Little things that bring happiness into my life

Stationery. Yes, that's it. That's the key to make me feel happier!

Following up another post I wrote yesterday, I also have another three little tools that I got on the same day.

But before I introduce to you the first thing I got, I have a little story to tell. I am an HK girl who currently studies the IBDP programme, a burdening and difficult high school diploma programme that I am sure many of you have heard of. I study Chemistry HL, and I am grateful that I have a chemistry tutor who is awesome and knows tons in that particular field. One day, we were discussing about how humans have only been using up a small percentage of the brain. 

So I asked him, how can we make use of the other areas of the brain?

The answer I got was, you need to increase the amount of neural connections in your brain. To do that, you need to do more things that you don't usually do. This includes taking risks (no it does not necessarily mean you should do anything illegal), or even just start doing things with your left hand!

So that inspired me to start learning to do things with my left hand. This includes writing with my left hand. I have a hard bump on my right middle finger since I was a child, and I think it may have resulted from holding on the pencil too tight or simply because I didn't hold a pencil right (or both.). So I decided if I was going to learn to write with my left hand, I'm going to do this right this time. So here we are, my first little tool, a tool that ensures that you are holding the pencil correctly:

It is made for left handers!

A closer look - aren't those pretty colours!?!!

Look at that colour!!

My attempt in writing with my left hand

Now, I can truly start my journey of learning to do things with my left hand! Whether or not that makes more neural connections or not, it's fun to learn more!

The second little thing I got is a double ended Tombow Playcolor2 marker! I've used this pen before and I found it amazing. Unfortunately the shop I got my marker closed down :( But thankfully I once again discovered that this pen was sold at QIPS! So heres a picture!

$10 HKD - totally worth it!

Written on paper

Finally, last but not least, Washi tape. Again, it's from QIPS at reasonable price of $14 HKD. The colour is beautiful, check this out!

woot woot shippin that colour!

That's all for today!

Double Closure!

Yes, I did mean the psychological meaning of closure.

Why? Let me hang you on for a little while (mysterious music). 

Haha, well this week marks a very special moment and accomplishments of my life as a high school student. It has been a phenomenal week (sorry I'm a bit repetitive). If you want to know more about it, please check it out on my Thoughts page and I will insert a link there. :)

Back to stationery talk, I have once again lightened the weight of my piggy bank on stationery (happy but sad in a way) at the stationery paradise - TST.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Miramar Centre is a stationery addicts' dream come true (Harbour city as well which I definitely have to check out this easter holiday! - Oh yes. Easter holidays have just begun MUAHAHA).

Yesterday, I went around to Miramar Centre to find closure. 
Regarding closure, I must talk about something that I bought last summer in Japan's incredible Tokyu Hands - my all time favourite handcraft department store (It is a MUST-GO department store for all stationery addicts around the world!).

That summer, I bought an A4 sized smart fit carrying pouch, designed by LIHIT LAB for my 13'' laptop, which I have to say is incredible useful with all the compartment it has! Check it out on the website. However, I did not realize that the shoulder strap was sold separately (I know, such a ripoff). I tried to find straps at home to use but they were just too uncomfortable to use or could not possibly handle the weight of the laptop.

I have been so annoyed by this for over a years time, blaming myself that I didn't look carefully enough to make sure I also bought the shoulder strap. It was just so much more convenient if I had the shoulder-strap with me so I can simply wear it as a shoulder bag to school. 

Shoulder Strap YAYAYAYAY.

Well? Guess what. 2 weeks ago, I found that at Miramar Centre's Commercial Press Stationery section, they also began selling LIHIT LAB's pouches. Without delay, I rushed to the staff and asked her whether they had the strap as well, but unfortunately it went out of stock (seems like there were either plenty of people that were like me, or that the lihit lab pouches were just selling well). So, 2 weeks after, I went straight to Commercial Press and purchased the shoulder strap. When I returned home, I immediately tried it on and OMG. IT WAS JUST PERFECT!!! Check this out!

The golden pair.

Come on. This is something to celebrate about! Here are some photos! (Please excuse the fact that I am wearing my PJs)

Cross Shoulder Style

One side strap style

What I have been doing for the past year - strapless.

YES. CLOSURE #1

Closure #2:
I've mentioned that I wanted something like a card holder on my organizer to write down my name and address and phone number just in case I lose my organizer. Well, guess what. I found it! Stupid me it was at QIPS all the time, but I just didn't find it! Well tada!!

The drawbacks on this card holder is that it does not have the post-it notes quality. Once you stick it on, it's going to be there forever. It was not designed to be reused and stuck elsewhere once you have stuck on to something - which is kind of stupid.. no offense.

