29 Sept 2010

the finsbury: an outsider or the ultimate insider?

The Finsbury is the cheapest leather Filofax, which isn't a bad thing. In fact, that was the reason why my first Filofax was a Finsbury! I wanted leather but didn't want to splash out on something I may not love; but I needn't have worried. I fell in love as soon as the package arrived from John Lewis...

Because the Finsbury is the cheapest leather filofax, does this make it an outsider or the insider? Let's consider this...

It could be an outsider due to it's lower price point in comparison to other leather filofaxes, for instance the Malden (which I LOVE), the Eton and the Adelphi. Therefore, it is an outsider trying to find its way in - sort of like a desperado wannabe. However, it could also be considered an insider due to the fact that it offers pretty much the same, and possibly a bit more than other more premium filofaxes. Firstly, it is leather, which is always a bonus in my eyes, and then there is the fact that it is priced lower than other leather filos. It also comes in a variety colours - something which other filos do not. In this sense, the Finsbury has a bit of a fun factor.

Consequently, the Finsbury is a mixed character. It can be seen as someone desperate, like that leech of the telly, Piers Morgan (a so called tv personality I despise) or it can be seen as someone who has all the features of being premium, but also has a bit more to offer than their said superiors.

25 Sept 2010

my own six items or less challenge

So, on the 11th of August, I undertook my own six items or less challenge. I didn't follow the dates that the official wordpress blog used and just did it to my own agenda as I know that if I tried to do it in September, I don't have the time to 'remember' that I am on this challenge!

Well, basically, I managed to succeed! I picked six items from my wardrobe:
  • A Traffic People dress (for the young adult in me)
  • A pair of mink coloured tapered trousers from Topshop
  • A Topshop striped breton style capped sleeve tee shirt
  • A Uniqlo mink coloured A line skirt
  • A sheer cream silk blouse
  • A pair of jeans from H&M
I kinda cheated a little in that I didn't count a camisole which I wore under the silk blouse - but I had to for decency's sake. If I hadn't worn the camisole under the blouse, I would have been arrested for indecent exposure!

I found that instead of resorting to my usual 'throw on a random dress' attitude (that's how many dresses I have...), I found myself reinventing ways I could wear the six items I had chosen. For example, the sole dress I chose could have been tucked into the skirt; the silk blouse could be tucked into the tapered trousers or it could have been worn as is with the jeans... There were different options for me to choose from, and these different options were enough for me to not have to recycle the same outfit over and over!

All in all, this challenge has been good for my wardrobe and for my own creativity. Usually, I open my wardrobe and say 'Argh, I have nothing to wear' but now, knowing that I managed to live a month with only six items, I know that the phrase no longer stands. This challenge has also allowed me to consider what clothes I really love and need to keep, instead of 'oh I should keep this, just in case'. In case of what? Most of these in case scenarios rarely, if ever, arise so now I have a good idea of what to go and list on eBay!

22 Sept 2010

The Amazona... As Never Seen Before

The Amazona. A continental delight who takes great pride in her appearance. She is tanned and has perfectly manicured nails and also an immaculate pedicure.

She would have dark hair and dark eyes and with a name like 'Amazona', she would be of South American origin.

In essence, this is who she would be if she were to be real:

Next week, it's the turn of the Finsbury, which will be the last one for a while. With my second year of uni about to commence, I want to commit fully this year and not mess about as much as I did last year. However, there will still be occassional personifications and I will still be an active blogger and commenter on various Filofax blogs; just not as often as I have been in the summer, I guess!

20 Sept 2010

change of 2010 diary inserts

So, I've changed the 2010 inserts I am using. Previously, I was using the Week on Two pages but in the standard white colour. However, I've found the paper a bit too thin for my liking and due to my purchase of a Filofax from Filofax France (prices aren't bad with shipping to the UK), I dug out the inserts that came with them. They only supplied 2010 inserts (bit stingy if you ask me - would it have killed them to slip in some complimentary 2011 ones?!?!) but these 2010 inserts were of a format I had never seen before on the UK site.



They were of the cotton cream variety (I already purchased 2011's inserts in cotton cream due to my love of the colour so these ones would go well with everything else in my filo) and were also of the week on two pages. The 'week' box where anything general could be written down was instead in the lower right page, as opposed to the upper left in the english version and what really got me was the fact that each day was LINED!! The only downside is, of course, that the inserts are in french - but that's ok. It means I'm putting my A grade in GCSE French to good use :) (unfortunately, back in the day, my french speaking was dismal, bringing my overall grade down). Next to the lines are numbers, numbers which, I presume, represent the hours in the day from 8am through to 7pm but I just write over them as the hour by hour is unnecessary for someone like me.



