April 9th, 2010
Friday Finds: Keel’s Simple Diary
I love the idea of journaling, I just don’t like the obligation of it. When truly big, giant things are going on writing about it is exhausting, and when little day to day things are the norm, they usually don’t feel big enough to record. Never mind the whole “buying a really nice notebook and then being too intimidated by how pretty it is to actually write in it” thing that I sometimes do. (I’m not the only one who has done that, am I?). Keel’s Simple Diary is the perfect solution – short, sweet, inquisitive, and doesn’t demand endless prose or flowery handwriting to look and feel good.
My work schedule has been beyond crazy the past few weeks and as a result I’ve been trying to build more little rituals into our days that set aside time for Mister and I to connect. I would love to come home, grab some snacks and use this as a post-work touchstone. It seems like it would start some great unexpected conversations, or like flopping down after work with this would be a really fun way of changing gears for the night.
{ flip through a Keel’s Simple Diary here }
ps – Just a reminder that my reviews and my content are all my own. You know me, I’m stubborn. I’d kind of rather be a Walmart greeter than do paid posts =)
Wow, this looks cool, thanks for posting :)
.-= Janie´s last blog ..Things I Love Thursday =-.
What a find!! I want one for myself, and I will order a pair for my friends who are getting married in New York in a few days. Thanks so much for highlighting it. I feel exactly the same about journalling… I tend to be an all or nothing sort of person… when I write in a diary I can write for hours, and it wears me out, putting me off doing so again.
.-= Sara´s last blog ..Don’t you forget about him =-.
This is so cute!! Thanks for sharing! (And: you’re not the only one who gets a pretty journal and then just won’t write in it because it’s just..so..pretty!! Hehe. :P)
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Seeing life as a verb, and coming to terms with doing. =-.
I know exactly what you mean. I bought a journal at Anthropologie last summer that was beautiful and an absolute favorite. I used it to journal my study abroad adventures and will treasure it forever. Being so in love with it, I bought another one, but I’ve been too scared to write in it. Afraid that it will end up being meaningless ramblings. So this journal you have featured sounds perfect. So thank you for sharing! xx
.-= The Owl Diary´s last blog .. =-.
Oh my gosh I do get intimidated by pretty notebooks. I just had the thought of wasting them! I’m such a freak.
I like journalism too but never get to time to invest on it. Sad but true :(
.-= marry´s last blog ..Indian Government targeted by Chinese hackers =-.
That is awesome. I love the simplicity.
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Foto Friday – Spring in Asheville =-.
I that’s a good journal, thanks for share.
.-= Aglolink´s last blog ..Nirwana Beach, White Sand Beaches =-.
Kyla my love, you’ll be happy to hear that I have four notebooks in my nightstand–all too pretty to write in, and all untouched. It’s actually quite sad. Maybe I will write in them this weekend to stop the nonsense!
.-= Ashlee´s last blog ..dear future baby. =-.
Thanks for sharing! I really want one of these journals now! {I may just have to purchase one!!}
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Quick update =-.
Haha, i do that all the time.
I should show you a photo of my side table in my room. There is a STACK of beautiful journals that I bought specially for journaling…but then decide they are too pretty to ruin with my inane ramblings.
:)
.-= Kiley´s last blog ..Times, they are a changin’! =-.
“buying a really nice notebook and then being too intimidated by how pretty it is to actually write in it”
This describes me to a “T”! I have tons and tons of gorgeous notebooks, mostly gifts from my parents, and yet I end up writing everything down in a black and white marble book I bought at RiteAid for 89 cents.
.-= Claire´s last blog ..For You: WAC Zombies II =-.
This is adorably cute! And so convenient too! I can see why you’re so smitten with it. :)
.-= Jen´s last blog ..A candy-coloured Q&A =-.
Wow! Total awesomeness.
I want one… but whether or not they ship to Australia is another story…
I’ve only got about a dozen notebooks I’m afraid to write in!
Oh wow, I must have one of those!!!
