Mål Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner Review*

[AD- This post includes a product I was sent in exchange for a review. As always, all photos, words, thoughts, and opinions are my own].

I've always been a bit of a stationery addict and I love organising my life with a good to-do-list, so when a new company called Mål Paper approached me and invited me to review their new Daily Goal Setter planner*, I immediately said 'yes!'

As someone who prefers to coordinate her life on paper instead of on screen, I was intrigued by the planner, and couldn't wait to find out if it could help me organise my life more efficiently.

Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint!

The Daily Goal Setter* from Mål Paper is a beautiful hardback planner made from soft textured faux leather. It features a stylish, Scandinavian-inspired minimalistic design with a tasteful modern font in gold on the cover and spine, and comes in a choice of three colours: black, grey, and pink. I chose the pink because we all know I can't resist some colour, and I know many of you can't, either! It's a pretty salmon-pink in colour, and it looks effortlessly stylish instead of childish or garish, as pink stationery sometimes does.

When the goal setter arrived on my doorstep, I was instantly impressed by the fantastic quality of it. It's sturdy and very well made, and looks built to last. I'm confident it will survive regular use and being carried around in your bag to use on the go with minimal wear and tear.

A gratitude journal and planner in one, the Daily Goal Setter, is the perfect planner to help you effectively organise your life, optimise your potential, and achieve your goals. Whether you want to focus on your work, blogging, school, or home life, this planner has everything you need to make your life as stress free and productive as possible, while helping you think more positively and mindfully.

It begins with a cheat sheet section with plenty of tips for using the planner, and how to effectively set and achieve your goals, which you should find helpful if you don't know where to start. It leads on to sections for planning long, medium, and short-term goals with room to include when, why, and how you hope to achieve them, and motivational quotes at the bottom of each page to inspire you.

Next you'll find month and week in-review pages where you can record important tasks, and review and rate your month or week. 

The month in review pages also have room for notes, and include an undated calendar which could be helpful for tracking blogging or business stats and expenses, noting down appointments, or using to keep track of schedules. I see myself utilising this section for planning blog content in the future.

Pages for daily tasks naturally make up the majority of the planner, with a full page provided for you to fill each day. Half of the page is allocated to a to-do-list with a column for prioritising your goals beside it, and you should have more than enough room to jot everything down even on the busiest of days. The daily task pages also give you the opportunity to switch off from the stresses of work for a moment and take a few minutes to reflect and appreciate the little things in life each day, which I love as I try to look for the good in every day. It encourages you to list three things to be grateful for, pen some daily affirmations, record some great things that happened, and also rate your day, so even if you've been having the worst day, you can try to finish it by focusing on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives. These are definitely my favourite features of the goal setter and I really enjoy taking a few minutes to reflect on them whenever I use the planner.

This 244-page planner has room for six months of planning in total, and it's filled with quality 100gsm ivory paper. The paper is a decent thickness, and should accept most pens with no or minimal bleeding.

The great thing about the goal setter is that the pages aren't dated like a traditional diary. You just fill in the next page as and when you need to, so it's ideal if, like me, you don't have a busy schedule every day of the week, and don't want to have a planner full of wasted paper. Not only is this kinder to the environment, but it's more cost-effective, too. 

At the back of the planner, you will also find lined pages for notes, a calendar for 2019 and 2020, and a document folder attached to the back cover to keep important slips of paper safe and secure. There are two grey ribbons for helping you keep your place, and influential quotes from the greats are dotted throughout the planner to inspire you. They really have thought of everything.

Overall, I think the Mål Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner is a fantastic planner. It's beautifully designed, great quality, well structured, and has everything you need to help you stay organised and turn your goals in to achievements. It's an ideal planner for organising everything from work to blogging to uni, and it even encourages us to be more mindful of our lives. What more could you ask for from a daily planner?!

The Daily Goal Setter is reasonably priced at just £20.95, and and you can buy yourself a copy from Mål Paper here.

Do you think the Daily Goal Setter could help you organise your life more efficiently?

*The Mål Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner featured in this post was gifted to me in exchange for a review. As always, all photos, words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.

Wednesday Wish List

Just a quick wish list from me this week. I'm currently struggling with fibromyalgia and arthritis flares at the same time, and I'm having to admit defeat as I'm too tired and in too much pain to work any longer. There's still lots of gorgeous things to drool over, but just a little less than usual.

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I'm loving these amazing statement necklaces from Tatty Devine.

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Erstwilder's new Art Deco collection launched yesterday morning, and while it's not my favourite collection ever, there are so many gorgeous pieces in the range. I think my favourites are the cat, ship, horse, heron, and Chrysler building. There are lots of other designs to choose from, too, and you can find a list of stockists around the world here.