Needless to say, I am now in love with these inserts and just wish that I'd known of their existance before I bought my 2011 inserts (also in cotton cream, but not lined). If they are still around in mid 2011, I may just have to put in another order with Filofax France for my 2012 inserts! Unless, I change to the Moleskine one colour per month... Something which I was soooo tempted by earlier this year!

15 Sept 2010

The Domino's Elastic Waistband

So today, I actually move into my private accomodation for my second year at uni, hence this scheduled post. In the UK, we are only guaranteed accomodation in the first year of our degree - something which I hate and wish they would change to be more in line with universities (or colleges) in the US where accomodation is guaranteed for the duration of the degree. I actually quite like the Greek sorority stuff even though I don't fully understand it - but either way, uni in the US sounds so much cooler than in the UK!

So, this week, it's the Domino's turn. The Domino is a simple filo, but by no means boring. In fact, I'm quite tempted to buy an A5 Domino for use as a diary or journal, but will have to hold this thought: until the 1st of August 2011 at the earliest...

Now, the Domino comes in a wide range of colours - an indication that it is of a laid back character and that it does not take itself seriously. This is further emphasised by the piece of elastic keeping it together - a sign that it may also be a bit of a couch potato with a tendancy to snack, thus the elastic waistband. This allows for his/her belly to grow in size but without the necessity of buying new jeans/bottoms/trousers (delete as appropriate). In essence, we can say the Domino would be a bit of a lazy character. His character of a couch potato is further re-inforced when we consider that other Filofaxes fasten with a clasp whereas the Domino is just a piece of elastic. This design means that no exertion is required to open and close it!
(Remember, this is all for one - I'm merely describing the Filofax, not the Filofax owner!)

13 Sept 2010

freshers' fair!

I'm heading back to London on Wednesday for a few days to get settled into my new accomodation for the next academic year and boy, am I excited! And part of the excitement is for the chance to use my Filofax properly again (after giving it somewhat of a rest this summer) and also for the stationery opportunities. Let me explain the latter.

At my university, there are various fairs throughout the year: freshers' fair (not entirely sure that the apostrophe is in the right place), careers' fair, housing fair, science and technology fair, engineering fair, etc. Sometimes, the fairs are restricted to people doing certain subjects (such as the engineering fair) but more often than not, anyone can enter provided they hold an Imperial College London ID card.

Last year, I went to near enough every fair, and it was serious freebie heaven. I managed to bag enough pens, highlighters, sticky note pads, page leaflet stickets - I don't know its official name... I got so many freebies, I didn't need to buy a single pen, nor did I ever run out of mugs and glasses.

From freshers' fair alone, I came away with chocolates, boiled sweets, numerous pens (varying in quality in that some were amazing rollerballs, some were gel, but most were biro), two lots of page leaflet stickets, four mugs, one glass tumbler, two lots of sticky notes and not the mention the free bags. Obviously, I felt obliged to leave my college email address to the various societies I took things from, but that wasn't much of a problem as a lot of them didn't email me anyway!

Next was careers' fair. I went round this with a friend who, seriously, has no shame when it comes to lifting freebies - a good trait to have as freebies are exactly what they say on the tin - free. I came away with some goggles (a perfect replacement for the standard ones issued to me), countless bags, more mugs and glasses, a set of mini screwdrivers, more pens and highlighters and also, a lot of useful information if I ever decide to pursue a career in law, engineering, chemistry, banking or pharmaceuticals.

Housing fair was not so good - I only came away with a handful of stuff but that was probably due to the small number of stalls there were.

Thinking back to last year's fairs, if there is one thing that I will be doing this year... Well, you know it. I will be at those fairs, ready and poised to snag a few more bagfuls of freebies. I remember from careers fair that I had so much stuff (around four large bags), I had to take the tube home! My hall was only a twenty minute walk from campus but the amount of stuff I had was far too much for my weak arms :(

11 Sept 2010

heavy use of the filofax

Lately, I've found that I've been using my filofax a lot more than usual; even more than during courseworks and essays. I move into my new accomodation for commencement of my second year at uni in about two and a half weeks time (second year doesn't start til October, mind you) and there is a lot of prepare.

