Finally!

Hi everyone!

As some of you may remember reading, I was on the hunt for a pocket Malden in ochre for a while now.  I even tried to swap for it in this post.  I think people are attached to their ochre Maldens however, so I didn't get any takers.

A few weeks ago though, an ebay saved search, and tons of patience, paid off.  I finally got one in the price range that I was willing to pay.  I finally had my hands on the Malden that I had been lemming.  I wanted the pocket ochre because I love my personal Malden so much that it had to have a baby brother (or sister, whichever).  I wrote about the setup and contents of my personal Malden in this post.

On to the pictures. I'm sure you've seen tons of pocket Malden photos, but not of mine (hah!), so here goes:

It needs to go on a diet, it's a bit of a stretch to close.

The set-up of this pocket is the same as I set up my pocket wallet/purse filos.  I wrote about it here.

It's a fatso!  (:

Fanned view.  I finally got my hands on a replacement Muji pen.
I gave my other one to my sister.

Coins go in a zip pocket.  I think I found this and punched it myself.
Not sure anymore where I got it though.

Notes/Paper currency go in the full-length wallet.

Shot of the siblings.

At one point, I had a mini, but I had swapped it away to Lady Filo who will appreciate it more.  The mini was just too small for my needs.

Personal and Mini together

So my search for my pocket ochre Malden is now over, and I'm a happy camper.  Isn't it great when things work out?

Thanks for visiting!

Compact Filofax Dilemma: Malden vs. Holborn

Hi everyone!

Before trying out a Compact size, I was seriously hankering after an Aqua Compact Chameleon. I think it was Kate who pointed out to me that the Aqua Compact actually doesn't exist.  Now, I wanted the aqua because it was the one color missing from my personal Filofax collection.  I am shattered to find out it didn't exist, but I had to move on.

Enter the Compact Chameleon in Raspberry.  I love it and have been using it consistently since July.  I wrote about it here.  Knowing that the Compact was a size I could really use, I began trawling the internet again for one that I could get to switch with it to give it a rest once in a while.  (I haven't bought a Filofax since July, so give me a break, ok, LOL!)

Two Compact styles are appealing to me at the moment -- the ochre Malden and the brown Holborn.  I have an Ochre Malden and I love it.  I think the Compact in the same color will suit me well. Unfortunately, the ochre is a little hard to find right now, so I may just settle for the purple if one comes up somewhere.

The Holborn also looks really nice.  Those pockets!  This could really work as a wallet/purse, I just know it!

Dear readers, for those of you who have one or both, I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks for visiting!

3-in-1 Post: Personal Ochre Malden Filofax

Hi everyone!

This is really 3 posts in one: (1) settling into the Malden, (2) giving you a tour of my set-up, and (3) a diary update. So heads-up, long post to come!  (:  I'll try not to bore you with too much text and let the photos speak for themselves.

THE MALDEN
I've been Filo fickle lately, flitting from binder to binder without settling on one for more than a few days.  I moved out of the pink Baroque to give it a rest because I've been using it since June.  And then I remembered that I haven't used the ochre Malden since maybe February, so I 'borrowed' it back from my daughter.

The verdict?  I still love it!  Why?

I'm a jeans-and-tee-shirt type of girl. I love wearing boots with jeans when the weather permits.  And the Malden is the equivalent of that.  It's very cowboy! It's like an old worn leather saddle (and I used to ride when I was young so I know, LOL).  It'll take a beating and the more it's used (and abused), the more character it has.

I got it used on ebay so the previous owner had already trained and broken it in for me.  It lies completely flat, the leather is soft and pliable, and it has gotten that leather patina we sometimes crave in our designer handbags.

This is sans the January-August diary pages, so I'm hoping they'll still fit when I get the 2013 Diary.

It has also gotten quite creased but I actually don't see any real scratches on it.  And since I'm not precious with my Filofaxes, this suits me just fine.