.-= Lizzie´s last blog ..Thought erasing =-.
I do that all the time and when I actually get to do an entry in one of my lovely notebooks I immediately dislike it. On the other hand, I just found one I have worked on ages ago and suddenly I really like most of my old pages, travel journals etc. Just the new stuff is bad. Maybe it needs a few more years ;)
Zelde
.-= Zelde´s last blog ..A quarter of the way =-.
Holy smokes that is such a great idea for journaling.
.-= Liz´s last blog ..gpoww 4.7.10 =-.
I’ve been keeping journals for nine years now. That’s a long time. How have I managed to keep writing for all these years? My life is pretty average. But, I digress. I think I’m kind of falling in love with the Simple Diary. I’m pretty sure that’s going to be on my birthday list this year :D Or, it will be one of the first things I buy when I get my first summer paycheck!
I’ve always been a writer … the offline, pretty jounal, fancy gel pen type! I’ve always found that writing things out helps me think more clearly about things are all muddled up in my head, and I like to see the scratches and scribbles of my thought process. Blogging’s great but for me, it’s not the same! I love those little books, though :D
I used to journal all the time before but now I love making to-do lists all the time.
.-= steph anne´s last blog ..My Great-Grandfather & The Titanic =-.
I love the potential of new notebooks. Then I always manage to screw something up on the first page. :-p But I have a journal beside my bed, which I write in when I feel like it. A few years ago I wrote every single night, but when I moved in with Jason it just felt weird with our different bedtime routines. Usually I sit on the floor beside the bed when I right now. The feeling of “privacy” is kind of essential when I write in it.
Ahh, I can’t tell you how many pretty journals I have – that I have never ever written in.
Isn’t that weird??
.-= san´s last blog ..Things you wouldn’t know: Long division does not equal long division =-.
I have a stack of pretty notebooks that sit in my closet. There’s a tiffany blue leather notebook that I am obsessed with but want to use for something special.. who knows when that will be? lol. Love this simple diary, I’ve never heard of it before! Thanks for sharing :)
.-= Margarita´s last blog ..NEW Sex & The City Preview!!! =-.
Just looked & my B&B has these in stock. Great find!! :) Also, thanks for the kind words about my pictures. I’m getting ready to email you back about my instax. Short version? Drop everything you are doing and go get one now! ;)
.-= ashleyTIA´s last blog ..The one with the cherry blossoms. =-.
I have collected so many beautiful journals over time and then don’t want to mess them up with my unplanned words and bad handwriting. :) This is a perfect solution and so creative.
.-= Ally´s last blog ..Today… =-.
I’m starting to think maybe we are brain twins because I’ve been using a Keel’s Simple Diary since January 2nd (it’s in my purse right this second!) and I LOVE IT. I don’t even know that I have words for how much I love it. And randomly enough the page that you’re featuring I had on Wednesday of this week!
My one and only beef with these diaries is that (the second edition isn’t out yet, and) they don’t have 365 pages for 365 days.
Like I said, I started mine Jan. 2nd and I’m going to have to buy another one in probably a couple of weeks. Not that I’m super bummed about it; it would just be nice to have one year in one diary.
.-= Kerri Anne´s last blog ..Good Things: Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer =-.
These journals are SO cute!! And I totally do the same thing with pretty notebooks. It’s like, “how dare I sully these pretty pages with my sloppy handwriting?!”
.-= stealthnerd´s last blog ..the funny thing about stomach illnesses =-.
I have so many nice journals that sit empty. I use my plain-Jane Moleskines rather than the other ones.
This, though, would be perfect for my sister, who wants a journal, but doesn’t want to feel obligated to one.
.-= Miss Dallas´s last blog ..Good Deeds Gone Wrong =-.
