Notebook Review and Giveaway: Write Notepads

Review by Laura Cameron

I have reviewed a few different products from Write Notepads & Co. over the past few years so when The Gentleman Stationer started carrying their products we grabbed several to try and give away!

Personally, I was most excited by the Dot Grid Steno ($14) since I have a deep and abiding love of dot grid!  The Dot Grid Steno is a 5.5″ x 8.5″ steno pad with 120 pages of 70# paper with a light gray dot grid. The heavy cardstock covers are available in both Pistachio and Black.

This pad is totally my jam. The paper is great! I tested a variety of fountain pens, fine liners, gel pens, pencils, Sharpies and fountain pen ink swabs. Of everything I tested, only the Sharpie bled through and there was barely any ghosting of any of the others. I also love A5-ish size notebooks and that beautiful dot grid! Based on how I use my notebooks, I’m sure this one will get lots of use (which means you’ll be seeing it in reviews to come…)

But now we’ve got some fun notebooks to share with you! Up for giveaway to one lucky winner are:

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what you’re snacking on while staying at home. I’ve become a devotee of cheese and crackers! Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, May 24, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winners will be announced on Tuesday (Monday is Memorial Day and even in this time of COVID-19, I want a cocktail and a cheese platter in my backyard). Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner(s) do(es) not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

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102 comments / Add your comment below

  1. I’ve revived my teenage and young adult love affair with Ruffles and toasted onion dip! Peanut butter on sliced apples and chips and guacamole are at the top of my go to list of snacks!

  2. Snacking on multiple Costco bags of Creators popcorn. The ultimate test of popcorn management is to mix the bag prior to opening so the caramel guys don’t fall to the bottom! Takes much diligence.

  3. Snacking on homemade popcorn balls containing almonds, pecans, and a little Parmesan cheese. Good for the body and soul.

  4. This may freak you out but I’ve been enjoying a mixed cheese I just discovered : Campazola. Part Camembert, part Gorgonzola. Not for the weak hearted! I’m starting to resemble this cheese: soft + papery white with veins running through it.

    PS I have a US mailing address should I be the lucky girl.

    Pls consider not excluding us poor Canadians from your freebees – I support US shops almost exclusively when shopping for pen + ink – which I do alot! Vanness, Goulet, Jetpens….although it costs me 37% more due to the currency difference.

  5. Goldfish crackers + wasabi peas! Conveniently one-handed monching. For extra protein, I add unsalted peanuts.

  6. Before all this started, we got a good deal on a box of single-serving bags of Doritos, so I’ve been snacking on those.

  7. For out-of-the-box snacks, I reach for Cheez-Its.
    For cheese and crackers, I go for a good sliced Muenster combined with Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits. Wanna get fancy? Add sliced cherry tomatoes and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Bam!
    … At nights watching movies, I have a giant bucket of organic animal crackers from Costco. They’re the best animal crackers ever. Which is to say they’re a medicore snack when the munchies take over during reruns of That 70s Show.

  8. Since I am less hungry lately, my lunch tends to be a fruity greek yogurt cup topped with a little granola. It’s like a midday treat!

  9. I’ve never eaten flamin’ hot cheetos before in my life but now that’s half my calorie intake, you can tell I’m dealing with this situation well

  10. Homemade popcorn with ranch dressing mix powder. so good. also, Luden’s cherry cough drops. Not cuz I need them, but it’s candy.

  11. Pickles…for some reason I keep craving pickles. Oh, and any type of Tex-Mex I can get my hands on. Oh…and Little Debbie’s.

  12. I am snacking on Belvita biscuits, blueberry flavor. Yum yum.
    I read about them in a British blog circa 2013 and checked them out.

  13. Uhm, I’ve been snacking on everything. This week, my husband made peanut butter cookies, and they are very very good. Thanks for the giveaway!

  14. Oreos! Grocery delivery folks had to do a substitution for me last time. I got Golden Oreos!! A yummy surprise. And they are good for your soul, if not your waistline .

  15. Gluten free donuts. Local bakery makes them pnce a month and I cut them in half and freeze them. Good thing I have not been wearing “hard pants”.

  16. Guacamole and corn chips. I’ve been wanting to try one of these notebooks ever since I read about them on the Gentleman Stationer.

  17. I have been snacking on everything that is within reach, but currently the Lays Stax Sour Cream and Onion chips are what I’m eating.

  18. I’ve been drinking a bit of white wine in the evening and eating brownies. I love sweets with wine or even beer. And I also have to agree with you — I love the dot grid.

  19. We are eating Toasteds Crackers in the combo pack. Also Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough that is now available so you can make all ice cream have cookie dough bites in it!

  20. Well. When I’m not nomming on my wife’s Triscuits straight out of the box or with some melted cheese baked on top, I’m delving into the delicious creaminess of ice cream sandwiches. They’re going to have to oil the door jambs to get me outta this house when the pandemic is over. Yeah, I’m gonna need that big Write pad so I don’t lose it.

  21. What a coincidence! Cheese and crackers are always my favorite snack. Also, hummus on corn chips but alas, my favorite hummus is at a store with too-cramped quarters for my liking at present. Thank you for this chance!

  22. Here in Argentina, we have these things that are like croutons but flavored. I have a hard time not finishing an entire bag.

  23. Not much of a snacker, even now. However, I have started saying yes occasionally to my husband’s offer of ice cream in the evenings.