Shows the creasing quite well

There are loads of ochre Maldens on Flickr, and I just love browsing them. (Take a gander at the link and ogle those pretty Maldens.)

There's something about the color of the ochre that reminds me of the Old West or the Frontier.  I can imagine generals writing in their leather journals and documenting wars and battles.


Or for a more modern-day analogy, the Indiana Jones of Filofaxes.  (:


The Malden is just so photogenic!

Also, the brown is quite neutral, so my tabs and other doodads don't clash with it.

(I've considered getting a Vintage Pink as a back-up but finally decided against it since I have way too many pinks.)








THE SET-UP
I realized lately that I've never done a complete tour of my set-up.  I felt it was going to be sooo long because of the pictures (my binders tend to be fat and chunky), so I've put it off for a while.  The Malden is such a great backdrop though, with its neutral color, and great leather, that I went ahead and had a photo session.

The front
Since this is a stay-at-home filo, I didn't need any cards in the front.  I just put some flags in the front, a bookmark, and a paper clip.  More for color really, LOL.

The front is a thick plastic flyleaf I've had for ages that protects my Info Page that I've been doing in all my filos forever.  I rubbed on my name on the front in a brown font with a cute little birdie.

I like having the Return-To-Filofax page with my binder's Registration Number.  I doubt this will ever be useful but I have it in there anyway.  (:












Tab sections.  I use these and may want to decorate them in the future.  I just can't decide on how I want to do that.  They appear here in the order they come in the binder.  Most of the side tabs also have top tabs which I'll show you as well.

Contacts. (no photos for obvious reasons)  (:

Notes.  Flyleaf followed by blank notepaper and top tabs.

Post-Its on a flyleaf.  I love Martha's pastels!

Food tab contains dishes and new recipes on jot pads.

A favorite poem taught to me by my grandfather.
Wrote it down so I wouldn't forget.

Shopping Lists

Notes Top Tabs

Lists. Includes Long-term To Dos, plus top tabs below.

Lists Top Tabs

Filo:  Contains stationery wish list,
Filofax Regn. Nos., etc.

Media:  I'm working my way through the NY Times Bestsellers List

Media:  Other books to buy/download/read

Media:  Movies/Shows to watch

Home:  Around-the-house To Do list

There's also a "Crafts" tab but I forgot to take a photo.

Calendar Top Tabs

Calendar.  Top tabs contain Year, Month and Week sheets, monthly tabs, plus the Dodopad 2012 diary.














Personal.  Contains Top Secret Info  (:

Personal Top Tabs

Top tabs
I remade my tabs lately with thin plastic dividers from a bookstore.  I NEED top tabs, and use them a lot.  The ones I had, although pretty and pastel (2 words I love), were made of cardstock, and I was afraid I'd get them tattered really quickly.  I tried to do them all in one color, but they were hard to read, so I alternated yellow and grey instead.  I'm still on the hunt for the same dividers in pastels.

I'll write a separate post on these.  (:

The back

Plastic envelope with photos of two important men in my life.

On the left, an old prayer from my mom.  On the right, Daytimer vinyl envelopes.  I love these.  They came with a binder I got off ebay.

Jot Pads

This is one creased Malden !

Another thick flyleaf at the very back protects all the papers. A ruler and gray pen in the notepad pocket.  I use the grey pen to line my pages manually to create a checklist.

Two Coletos are hooked onto the pen loop.

The back pocket with a notepad.

I don't know if you can see but the
pages have 3 perforated sections.

DIARY UPDATE
I wrote about an experiment I was going to do here.  It worked out well.  I found out two things:  (1)  I love the cotton cream WO2P, and (2) I love the Dodopad.  So it's a tie!  They would both work out well for my diary choice in 2013.  I will probably alternate between the two -- probably!  But I went ahead and ordered the Cotton Cream (because that's what my daughter uses) and will get the Dodopad at a later time.

