My Planner 2015 | Review and Organisation Tips

I'm sure we've all had that experience at the beginning of the year, when we are faced with the responsibility of buying a new diary. I take the idea that my choice will stay with me for the entirety of the year, very seriously. I know that sounds kind of dramatic but honestly...I can't help it!. I wanted to make sure that the diary I chose was the right one for me which meant I wanted to it to be fully customisable to my needs. After much deliberation I decided to go with a planner from Personal Planner UK. The level of personalisation available to you at creation is amazing, you really can change almost every aspect of the planner to how you would like.  

There are four sizes to choose from, I just chose a standard A5 planner, but there is also a square version which looked really good. I wanted to make sure I could fit the size I chose in my bag, so I stuck with the A5 at a price of £19.95. 

You are able to customize your front and back covers by using a block colour or you can upload a picture. I took full advantage of this and created a collage in PicMonkey, for the back cover and to enable me to insert a quote on the front cover. If you want more than one picture to appear on your cover this is the best way to achieve that, because you cannot upload multiple pictures using the website.

Almost everything is customisable within the week-to-view space, I chose the a grey theme with small white stars. You can have the days horizontal or landscape, ruled or blank or even striped with different colours. The bottom of the page is split into what they call modules, there are all sorts of options for these sections. You can choose, a to do list, graph paper, or leave it blank, you can even insert a module to plan your dinners for the week! 

Personal Planner stood out to me especially because of their personal dates feature. When you are creating your planner, you are able to enter all of your personal dates for the year, I mainly inserted birthdays! All you do is put in the persons name and their birthday with the year they were born. When the planner is printed all of your dates are entered into the correct dates with the age that person is going to be. You can see this in the picture above on the 17th February, it was my birthday! This is such a nice way to keep track of all your important dates throughout the year, and if you decided to get another Personal Planner for the following year, you can carry across all of your dates!

The remainder of the planner is split into three, and you can choose what you want to have within these sections. The choice again is vast, you can have sudoku puzzle pages or graph pages, also there is an option for you to create your own address book if you want to! I chose to have a year-to-view, colouring pages (because you all know you still love colouring) and just standard lined paper because I'm a listoholic!  

























Just in case you lost your planner, there is a space for you to write a message, for who ever should find it on the front page. But, I decided personalise this page with a quote,  this is one of my favourites from Harry Potter.

Planner Decoration

     

I try to use as much colour as possible when decorating my planner, the staedtler pastels pens are great as well as all forms of washi tapes ( I found most of my washi tapes in The Works). I found these emoji stickers on ebay and I think they're brilliant! You can find all sorts of stationary online and in shops like Paperchase to suit your own personal preference!

I know that putting such emphasis on your choice of diary, may not be very significant to a lot of people. But anything which helps me to organise myself better is welcomed, even if it only helps me to remember to update my utility meter readings (sad but true). I've been using my Personal Planner since January and I've been consistently utilising it as well as making it look pretty ever since. I would definitely like to think I will repurchase another for next year!

Saving Money...

Okay, so I wouldn't say I'm good at saving money. In fact I am terrible at it! But this year I decided to make a conscious effort to save more! So I wrote a list of five ways we can all save a little extra. Whether your goal is as small as that perfume you want, or as big as a deposit for a mortgage (I'm no where near that by the way).

1. Make a list of savings goals - think small. 

Many people do this at the beginning of each year, I know I do. But the biggest mistake we all make is to focus on all the big things we want straight away. Focusing on the big stuff when you are trying to save can be overwhelming, smaller goals are easier to manage. Make a list, but think only of small goals to start with, maybe you need to save up to get your mom's birthday present in a few months time. Once you have achieved a small goal, tick it off your list, success, will give you the confidence to work to even bigger goals. You could even split big goal into smaller goals, for example, you need £1000 for your summer holiday, this would scare the life out of me but if you say you want to save £100 a month for 10 Months then it seems much more manageable!

