Hammies

Just because it’s cute. Dwarf hamster (this is Dexter)! I don’t understand why people think hamsters are ugly. How is this ugly?? Dexter lived to a ripe old age of 2.5 years old, in the lap of luxury. Hand fed peanuts and a castle of his own.

A Tree in the Middle of the Road

This nifty picture was taken on Brushy Creek Drive in (old) Round Rock, Texas. I think it's so neat and is a wonderful representation of loving the earth when you can! Instead of cutting this tree down, it was protected and the road was built around it, not through it! I've Googled but I just can't find anything about it. I guess it's not that big of a deal but I think it's wonderful and simple!

Google Street View gives this shot of the tree:

And my picture:

We were actually trying to find the Brushy Creek neighborhood (which was very close) but we accidentally put this street into the GPS. However, it turned out to be great because we saw this awesome tree. Second reason, we happened to drive by Round Rock Donuts. And we had the world famous glazed round rock donut. It was piping hot and delicious and glazed and so, so very good. But I digress. The point of this post was to show off that beautiful tree in the middle of the road.

Review: Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen 1.1 mm Nib Width

The kind folks over at JetPens sent me a Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen with aluminum cap and 1.1 mm nib width from open stock at their warehouse. Not only did it show up in my mailbox in Canada in just over a week (really, that's record time for a delivery from the US), I was also delighted to receive two Kuretake Brush Writers. At first I had no idea what they were but eventually I figured them out! One is black, the other is silver. I would actually have never thought to try brush writers out without having received samples but boy are they ever fun! Too bad I'm about as artistic as a teaspoon or I would create something worthy of them.

This is my first official pen review! I wanted to extend my gratitude to JetPens in a useful way and to pass the word along about their wonderful customer service and delicious selection of pens and stationery!

Review: Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen 1.1 mm Nib Width

The Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen is a suitable pen for beginners, intermediate users, and pen enthusiasts alike! It works great for daily writing or for adding some flair and character in those special letters to friends and family.

The Italic 1.1 mm nib width is a comfortable size, allowing ink to flow consistently and smoothly. If you prefer a broader nib, 1.5 mm and 1.9 mm are also available and can be easily switched.

The pen is easily refillable with Lamy ink cartridges, available at JetPens in black, blue-black, turquoise blue, violet purple, green, and red. If you prefer to use your own inks, you can also use the Lamy Fountain Pen Z 24 Converter, which has an easy-to-use design that won't disappoint.

Writing with this pen does not feel scratchy, especially when coupled with high quality paper (this review is written on a Quo Vadis Habana featuring Clairefontaine 90 g white paper). You will feel like your pen is gliding! The nib is made of stainless steel and is quite tolerant of a heavy hand. Users can be confident the nib will not break.

The pen is extremely comfortable to hold, with the same ergonomic grip design as the Safari fountain pens (which are equally fabulous to use).

This particular pen has an aluminum cap, giving the pen a nice weight when it is capped for writing. Unlike many pens on the market, the cap does not pop off when capped so you don't have to worry about losing it. The aluminum cap has a consistent finish and so far has yet to show a scratch even with regular use, and being shoved into many of my pencil cases! The clip is flexible which is perfect if you have a lot of papers to clip it to - it will fit quite snugly.

Any user of this pen will love to admire their penmanship. At only $37.50 - a quarter the price of an average University textbook and waaaaaay more fun - this pen is fun to experiment with and provides uniform writing. Plus, it's reusable, which will satisfy the eco part of your conscience. A good pen can improve your handwriting and make you feel like a pro!


Thanks again, JetPens!

Sharpie Madness

This fascinating picture was taken at the Office Depot in Westlake (Austin, Texas). I have never before seen such a Sharpie display. I was a little disturbed by the colors in the wrong color slots (why do people not return them to their proper home??) and the occasional Sharpie that was facing the wrong direction (whyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!) and some lid colors that didn't 100% match the other lid colors in its lot... Barring all that, this is a fun and colorful display!

I tried out a few colors but I have sooo many in different nib sizes and colors that I couldn't justify it to myself. I'm sure I'll break down and go back.

I tried not to look like an obviously crazy person taking this picture but I had to take a few to get them all in. The aisles were small so I had to stand as far back as possible, then lean back with the camera to capture it all. Needless to say, I hurt myself doing so. I'm not sure how I function. The employees probably thought I was a nutter. Guilty as charged.

Filofax Giveaway by Kyla Roma!

Okay. Over my lifespan of 26 years and some months, I have had terrible luck at winning draws. Even things like winning a pencil, or pulling the little thingies out of the Coke lids where you could instantly win a Coke or $10? I never won.

Just yesterday, I realized that my Quo Vadis day planner was almost finished. This is extremely exciting for people like me (crazy stationery freak people). I like lists. Here's a small one.

1. I get to start my hunt for a new one. Sadly, this is really fun for me, as I scour blogs and reviews.

2. I get to meet and fall in love with a new day planner.

3. I can get a wacky color that I was too chicken to get the first time around (I got mine in black).

And then I remembered my Twitter feed. FiloFax. Philofaxy. Plannerisms. It was all over my Twitter and I realized I had never used a FiloFax, which is customizable, unique, and would be a wonderful pick for me - someone who has to write everything down or I'll forget. (Sad but true). I'm probably a bit OCD that way... Oh well. Anyway. Upon my explorings, I came across Kyla Roma's Custom FiloFax + Giveaway!! This giveaway is epic for the following reasons:

1. Today is Wednesday, May 4. That means the giveaway entries start today.

2. The giveaway ends midnight on Saturday, May 7. That is only four days away.

3. Giveaways that last for months for people to enter is exciting... but it means I have to wait for months to find out if I won! Which, naturally, makes me go bonkers.

4. It's a FiloFax in teal!!! How exciting and fun is that??

5. This very well could be my new organizer for 2011!

6. The notepad I have in my purse for jotting things down is toast. Really. It's falling apart. (But the paper crinkles in the most wonderful way as only paper that has been written all over can). It's time for something new.

7. I was fortunate enough to find this wonderful blog. It's chock full of nifties.

Sidenote: One can also enter by adding Kyla's blog button to their page... I haven't the faintest clue how to do that. But I will try to figure it out if it takes me all day!... It may bring me one step closer to winning!! MUAHAHAHAH! Okay.

Just had to share the excitement. Head over to Kyla Roma and enter!

Wait...should I be encouraging you to enter? Statistically, I shouldn't.