July Favorites
/I can’t believe July is halfway over! There’s just a handful of weeks before the kids go back to school. I’ve spent most of the summer working, playing with my kids and swimming. I’ve had some requests to share my current favorites so here ya go!
Pens:
TWSBI Mini Rose Gold with a medium nib (version 1): I don’t love TWSBI pens in general, but I do own a lot of them because the nibs are pretty good and they are affordable. They are great for testing out inks but I don’t usually use them for my everyday writing. There’s something about the TWSBI Eco that doesn’t sit in my hand well-I do prefer the Eco-T over the standard Eco. This TWSBI Mini when posted, however, is the perfect fit for my hand. The nib is smooth and the perfect size-not too broad and not too fine.
Zebra Sarasa Grand in White (aff. link) with a Zebra Sarasa Dry 0.7 refill: This has become my daily writer that sits on my desk. I use it 10,000 times a day, and my kids frequently steal it off my desk. Sometimes I have to hunt them down to get it back. I’ve used up 2 of these refills in the last month-I use them that much.
Nagasawa Decimo Original Gradation Kaigon Stone Gray with Rhodium Trim: Wow that pen name is a mouthful. I love how pretty and neutral this pen is-I don’t have enough neutral pens. As much as I love the Pilot Vanishing Point, I’ve kinda fallen in love with the Decimo just a little bit more. I love how slim it is-it makes it more comfortable for me during long writing sessions.
Inks:
Sailor Jentle Black: This is going to be the first ink that I empty the entire bottle. I love this ink so much. I currently have it in three different pens just because I enjoy it that much. You can see in the photo above where I compared it to some of my other favorite black inks.
I’ve been color coding my notes a lot this month, so I have almost every color in the rainbow inked up. I do need to add a blue black ink in there. I love all of these inks.
Paper:
Levenger Circa Midway: I have been planner jumping for years. Years! I’ve tried everything from Hobonichi to Erin Condren. I tried a Levenger Circa notebook like 8 years ago and didn’t love it-I felt like the pages came out too easy and it was too hard to turn the book over on itself. Someone suggested that I try heavier paper with metal rings so I decided to take a leap and give it a try. I got the Midway size, which is 1/8 of an inch off of Happy Planner Classic size, and upgraded it to 1 1/2 inch aluminum rings.
It arrived the last day of June and I quickly printed off dividers and planner pages so I could use it for One Book July, which it turns out I stink at. I tried a lot of different styles-I tried 6 different planner daily pages until I found the one that really works for me. So far I’m using it as a combo planner/bullet journal and I’m really enjoying it. It’s just the right size. I’m using HP 32 lb paper in it, which isn’t my absolute favorite-it’s a little too glassy for my taste, but it holds up to fountain pens well and I’ve yet to find a better copy paper since they discontinued my favorites. I still need to do another Copy Paper Conundrum post part 2 (you can find the first one here), so in the comments let me know what your favorite copy paper is so I can test them out!
Taroko Breeze Notebook: I love these notebooks so freaking much! I’ve got three ones going right now and they all have been really great quality. I’ve abused this one so much and the binding has held up beautifully.
Currently:
This month I’ve been working on organizing my swabs (I use the Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress). My swabs have been a mess for months (it’s seriously bad as the photo above shows). I had them sorted by main color, so when I do a review I have to sort through 350 blue swabs to find the similar colors. I finally got around to breaking them up into smaller categories like light red, medium red, dark red, red-violet, cherry red, etc. Hopefully this makes the review process a little faster. I’ll do a blog post about the process soon, but you can find more photos of the process on my Instagram page.
Most Recent Purchase:
I finally broke down and ordered another Lamy 2000 during the Endless Pen 4th of July sale. Years ago I purchased a Lamy 2000 Makrolon and a Lamy 2000 Black Amber together when I was still new to fountain pens. The Makrolon was an EF nib and I hated it as soon as I tried it, so I sold it. The Black Amber had a fine nib that I didn’t like either, but it ended up having some pitting near the nib so I couldn’t sell it, and I still have it. I wanted to try one with a medium nib but wasn’t sure I wanted to buy one just to try it, but I finally just pulled the plug and purchased one. It arrived just this week and so far I like the nib, but the nib is broader than the other Lamy medium nibs I have. It does have a bit of a sweet spot, but I can deal with that. I like the size of the pen and that it doesn’t have a screw cap.
Wish List:
I have a few things on my wish list-things I’m thinking about purchasing soon. Here’s a few things I’m looking at:
Esterbrook Model J Blackberry Ebonite Fountain: I’ve purchased a few Esterbook Esties, both the standard and oversize and so far I’ve had a good experience with the brand. I’ve fallen out of love with the Estie however, and ended up selling all but one of them (If anyone is looking to buy an Esterbrook Estie Maraschino with a broad nib let me know). I’m looking at trying the Model J to see if I like it better. I love the hammered band on the body. I’m trying to decide between the Violet and the Blackberry colors.
I know this pen isn’t available yet, but I’m seriously debating ordering it once it becomes available. I have the BENU Talisman in Cat’s Eye and absolutely love it. It fits my hand well, has a smooth nib and is a cool color. Most of the BENU pens are way too flashy for me, but this one is a bit more subdued and perfect for the autumn season.
Clairefontaine Fontaine Aquapad Watercolor Paper: I love using watercolor paper for playing with ink and to my knowledge this is a new product for Clairfontaine. I want to try it out and make some ink charts with it.
Each year I’ve reviewed the inks in the Inkvent Calendar and I’m interested in this year’s edition.
Other Thinks I’m Enjoying:
SBREBrown’s What I've Learned in Thirteen Years of Reviews Video: I’ve been a long time fan of Stephen’s and appreciate his views on making reviews.
I have the first two Half Baked Harvest cookbooks and absolutely love them. Not only are the recipes wonderful but the photography is amazing. I can’t wait until this new one comes out in November.
Flourished Hope’s The 5 Part Journaling System That Changed My Life Completely (How to Journal): I appreciated her take on journaling since I’m trying to improve my system.
So that’s it-my favorites for July. What are you loving this month? Let me know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This page does contain two affiliates link for Amazon and this post is not sponsored.