I am so old-fashioned.  Love pens, pencils and paper.  I am and always will be a list maker. There is something really satisfying about writing things down and crossing them off.  And if I were to tell you something about me that I don’t disclose often it would be that I am a huge procrastinator.  A lot of my friends will shake their head in disbelief but it is true.   I’ve always worked toward deadlines and in my head, that can be a detriment because things get put off until they start to come due.  But I’ve never missed a deadline.  Why?  Because I keep meticulous, color-coded lists!   Work, house projects, volunteer deliverables and especially party lists.  Books to read, places to visit, restaurants to try, recipes to make.  All of them save me from running around like a chicken with its head cut off and remind of things I run across.

These are the three things that are always on my desk and when I’m out, in my purse.   For two centuries Moleskin books have been the gold standard of notebooks for artists, writers and journalists.  Their website also lists intellectuals.  Ha!  It should list ‘note-takers and list-makers.’  My favorite notebook is the Volant line: ruled pages with soft colorful covers.  The size that is perfect for me is the large – 5″ x 8.25″.  Not too small but not too big.  A set of two is $12.95 and you can buy them online or at Barnes & Noble.   When one becomes completely filled, it gets filed away and a new one comes out.  You should see my stock of colorful notebooks!

I’m very particular about pens and pencils; always have been.  The mechanical pencils and rollarball pens from Tul [products made exclusively for Office Max] are great.  Except for Sharpie Extra Fine Permanent Pens that I use for addressing envelopes, these are my go-to pens.  I was so excited when Sharpie came out last year with a mechanical pencil. Rushed right out to get some.  Was totally disappointed.  They wrote like the old erasable pens.  Remember those?  They were awful. Tul does the mechanical pencil right!  The nonslip grip runs the entire length of the pencil, the eraser is held in a twist cap so you can expose as much as you need, the point is retractable so there isn’t a lot of lead breakage and it writes smoothly.  The last feature is the reason why I love their rollerball pen.  It writes so smoothly  and has a sharp writing point.  Pencils are two for $8.50, pens four for $9.99.  A little indulgent but they last a long time.  Plus the sleek designs are fashionable…they’re just pretty.

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