Fashionable Friday: Roses & Chocolates

Fashionable Friday: Roses & Chocolates

I want to celebrate my friends, family and favorite foods and flowers in February. (Boy, I love an aliteration!) Grab your favorite roses and chocolates and celebrate yourself, your friends and your loved ones. Romance yourself!

Fashionable Friday: Roses & Chocolate

OMG! I forgot to include a polish color this week so I suggest hopping over to Mooncat and checking out their array of fabulous reds and browns! My favorites are The Arsonist and Bottled Rage which are quite ironically named!


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Planner/Journal Progress: One Month In

Planner/Journal Progress: One Month In

Every year I start a huge puzzle during the Christmas season. This is the only time of the year when I’m inside every day long enough to dedicate the time to a project of this size. But by the middle of January, the pace has slowed, the easier portions of the puzzle are done and the harder work makes progress less apparent.

I bring this up because the same thing has happened on my planner progress. The first few days of a new planner are easy and fun – it almost fills out itself. But then mid-January hits.

For me, a major work trip was the reason I slowed down in my planner entries. A week-long trip of full work days that left no spare time at the end of the day.

So what are my plans to get back on track?

My first goal has been to simply do ANYTHING. Write a single word. Put in a sticker. Tape something into my planner that lets me know I existed in the world on that day. Some days all I can do is slip an item in-between the pages so I can tape in the item later in the week. I added an entrance sticker from a museum, origami from a project, receipts from a fun purchase.

I don’t want a few days (or a couple weeks) to change my momentum for the entire year. I’m trying to make a dent in the pile of journaling supplies I’ve hoarded over the years which helps immensely – stickers, tape, and stamps make the process easier and faster.

My favorite tool this year is still my photo printer. It’s easy to document some of my day through a fun photo. Today’s photo? My friendly neighborhood squirrel, Jerry:

What is your favorite way to keep yourself motivated to be in your planner or journal this time of the year?

Link Love: Thinking on Paper

Link Love: Thinking on Paper

There seems to be a focus on the paper part of our stationery adventures over the last few weeks. We are all trying to find the best ways to use our paper and notebooks with all the fabulous pens and inks we’ve acquired over the years. Notebooks Stories just reviewed the book The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which feels timely for us all and especially our Patrons (Inktellectual tier and up) since we’ve chosen the book to discuss in our book club for March. So, three cheers for community kismet. Go forth and notebook!

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Ink Review: Octopus Write & Draw Brown Penguin

Today I’m carrying on Ana’s theme of wine, roses and chocolate for February with a yummy brown ink. This is still part of my quest to find some Pantone color of the year appropriate inks. Spoiler alert: this isn’t that brown, but it is lovely just the same!

Octopus Write & Draw Ink Brown Penguin (40mL for $19) is a lovely shading brown ink. The lighter parts of the ink remind me of milk chocolate, and the darker parts look more fudgey brown. Are you hungry for chocolate yet?

While I’m not super familiar with this ink brand, it is German made and performs well. My writing samples were dry fairly quickly, aside from those big ink splotches I love to make. The ink is easy legible in a variety of nib sizes.

In terms of comparisons, Diamine Gingerbread is yellower, and Robert Oster Toffee is redder. Brown Penguin is probably closest to Iroshizuku Tsukuski. Diamine Espresso is still quite a bit blacker than Brown Penguin.

Are there brown penguins? There are!


DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

February Planner/Journal Set-Up: My Days of Wine & Roses

February Planner/Journal Set-Up: My Days of Wine & Roses

(Insert a laundry list of swear words here) Can you believe that Saturday is February 1? I realize a lot has happened in the world in the past 27 days but also, where the (more swear words) did January go?

Many of my, dare I say it, ambitious goals for the new year kind of got waylaid by the annual winter cold, the (insert more swear words) amount of snow dumped on us here in the Midwest and a whole lot of worrying about the rest of the country and world as they battled their own severe weather and political turmoil.

But what is the start of a new month but a chance to get back on track, make a fresh start and jump in with  a renewed sense of possibility? So join me as I restart my new year and my goals, plans and journal efforts.

My theme for February is set in the happiness of the icons of Valentine’s Day — roses, flowers, chocolates, wine and lots of red and pink. I know its obvious, corny and a little saccharine sweet but I need a little paper joy this month.

I hope this brightens your day and inspires you to pick your planner back up and start 2025 fresh again!

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Items not included I either don’t remember where I got it or it is no longer available. Don’t forget if you want to get the free printables that are shown in my planner set-up, consider joining our Patreon.


DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

Shop Updates: Rickshaw “Inky Dreams” Re-stock & More!

Shop Updates: Rickshaw “Inky Dreams” Re-stock & More!

We have added new products to the shop as well as some re-stocked some of our favorite products. More is added to the shop weekly!

First, we just added the delightfully whimsical A Jar of Pickles products to our shop. We have fun new washi including the Lunar New Year washi tape with gold foil icons on a lucky red tape. Be sure to order it quickly as this is a limited release product! We also have Taco (Tuesday) stickers to add to your planner and Donut (Everyday) Stickers! So fun!

So excited to announce the re-stocking of our original and exclusive (to Well-Appointed Desk and Vanness Pen Shop) “Inky Dreams” Rickshaw Bagworks pen cases and bags. These are hand-drawn illustrations created by me of some of my favorite ink bottles and then watercolor painted in a rainbow of colors. Get your favorite case in this unique and exclusive design today.

And finally, we’ve added some new stickers and our new spooktastic Webweaver Notepad to our product line-up. For anyone participating in a “Gamify Your Life” planner project, we have created two styles of our D20 dice stickers: Neutrals and Brights to best fit your aesthetic. Use them in your planner to mark an upcoming Game Night or, like I’m doing, when you are trying to “Gamify Your Life”.  And we still have our monthly mini-calendars available. Each month is highlighted with a seasonal array of color. Mini-Calendar sticker sheets are available in a set of 2 (full 12 months) or buy just one sheet (Jan-Jun or Jul-Dec).

Some of the new products created by The Desk & Skylab will also be available on Etsy but our curated products are only available in our Shop.


Little Side Note: Our Patrons get access to really cool content like a bi-weekly podcast, free printables and more. If you want more details about my Gamify My Life Project, consider becoming a Patron!

Link Love: Hang In There, Friend!

Link Love: Hang In There, Friend!

It’s been a few crazy weeks so far in 2025. Politics, weather, and more weather. I hope, wherever you are, you are safe and doing something to relax, stay warm (or cool), surrounded by people (or critters) that love you. If not, know that my thoughts go out to you and I know I am not alone.

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