  24. I’m Snacking on whatever looks like it won’t make it another day. Don’t want to waste precious groceries!!

  25. Fritos, oh god the Fritos they’re like an evil caloric siren song. And then there is the Baskin Robbins ice cream.

  26. I love those notebooks! I’ve been snacking on multigrain tortilla chips…and chocolate chips.

  27. I love the Write notebooks but haven’t tried these yet! Thanks for the chance.
    I also snack on crackers, but no cheese. And I may or may not have snuck in a daily dose of those “Lil’ drums” – the mini size of those o so yummy Nestle drumsticks ice cream cones!

  28. Spicy peanuts. My dad has a friend who makes them as a side business, so I have two gallon-sized Ziplocs of individually bagged servings. Getting pepper dust on the keyboard isn’t ideal, but otherwise they’re great grading food.

  29. Pistachios, almonds, and string cheese. Ok, I admit it, a few Fritos here and there. And two – yes only two! – homemade chocolate chip cookies a friend tormented me with.

  30. Boulder potato chips and onion dip. Who needs real food when you have chips and dip? Never tried the Write notebooks before but they look like they work well with fountain pens.

  31. I love that landscape notebook!

    We’re snacking on cheese/crackers or PB/crackers a lot. And I never turn down PB M&Ms!

  32. It’s either full healthy or total junk.

    Talking fresh veggie crudités or sour patch kids. Apple slices up with some almond butter, or Ben & Jerry’s. It’s eclectic. Also gaining weight from ice cream feasts

  33. Granola and various breakfast cereals mixed together. With half-and-half when I’m feeling particular decadent!

  34. Popcorn is my choice if I want a salty snack. For something sweet, it really varies depending on my mood and what we have in the house. This week, it’s been s’mores made in the toaster oven. Any excuse to eat gooey, melty marshmallows. Mmmm…

  35. Pistachios!! Every night a beer with my husband and a bowl of pistachios! How funny that these notebooks are the same color! Serendipity!

  36. Homemade sourdough with smoked whitefish schmear…yum! should’ve had some sauvignon blanc with it, but that wouldn’t have been a good zoom look 😉

  37. For me it has been sprouted hummus with whole grain corn chips. The seediness hits just right.

  38. I eat knockoff Oreos from Kroger and a Dr K for lunch at work from status most nights, double stuff style!

  39. I eat knockoff Oreos Via Kroger & a Dr K for lunch at work from status most nights, double stuff style!

  40. I’ve been enjoying Noosa yogurt. It has too much sugar but since it’s yogurt I can eat it with the belief that it is a snack rather than mid-day dessert.

  41. I found some dry roasted garlic and rosemary cashews at my local health food store … OMG.

  42. I’ve been eating candy by the pound! Started with gummi bears, then sour b patch kids, now twizzlers. All in the family size 1 to 2 pound packages. (Notepads look great btw)

  43. We are keeping a lot of fruit in the house for snacking as well as almonds, pistachios. Sometimes we buy a small amount of a good cheese (we limit that around here) and dry-cured salami but we really do try to space out the rich snacks. Thanks for the opportunity, these notebooks look great and I haven’t tried one yet.

  44. I’ve been baking way too much, like so many other people right now. Today’s snack is some fresh homemade bread. But I’ve got a mason jar of NY Times homemade ice cream freezing as I type this. It’ll be ready in another hour. Saw the recipe on the front page A few days ago and had to do it. (Get heavy cream, add a bit of sugar, shake it in the jar until it’s almost whipped, add flavor and freeze. It’s not as smooth as Ben and Jerry’s, but it’s really cheap! And fun.)

  45. Popcorn. I normally only eat popcorn at the theater. But I have probably eaten a bag of microwave popped corn every day for the last month. – But I do miss theater popcorn, with two hours in the dark with the latest flick.

  46. I feel fond of the Write notebooks because they’re made in Baltimore where I live. Great things come from Baltimore! I have a few of the tiny pocket ones that we got as goodies at the Pelikan Hub last year.

  47. Well…I’m still working, but at home AND at work I am all about Quest tortilla chips!

  48. Vodka with cranberry-lemon juice. Vodka with strawberry flavored whole milk – when I’m eating healthy.

  49. Oreos. Tiramisu Oreos. Moose Tracks ice cream. I should probably find something healthier but I don’t want to.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  50. COVID snacks you ask? Yes, cheese and crackers here too! My husband uses a redneck method of smoking cheese and something about quarantine made him think we need blocks and blocks of cheese smoked. Others went for the TP and hand sanitizer at the store, he went for the cheese! It’s good for snacks and small meals both 🙂

  51. my afternoon snack is often frozen meatballs. The small ones that come in a giant bag. reheat them for a minute in the microwave and then I dip them in hot sauce, pesto, or caesar dressing. delicious

  52. I’m currently snacking on some tortilla chips and refried beans (using them as a dip … don’t judge).

    Related: I only recently found out that Write is from Baltimore and was going to schedule a trip up there (from DC) until COVID-19 struck!

  53. Pringles, Pringles, Pringles! My wife bought an assortment of flavors and I’ve been eating nothing but Pringles for snacks. Cheese and crackers would be better for me, but I just love me some Pringles!

  54. I’m hooked on honey roasted peanuts. Only problem is they make me thirsty (which I suppose is really good since it forces me to chug water).

  55. Whole grain crackers with goat cheese from the local farmers market topped with a sprinkle of “everything bagel” spices.

    I was SO happy to be able to shop at our first farmers market of the season! Everyone was in good cheer as they politely wore face masks and kept their distance. It helped that the market was well-organized to maintain physical distances.

  56. I have been watching carbs in my foods, so I found almonds and pecans to be relatively low in carbs. Typical serving is 1/4 cup. I actually weigh out 1/4 cup and count the number of nuts so I can take one or one-half serving at a time and not overdo it

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