It says in Japanese that you cannot forcefully remove it and
only stick it on if you are sure you want to
stick the card holder in that particular position!

Well, that sums up my weekend stationery scavenger hunt! Follow me if you're interested on some more updates on my choices of stationery!

Fast Update: Schedule Book Makeover

Sorry guys, I just realized I haven't talked about my newly decorated schedule after adopting the Chronodex. I haven't changed much from before (should have taken a photo of that, but I took it all off before I thought of that, oops!) and decorating has never been my strength, so do spare me some mercy!

Here are some photos!

The front cover of my plain Muji Notebook - I decorated it with some beautiful vintage stickers and washi tape  I found in Tai Po (I will talk about this next time I go there - stay tuned!), a notebook cover from FrancFranc a friend got me for my birthday (the Life is Sweet flowery background), some stickies. It was an attempt to make it look like a collage, scrapt vintage cover - sorry if it didn't turn out too well :P

This is what I now use for my schedule book - I actually got this along with ShotNote few years back. It was a special package ShotNote was selling along with their mainstream product. I believe this material is along the lines of mixed nylon, polyester, cotton, etc. Regardless, an amazingly durable and minimalistic design product!

Showed you all this before, it is my first attempt in Chronodex, also a thick plain notebook I got from Muji, with fine quality of paper and only $22! How awesome is that!

Finally, my newly bought monthly calendar schedule - it's going to be used as a reminder notebook of due dates, holidays (that's important hahah), meetings, etc. Also to make use of my label stickers ;)

That's all for today! I've made 3 posts and am already exhausted from doing so! Still got plenty of work to catch up on! See you next week!

Love,

E.L.

Extra Updates: Schedule Book Makeover - Chronodex

Hi fellow scheduling addicts!

As I have mentioned earlier in the previous post, I have done some surfing on the internet looking for stationery shops in Hong Kong. I ended up looking up one of the judge's of Hong Kong's International Stationery Award, Mr Patrick Ng's blog - Scription. He is a buyer for stationary in the Log-on store in Hong Kong (Log-on stores are high-end stores that are part of the high-end supermarket CitySuper. They also have a large variety of Japanese Stationery, but usually at more costly price than other stores). He talks a lot about the traveler's notebook, which is a great choice for using as an schedule book - other than its price. I personally prefer my own because I am basically just reusing what I have at home, and that I personally prefer to use cotton/nylon/polyester mixed fabric covers than leather. I also found out about QIPS from his blog, which focuses a lot on vintage-like stationery, which looks absolutely stunning, so please do check out his blog if you want to know more!

A New Discovery.

It is definitely springtime.

It was just this time last week when I was complimenting the weather and everything, but it seems like spring has brought along her playful friends - rain and storm. 

It's been rather gloomy here in the 852 for quite a few days, so have I. I have stayed home sick for two days (ugh, virus finally caught me unarmed), so all I have done for the past two days was sleep, eat and sleep, and eat, and...you get the point.

Well, to lighten my gloomy weekend with plenty of homework and lab reports and presentations to work on, I sneaked in some time just to check out some more beautiful stationery to add on to my collection at Miramar Mall in TST - the newly discovered stationery paradise.

QIPS

I found QIPS last night via the wise and wonderful internet (yes, I did a little research last night on local stationery, I must thank Scription for that - I'll talk about this guy later). I have to say I was really impressed with their interesting and incredible collection of stationery! I fell in love with the place immediately! I wish I could have taken some photos and shared it with all of you! Scription included a large variety of stationery, from washi tape (WIDE variety of BEAUTIFUL patterns and colours, which I usually cannot find in ordinary stationary stores) and stickers (and I mean crafty ones!) to beautiful paper, fountain pens, clips. QIPS was a fusion of modern and vintage. I cannot describe how much I love the place (except the price tags), it was a step closer to paradise.

Well, at last, I couldn't help but bought two products (meaning no more buying next week to make up for that hole in my wallet. Sad, I know). A sticky to-do list and film pocket sticker.

1. Sticky to-do list.

I have bought MUJI's to-do checklist before, which I do fancy (good paper thickness and smoothness, easy to write on), although it was slightly too dull for me (I usually like minimalistic designs, but it just seemed like the design was missing something that could highlight it!). However, the major drawback was NOT STICKY. It was not in the form of a sticky note. There was no adhesive tab on the back, and THAT, that made it so much more difficult to use, especially for someone like me who likes to stick things into their schedule book!

Then I saw this cute checklist that WAS STICKY there and I just had to bring it home. so here it is! teehee. but boohoo for my wallet.