What about when you finally work up the courage to mark your little words in this pristine beauty and then life gets in the way and you’re 8 months down the road? Do you have to catch your journal up on whats been happening in your life? Suddenly that boy you were crushing on is lying next to you in bed at night calling you his wife. How do you jump back in to that? Write pages and pages so this inanimate object can understand where you are coming from now? Rip out all the pages that come before and start afresh? Toss that one out and buy a prettier one that will take you 5 years to dare write in?
Man, there are a lot of conundrums in life!
.-= rachieannie´s last blog ..The One Where I Participate In 10 On Tuesday (#7) =-.
New life goal: define a day as a “hot tub.” That sounds all kinds of amazing.
Oh, I have a STACK of notebooks that are gorgeous in that I don’t write in because I don’t feel like the words are worthy. I love this find; it’s fantastic! I may have to find one for me to use :)
.-= Nora´s last blog ..Free Hug Friday =-.
Ooo, love that journaling approach! When I studied abroad in Australia, my parents gave me a journal that had simple questions about the weather or my mood and things like that. Then there were maybe 10 lines where you could expand upon what was going on. I filled that baby up because it wasn’t super intimidating! And it was kind of a ‘warm up’ journal for me. After that, I could tackle the blank pages of the other journals I had received!
.-= Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns´s last blog ..Flashback Friday: Australia =-.
I totally get intimidated by pretty new notebooks. It’s just so painful to write that first sentence and ruin all the pretty-ness. It stresses me out a ridiculous amount.
.-= ClaireSuzanne´s last blog ..Dance Break =-.
These are great! They remind me of some fill in the blank congratulatory cards I bought once.
It’s nice knowing other paper/stationery addicts!
.-= Her´s last blog ..My miscarriage and Ted Kennedy =-.
This looks like the type of journaling I have time and attention span for!
.-= Dani´s last blog ..La Vie Looks Of The Week =-.
I’m so glad you posted this because I was looking for something different for a Mother’s day gift for a friend. This is perfect! I just ordered one for me and one for my friend =)
.-= Katrina´s last blog ..Busy Bee =-.
I definitely have “pretty journal syndrome”. I fear that nothing I write will be lovely enough to keep in the beautiful pages of nice books, and the thought of having to stroke something out is terror.
Dude. I do the same thing!!! I don’t want to mar its perfection with my stupidity so I just stare at it and all its glorious prettiness and now I have roughtly eighty million journals with nothing in them. :)
.-= Kelly L´s last blog ..GUYS GUYS I MADE A DESIGN =-.
EVERYBODY does the whole “buying a really nice notebook and then being too intimidated by how pretty it is to actually write in it” thing. But everybody thinks they’re the only one who does! It’s like people everywhere are intimidated by, and excessively revere, beautiful paper products. I have tons of new, untouched, beautiful notebooks sitting around, and I’m too scared to “wreck them” by using them for something stupid.
you aren’t alone :)
.-= Julia´s last blog ..An American Ex-Pat in Madrid’s Jackpot (I’m not talking about money) =-.
I really like this! I have an online diary now, because, well, I’m on the computer so much anyways, and I write more often if it’s online. But I really miss the cozying up in a chair with a pen and my little diary. I’ll have to check these out.
.-= Taylor´s last blog ..The Invitation =-.
Y’know, I kinda of love this idea for new moms. They want to remember little and big things about their child (children), but don’t have time to put it all into words. What a great way to encourage jotting a few thoughts down every day.
I LOVE this and actually just went over to the website and may order one. I love writing and do journal but sometimes I need a little bit of direction. You always have some of the best finds.
I hope your work schedule settles into a comforting pace. I know you’ll do all you can to find special rituals for both Mister and yourself.
Have a fantastic weekend!
I was given a gorgeous journal some years ago. I wrote one entry. It’s so difficult to keep it up knowing, like you’ve said, that big events are daunting to write about and other times you feel it’d be silly to write about something so small.
Good luck in keeping up with the rituals. “Me” and “us time” is so important.
.-= Charlie´s last blog ..Becoming Mother Week: Monday – Thursday =-.
I like this :) And I do exactly the same with pretty notebooks!