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I've used up a few of my Body Shop bath and body essentials and need to restock ASAP. As you can probably tell, my favourite fragrance is satsuma- it's been my go-to since my early teens and I still can't get enough of it. It's the best and the products are amazing. I couldn't live without the body butter, body puree, shower gel, or soap. There's 25% off online at the moment, so I think I may take advantage of the discount and stock up this week.

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And I also have my eye on these beautiful dresses and skirt from Hell Bunny. The prints are fantastic.

If you'd like to see more of the fashion and beauty pieces on my wish list, check out my style and beauty wish list boards on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Wednesday Wish Lists here for similar inspiration.

Any favourites this week?

Sunday Favourites #381

Who's ready for some Sunday Favourites?

This Abe Simpson coffee mug from Truffle Shuffle is the best mug ever!

Love to cook from scratch? Club Crafted have created some free printable recipe cards to help you organise all your family recipes, and they're pretty, too.

Club Crafted can also show you how to sew this cute vinyl bucket bag.

I love this pencil clutch from Studio DIY!

Damask Love have created this DIY circle tote bag out of woven placemats! How clever is that?!

If you're looking to craft something a little different, A Kailo Chic Life can teach you how to make these pretty floral cocktail glasses!

If you own a Cricut machine, Club Crafted's DIY leather personalised luggage tags would be perfect to make ahead of your summer travels to help you spot your luggage on the carousel.

I love Oh Joy's home office- especially the mix of colours on the walls.

These whipped cream fruit Jello shots from A Subtle Revelry look so tasty.

I really like this print and quote from Have A Nice Dayy.

I want to get my hands on this cherry stripe cross stitch kit from The Make Arcade. The design is so simple, but it looks so cheerful.

I don't know how to knit, but I'd love to make this adorable mini faux fox trophy head from Sincerely Louise.

I love this idea for pom pom ice cream gift wrap from White House Crafts. I'm definitely giving this a try next time I have presents to wrap.

These rainbow wall hangings from Whisker Woven are amazing.

I'm loving Little Big Bell's gorgeous ombre pastel upcycled chest of drawers. I want to do this to all of my drawered furniture.

Little Big Bell also have the dreamiest home office.

And these motivational quote embroideries from M Creative J's Positive Plants collection are both beautiful and inspiring.

If you'd like to see more stuff like this, check out my Pinterest and Tumblr, which are both packed with inspiring images. You can also find all previous Sunday Favourites posts here for similar inspiration.

Thanks for reading!

Any favourites this week?

Wednesday Wish List

Here are a few things I've got my eye on at the moment...

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This week, I discovered a new (to me) jewellery brand called Rock The Panda, who make amazing laser-cut acrylic jewellery right here in England. Their necklaces and brooches look incredible, especially the puffin couple necklace, which has completely stolen my heart. I need it to wear on  future trips to Cornwall!

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I wish I could afford these amazing handmade wicker bags from Australian brand Wicker Darling. I'm obsessed with the toucan! It has to be one of the most incredible bags I've ever seen! The elephant is adorable, too, and there's also a unicorn currently available to preorder. I want them all!

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La Vidriola have released a colourful new collection of jewellery called Abstract Life, and I particularly love these fantastic succulent, mushroom, and heart designs. One of each, please!

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Lady Vintage have restocked a couple of swing dresses I had my eye on ages ago, and it's so tempting to make a purchase. I was disappointed to miss out on the kingfisher print the first time around and the floral print is equally stunning, so it's taking everything in me to refrain from spending. I know I can't buy anything else this week as I did a big book haul on Monday, so I'll just have to hope they're still available in a couple of weeks.

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These lemon print dresses from Dolly and Dotty are stunning, and look like the perfect summer day dresses. They also happen to go up to a UK size 26.

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I love these wildflower acrylic pieces from I Am Acrylic. I think they'd look great with a floral dress for summer. With the red poppies, they could even work as Remembrance Day jewellery!

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And these handmade acrylic brooches from Australian brand Deer Arrow are too cute! Their designs always sell out incredibly quickly, so get in there fast if you have your heart set on either of these two!

If you'd like to see more of the fashion pieces on my wish list, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Wednesday Wish list posts here.

Has anything caught your eye this week?

Currently | July 2019

It's been ages since I last sat down and wrote a 'Currently' post about some of the things I've been doing and enjoying lately (more than four months, apparently- oops!), so I think it's about time for a long-over-due catch-up.

Here's where I chat about what I've been reading, watching, crafting, buying, loving, and enjoying lately- and so much more.

As usual, let's start with what I've been reading...

Reading

I'm really enjoying reading again at the moment, and have been reading so much lately. I've been making an effort to read every day for at least an hour, and I've only failed on days when the arthritis in my hands has been too bad to hold a book open, or my eyelids have been too heavy from fatigue for me to read. Even then, I've given it my best shot.

