Their grip is great (rubberized) and their size is appropriate (thick).

Yay! New pens for the win!