Don't Call it a Comeback

I'm sure the 21 of you that actually read my blog are wondering "Where the hell has she been". And without holding anything back, I'm going to tell you.

When I first started blogging, I had a purpose. I was in Korea and I wanted everyone to know all about my crazy experiences there. I still have that blog up and running because it is full of memories that I never want to forget. Then, I started Foodie Getting Fit because I was on a super health kick and all I thought about was getting to my perfect size. I did that. Then I gained all the weight back. Talk about debilitating. So no, I didn't want to put shit on that blog anymore. Once I moved back to the US, I really wanted to kick up my blog again, and Nairobi Nicole was born, but I gotta be honest, I am having some trouble here.

When you start writing a blog, you just want to express yourself and have your opinions heard even if its only to a few dedicated readers. but after 5 years of writing blogs and telling my business to the world, it feels like no one gives a hot damn about what I have going on. And that can make you say to hell with blogging. Truth be told, I have never put my all into a blog. The Korean one was just a matter of whatever I happened to be doing at the time. The Foodie one was just composed of my successes and struggles as someone trying to get fit. But neither of those are the summation of my interest. I no longer live overseas, and I have other things to worry about outside of my waistline. Which begs the question...

What the hell to write about?

At some point, my writing became about what I thought people wanted to hear instead of what I wanted to say. This is where I lost myself. No longer a traveler or a fitness guru, I spent so much time trying to figure out what makes my life interested now. Nothing sucks as much as finding out you are kind of boring. Not to mention the fact that I've been trying to complete 4 classes for my certification and fumbling my way through my first year back in my field. Thinking about fitness and my blog made me nauseous. I added a few here and there, but nothing like what I used to do.

It's funny because a friend of mine recently asked me what happened to my blog, and it was the first time I said the truth out loud. That I was tired of looking for things to write. Tired of trying to be relevant. Tried of caring that my subscription number was as stagnant as my weight on the scale. And to be honest, I almost thought about getting rid of it. I don't want to just talk about weight loss or travel. To be honest, I am quite interesting. I just don't have ONE niche. That was the problem. I'm a Jackie of all trades and I tried to confine my blog to one thing or another. That's impossible for someone like me. I was trying to be something I'm not.

So I am going to try life style blogging. I'm just going to talk shit about my life. Things I try. What I like and don't like. Food I cook or try. Places I go. And anything else I deem worthy. I can't focus on what other people want as a sole motivator for what I write.

So be expecting to see more of me again. More of the real, honest, sometimes potty mouth, me that those of you who have been following me for a while remember.

My life and the random selfies I take for Snapchat (nairobinicole is my snapchat name). Along with my ever present food struggles.

Fitness is still an integral part of my life. But not my focus. I have other things in my life that are just as important.

I read like nobodies business. And I want to do more book reviews on here. Not professional status, just my thoughts. Likes and dislikes.

We all know how I journal my life away. This is another common place journal entry. That quote makes me happy.

Married life is real. And not something I talk about nearly enough. We struggle, but ultimately, we are pretty good at this shit. Gonna talk about date nights, fair fighting, and maybe even have some videos.

And of course, my experiences in the classroom. In the past, I haven't talked much about teaching because we have to be very guarded about what we say. I can't say how much I hate a student or how awful my jobs is some days, because that is frowned upon in the education world. Too bad my blog isn't anonymous. But I do plan on being as honest as I can without lying possible with out all the bad words as much tact as possible.


I'm back. Cue Jay Z.

What would you like to see on this blog?

My Commonplace Books- How I Use Them

So I've been gone for a while.


That's my bad.


I'm sorry.


School, both teaching and attending, has been kicking my butt. Between getting the kids ready for the EOG tests and taking this special education course for my license, I am pooped. NOT TO MENTION, my family came down from Pittsburgh and I was swept up in all that wonderful family drama excitement.


But now that I'm back, I thought I would discuss what a commonplace book is first, then how I was introduced and why I am obsessed!


A commonplace book is an old idea that people are putting new spins on. Wikipedia defines them as:

Commonplace books (or commonplaces) were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books.  Such books were essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces were used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts they had learned. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator's particular interests. 

I googled images of commonplace books and I was blow away. I really loved this one.

Source

Needless to say, planner ladies (and gents I guess) have put their on stank on it.


I was first introduced to the idea of a commonplace book after reading "A discovery Of Witches" and the main character had one when she traveled through time and it was some amazing relic by the time they returned. I had to have one.

Some days I just write quotes and definitions of words that I want to use later one, and other times I talk about what is happening in my life at the current moment. It may or may not be important :)



Honestly, It's just whatever comes to mind. I also use it for recipes, to document places I've gone, or to do writing prompts.

Of course, there is an abundance of washi, stickers, and color all over the place.

It really just depends on what I have going on.

I decorate my pages in advance with the washi and sometimes with the stickers because I absolutel hate a blank page (here are some of the ways I decorate). I have to do something to take away my blank page fear.

