Charlie Tamara Piper

Earlier this month, I shared how much I've been enjoying my Kate Spade planner to keep myself organized. My only knock on the planner was that it didn't come with dividers to separate the months to make planning even easier. I searched high and low for dividers that I'd like but I realized that the only way to get what I was looking for was to craft it out! This was such a fun crafting project and I am so happy with the end result. Here's how I customized my planner to make it even more functional. Get ready to measure! I had the perfect book of crafting paper to create a black/white/grey/gold color palette for my planner. I cut fourteen pieces of card stock down to the size of my planner by using an original insert as a template. I toyed around with making tabs to create more traditional dividers but I actually preferred going without it. I then laid out my dividers in the order that I wanted to place them in my planner. Time to make the lab...

This summer I reviewed the Moleskine planners that I began using when I first got into paper planners a few years ago. I loved how functional, light and easy they were to use. My Moleskine planners served me well and I'd still recommend them to anyone looking for a new planner or to get into paper planning. But as I talked about in my original planner post, finding the right planner is all about analyzing how you use it and how it fits into your lifestyle. I found myself needing a single planner that could store everything - sticky notes, pens, highlighters and additional notes relevant to my planning needs - in one single item so I could avoid carrying a separate notebook and pencil case to keep everything else I needed with me handy. I also wanted to invest in a very sturdy, refillable planner that I could customize to fit my needs as my planning needs evolve. I settled on the Kate Spade New York Grove Street planner  after considering the ways in which I'd ...

I'm back from a long break with my latest post all about backpacks! I made the switch from shoulder bags to backpacks a few years ago and have been in love ever since. I love being completely hands-free and my shoulders don't hurt in the way they used to when I lugged around a shoulder bag.  There are a ton of great backpack options on the market these days as backpacks have gone from school kid style to working professional chic. Here are my fave four backpacks for carrying my items in style no matter where I'm going: My floral Eldi backpack by Vince Camuto is my newest addition to my backpack collection but it's earned a spot in the favorites already. It's the largest one that I own but it still manages to retain a slim enough profile to not be too overwhelming. It's got plenty of storage pockets and even a zipped back pocket for storing a laptop or iPad. Plus, the design is colorful and playful enough to make it a really fun accessory on top...