Ever since high school, I’ve always been writing about my life, thoughts and experiences in a yearly journal. I don’t know why, but it’s probably because I’m the type of person who likes to preserve my own memories of certain events that definitely made a mark in my life, and in the future I’d like to relive them by browsing through my old journals.

Over the years I’ve used lots of notebooks as my journals. Some I managed to fill in a year’s worth of memories; some just for a few months. I’m pretty particular with what I use (OC much!) because I’d like to make sure that the size, texture of paper, design and quality is perfect for my intention (which is to write/doodle).

Here are some of the notebooks I used over the years. It really depends on what type are you: text-heavy or more artsy-doodle-ish (what a word, lol).

(2008 - text heavy journal. Fall Out Boy concert photo there!)

(2011. Photos + text + doodles. It kind of got bulky after I finished using it!)

(2012 - current journal. Text + doodles + stickers. Trying to make it simple and clean and as neat as possible!)

I got my 2012 journal from Muji, thanks to my best friend. I decorated it with bunting shapes I cut out from fabric stickers to make it a little more festive. 

And since one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to spend more time being creative, I use a lot of materials for journal writing.

Washi Tape from Hey Kessy / DIY Fabric Stickers / KCCO stickers from Ina (YuX) / Dong-A Playon Color pens (you can get these pens in various colors at National Bookstore)

I recently bought some stickers from Papemelroti. They’re also great for decorating and designing your journal, plus, the quotes are inspiring too.

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My personal preferences in buying notebooks for journals:

For the text-heavy type: go for ruled notebooks. It’s much more convenient for writing and makes it much more organized.

For the artsy-doodle type: go for plain notebooks. It can stimulate your creativity and make you more enticed to write. If you prefer designed ones, there are also notebooks that have designs on the pages already (such as my Project 365 notebook last year).

As for the size, I recommend A5 sized ones (the one we normally use for school; half of A4) if you’re not really particular with making it convenient (although imo this size is the best size for writing!). 

Good luck finding the perfect journal and have fun jotting down your every day thoughts! :)

<3 Abbey

P.S. I recommend buying notebooks at bookstores which carry journals (like NBS, Fully Booked etc). My favorite brands would have to be Moleskine, Muji, Papemelroti & Yeah! notebooks. You can also find some nice ones at Divi, and of course much better if you buy notebooks abroad because I’m sure the quality is much better :)