2. Saving with your bank

Many people have a savings account with their banks. But, unless you set up a direct debit/standing order with them to deposit regular amounts into your savings account, many go unused. I bank with TSB, previously Lloyds TSB, they have a savings scheme called Save the Change. The concept is that as long as your account is in credit, when you buy something they automatically put any change to the nearest £1 into your savings account. I love this idea because although you're not saving heaps and heaps of money, the pennies do actually add up over time! You could also do this yourself, at the end of each day, put any spare change you have in a jar. .

3. Take part in a savings club. 

A work, we have a number of different savings clubs going on throughout the year. I'm part of a weekly and a monthly one. For the weekly one you give in £2 a week for a £104 pay out at the end of the year, whereas within the monthly one you give in £10 a month. The monthly one is a little different, they split your money into two so that you receive £50 for your birthday no matter what time of the year it is and £60 at Christmas (you don't pay in December). Both are really effective, especially because someone else has your savings so you can't dip into it. If you don't have anything like this where you work, maybe you could create one!

4. Make it fun

Lewis and I have made saving money into a competition. I saw the 52-week money challenge on Pinterest at the beginning of the year and thought it was a really good idea. Basically you start by saving £1 on week one and it increases by a £1 saved each week so the second week you would save £2 and so on. We changed it a little by saying you just have to pick a number between 1-52 to save each week. By doing this, for the weeks when you may not have much money you can choose the smaller amounts. The competition is that the person who has saved the most so far is the winner. There are loads of links to this challenge on Pinterest.

5. Make money doing surveys.

I would say this is the most effective way I have found to save money. Well, for me anyway, I use a website called Valued Opinions. I have been using this site for well over two years, but I have tried many different survey sites before. This one is the most reliable, I get at least a couple of surveys a day sent through to my email, and they credit your account straight away. Once you have accumulated £10 on your account, you can then redeem a voucher for the amount. The choice of vouchers vary from Amazon, to M&S to Sainsbury's. Last year I saved up all the credit on my account until Christmas, I saved £80 all together in one year. It helped so much when Christmas came around so I've decided to do it again this year. So far I have £48!! The surveys are great to do while you are watching TV or in your lunch break and they only take around 15 minutes.

You could also try:

• Leaving your credit/debit card at home.
• Unsubscribing to promotional/sales emails to prevent online shopping.
• Use the Sleep On It concept (if you think you want something sleep on it before you buy it, if you still want it the next day after thinking about it then get it).

Saving money is so difficult for so many people, me included. But, I have managed to do better this year by making some of these small changes. If you decide to try any of them be sure to let me know how you get on!

The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling

This month has been a slow month for me on the reading front. Partly because I decided to read this book, but mainly because I have an addiction. I'm ashamed to admit it, I have fallen victim, like so many before me to becoming addicted to watching TV episodes, one after the other. The culprits being, Revenge and more recently, The Black List. This addiction has slowly started to take over the bulk of my spare time, this is serious guys! But hey...admission is the first step to recovery right?

But seriously, it's taken me all month to finish this book. Like many others I bought it as soon as J. K. Rowling released it. As a avid lover of all things Harry Potter, I was desperate to get my hands on anything written by J. K. I didn't read it straight away though, mostly because I'm easily distracted. Although, deep down I know that it was because I was afraid that I some how J. K would disappoint me by producing something different. I had heard that she had deliberately written an adult fiction rather than another children's fiction, she wanted to show people that she isn't restricted to one type of writing style. But at the beginning of this month I needed something new to read, and I decided I was ready to delve into this new and unfamiliar territory.

I needn't have worried, this book is so incredibly different when compared to the Harry Potter books, that at times I actually forgot that they were written by the same person. Just a warning, its a little hard to get into. Let me just give you little bit of background to the story and then you will understand why. 

The story is set in Pagford, a little town located in England's West Country. Pagford, consists of all the stereotypes you would expect to find in such a town. Everyone knows one another, everyone is linked to one another and nothing remains a secret for long. Following the death of one of the towns most influential inhabitants, we are then led along the path of understanding all of these complex links, the story is written in the third person it switches to and from the perspectives of each of the different characters throughout. 

