The Well-Appointed Desk

Link Love: Top 10 List Roundup

AnaDecember 31, 2013Leave a comment

Top 10 Lists Round-Up

At the close of a year, who doesn’t love a good Top 10 List. I’ve been collecting all my fellow pen and paper bloggers’ lists of their most popular reviews and products for 2013.

In no specific order, here are 10 end-of-year/top 10 posts:

In feature

Preview: Frankie Daily Journal for 2014

AnaDecember 31, 2013Leave a comment

I have always been curious about the incredibly popular Frankie Magazine Daily Journal ($26.95AU). So, I ordered one. In the time that elapsed between ordering the book and it arriving here in the States, I also received the Hobonichi which stole my nerdy heart.

This does not mean that I was not completely blown away with how lovely and romantic the Daily Journal is. Its full of gorgeous illustrations, decorative patterned borders and hand-lettered dates.

The planner is approximately 7.5″x5.75″. The cover is a beautiful heavyweight sage twill with the text stamped into it in cream. There’s a matching satin ribbon bookmark too. The binding seems sturdy but the book opens nicely. The paper is weighty (I’d compare it to American 80lb or 100lb text weight. Copy paper is about 20-30lb weight, if that gives you an idea of the sturdiness). My only concern for usability is all the printing on the paper may have added some coating to the paper that might resist some inks.

In the back cover is a printed pocket for loose sheets. There are also perforated cards, stickers and other goodies bound into the back of the book.

In the front of the book are month overviews with floral illustration. Weekly pages span two pages with Saturday and Sunday sharing a small space.

Its such a lovely book that I couldn’t bring myself to blemish it to do pen tests. Instead, I’d like to give it away to one lucky reader. In exchange, I hope that you’ll report back to me how well the paper performs so I can decide if I want to use one next year.

~~Let’s make this a quick giveaway so I can get this to the winner ASAP to start the new year off right. Leave a comment and tell me one of your goals, plans or resolutions for 2014.~~

Frankie Daily Journal 2014

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Wednesday, January 1, 2014. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Thursday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your 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 does not respond within 30 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.

In feature

Getting Organized: Recipes

AnaDecember 27, 20138 Comments

Since one of my goals for 2014 is to cook more meals at home, I need a system to store and organize recipes. Office supply geek thing at work, clearly! I’ve been searching the internet for good recipes and culling the stacks of magazines all over my house for potential recipes and sticking them in a file folder. This is not an ideal way to find a recipe so I am headed out to the office supply store today to pick up a binder ($3.89) or two, dividers ($0.99) and an assortment of plastic sleeves ($12.79/box of 50) to store my recipes in a more orderly fashion. I like that the plastic sleeves will keep the recipes safe from spills too.

I’ve been searching all morning for a good source for standard 8.5″x11″ sheet protectors that are divided to hold two 5.5″x8.5″ sheets since I have a bunch of smaller pages from Everyday Food (now defunct) and to hold recipe cards instead of a box. Sadly, I have been unable to find any at a reasonable cost (most seem specific to holding archival photo prints and are quite pricey). I may end up with a small binder and sheet protectors for the Everyday Food recipes, specifically, if I can’t find a better option.

I will probably keep dessert recipes in a separate binder to keep all the binders light and agile. Besides, I don’t tend to use them with the same frequency as dinner recipes.

In case you are curious, I found a lot of great recipes on Budget Bytes, including easy-to-make crock pot dishes. Also, the Dragon Noodles dish is delicious, easy-to-make and infinitely customizable. I added frozen edamame to mine for some extra protein.

Does anyone else have a good system for organizing recipes?

(photo via Freesytlin’ Beth)

In feature

Getting Ready for the New Year

AnaDecember 27, 2013Leave a comment

Gold Foil Calendar on raspberry paper with easel stand $52. Refill only $38. Also available in Kraft with opaque white foil stamp. (via Sugar Paper)

I love the few, quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s. I use the time to potter around the house, tackling piles of papers, cleaning out my in-box (paper and digital), using Christmas cards to update addresses in my address book and other organizational projects. I try to write my thank you notes, catch up on correspondence, read books and catch up on movies. I really need a month but a week gets some of the projects checked off my list for the new year.

I love using the New Year as a chance to do things better. Lots of people talk about resolutions, but I think of them more as plans and goals. I often choose things that should be attainable in theory rather than things that are completely new habits or lifestyle.

So far, my personal goals are pretty humble: