To write or not to write.

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved stationary. 

The beginning of the school year always heralded the purchase of new equipment, when you suddenly had a reason not to hang on to the ink stained, full of pencil shavings, and now slightly out of style, pencil case.  What joy!  New pencils, new pens, new coloured pencils.  If you were extra lucky, or just rich, then these would be the rather expensive Caran D'ache type.  Quite the status symbol at school during the 1970's and also a slightly cheaper 'keeping up with the Jones's' than the latest Nike Blazers, Iphone or Blackberry.  For those of you who are older than teenagers you might need me to point out that the Blazers are nothing to do with the school uniform but rather the street uniform that is trainers. However as they're actually of vintage style you may well already know.

As much as I loved my new pencil case and it's contents - nothing, but nothing surpasses the emotions that were triggered by 'the new exercise book'.  If the former was joy then the latter was joy, joy.  So good they named it twice. The moment that you smelt the newness, followed then by tenderly putting it down in order to open it to the first page.  Carefully, so as to not bend the cover.  Your hand smoothing down the unused, unsullied, unspoilt sheet of lined paper, graph paper, blank paper, whatever the subject, and as you begin to write you would promise yourself to write neatly and never ever make a mistake.  It was a treasured time that would soon disappear with a splodgy ink pen, a dirty rubber, and an imperfect student.  And the exercise book was soon to be found bent and grubby amongst all the others in your rucksack, bag or satchel.

Ah the memories.

Notebooks, journals, are still a love today.  And what pretty versions they come in.  I will never tire of receiving a new notebook.  It was my birthday recently and I was given one.  It is so beautiful that I lovingly pick it up most days. It is so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you.  So here it is.

And here is one of the stunning pages that I will get to write on.

I just can't wait.