This week's post is a little funny because it's actually about two Happy Planner spreads, my September-October spread and the first week of November!
When Your Planner Tricks You
I was so excited because as I flipped through my planner, I reached the "Plan Accordingly" page reminding me that it's time to purchase my 2027 Happy Planner.
Of course, I got excited.
I pulled out my sticker books, decorated a spread, took photos, and then strarted to flip though this week's pages that I decorated...except the page I expected to photograph was blank.
The next few pages were blank too. I was already thinking, "Am I going crazy? Did I just imagine decorating an entire planner spread?"
So I kept flipping and flipping the pages until I finally reached...
November.
Yep.
I had mistakenly decorated the first week of November instead of this week!
So of course, I had to decorate another spread. And this time, the correct week.
Sticker Books & Washi
For both layouts I used Happy Planner Happy Quotes, Happy Planner Color Story sticker books and some washi tapes. I used two different washi tape designs per spread because, well, I have accumulated so much washi tape over the years that I don't think I'll ever finish them in this lifetime. So I might as well keep using them!
Plan Accordingly...or Buy Accordingly?
The "Plan Accordingly" page also got me thinking about next year's planner. Should I buy a brand-new 2027 Happy Planner or should I finally use my undated Harry Potter Happy Planner that has been patiently waiting in my craft room and still in the Happy Planner box?
My bank account says:
Use what you already have.
My heart says:
Buy another planner.
To make things even more difficult, I checked Happy Planner's website and most of the designs I love, especially the Friends and Gilmore Girls planners, only ship within the USA and Canada.
Their international shipping only lets me send to Manila, not Saudi Arabia. I did look into forwarding services, but it feels like a lot of extra work.
So for now, my bank is winning by about 70%.
We'll see if that percentage changes.
The November Spread
Even though it wasn't supposed to be decorated yet, I absolutely love how cheerful the November spread turned out.
It's colorful, optimistic, and all about celebrating everyday life and looking forward to the weekend.
Some of the sticker sentiments I used include:
The secret to having everything is believing you already do.
Happiness is an inside job.
Be brilliant.
It's not about having time. It's about making time.
Let the beat of what you love be what you do.
Hooray for today.
Always look on the bright side.
Just a girl who decided to go for it.
Shine your light.
All those encouraging quotes, only to discover I decorated the wrong week. hehe!
This Week's September-October Spread
Since I had to make another layout anyway, I decided to keep this week's spread just as colorful and happy.
Some of the sentiments I used were:
Beautiful Happy Life
Oh Happy Day
Living My Best Life
The Best Is Yet To Come
It's the Little Things
Fri-Yay
Cheers to the Weekend
I guess if there's one thing my planner reflects these days, it's that I'm trying to choose jhappy every day.
Life Lately
We Finally Finished Money Heist
After what feels like forever, we finally finished Money Heist!
Watching it brought back so many memories from Cita ourdines days during the pandemic.
Even funnier, one of the PPEs we wore at work back then was the exact same color as the jumpsuits in the series, so every episode felt like it was reminding me of my hotel days. And we also had a Money Heist themed Halloween back then!
Definitely lots of Citadines nostalgia.
Bahrain Dinner
We drove to Bahrain for dinner and coffee with friends.
This time we went back to Bahay Turo instead of our usual Bahay Kubo, and to be honest, their crispy pata is definitely better.
I've also been feeling a little under the weather (I'm still blaming this never-ending flu), so I ordered their Batchoy, and it was sooo comforting.
After dinner we tried The Orangery, a café we hadn't visited before.
It was beautiful, there were lots of fellow Filipinos working there, and we stayed until closing time.
As we were leaving around 10:30 PM, one of the Filipino staff handed each of us a paper bag filled with pastries.
It was such a simple but incredibly thoughtful gesture.
Moments like that make it feel extra special to meet fellow Filipinos while living abroad.
Saudi National Day
September 23 was a holiday because it was Saudi Arabia's 96th National Day, so Ton didn't have work.
We attended Happy Sandscape's Art Exhibit at Somerset Al Khobar and it was such a successful event.
I'm so proud of everything they accomplished.
My painting teacher and friend, Fizza, was also one of the exhibitors. She told me she probably wouldn't have been there if not for me. Hearing that really made my heart happy. She was really happy.
After the exhibit we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse.
Unfortunately, the drone show and fireworks across the Kingdom were cancelled, so we simply headed home afterward.
Saui, My Angelgotchi
I also restarted my Tamagotchi this week! Meet Saui, a name inspired by Saudi and Hasawi, a nod to Al Ahsa, our very first home here in Saudi Arabia. Since it was Saudi National Day, I thought it would be a good time to start a new little Tamagotchi adventure.
And somehow... it happened again!
It evolved into Twin Angelgotchis!
So now I officially have Saui 1 and Saui 2. I guess Angelgotchis really like living with me!
Weekend Errands
We spent the weekend running errands and having a little date day.
We visited SACO first, then IKEA, hoping to buy hallway shelves and a few plants.
Sadly, all three shelving options we liked were out of stock.
Instead, we came home with:
- Small plastic shelves for my craft room
- a tiny ladder from the Last Chance section - for the plants and ideally for our router but it ended up being too short for a good signal for the router.
- Pots for my plants - repotted them already! yay!
- Gummies (very important) - 2 cups of gummies for SAR 15 (or Php 225)
I also started reorganizing my craft room. I confidently declared that everything was finally in its permanent place. Then, the very next day, we went back to IKEA and got a plastic shelving on sale. haha.
Apparently my "final organization" lasted less than 24 hours.
Applebee's + IHOP
We also had dinner at Applebee's and discovered that they're now serving IHOP menu items too! We ordered food from both menus and we had plenty of leftovers to take home.
No complaints there!
Books Update
I finally finished The Reappearance of Rachel Price after what felt like years. It was a bit of a slog.
The ending redeemed it somewhat, but getting there took a while.
Now I'm reading The Dinner Party by Freida McFadden. It's kind of childish. Though I haven't gotten the best possible ending so let's see.
I think I'll be downloading a few more books later too.
Christmas Countdown
Design Team Updates
Bee Happy
Sign-ups for the next quarter are officially open!
I've already finished my very first project, although I can't share it just yet.
I used the Kindli Mini, and I love what I made! hehe. sharing a photo of the half done project in the meantime.
Miqueka Scrap
I made another one of my camera-shaped mini albums!
This time I used a die from a friend's destash.
It was still brand new, incredibly affordable, and I think I've already gotten my money's worth from it.
Of course, I reached for one of my favorite collections from Miqueka again, Dolce Vita.
Polkadoodles
I finished six Christmas cards, each featuring a different embossing folder. This already feels like a huge win for my "use what you already have" self challenge.
The cards won't be published until October 21, so for now I'll just share the embossing folders I used.
Kendra's Card Challenge
I also finished all 15 cards for KCC#24, plus one extra card for our October Instagram Hop.
Finishing all sixteen cards in one day felt incredibly productive!
And finally...
I completed my Harry Potter Dark Mark watercolor painting that had been sitting unfinished since July 31. It's always satisfying crossing unfinished projects off the list.
And that's pretty much life lately!
I'm really loving how much easier these blog posts are becoming now that I'm staying caught up with my weekly life updates.
Thank you so much for stopping by!
As always, I'll leave this week's menu...
...and of course, here's a photo of my Starbacs Strawberry Frappuccino! hehe!
See you in my next post!
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