My Rose Among Thorns

It's that time of year...

If you're a Type A planner/organizer like me, you've been trying to put 2013 events into your calender for months.  Unfortunately, the calenders stop at December 2012.  Searching, personalizing and purchasing a new calender are one of my yearly tasks I so look forward to!  Here are some great options I've come across...

momAgenda

momAgenda was the first "specialty" calender I purchased for myself almost 3 years ago.  I don't remember where I saw it advertised, but I loved that they had a mom version.  

Just because you're juggling the world doesn’t mean you need to fill that world with circus-like prints. The momAgenda Desktop Day Planner helps busy moms manage multiple calendars with colors that remind us of breezy summer days. It features all the helpful weekly and daily planning areas that made our momAgenda such a must-have, sanity-saving tool, including the favorite websites section; space for notes on books, movies, fashion, and music; vacation planning and party prep pages. Plus the accompanying momEssentials pamphlet lets you keep your family’s medical information, birthdays, websites and passwords organized all in one handy place. With the momAgenda Desktop organizer, you’ll find it’s infinitely easier to keep your act together..

 Besides the mom version of the momAgenda, there is the myAgenda, mini versions of each, and you can choose if you want your calender hard back bound, or like a spiral notebook.  Each page is a day, leaving plenty of room to not only add in the necessary scheduled obligations you have, but also the extras: the shopping list, the 'to dos', and if you run out of space like I do frequently, it's big enough that the larger sized post-it notes fit!  What's totally awesome about these is you can choose from a variety of colors; there's even snakeskin and cheetah!  Besides calenders, momAgenda also has journals, notepads, and free printables!  Who doesn't love free printables?!?  

*momAgenda currently has 30% off and free shipping over $30! Love free shipping!!! Makes the deal that much sweeter :)

"..a PAPER planner? ....but can't you just keep track of schedules and to-dos from your phone?" Yes, some people thought I was nuts when i created the first edition of the Life planner in 2007. I consider myself quite tech savvy, but I still find that I am more organized and prepared when I create handwritten schedules, lists and goals in an old school planner.  I also found that the more stylish and personalized the planner, the more likely someone is to carry it with them and use it to simplify busy schedules and better plan for successful living.

The popularity of this Life Planner has grown so much over the years, and I am so proud to say that each year it gets better & better. How will YOU use it? As a nutrition/exercise log? Newborn sleep & peep record? Work meetings & appointments? Academic & social planner? The possibilities are endless, but I do know that if we are able to manage our time better, we ultimately have more time for the people and experiences that are most important.  I like to say, "plan well and party often!"

This new edition includes the following:

- laminated, heavy duty 10mL cover for protection from daily wear and tear

- sturdy aluminum coil that will not bend & allows your planner to lay flat

- perpetual calendar for birthdays and anniversaries

- choose the start month of your Life Planner!

- TWO-page monthly spreads

- weekly spreads divided into morning, day & night

- LAMINATED tabs for extra durability

- snap-in page holder that doubles as a ruler

- goals and to-do lists for every week and month

- 20 pages of lined and designer blank pages for notes and sketches

- 1 page for important numbers, with a backside to keep addresses handy

- 240 colorful stickers to highlight birthdays, special events and reminders

- "keep it together" folder to wrangle receipts, stamps, and other paper

- bound-in zip lock pocket with 12 gift labels and "let's get together" cards

- inspirational quotes throughout

I loved my momAgenda, but when I found Erin Condren, I knew it was time to move on. I just knew I had to have a life planner.  I wanted it so badly, I was willing to gift the momAgenda with a gorgeous teal cover I had just purchased to my mom, even before the new year started!  What sold me on the life planner was that it could be personalized! You would think I was from the south with my obsession of all things personalized!  It's display of bright colors, fancy fonts and inspirational sayings just screamed PERFECT PLANNER to me.   From different views of the month and year, to multiple varieties of blank and lined papers, stickers labeled for special occasions as well as blank stickers left to be customized by you,  I thought this would be the perfect calender for me.  It was just so hands on.  I loved this calender because it was adorbs, but I felt like it's daily layout did not allow me to write in it the way I would like.  I needed to carry an additional notebook around in order to write my 'to do' list out.  But, it is super cute, I get TONS of compliments on it, and I would definitely order it again.  They have made many improvements based on customer reviews.  Erin Condren is known to frequently post pictures on Facebook showing people crafting the ordered items by hand.  One thing is for sure, these life planners are top quality. And you know what rocks too? Their customer service is beyond outstanding.  Besides the lifeplanner, Erin Condren is known for being a very modern, funky and bright alternative to what appears to be an everyday item.  Her return address labels make any envelope bright, even if it contains a check to pay a bill, her phone cases are stellar (I get compliments on mine all the time), and she is just full of spunk!  

Keep track of your calendar, contacts, family, work and LIFE in the Simplified Planner. The Signature Binder features a thick 11 x 11.5 inch cover with gold foil accents and protective gold corners. Choose from a warm pink, turquoise or tan linen Signature Binder. Each includes a D ring and one inch spine to hold our accessory pages or any notes and papers you need to keep track of.

Each Starter Kit includes

• 1 Signature Binder

• 1 Journal Set

• 1 Monthly Calendar Set (18 undated months)

• 1 Set of 6 Dividers

Another potential calender purchase could  be Emily Ley.  The two biggest reasons I would jump on board with this is because of how simple, clean, but totally classy this is.  The yearly calender is a hardback binder. The other thing that is so genius of Emily Ley, is that you can either purchase the simplified planner starter kit which has the essentials (i.e. the calender aspect), or you can choose from a slew of options that can be added to your calender.  She has pages for tasks, for meal planning, for budgeting, for recipes, for grocery lists, for projects to do, and for different views of the week and month.  I would love to try this one day, but I'm afraid I would feel the need to purchase all the options for the calender, and that would make for one expensive calender!  

This 17 month agenda is packed full of fun tidbits and patterns to make your year all about Jonathan Adler. Complete with weekly and monthly calendar pages, this planner for 2013 has dates to remember, contacts and notes. Perfect as an academic planner, or everyday planning.

• august 2012 through december 2013
• interior pocket
• elastic band closure

One last calender option I've come across is the  Jonathan Adler agenda.  I am seriously considering this option as my 2013 calender.  I feel like it encompasses all the aspects of the calenders above that make them "specialty" yet, it's more than half the price! And these days, money talks!!!  It is vibrant, has inspirational quotes, extra pages for those specific extras, and it even has an elastic closure band!  Hello awesomeness.  It seems thin and light, and I think it would look awesome in my bag!