The reason I felt it difficult to get into at the start was just because this section of the book focused on informing the reader rather than exciting the reader. Now, in hindsight I know that this section is extremely significant, without it the second half of the book would have not have been anywhere near as enticing.

If you like juicy gossip and scandal you will also like this book. It's just like a soap opera, a completely new concept for me. I've never read anything like this story before and although sceptical at the start I can say that I would read the sequel if she ever writes one without hesitation. 

I can't go into the main plot, or any of the juicy happenings within story because it would defeat the point and you should go on that journey yourself. But I will say that if you have read the Harry Potter books and you are as fond of them and of J. K for creating them in all their magical glory, as I am. You will be shocked at first by the language she uses in The Casual Vacancy. Let me just say, that this is most definitely an adult novel. Suddenly my mental image of her is no longer of a fluttery sheltered lady who lives in the imaginary magical world she created, in her mansion but instead I see a woman has her eyes open, who is aware of all the hardships life can hand you and also has a deep understanding of social behaviour. 

Once you get over the fact that J. K is not afraid to swear constantly in her writing. You actually can't help but be taken in by the different characters and situations being played out by the story. 

I'll end with a little fun fact: it is said that the little town of Pagford is very similar to the town of Yate in Gloucester which was J. K. Rowling's birth place. Maybe, just as she used her childhood home as her inspiration for the Dursley's house in Harry Potter, she has used Yate as the basis for Pagford!

Since reading this book I have discovered that the BBC did a three part drama based on the story! I will definitely be watching it... if you are the kind of person who would rather watch the film than read the book. Firstly, shame on you! but maybe you would enjoy the TV adaptation. 

Our First Trip to London - Harry Potter Walking Tour!

This weekend Lewis and I embarked on our first trip of the year....

Back in January I saw a really good deal for train tickets and a show in London, so I decided to book it for us to go for Lewis' birthday (18th March). Before I knew it I was bugging my theatre loving friend to advise me on which show we should see, which seats were good and whether I was getting a good deal on the hotel. Back then, it seemed like an age away but it came round so quickly and we went last weekend! It was a complete surprise for Lewis, he came home from work after a half day and was welcomed by a back pack and me hiding in a cupboard! 

We stayed in the Travelodge at Marylebone, our room faced the station, I would definitely recommend the hotel. We paid £80 for the night which would be quite steep anywhere other than London. I thought it was pretty decent for where we were, so close to the train station and the underground.

Failing to keep up on the surprises I told Lewis once we had got to the hotel that we didn't have much time to chill. We needed to get ready to go out. We traveled on the underground to Charing Cross, which came out at Trafalgar Square. Its a lot smaller than I had imagined but I think that was the case for London in general. I thought everything was going to be overpowering and intimidating but it was great!

We ate at Garfunkels on The Strand. This was based on a recommendation from my theatre nut friend, she had assured me that the prices where none too different compared to your average TGI Fridays etc. One thing that had worried me when I was organising the trip had been the price food and drink in London. I was right to trust her, we both had fish and chips which was lovely and the waiters were all Italian and couldn't do enough for you. Afterwards we took a short walk a little further down The Strand and found the Lyceum Theatre, to see The Lion King, without much difficulty.

The seats we had, as you can see from the picture were brilliant. Especially when you consider that I had saved £20 on each ticket by buying through Amazon Local. There was no photography allowed during the performance so sorry for the lack of photos.

As someone who has never seen a West End show before, I thought it had everything. It captured a story from my childhood and brought it to life on the stage so brilliantly. If you have seen it before you will know that the actors are quite literally the animals, with the help on very clever costuming and props. The songs written by Elton John enhanced the atmosphere of each scene spectacularly and I left wanting to watch it again.

