I am a stationery nerd. I love paper and pens and office supplies of all kinds. I used to have a stationery set of my own when I was little and I would write letters to my friends and they would write me back – sometimes there would be a puffy sticker included if we were extra-good friends. I don’t remember exactly what my stationery looked like, but I have a feeling it was something sweet and girly – probably something with strawberries. Remember those boxed sets with the satin ribbon? Man, I loved those.

Why don’t we write letters anymore? Oh right…email. And texting.

That sucks.

Anyway, my love of paper is now channeled into notebooks. Lined notebooks give me a thrill – something about a blank journal feels like it holds all the potential in the world. What could I use it for? What kinds of things could I write in it? What secrets will it hold??? COULD BE ANYTHING.

Proof of my addiction.

I carry these notebooks around with me everywhere. They live in  a sturdy tote bag that stays in my car so that I can always access my notebooks if I need one whether I’m at work or at home. Two of the above notebooks are blank, but all of the others serve a specific purpose. One is used for my session with Emily Roberts, one is used for assignments from Emily, another is just for food journaling (which I don’t really do anymore, but I carry it around with me because…well I don’t know why, it just goes along with all the other notebooks), the pink one on the bottom is mainly a gratitude journal, and the red one I use to go along with this book. The black and teal are the blank ones – I’m saving them for a special purpose, which I don’t know yet, but I’m sure I’ll need them eventually. Those 4 in the bottom of the picture…I picked those up at Dollar General for $3 a piece. I LOVE THEM.

I’ve been using notebooks like this since my son was born 21 years ago. I used a hard backed, spiral bound notebook to write down questions I wanted to ask my OBGYN, and then later used it to record feeding times, questions for a new babysitter, then I just used it to make to do lists or grocery lists. It became the place I wrote down all the things I needed to remember. I still have that notebook and love looking back at it from time to time.

Oddly enough, I’ve never really used my notebooks as a day to day journal. Mainly my notebooks are filled with reminders or recipes, or blog post ideas. I will sometimes use my phone to remind me of appointments and such, but I think with my pen – I can remember things better when I physically write them down.

So even though we are living in a digital age, I will continue with my love of paper and pen. I may even bust out some stationery and write an actual letter sometime soon. Anyone need a penpal? 🙂