This week has been has been relatively light and easy. My main focus is to continue to look for employment and with the economy in the States being in such a horrid state and I don't necessarily live in a big city ... well, it's big in their standards, jobs are hard to come by.

This week's quote is from T.S. Elliot. "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." There really isn't a rhyme or reason to which quote I choose to use every week.

It's a month before my holiday to the East Coast, which I'm excited about. I've started to compile a list of what outfits I'd like to bring. Michael has been reminding me on a daily basis that we can't bring too much since the airline charges us $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second checked bag. If I can't fit it all in one suitcase, then I can't bring it. There's also the issue of weight. If I'm to bring one bag, I have to leave enough room for the stuff I'm going to be buying whilst I'm there.

The only busy day this week was on Wednesday where I catered desserts to about 40+ people for a meeting. I've made chocolate mint whoopie pies and brownies. Other than that, Michael and I have been prepping to paint the back deck patio of the house.

My week was light. How was yours?

It's late in the year when I decided to use my A5 Filofax The Original in navy blue. My life has been organised and operating in the Compact Saffiano for the last year and a half. I figured, why not use the A5 as my journalling binder. 

For the last four weeks, I've been using it as my journal.

The inserts are my own. I've finally figured out how to make and print inserts on iWork's Pages for Mac after a few trial and errors. More on that on a different post.

In the diary pages, I've put a quote in the notes section. It's to remind me to stay positive and to get through the week if it seems hard. I've also put a few appointments and somewhat colour coded my week. I've got an entry for Outfit of the Day which is in purple. Chores are in orange. Holiday is in pink, since after all, travelling and exploring different places is fun.

 I haven't got the journalling quite figured out yet. I have been doodling in it too. 

So, how do you use your A5 Filofax?

I have been consider switching from my beloved Filofax Compact Saffiano in Aqua to my Kate Spade Agenda. I love how light and slim the compact Saffiano is, but I wanted a change and only for the summer. I will switch back to the Saffiano when I leave on holiday to the East Coast in the autumn.

My set-up has relatively changed since I last posted, which was quite a bit ago. I promise to post more frequent. 

On my dashboard I have a clear flyleaf that came with the agenda on top of my quotes page. I love looking at this page when I first open my organiser as it gives me motivation to go through the day. On my Saffiano, I actually had quote page and the Filofax registration page in a protective covering, which I made by slipping them in a quart sized Ziplock Bag, cutting it and putting washi tape on the corner to punch the plastic better as well as to protect it. With the Kate Spade Agenda, I have no need to put the registration page on it.

After the quotes page, I have a "Keep Calm and Click On" DIY Project Life card that I downloaded from MissTiina. I pasted it on a 3x5 index card, punched holes and used the Recollections corner round punch I bought from Michaels, which sadly the corners a bit too round, but it works. I wanted to add a pop of colour to the plain Filofax dividers.

Next up is my diary. I know this page is blank, but I had so many private details in the week prior and is too lazy to blur out the info, I decided that this is a much better route.

Right before my To-Do list, I've got another DIY Project Life Card with the caption, Life is Good. I've placed the card on there to remind me that life is indeed good and also add a bit of colour to the otherwise plain divider.

I've also changed up the divider tabs. I'm using the Martha Stewart Tabs. The Filofax Divider tabs are so small. Using the Martha Stewart tabs, I'm able to get to what I really need quickly.

In the Notes section, I have some Filofax Note inserts and a few sheets of Post-Its. I used to carry the whole Post-It pad, but I find that I really don't need all of them. So I decided to carry a few sheets at a time within the notes section of my organiser.

The last tab in my organiser is the Reading Challenge. The divider is made out of heavy scrapbooking paper and I've also added another DIY Project Life card. This time, I was able to find a smaller round corner punch that made all four corners of this card a bit more neater.

The Reading Challenge Insert has also changed. I wanted to keep it simple, so I changed it to add a blank space to insert the year of the Reading Challenge. So far, I've read ten books ... no make that 11 since I just recently finished "Single in the City" by Michele Gorman.

In the back, I've got all the Info Sheets that came with my Filofax. I could have omitted these sheets, but I like to refer to them. The States still uses the Imperial system. With these sheets, it makes it easier for me to convert from Metric to Imperial and Imperial to Metric without pulling out a calculator.

In the back, I've also got a business card holder that holds my library card and two Starbucks gift cards. In my Saffiano, the Starbucks gift cards are held in the front pocket so I can get to them easier, but since this organiser doesn't have that option, the cards were moved to the back.

Lastly, I've got a few Martha Stewart Peel and Stick labels (if that's what it's called. I purchased it a long time ago and have misplaced the packaging) as well as a post-it note with my initial. I bought the post-it note at the Dollar Store a while back and haven't been able to find it since. The post-it coincidentally matches the agenda.

So, this is my Summer 2014 set-up. I'm planning to go back to my Saffiano or possibly my Finsbury at the end of the season. Do you have a summer set up? If so, comment below.