The Writer's Box

I blame Facebook and its insidious ads.

I'm not sure how Facebook figured me out, but one day I saw an ad for a beautiful writing box. I immediately threw myself down the rabbit hole and clicked through to the Galen Leather website and took a look.

Oh heavens above! The amazing pretty things! All the things! Everything! Take my money and send them all to me!

I managed to rein myself in and focused on a couple different things - the aforementioned Writing Box and the Writer's Medic Bag. I watched YouTube reviews. I read comments. I went back and forth. I tried really really hard to NOT buy anything.

But I kept looking at the box and the bag, weighing the pros (Craftsmanship! Wonderful storage of pens and notebooks and rulers and cards and...! Small, family-run business!) and cons (Expensive! Made in Turkey! I DO NOT NEED THIS BEAUTIFUL THING!).

Well, you already know that resistance was futile. The writing box won. So did a set of three A5-sized notebooks of Tomoe River paper, which is fancypants thin paper that is good for writing on with fountain pens. (Fountain pens. That's a whole nother rabbit hole, friends.)

I settled in to wait, expecting it to take quite a while to arrive. But it didn't take that long at all! I ordered it on June 26; it arrived - all the way from Turkey - on July 5.

I. Love. It.

Take a look at the beautiful wood.

The wood is so, so smooth. That grain just flows. But the best part is inside. The top is lined with leather and has lots of stretchy bands to hold all your treasures. The bottom is open, but lined with a nice, velvety piece of ... fuzzy cardstock?

Anyway, I had a blast loading it up with all my important writing accoutrements.

Isn't that the best?! Everything fits perfectly, from my Bullet Journal to my magnifying glass!

The Galen Leather folks included several swell Easter eggs, too:

• A sheet of stickers of famous Turkish landmarks.
• A postcard.
• An Evil Eye charm.
• A wee pouch with an Earl Grey teabag and a packet of Turkish instant coffee.
• A card with care instructions - and the date it was made and the person who made it!
• A coupon for 10% off my next purchase (which is simply diabolical).

Oh, and another cool thing? There are two little posts that you can use to prop up the lid for an angled writing surface. Not only that, the plaque on the top is a perfect paper stop.

In the words of Ira Gershwin, I fell. And it was swell!