 

On the walk back to the underground we were able to see The National Gallery and the fountains all lit up in Trafalgar. Of course we couldn't resist the photo opportunity. There's me there with my Lion King merchandise, a T-Shirt, Mug and Programme. My mom always told me that you have to get a programme at these kinds of things for sentimental reasons and I just can't help myself.

We got the underground back and for some crazy reason decided to take the stairs rather than the escalator! You think its a great idea before you look up and realise that you can't actually see where the stairs end! That's Lewis at the top speeding up, leaving me trailing behind!

The next morning we were up and out quite early. The plan was to go on the London Eye before we had to get to Leicester Square for a Harry Potter walking tour. We got some great pictures while walking across The Golden Jubilee Bridge. We were actually quite blessed by the weather that morning but it went overcast in the afternoon, I was just glad it wasn't raining!

  

There was a huge queue for the London Eye, even at ten in the morning. We decided to just take a long walk along the river and back across the river and walk to Leicester Square. This meant we could walk past Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and The Houses of Parliament as well.

Lewis was in awe of this guard with his MP5, so of course he needed to take a picture. If I'm honest it was the first time I had seen an armed guard as well!

We did eventually find Leicester Square, we thought we were lost at one point but thankfully Lewis had Google Maps on his phone (which was needed countless times over the two days) and we soon found where we were supposed to go. We saw that there is an M and M World and had to take a look, it is without a doubt the most colourful place I have been in (other than Disney World of course!). M and M's were on everything, from mugs to luggage tags!

The Harry Potter Walking Tour

The following photos are from our Harry Potter walking tour. If you are a Harry Potter fan you would love this tour! You find out little snippets of extra information giving you insights into how they filmed the films and the reasons why certain buildings and streets in London were chosen. The guides were really knowledgeable about J.K herself and also pointed out interesting things to see along the way.

Cecil Court, the inspiration for Diagon Alley.

The Millennium Bridge, blown up by the Death Eaters at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Over 1 million pounds was spent taking pictures of this bridge from different angles and recreating it using CGI in order to blow it up. It was the most expensive scene across all of the films.

St Paul's Cathedral, they used the staircase which sits within the dome section of the building for the spiral staircase which leads up to Divination in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The old Ministry of Defence building, also the location of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince/ Deathly Hallows Part 1. This street is home to a red telephone box which is referred to as the visitors entrance to the Ministry of Magic by Mr Weasley. It is also the street where Harry, Ron and Hermione stun three Ministry workers in order to take there place using Polyjuice Potion.

One of the most interesting things we were told is that in real life there is a whole city of hidden rooms and corridors beneath the Ministry of Defense building. This makes it the perfect location for the Ministry of Magic it just adds to the magicalness of it all!

We walked through the infamous Borough Market, known for being the largest and oldest food markets in London. Unfortunately, we weren't able to sample any food because we would have lost our group, but the smells as you walked through were amazing! 

We crossed the Thames once more and were able to see London Bridge and the HMS Belfast relatively up close as well! 

Leadenhall Market, the original Leaky Cauldron location from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Imagine all the windows and the walls painted black and you'll see it!

Kings Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4. This was by far my favourite part of the tour. If you are ever in the vicinity of Kings Cross and you have some spare time, you need to go and get your photo taken entering Platform 9 3/4! They have someone there taking pictures and you can choose which house you would like to be in. You can buy the photos or just have someone take one for you on your phone, which is what we did.

They also have a Harry Potter gift shop, it's jam packed with merchandise and you can play with the wands and get yourself some Chocolate Frogs or a scarf of your own even. 

We only spent a day and a half in London and although it doesn't seem like much time, we were able to fit a lot in! We could have stayed an extra night and made it into a weekend, then we would have been able to have a little more chill time. We will definitely be going back, it was a lovely break, and navigating the city was much much easier than I thought it would be, there is so much to see and do.

If you are interested in going on the Walking Tour, this is the company we went with. They do loads of other tours as well!

Amazon Local always have deals on the latest West End shows, click here to have a look at what they have on at the moment.