Since my last 'Currently' post in March, I've finished seventeen books- eleven of which I read in the last month alone! I know it's not a lot by some people's standards, but it's been a while since I've read so much in such a short space of time, and I'm really pleased with my effort. I've finished twenty-three books so far this year, which is already more than I read during the whole of last year and we're only half way through this one. I'm now only two books away from completing my Goodreads reading goal for 2019! I guess I underestimated myself by setting it at only twenty five... I may have to increase it to keep myself on my toes!

I've read some brilliant books over the last few months, including (in order read):

♥ The Extinction Trials Rebel by S. M. Wilson.

♥ Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott.

♥ An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim.

♥ The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.

♥ The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe.

♥ The Amateurs by Liz Harmer.

♥ The Giver by Lois Lowry.

♥ The Passengers by John Marrs.

♥ The Next Together by Lauren James.

♥ The One by John Marrs.

♥ The Last Beginning by Lauren James.

♥ The Good Samaritan by John Marrs.

♥ When You Disappeared by John Marrs.

♥ Welcome to Wherever You Are by John Marrs.

♥ Don't Wake Up by Liz Lawler.
♥ Her Last Move by John Marrs,
♥ I'll Find You by Liz Lawler.

Lots of 'thes' and quite a few John Marrs novels- I've fallen in love with his writing style and disturbing storylines after reading The Passengers and The One a few weeks ago and now I can't stop reading his books. His novels are amazing.

From all of the books I've read lately and listed above, I'd say my favourites were An Ocean of Minutes, The One, The Passengers and Don't Wake Up- they're all brilliant, five star reads that I'd highly recommend. Would anybody like me to write some mini reviews of the books I've read so far this year, or are book reviews not your thing?

Watching

I've watched several new-to-me films over the last few months including The Zoo Keeper's Wife, The Light Between Oceans, Adrift, Sully, Brain on Fire, and Flowers in the Attic, all of which I enjoyed. I've also been rewatching some old favourites like Me Before You, Phantom of the Opera, Arrival, Australia, What Women Want, The Longest Ride, and Little Women. There are probably lots more I've forgotten about, but my brain does not want to work right now. 

On TV, I've been loving Chernobyl, The Big Bang Theory, The Handmaid's Tale, and Stranger Things. Chernobyl was fantastic, but I definitely expected it to be more fast-paced and explosive, so the style came as a surprise. I really enjoyed the final series of The Big Bang Theory, and loved the finale- although, I'm disappointed that Raj didn't get his happy ever after and find true love. I felt like he was overlooked in the final episode while all the other characters got their happy endings. Does anybody else agree? I've since moved on to The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things, which have both been epic so far. I fucking love Hopper, and drugged Steve and Robin! I finally watched the finale this weekend, which was amazing, but turned me in to an emotional wreck. The only problem is, I now can't get the theme tune to The Never Ending Story out of my head and I want to scream! My sister used to drive me mad watching that movie on repeat when we were growing up, and I can't stand it! I thought I'd finally escaped that film forever years ago. *Cries internally.* That scene in Stranger Things was epic, though!

Listening

I haven't listened to a lot of new music lately, but I really like Gloria by The Lumineers, and I'm looking forward to checking out their new album when it comes out later in the year. Other than that, I've just been listening to my usual favourites, and enjoying lots of cheesy eighties tracks.

Playing

I'm still addicted to Animal Crossing New Leaf, and have been playing it virtually every day so far this year. I probably shouldn't admit that I've lost over 500 hours to this game since Christmas, huh? Yeah, I was shocked to learn that, too. *Facepalm.* It's so addictive! I'm currently busy landscaping my town with paths and hedges, and trying to make it look super pretty and colourful by colour-coordinating my flowers and trees. It's a work in progress, but I think it looks pretty cute so far. Here's a few screencaps of what I've been working on lately:

I've also been sporadically playing another Animal Crossing game called Happy Home Designer, which you might like if you enjoy the home decorating element of the Animal Crossing games. You basically decorate and landscape homes for villagers of the town following a set theme, like polka dots, minimalist, modern, fruit, a specific colour etc. As a home designer, you also get put in charge of building the town's amenities like a school, hospital, and café. I enjoy using my creativity, so I find it really fun, and can easily lose a couple of hours to it at a time,

If you don't have a Nintendo DS, try Pocket Camp on your iPhone. I haven't played on it much yet, but it's similar to New Leaf, and it's free from the App Store, too!

Stitching

I haven't actually been able to do much cross stitching so far this year as my arthritis has been so bad it's been too painful to sew. I've only managed to do a little more of the mandala cross stitch I showed you back in March, so I'm feeling pretty unaccomplished right now. Fingers crossed (or not because that's also too painful) the arthritis in my hands lets up soon so I can get it finished, and get back in to stitching regularly again. 