2. Film Pocket Sticker.

Now this wasn't exactly what I wanted to get, but it could still do the job I want it to do. At first, I wanted to an adhesive pocket to slip in some cut-out Chronodexes. I saw this and I thought that was exactly what I was finding, but it turned out to be an adhesive pocket to be stuck on photos album when you want to place a name card or anything like that and not wanting to stick it. Luckily, it still works for me.

MUJI

The next stop, I arrived at MUJI on the 3/F of Miramar Mall (QIPS is on the 2/F). I got myself a new monthly schedule book and a bill-checking book, both $10 each - reasonable price with fair quality. 






And that sums up my trip today!

Stayed tuned for my newly discovered scheduling method!

E.L.

Is it finally Springtime?

Is it Finally Springtime?

It's been a while since there was such beautiful weather here at the 852. Yes, it's still rather foggy and the sky isn't as blue as I've seen it months ago. But, definitely a great start. Sunny, breezy... It sure helps with brightening up my mood and getting my head off the stressful and rather depressing week I've been through. But enough about those miserable days, it is the weekend! 

This morning I was out to study Japanese with my hilarious classmates and Sensei. 

They are very adorable people (: 

But other than that, I managed to rush to take a look at stationery at the bookstore nearby (Yes, it's all pretty much the same since I've been there multiple times...but I did find a better store, which I will introduce sometime later!). 

I did get something (it's really hard to resist to not buy anything, eh? Okay, well this time I actually needed it for work :P ) - loose leaf rings. Very old school indeed, probably not the hottest item out there. There are loads of definitions of vocabularies particularly in the science subjects during diploma, memorizing it the ancient way using flashcards works for me!

Kokuyo Card Ring (Diameter - 25mm)

But anyway, as you can see, they come from the brand Kokuyo (I am a total fan of this stationery company - absolutely incredible products, high quality, creative, eco-friendly, durable, and all!) 
Click here to check out the Kokuyo website (I hope you can read Japanese because it would really help....). 

Anddd yes. That does come with a price. Compared to other brands, it is indeed a few dollars more expensive. I've bought these rings from other companies (ehem. WARRIOR Loose Leaf Rings 1 ") at Popular Bookstore once and they were horrible. I couldn't even open them up, or if I did, I couldn't close them. So now, I have this box of rings, that just sits on my desk, unable to help me by doing their job. I mean, don't these companies do QC? There were like 10 in that box, and 7 of them I couldn't open. So not worth the money. That's why I decided to pay a little more to get products from a trustworthy company. YOU GO KOKUYO!

Just sidetracking for a bit, Food. Well, candy in this case. I got myself some grape-flavoured Mentos, something I haven't thought of having since forever until this week after a competition I participated in in the past week and because my Badminton coach also gave me some chewy candy during training LOL. I know, very random. I didn't realize how much I've missed having chewy candy. But now, I am satisfied :D

Do excuse my photo editing skills, I'm working on it! See you soon!

E.L.

The Beginning of A Journey

The Beginning of A Journey

Well, that took me quite a while! I have come to realize that Blogger isn't that user-friendly when it comes to customizing your blog, which is a total bummer, considering the fact that I'm no fan of codes AND for some random reason, those tutorials just do not apply to my situation.

Regardless, this post indicates the beginning of a journey. This is the new place I have decided to settle in with working on a blog (I'm tell you, I will have aesthetics improved somehow!).

It won't be anything too big, considering the fact that I am a IB student in the 852. Haha, but do come take a look if you are interested! This blog will be focused on my hobbies and interests...which would be a hell lot of things...but I'll give it a try to list them out...maybe just some.

Here we go!

• Stationery - MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE, checking out new stationery (paper, pens, erasers, rulers, notebooks, staplers...you name it!), and consuming them! (yeah I know, this may sound really immature for some of you, but most of my money is dedicated to stationery...teehee.)

• Exploring - Mainly exploring new shops, new things, anything that could possibly spice up my stressful IB life would do! (Will keep this updated from time to time!)

• Organization - Now this is in fact rather ironic, because I am actually a pretty messy person. Yes. I'm a girl, meh. I always try to become more organized, but end up messing things up over and over again. Overall, not a great advisor about time management...

• Skiing - This would be difficult to blog about often since I only go skiing once a year, and come on. In this part of Earth, winter isn't a year round thing. Regardless, still a huge part of my life.

• Weekly Updates - just on my life, something I find interesting, whether you find it interesting or not, meh.

• FOOD. - no descriptions required.

...

Okay well I'm getting a little impatient here, so that's all I will list out. Of course, there will be plenty more. So why not and drop by and take a look every now and then?

That's all for my very formal introduction. Please excuse my grammar, I am pretty crap at it.

Will keep updating!

E.L.