Firstly, I need to organise lists of what I need to move down first as my mum and I will be taking the train down to London as she detests driving in London. This means I am limited to two suitcases worth of stuff so I have to plan wisely. Then, I need to write lists of what I need to buy when I get there, from food to essentials and homewares. Thankfully, making lists seems to be a new hobby of mine as I seem to find it fun?!?! Tell me I'm not the only one out there who has this same overwhelming feeling of happiness when writing things down in the list format??

Secondly, I need to arrange amenities such as the phone line and broadband internet. I am, as of yet, undecided about whether or not to go ahead and install a BT line because I'm not sure if the line has already been connected and that all that is required is a change of name... however, I can find this out if I schedule a time and day to phone BT! Of course, I will write this down in my filofax. Also, with internet, I am sharing with three other people so we would need certain features to the package but as of yet, we haven't decided on one... Not good as time is running out! But with my Filofax, I can jot down important information I have found by speaking to customer services and researching on the internet.



Oh yeah, I've changed the inserts I'm using for 2010, but more on that in another post!

Lastly, with regards to the heavy use of the filo: I've had to write down things I need due to a change of circumstances. Having lived in halls of residence last year, I have a pretty good idea of what things I need and what things I don't need. But also, I have a new laptop due to the breakdown of my last one and so will need a new laptop bag. I gave my old one (which still looks new, might I add) to my sister as she has a 15 inch laptop (as was my previous one) but now, I own a 13 inch so the bag ended up being too big. Plus, I need to buy a new hairdryer because my sister has taken the current one we own; which is fine with me because I am a member of quite a few survey sites and have saved enough vouchers to buy one for free!

But all in all, if it weren't for my filofax, I wouldn't be able to have planned everything in advance and stay as calm as I am now. It also lets me see which days I have free and what things I may have missed out.

I love Filofax :)

8 Sept 2010

Life As An Adelphi

The Adelphi comes in two forms - the usual and also the slimline. I'll refrain from using the Slimline for the purposes of this post because I may become bitter about it's 'eat as much as I want but won't gain weight' nature.

Having googled Adelphi to see the origin of it's name; I saw that there was an Adelphi University in Long Island, New York. Now, I have no idea how good it is but I'm under the impression that you have to be well, almost swimming in cashfilled pools. Correct me if I am wrong here! My view of America is pretty warped after researching doing my undergraduate degree there and finding that it was completely unaffordable! (Cue sad but bitter face.)

To me, the Adelphi is a young female in her twenties, maybe early to mid. She has flown the nest and is maybe embarking on a life changing experience - maybe university/college or her first job. She's of the laid back nature and dresses more on the feminine, than the tomboy, side of fashion. She'd have long, straight hair and would be immaculately groomed.

Maybe Emma Watson before she chopped all her lovely hair off??

1 Sept 2010

Beneath The Surface Of The Eton

Now, the Eton is a no nonsense filo which comes in the standard black colour which immaediately screams to me, MASCULINITY. Or an attempt to show it off anyway. (Apologies if you are of the XX kind and have an Eton, this is by no means an attempt by me to try and say you are masculine for I am only personifying the filo, not the owner!). The name 'Eton' is also a bit masculine. I'm sure most of you know that Eton is a boys private (or is it public? The labels we give schools in the UK has always confused me.) school and is the epitome (or so they like to think) of posh, the well mannered and discipline. I'm not entirely sure that past sentence made sense, but then again, not much in the world makes sense!

So, back to the Eton. To me, if he were to be a person, he would be a guy who was well groomed and in an expensive business suit. The suit may or may not be pinstriped but it would always be immaculate with little or no creases to it. He would wear patent black lace up brogues (or brown if he is feeling brave).

In fact, his suit may well be from Saville Row tailors...?

Anyway, this business man would carry a briefcase or an A4 filo around with him. Black of course, and leather, which goes without saying. He carries a Blackberry and has an air of self-importance. His wife may or may not be the Deco (as personified before) but as she's quite high maintenance, he has to earn a high salary - which he does in the city's banks. People either loathe him or want to be him and he likes to come across as 'just a friendly chap'.

Somehow, what I've described sounds a lot like our UK's PM - David Cameron? Not sure I would deccribe his wife as the Deco though - she's always seemed a bit more down to earth than that, in my opinion. Hmmm....

NEXT WEEK: The Life As An Adelphi