I’m not quite sure how it happened, but when I look back at 2018 the thing that stands out the most is how much I got to travel. Writing a whole blog post about each destination would be silly at this point, so instead I will give you the highlight reel and some of my favorite tips from each trip. Let’s go!
Category Archives: Review
Review: You Need A Budget (YNAB)
You need a budget. Come on now, of course you do. We all do! If you are a long-time reader you will remember that I once wrote a blog post called On Money where I shared with you how I used to do my budgeting. Well, that post is no longer around. This new system is much better and I don’t want you to follow my old advice.
Enter: You Need A Budget.
Continue reading
The Mulberry Bayswater: 3 1/2 years later
The Bayswater is one of Mulberry’s most iconic bags. According to Mulberry it “is a timeless and classic style that celebrates the very best of understated and exquisite leather craft. It proudly features the signature postman’s lock closure, and has a soft, brushed interior, showcasing the exceptional level of leather quality”. Sounds good, right? I bought mine, a black buffalo leather version, in the summer of 2011 from Mulberry’s flagship store on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. It’s an investment piece, and if my calculations are right the price has increased by over 30% since 2011, so it’s even more of an investment if you were to buy one today. Which raises the question: is it worth it?
The Van der Spek planner
I recently mentioned that I had bought a new planner as a birthday present for myself, and here it is: a custom made leather planner from Van der Spek, a Dutch family company that makes and sells both ready-made and custom hand made leather goods. I discovered them through a Facebook group and fell completely head over heals for their planners, and in particular their ostrich-texture leather. I mean come on, look at that color! Teal ostrich? How completely ridiculous and beautiful is that? I have already told you all about my love for leather planners and I didn’t need a new planner at all, but it was my birthday and the stars aligned, and after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing I ended up ordering this little beauty.
App review: Headspace
Confession time: I didn’t give you the whole and complete truth back when I wrote On Depression: One Year Later. You see, there is one more thing I have done to slow things down and create some extra calm in my day-to-day life: I have taken up meditation.
Yup, I’m going to let that one sit there for a while.
Come on now, picture it. Me in the lotus position, in a meadow, surrounded by whale song and crystals and Enya, completely and blissfully free of thought. Pretty good, huh? Can’t you just picture it? Well, now you can erase that image from your mind because that is not what this is about at all. Nope. No whale song, no Enya, no crystals. Just me and my iPhone. Sorry to disappoint you.