Don't Mind Our Mess: Let's Look: My Calendar

Good morning! Today I am linking up with Erika and Shay for Let's Look. The topic today is one of my absolute favorite things... my calendar! If you've been reading here for long, you know that I am obsessed with my planner. I am one of those crazy planner people.

This year's planner

I have used a variety of planners before, including the Erin Condren planner and the Lilly Pulitzer planner. While I liked both of those a lot, the layout didn't quite work for me. Then one day a few years back I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond during Back to School season and they had a big section of planners at the front of the store. As I was walking by, I noticed a Happy Planner planner pack and started flipping through it. I was instantly hooked and have been a die-hard Happy Planner girl ever since.

I didn't realize these things had such a cult following until this past year. Apparently I'm not alone :)

Here are the reasons why I love the Happy Planner so much:

(old pictures)

- The Layout: I love the month at a glance page, and then the way the weeks are split up. I prefer a horizontal version to a vertical and both my old Erin Condren and Lilly Pulitzer had vertical weekly pages. I can't really explain my preference other than I am a very visual person and the it is easier for me to glance at my week and see everything. To each his (her) own, right?

- The Stickers: Ya'll, I wish I was artsy. I follow so many people who doodle/draw/jazz up their calendars and share them on social media/Pinterest and I would LOVE to be able to do that. But since God did not bless me with 1 ounce of artistic talent, I need a little help jazzing it up. The Happy Planner company makes several sticker addition packs for your planner and I love, love, LOVE them.

This year I grabbed the Super Mom pack (above) and another of the Seasonal pack (below) since my other one was finally running out.

They make it so easy and fun to turn your planner into something bright and happy.

- They're 18 Month Calendars: As a teacher, the "beginning of the year" will always and forever be August to me. I like to start with something fresh at the beginning of each year when I am motivated, organized and most on top of my game. I love having a calendar that runs August-August (technically its July-December the following year, but I pretty much use the August-August months).

Other tidbits:

Like I said, I do not have one single artsy bone in my body, so I like to do what I can to brighten up my planner and make it more "fun" and "happy" for me to look at. I love to use colored pens, and while I use a variety of pens, Flair pens and Staedtlers are usually my go-to's. If you like a super fine point pen, I recommend the Staedtler's.