I try to have an overall color scheme, but I honeslty just do what I want.  I think we lose the calm that comes with journaling when we focus too much on what everyone else does. I adore the planner community and all the inspiration I get on Instagram, but I have to make things my own.

I like to think I have my own style.

This page below is actually out of my bullet journal. I tend to get all crafty with all of the notebooks inside my ZenKraft. and believe it or not, I've actually pre-ordered a ZenKoraft in this deep sea blue color. I know I have an obsession, but I just can't seem to resist. Once I see it, its like this frenzy comes over me and I just have to have it.

This was my new years resolution page at the end of 2014. I thought I'd include it.

As of late, I've been doing a lot of thinking about being an expert. In general. Being an expert at something you love. Do you feel like you're an expert at anything? I don't. I feel like I am a jackie of all trades but a master of none. And in the age of the interwebs, that is just unacceptable. I think I should put some effort into the things I really want to become my expertise. Like blogging, or photography.  Ohhh or wine..... must try lots and lots of wine....


What are you an expert in?
Or are you a jack of all trades?

Kikki K Gold Medium - My Unicorn

I've never had a ringed planner system. In fact, before Midori, i was a multiple planner, journals, and writing notebook kind of girl. Let alone whatever I Was reading at the time. My purses were always so heavy. But I have been eyeing the kikki k for a while now. I'd say about 6 months. But I have been so happy with my midori system that I haven't really thought about purchasing anything else....

Until I joined the kikki k planner groups on facebook.

Oh 

My 

Goodness. 

It was love. The Kikki K site was having this sale (that apparently was actually a leaked code- oops) and I got an extra 20 dollars off a planner that was already 50% off. So I ended up paying about $20 for a $100 planner. Score one for the cheap girl! But this purchase was a large pink Kikki K in A5 size, and it was an impulse buy. The more research I did, the more I realized that I'd like something a little smaller to carry around with me everyday. I desperately wanted the gold, but they were no longer selling them and everyone on Ebay was charging an arm and a leg. As a fluke, I was snooping on other people's posts and I saw someone talking about the gold and saying they didn't really want it anymore. So I jumped on the the opportunity. Turned out she was an amazing woman and she didn't inflate the price at all!!!  So my unicorn, the illusive gold kikki k, was actually in my reach.  

And as if things needed to get any better, she hadn't even taken it out of the box yet. So everything came in perfect condition. Can...you...even...imagine? The picture above is how she comes in the mail.

I spent all afternoon putting her together and getting all the pieces just right. I printed out the daily inserts and everything else I planned on using in my Kikkik.

The dashboard features a quote that I absolutely adore: 

"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding,  lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your  mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without  end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past  temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where  tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and  down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and  grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient  unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where  deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as  lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more  beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits  for  you -- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.”

I printed it over one of the pictures I use as  a background on my iphone. 

The first page of my dividers. I used some old scrapbook paper from the my minds eye collection. I got the idea for the hearts as page flags from Filo_newbie14 on instagram. I don't love that white page. I need something to add to it. Black pages make me nauseous.

I bought these inserts from ThePreppyGreek on Etsy and it was custom made for me because I really wanted the gold polka dot pages!

Monthly insert with cute little heart butts hanging out.

Weekly inserts. I love that these print on regular paper and I just had to cut them out without changing the paper size or anything.

Daily inserts that I got from---hmmm I don't remember. I found them on pinterest somewhere. LOOOOOVE THEM!

The start of my notes section.

  Blog planner pages from Wenduhh. She has a lot of cute printables.

I kept the original Expenses insert from Kikki because I haven't found another one yet. I also found this adorable princess crown notepad at Michaels and cut it down to replace the one that came with the Kikki K.

Here it is compared to Stormy, my ZenKraft Travellers notebook.

And lastly, here's what I have in the front pocket. I have lots of stickers and a set of paris sticky notes from etsy. 

I am very much in love with it. I also want a white Webster's Pages personal planner. I have no idea what I will use all of them for. It doesn't matter. I don't have to have a purpose for them, other than to oogle them with my eyes.

Do you have a Unicorn In your life? What is it?!

Beautiful Ciak Journals

While living in England I got hip to quite a few of the little treasures Europe had to offer. And right before my trip to Italy (Actually, while I was researching the trip) I found out about Ciak journals- and I fell in love.

Do you ever get that feeling of loving a notebook so much that you can't even write in it? That would be my relationship with Ciak. It's funny because, after I discovered them, I went to Italy, got lost, and found myself in a store full of them. Kismet much?

The cover is a brilliant pink color, but they have so many to choose from- yellows, oranges, and greens being my favorites. It feels buttery smooth to the touch and has a flexible yet durable texture. There are 224 pages in this baby. And we all know Italian leather is the best! They also use eco-friendly acid free paper. Double score.

