My Top 5 Must-Haves of the Moment - January 2012

It's been six months since I first did this little meme, so I thought it was about time to roll it out again and see how much has changed in that time.

My Top 5 Must-Haves of the Moment:

In My Kitchen ...

1. Bananas - still a staple of Jag's diet, but no longer super expensive.
2. Chocolate - Cadbury Dairy Milk, thanks Santa!
3. Bacon & Eggs 
4. Licorice Sticks - Yum! 
5. Coca Cola - Yep, still trying to kick the habit. 

In My Wardrobe ...

1. Khaki drill shorts
2. Hello Kitty Zombie T-Shirt - yeah I'm probably far too old for this kind of thing nowadays, but it makes me giggle ;-)
3. Thongs (or Flip Flops or Jandals, depending where you're from)
4. Gym gear
5. Sunnies

In My Bag ...

1. Smartphone - HTC Desire HD
2. Squizzillion keys on a red carabiner
3. Large Moleskine Journal - A brand spanking new journal for a brand new year. It's the Moleskine Peanuts 60th Anniversary edition, with Charlie Brown on the front cover.
4. Lamy Safari fountain pen loaded with Noodlers' Purple Martin ink
5. Pineapple Chapstick

On My Telly ...

1. Hawaii Five-O
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. True Blood
4. ...
5. ... um, we got rid of our Pay-TV this year and I find I don't watch anywhere near as much TV now.

In My Headphones ...

1. Snow Patrol
2. The Fray
3. Lady Gaga - on my exercise playlist.
4. The Cure - always on my playlist.
5. Concrete Blonde

In My Google Reader ... (read with Feedly)

1. Courage-Hope-Strength Tumblr - lots of inspiration and motivation here
2. Letters & Journals - the title says it all :-)
3. Rhodia Drive - always lots of cool stationery to look at here
4. Dilbert Daily Comic Strip
5. Cappuccino And Art Journal - still my favourite snail mail read.

(List idea originally stolen from Bianca over at Goodnight Little Spoon.)

Hello 2012!

It is the new year, and after a lovely holiday break from everything I'm back feeling refreshed and ready to write again.

First task has been to keep chipping away at my "To Be Replied To" pile. It's got a sizeable dent in it now, so I'm back on top of things there. My Snail Mail Mojo has returned!

Second task is to breathe some life back into this blog.

What are your mail goals / resolutions for the new year?

Once again I've been feeling guilty about neglecting this blog - I have to confess I'm being wooed away by Google+ and Pinterest still ...

(If you're on Google+, my profile is here. Feel free to circle me!)

Today I felt a little extra guilty though as when I checked Box332 there was a gorgeous letter from a new pal waiting. Thanks Courtney for your great letter! Not only was it a great letter, it was wonderful to hear from a real life person who reads my blog and, it turns out that Courtney lives only about 30 minutes away ;-)

It's funny though, it's not just this blog that I've been neglecting. I've been in a bit of a letter writing slump of late. A couple of other letter-writing friends have reported a similar problem. How about you? Have you found it harder to sit down and put pen to paper in recent weeks? Any tips to get the snail mail mojo back again?

I'm going with a forced moment of solitude tonight. Have shut myself away in the office with a cool drink, the music on and a small pile of letters to sit down and respond to (including Courtney's!)

Cheers!

Playing with Google+ and Pinterest

I've been neglecting this blog again and spending far too much time gazing at pretty images on Pinterest! I love the site, it's perfect to jump into for a quick burst of information (although "quick" in my case usually ends up being an hour or so ...)

If you're not familiar with Pinterest, it's a website that lets you make virtual pinboards. You can create a pinboard for just about anything. I've got one for Words and one for Craft Ideas. Anything I find that would be great for Jag I stick in Kid Stuff, and of course it wouldn't be complete without one for everything Paper ;-)

The other site I've been spending too much time on is Google+. There's just something about it, probably it's nice clean interface. If you're on Google+ too let me know and I'll add you to my Pen Pal circle!

(I've got a few invites left for both sites, so let me know if you need one.)

Mind Sweep Sheet Printable Form

At least once a month I like to sit down and do a "download" (or mind sweep) of all the to-do's and project ideas running riot in my head. To facilitate this I made a simple little form.

Just print, fill in the date at the top and start downloading all that stuff in your head onto paper.

I keep these sheets in my Control Journal (aka: Family Planner, Home Management Journal, Household Notebook) and cross items off the list as they are handled.

Download the Mind Sweep Sheet PDF

My Top 5 Must-Haves of the Moment

Stole this list idea from Bianca over at Goodnight Little Spoon.

My Top 5 Must-Haves of the Moment:

In My Kitchen ...

1. Chokos (Tez is going through a homemade choko soup phase)
2. Bananas (super expensive staple of Jag's diet)
3. Tiger Loaf Bread
4. Smokey BBQ Sauce 
5. Coca Cola (always, well at least when I'm not trying to quit cold turkey ...) 

In My Wardrobe ...

1. Favourite pair of worn in blue jeans
2. Long tube singlets
3. Zip up hoodies in dark colours
4. My Cure T-Shirt
5. Doc Martens

In My Bag ...

1. Smartphone (HTC Desire HD)
2. Squizzillion keys on a red carabiner
3. Large Moleskine Journal (bulging already and it's only half full!)
4. Lamy Safari fountain pen loaded with Noodlers' Purple Martin ink
5. Volkswagen pocket purse

On My Telly ...

1. Bones
2. Castle
3. True Blood
4. Time Team
5. Go Diego Go (Jag's must-have, not mine)

In My Headphones ...

1. Adele
2. Concrete Blonde
3. The Cure (always on my playlist)
4. Muse
5. The Fray

In My Google Reader ... (read with Feedly)

1. Goodnight Little Spoon (of course)
2. Cappuccino And Art Journal (always a favourite)
3. Little Raven Ink (so gorgeous) 
4. The Missive Maven (a post about Tribbles today!)
5. The Good Mail Day Photo Pool on Flickr (always so inspiring to look through)

Postage Stamp Swap Bags

Some Postage Stamp Swap Bags I made for a Swap-Bot swap.

Okay, so they're not particularly decorative - I like clean lines and understated style ;-)