TOPAZ HORIZON

Today is the first of December and if you're looking for a planner to use for next year, let me review for you the Kate Spade 2016 agenda.


I bought mine from an Instagram seller back in September. It's the 17-month 2016 medium agenda so the planners starts in August. Why? I seriously don't know why but I'm guessing it's because school in the U.S. of A. starts in August (September?) so their year starts that month. Someone else told me fiscal years also start in August, September.

So anyway! The review!

The Kate Spade agenda comes in two sizes and four designs. Large and medium, and black-and-white stripes, gold polka dots, one in pale blue and one in green with the words "She is quick and curious and playful and strong," and a fun print. I wanted to get the striped one (I love stripes!) but the IG seller only had the polka-dots so that's what I bought!

Let's start with the cover. I like that it's hard-bound and can withstand the abuse of being used daily. I don't like that it gets so dirty, though. I wipe it down every day and it still gets these weird stains. Maybe Kate Spade should laminate their covers. I mean, I don't want to cover it in plastic!!!

Inside, the polka-dot agenda has a pale pink IFC and IBC (that's inside front cover and inside back cover). On the IFC is the owner's information. Don't mind the washi tape—I made a mistake with my phone number so I had to cover it. The first "page" is a pocket folder. I put a small Moleskine notebook there for my extra notes, plus other stuff like stickers, receipts and raffle stubs. The IBC is empty so I wrote a reminder on it.

The first real page is just a blank space so I taped a passion card from Chasing Dreams. I love Rhiza Oyos's passion cards! Her shop is closed for now, though.

It's not just passion cards I post in my agenda, I also tape photos between each month! Hi, Vito!

There's the calendars and special dates for 2016 and 2017...

The months are separated by polka-dotted pages, which you can easily find because of the laminated tabs.

I use my month spread for scheduling blog posts. This one's for December 2016 because my current December spread is soooo messy!

There are 15 pages for notes, which I find generous. Since I got this agenda in late September, I'm using the August and September pages for notes, too. See those tabs with pink washi tape? I use those now for notes on my blog projects and for BABY Magazine.
The agenda is a weekly layout. I didn't think this horizontal layout would work for me, to be honest. But I like that I can see my week in one spread. I also put my appointments here instead of in the month's spread. This way, I can see if my day is full. If I have many appointments in one day, that day fills up and there's no space (on the page and in my day!) for more things to do!

I used to have a daily planner, you see, and I fill up the whole page with To Do's and I get so exhausted! But with the Kate Spade's super limited space for each day, I can actually stop and say, "Okay, day is full. Move the rest to the other days!" This has given me so much freedom to breathe!

I've had my agenda for more than two months and so far, I am loving it. In fact, I have another one! It was given to me by my Skechers family as a birthday gift. Thanks so much, Skechers!

If you also want a Kate Spade 2016 agenda, they are now available at National Book Store and Powerbooks. The large size is P2,399 and the medium one is P1,999. Funnily enough, the Kate Spade stores don't have them. I checked. Don't buy from eBay.ph (I looked) because the sellers charge double. Nyek.

How about you? What planner do you use and why?

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I'm obsessed with the Japanese patterns book!

Used my favorite colors—orange and pink—and then used gold and silver, too.

My son Vito helped me color these "rainbow umbrellas." That's what he calls them.

I'm still doing the sky page while Vito does the hills page. That's what he calls them, too!

For the animal lover.

For the fan of all things pretty.

For the woman who is intentional in everything she does.

For people who like repetition and symmetry.

• The promo runs from November 15 to December 15 at all Fully Booked Metro Manila branches. Participating branches include: Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, Fully Booked Alabang Town Center, Fully Booked Rockwell, Fully Booked Katipunan, Fully Booked SM Mall of Asia, Fully Booked SM Megamall, Fully Booked SM North EDSA, Fully Booked Trinoma, Fully Booked Greenhills, Fully Booked Greenbelt 5, Fully Booked Century City Mall, Fully Booked Eastwood Mall, Fully Booked Taft and Fully Booked Glorietta 3. 
• Every P300 purchase on adult coloring books entitles the shopper one (1) raffle entry to join the My Colorful Christmas promo. Only single-receipt purchases are qualified to claim raffle entries. Receipts used for claiming raffle entries will be stamped in the back and any excess amount in the receipt will be considered void and cannot be used in the next redemption. 
• Just show your original receipt/s to the Fully Booked Customer Service counter to verify the purchase and fill up the raffle entry/s. Drop completed entries in the designated My Colorful Christmas raffle drop box at the branch you’re in. Keep your raffle stubs safe as you’ll need this for claiming prizes. 
• Fifty (50) winners will be drawn on Monday, December 21. Winners will be notified by registered email and other contact information provided in the entry. 
• Prizes include a 10-piece coloring book set, coloring materials, Fully Booked gift certificates, and a 2016 Planner. 

I attended a lovely little lunch with the wonderful people of Burt's Bees recently. I hardly ever attend events because of the terrible traffic but I ventured out because I'm a longtime fan of Burt's Bees. I think I've been using their lip balms for more than a decade now!

Before I get to my story about the lunch, here are my favorite BB products:

Makeup remover wipes, cuticle cream and lip balm. I always have these!

Okay, now why did Burt's Bees throw an intimate lunch? Well, because their cute holiday gift sets are now available in stores and from Zalora! Here they are:

Here's a detailed look:
This is the Outdoor Adventures gift set, for your friend who likes to travel. Includes the Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm, Res-Q Ointment, Hand Salve and Intense Hydration Treatment Mask.

Set comes in a zippered red tin for only P495!

This is the Classic Feast from the Garden gift set. I love that all these goodies come in a zippered canvas pouch—so perfect for kikay kits or for traveling! This gift set has Soap Bark & Chamomile Facial Cleanser, Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub, Milk & Honey Body Lotion, Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, and Shea Butter Hand Cream.

Five products in a fab pouch for the shockingly low price of just P995!!!


These are lip balms in cute character packs. Each tube is only P225 so grab a bunch to distribute to your girlfriends, your kids' teachers, your officemates, etc!
If you want to see the rest of the Burt's Bees gift sets (oh yes, there are LOTS more!), check out Zalora here. 

Visit Burt's Bees website for more details. Like them on Facebook. Follow them on Instagram (@burtsbeesph). Remember: Burt's Bees is now sold online through Zalora!

Thanks, Burt's Bees, for the goodies! I'm giving all of these cute Burt's Bees gift sets to my fellow editors at BABY Magazine. Yey!

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