I'm gonna be honest, I just want to curl up in bed with this thing. As a side note, I am currently in bed watching some God awful movie on Amazon with my Fire Stick. Let me tell you, amazing is WINNING with this fire stick situation!!! Hashtag MOVIESEVERYWHERE! (yes, I spelled out #)

The elastic comes out of the spine and is tightly secured in a tiny notch in the cover. The Prices range from $15- 25 USD but I originally paid in pounds so I'm not sure exactly how much it was. The elastic is very thick and it is extremely more durable than the moleskine's.

You can see the small notch in the picture below. The biggest design flaw with this notebook is the fact that it doesn't lay  flat. There is a gap between the spine and the pages and this causes the notebook to rise from the table. I'm not a fan of this. I guess I could get all bendy and ruin it, but I don't think my soul will let me.

My favorite part- the paper. This is very high quality "Ivory" paper, or at least that's what they say in the description. After using my Spanish to try to navigate the Italian website, and finding that I'd made a horrible mistake because they are in no way connected, I did some internet hopping and found that the paper is 110 gsm.  And....

It takes fountain pen ink brilliantly! I mean, my pen absolutely glides across the page. That is my single favorite thing about the Ciak. I wish I could find a midori insert that took ink as well as this. Hmmmm maybe that's my next mission in live. Can I find a cahier with this kind of amazing paper- ohhhh with graph paper.  Mission accepted!

You can find them at The Journal Shop!

Maybe one day I will figure out what kind of goodies I want to put in this beauty.. Until then, I will continue to rub the leather on my freshly washed face, and stare at it on my shelf of wonder.

Any idea on what I should use it for? How would you use it?

Productive Luddite: Cutest Notebooks Ever

I love new notebooks.

A lot.

Fresh paper makes me happy.

TheHubs is writing a screenplay, and being the most awesome wife ever, I wanted to get him the cutest things to help him with the process. Enter Productive Luddite.  Their mission is to plant 10 trees for every book purchased. How amazing is that? So far they have 29,020 trees planted. They have so many different genres of journals including everyday carry notebooks, golden age notebooks (including whiskey, gratitude, and coffee journals!), and adventure journals. I really like the zombie notebooks too! I mean, really just too many to mention. You have to check them out.

The one I;ve had my eye on forever is the Really Big Freestyle notebook boasting 800 pages and it comes in the prettiest pink you have ever seen in your life. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it is really pretty. 

And I can pay $29.00 for this awesomeness. And I will. I got my eye on you boo! Mama is coming for you. But to the item I currently have...

As I said, I bought this for TheHubs and his screenwriting aspirations. He hasn't written in it yet :/ <---- that should be an angry face. One should never gift someone with something that they themselves would prefer lol. I tend to do that. No one in my immediate circle likes paper stuffs as much as I do. Try as I might. But why don't they get the hint and buy them for ME!? Booo.

Anyway, look at how neat! Pages for character development and for acts and scenes. I would think this would be the screen writers wet dream. It's so functional.

As a free gift, I received this awesome Matte Black journal from their everyday line.

Did you hear me say FREE! Free.99! They have so many everyday journals, and this one is a sample of all the different kinds of paper you can get.

 Grid, dotted, grey grid, scheduling pages, black, and lined, ect. There are a few more that I didn't take pictures of. I can't figure out what to use this one for. Needless to say, I love everythign about this company and will probably buy 17 more before the years is out. Probably what I use most of them for... Something pretty to look at! :)

Do you plan on giving them a shot? What would your dream notebook include?

ZenKraft, Art Journaling, and Happy Mail

First of all, when are they going to add Journaling to the dictionary as a verb? I am so tired of the red line telling me that I am incorrect! Hahaha! 

Anyway, Welcome to another fine edition of journaling with Shaina. I've spent the past week breaking in my new ZenKraft with pockets, Stormy, and she is just delicious. The leather feels so good in my hands, and I still have trouble putting it down!  I would definitely suggest looking through the blog and finding something you love. In fact, my friend Brianne has just found the magical world of midori and I sent her right over to ZenKraft for her first one. Boy she is already losing her mind!  And The owner of ZenKraft sent me a little gift as well!!! 

Do you see how adorable that field notes size is? I am going to do a video on Stormy soon, and until then, I am going to be getting little Hershey- that's the baby's name- together. I am so ready to decorate it, and I will have plenty of extra stuff to put in, now that I've purchased my happy mail. 

All of these goodies have just come in from Ebay. Since I do quite a bit of art journaling, The sticky notes add to the flavor of my pages. 

Can you believe all of this only cost me $10? With no shipping. It all arrived within 2 weeks. Now I know what you wanto to ask me and here it is:

Ginger*jujusmile10 

That is the name of the seller I tend to use on ebay. All of this came from there. 

Those nautical sticky notes are my favorite. I love the blue, however, I may have to use a white gel pen to show up on it. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and even happier with my leather love. I think my next post will highlight more of my journal techniques. 

As a side note, I am changing my entire blog. I have to be honest. At one point, lifestly blogging and fitness blogging was what I was most interested in talking about. But not so much anymore. I Will still throw in some of that, but mostly just reviews of paper love! Because that's what's near nad dear to my heart! 

What was your last Happy Mail Purchase?