Cotton Cream WO2P
I was able to fit in non-day-specific to-dos, daily to-dos, appointments.  I didn't think I'd have room for the weekly menu, but I did! This was an exceptionally busy week I think, so there's definitely plenty of room for my 'normal' days.

Dodopad
Definitely a lot of room as well.

Still with me?  (:  You're in luck because I'm done.  Such a long post, so if you're still here, thanks!

William, on the left.  Harry, on the right.

But here's one last shot of the Malden with his baby brother (and yes, I obviously think they're masculine, LOL).













Thanks for visiting!

Guest Post from Vanjilla: "Personal Piccadilly vs. Personal Malden Filofax"

Hi everyone!

Vanjilla and I were emailing back and forth about two things:  (1)  for her to guest post on my blog, and (2)  about her black personal Piccadilly Filofax.  Who but her would do both at once and hit the proverbial two birds with one stone.  (:

I'm so excited to have her here.  I love her blog.  I'm sure most of you know her.  She writes such interesting posts, and can enable the most hardened Filofax enthusiast with her photography.  But if you've never met her before, please see for yourself here.

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Doris is on a quest for a good vintage Filofax and I took some pictures of the Personal Piccadilly in black to help her on her voyage.

I must warn you, though: the Piccadilly is my true love affair! :)

Now let's get started!

The front line.

It is smooth and minimalistic and I find it very chic due to the understated, deep gloss it has and that is complemented by even glossier button on the clasp. You get the effect of a glossy, yet a bit matte leather and a shiny button - delight! :) I couldn't catch that very good on the photo, though - the shiny surfaces of the Filofaxes are really difficult to catch, I guess anyone who has tried it would agree! :)

I also like its a bit rounded looks - no spiky corners or hard lines here!

(I once told Doris I call this one "a Jackie O. of the Filofaxes" - I guess the rounded corners are her infamous sunglasses! :) )

The Piccadilly in Personal has two pen loops. A bless! Despite not being elasticated they're quite stretchy (the leather of it is very soft as opposed to some other vintage Filofaxes, like Windsor for example) - a Bic Fashion 2-Colour pen goes in without a problem.

Another of the features I love about the Piccadilly: horizontal card slots!!! I cannot explain it why, but they make a huge difference to me opposed to the usual vertical ones; the Filofax just feels much more comfortable with them ! :) And mind you, there are 8 of them (and the whole length pocket behind them).

 The classic zip pocket on the back inside. Nothing new here, therefore - watch the button / leather contrast instead! Yummeee! :)  (sorry, I just had to say it! :) )

Piccadilly is very similar to a Malden on touch: it has the same smooth and soft feeling if you stroke it, but it has more structure to it: the covers are not bendable as with Malden, they're a bit padded and therefore nicely soft, and the Piccadilly is built sleeker, less robust, and therefore looks smaller in comparison to Malden.

To show you the difference, I filled the Piccadilly with a year's worth of my W2P and left the rest in my Malden (I know, don't ask about the weight of it because I know how much it is!). It's almost like comparing a Compact to a Personal! See how well defined structure a Piccadilly has:

And still - the Piccadilly lays almost completely flat, even when new out of the box! Yay! :)

Piccadilly is made of a - pebbled? grained?- leather (the description on the cover says real leather), which has no stiffness to it like, say, the Finsbury.  And I like its pattern because it looks almost as if made from a very tiny lizard's skin.

There. Any other questions? :)

The Piccadillys were produced in Black, Brown, Navy, Blue (a really vibrant one!), Apple Green, Red and Yellow, I believe. I have an Apple Green one, too, you can check it here if you're curious. :)

Doris, good luck with your Vintage Filo Project - and thank you so much for letting me guest post on your blog!!!! :)xx

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Make sure you check out her green Piccadilly in her link above.  It's gorgeous!  This post is making me seriously think about her Piccadilly!  Two pen loops, great interior layout, soft, soft leather!

Vanjilla, thanks so much for taking the time to write this guest post!  I look forward to reading more posts on your blog!

Thanks for visiting!