Crafting

I haven't managed to do much crafting, either, which is really bumming me out. I miss using my creativity! I think the last things I crafted were some pastel-coloured Easter crackers in April. I used cracker kits from Little Crafty Bugs, tied them with satin ribbons, and glued little pom poms on to them in contrasting colours. I then filled them with mini Easter chocolates and scratch cards. They were so much fun to make and looked so cute on our Easter table. I was hoping to blog about them at Easter but I wasn't able to, so I'm saving them up to blog about next year. I did make similar crackers last year, though, and you can find a tutorial for those here.

Wanting

more concert tickets, some new books, all the new Lyra dresses from Lady Vintage, everything from the new Erstwilder Endangered Animals collection (I've collected six of the brooches so far), and a Nintendo Switch Lite so I can play the new Animal Crossing Game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, when it's released next March. It looks awesome!

Needing

a hair cut and a holiday. I've only left the house a handful of times for non-medical appointments so far this year, and I haven't been on holiday in a couple of years, so I could definitely do with a break, and some new adventures. It's not going to happen this year, but my sister and I are hoping to spend a week in Cornwall together next year once my brother-in-law finishes his posting in Germany and they get transferred back to England. I'm excited at the thought of getting back to one of my favourite places again- even if it's not for over a year, and not even set in stone yet. I need to believe my feet will make contact with the Cornish sand again soon.

Buying

Since March, I've bought several Erstwilder brooches and pairs of earrings (which I'll be blogging about soon), the Cath Kidston positivity journal and patchwork duvet set (on sale), some Body Shop Satsuma bath and body products (essentials I'd used up), tickets to see Boyzone live again in October, and quite a few books. I can never say 'no' to new books. I also recently treated myself to the red Russian Doll convertible backpack / cross body bag from Vendula London. It reappeared in the sale online at half price, after selling out months ago, and when I went to checkout, another 10 percent was taken off the price, so I snagged this beautiful £77.50 bag for under £35!! Bargain! I think it's going to be perfect for my next lot of concert adventures! (Please note, I have previously worked with Vendula London, but both of the bags in the above photo were purchased with my own money).

Winning

I entered a rainbow mandala cross stitch I made in to Hobbycraft's sewing-themed June Make of the Month competition last month, and forgot all about it, until last week when I found out I came in as a runner up! I'm absolutely thrilled- even if I can't understand how anybody would deem my cross stitching worthy of a prize. I won a £20 Hobbycraft gift card, which will definitely come in handy. I just can't decide whether to spend it on some fabric for making hoop art, or to save it to put towards my annual Christmas craft haul this autumn. (It's scary how quickly it's coming around!)

Celebrating

Last month, we celebrated my older sister's 40th birthday. She and her husband came over from Germany for the weekend to spend it with us, and although she couldn't do anything big as she was waiting on surgery on her knee and could barely walk, we had a lovely day popping in to Oxford for a spot of shopping, going out for lunch, and then spending the rest of it at home with some good food and a Patisserie Valerie birthday cake. I filled the house with so many decorations- confetti balloons, word balloons, giant number balloons, bunting, paper flowers... I just couldn't stop myself. Thankfully, my Mum and brother-in-law helped me put them up because I was so shattered from leaving the house I would never have managed it all by myself! I was so worn out by the time I'd finished, I didn't actually have the strength to take any photos of them (the horror!), but one room was decorated colourfully, the other mostly gold. The sister seemed to like them, so job well done.

I also celebrated my own birthday on the 2nd, but I'm going to write a separate post about that soon. 

Loving

the sunshine we've had lately. The blue skies and sunshine have been gorgeous, and have put me in such a good mood... even if the heat and humidity have been a bit unbearable at times, too.

Enjoying

a slice or two of chocolate Patisserie Valerie birthday cake, on both mine and my sister's birthdays. The parents got me a chocolate Patisserie Valerie cake with layers of chocolate and Chantilly cream, strawberries, raspberries, and chocolate curls. It was amazing! I've only ever had homemade or supermarket birthday cakes, so it was such a treat.

Day Tripping

On my birthday, I also ended up taking an impromptu day trip to The Cotswold Wildlife Park with my Mum. Even though i've been there dozens of times before (I've lived locally all my life), we had another lovely visit taking in all the animals and plants, and it was a good opportunity to play with my Instax camera, too. I've only left the house a handful of times all year, so I was particularly happy to get out and about for a while, and just spend some time in the fresh air and sunshine. It's the little things in life...

I'm not going to dedicate a whole post to my visit this time, as you're probably sick to death of my wildlife park posts, but I will share a few photos when I blog about my birthday really soon.

And that's what's been happening in my life lately, minus all the boring health stuff, which I'll go in to separately another day...

What about you? What have you been enjoying lately?

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