Hey! It's Wednesday! You know what that means? I'm going to talk a bunch about my love affair with washi tape. Love affair you say? Yes. I love washi tape. It is amazing. It packs a lot of punch for such a little roll.

If you look closely that frame I have above my desk (one that holds all my favorite travel memories and mementos) is actually covered in gold washi tape. It took one roll to cover it. Why washi you ask? Because it was cheaper and faster! Paint was not ridiculously more expensive but it sure would have involved many more steps. I couldn't find a cork board that was gold or one that wouldn't involve sanding and painting. And with a cat in the house and no outdoor space to speak of painting a large object is not really an option. So washi tape it is!

I use washi tape for a lot of things besides planning. I use it to place/hold art (or paper cut in the size of art) on walls before I put it there permanently. Washi it the best friend of anyone renting an apartment, like I do now. Beautiful and always removable and changeable. I also use it to seal nearly every piece of mail I send. One, because I'm terrified my old envelopes will pop open but I refuse to waste them. And two, it just makes sending mail that much more fun! One of the washi tapes I own is a wide role covered in kitty cats. And really I need zero excuse to put cats all over all the things. It's not in my pictures because I had just used it and forgot to put it in the picture pile. Oops. ^_^
So I thought for my first Washi Wednesday and my first post I would share my current washi collection (minus the kitty washi).



Reds and pinks
This is where the kitty washi would fall. Alas it was off somewhere else in my apartment at this point. What you'll see is most of my washi is Scotch brand from Target. One because that's how Target works, you go in for toilet paper and mascara and come out with everything else. Watch this video on the subject. The struggle is real. Also in Hawai'i there aren't many options that don't involve shipping. The options are growing though. So of my reds and pinks they are all from Scotch. They're good quality though. They stick and come up easily. Everything you need from washi tape really. Plus... sparkly red washi!




Patterned
I love me a good patterned washi. My favorite one here? The 3rd from the top. It's a glorious roll of washi I purchased locally at a Hokubundo. What is Hokubundo, you ask? It's a dreamy little store filled with Japanese stationary products. It's a little slice of heaven for those of use who love planning and office supplies. The washi is always good quality too. I've never had a problem with their washi. My favorite highlighters come from here too and I got them 50% off thanks to their weekly specials! The one I've used the most though is that floral wide number in the middle. Ya just can't go wrong with a delicate girly floral. That washi is another one from Little B although it still has it's stick unlike several other ones I've owned.


Well there it is! My current washi stash! I am looking to expand so let me know what your favorite  individual washi or washi brands are! I currently have some washi from Simply Gilded Co. in my Etsy cart I just haven't bit the bullet yet. I'm trying to be on a controlled spend but it's so hard... *wink* Hope you enjoyed the post and the pictures of pretty washi.

I found an escape in planning.

There are two things that you should know about me that have a major and equal influence on my life right now. I'm getting my doctorate degree (read: I have oh so much to do) and I am constantly filled to the brim with guilt about all things almost all the time. I got to a point during my degree where I felt such an over powering sense of guilt doing anything that wasn't "productive" or related to my degree that I became a full blown hermit. Apparently this is a thing/phase a lot of grad students go through. It's also not, as my advisor has told me more than once, healthy. I was told I needed to find something to focus on that was not related to my research, or academic articles I'm writing, or conferences, or... well you get the point.

This was the point I happened to stumble across planning videos on YouTube. Oh yes, the dangerous YouTube. Where you an easily fall down a YouTube hole and never ever come back up again. Luckily I did not fall down a hole. I simple found planning. It was so pretty! It was so cute! It involved shopping (ps: I love shopping, you should see my shoe collection...)! The best part of this wondrous thing I found? Not only would I be activating the creative part of my brain but it would also be incredibly productive and keep me on the up & up as well! How freakin' awesome is that? Answer: real freakin' awesome.

So that's how it began. Then I ordered an Erin Condren planner. Then the purchase of a few stickers followed. Then more stickers. Instagram stalking. A change in planning styles and a new planner. My Instagram posts... and now I am here. I feel organized enough that not only am I getting phd-ness done, maintaining a somewhat normal social life, and still want to do more and more planner related stuff. So this blog was born. It's a way to feed my planner obsession, keep track of planner goodness, and maybe even inspire a few planner neophytes and even full blown planner nerds.

Well... I guess this only thing left is to get this rollin'. Ready, set, plan!





(ps: I edit and write all day... this blog may not be the most grammatically correct or typo free. Please forgive me. This is my outlet and I'm probably all edited out when I'm working on this. 😉)