AROUND TOWN // FARMERS MARKET FUN

Happy Monday! This weekend was a good one... popcorn, new hallmark movies, pool days and a trip to the farmers market! The best kind of relaxation before the hustle and bustle of back to school is in full swing!

PHOTO #1 VERY BERRY:

How can you resist fresh berries, especially when they're displayed so cute!? We love berries, especially in the summertime- so refreshing, and you can have so much fun coming up with easy recipes using these cuties. (PSSST- later this week we're sharing a quick, easy back-to-school breakfast idea using our farmer's market finds!)

PHOTO #2 WEEKEND LATTE

Since our local farmer's market is downtown, we can't leave without making a pit stop at our favorite coffee shop! If you're ever somewhere that offers a lavender latte you have to try it, seriously they're so good! Also, we always have our pens and planners in tow since we always end up having an impromptu planning session!

PHOTO #3 MOVIE NIGHT

There's nothing better than a movie night- especially when it involves new hallmark movies and popcorn! Perfect way to spend a Saturday night in.

Thanks for stopping by, we hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Only a few more weekends left until school starts, how crazy is that??

XOXO

Angela & Amy

SHOP SPOTLIGHT // THE TINY TASSELL

Happy Friday, friends! If you follow us on our Instagram page as well as here on the blog, you might have picked up on a few pink and navy striped pens that we've been very excited about! We can't spill too much about that just yet- but stay tuned because exciting things are happening really soon! So, since we are still learning all the ins and outs of business we recruited the help of some of our favorite shops and brands to participate in our new blog series "Shop Spotlight"!! In this series we get to learn more about what it's like to have a business of your own as well as introduce you to some seriously awesome shops!

Today we are so excited to kick off this series with our friend Mimi's adorable etsy shop- The Tiny Tassel! (Trust us, you won't be able to resist the cute necklaces, bracelets, and earrings she offers!)

1.) What inspired you to start The Tiny Tassel?

It all started with a pair of hot pink tassels! The Tiny Tassel was created almost a year ago (!!) when I found myself obsessed with tassels! I got to work making tiny tassels and who knew it'd become such a hit!

2.) How do you come up with new designs for products?

I find inspiration for new designs everywhere! Whether it's ideas from friends or color inspo from my drink at dinner, I always find myself thinking of new tassel creations. With each design I know that it's something that I'd love to wear and I hope that others will enjoy them too! 

3.) Do you have any tips for someone who is interested in starting their own online shop?

Organization, an open mind & no hesitation will truly push you in the right direction of starting your own business! Don't be afraid of sharing new ideas & products ideas with others, chances are they'll love it!! I have a few friends & family members that I can run my ideas by and its always great to hear their feedback! 

4.) What are 3 things that you always have on your desk?

A bright pink pen, tassel threads & a bowl of Black Forest candies for a little extra brain food of course!

5.) What tools do you use to stay organized?

My planner, can't go a day without writing shop plans or making notes for an order.

My cellphone-- whether it's setting reminders or contacting someone through social media, this helps so much with my little business! 

Making a list! I make a daily to-do list of all things tassels! 

A big thanks to Mimi for being our first feature in this fun series! Make sure to check out her shop on Etsy, The Tiny Tassel!

XOXO, 

Angela & Amy

PERFECT PLANNER PENS

Since we're sticking to our planner theme this week, today we're spilling about one of our favorite subjects... pens!

We touched a bit on this in yesterday's blog post, but today we wanted to share allll our favorites!

Obviously our favorite pens are our very own pink & navy pens! Trust us when we say they are amazing... blue ink, pretty stripes and makes your handwriting look awesome? Count us in! Plus, these ballpoint pens won't bleed through anything- so feel free to use them in your planner, or even use them to take notes with! These will be available very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Another favorite is the LePen... specifically the periwinkle LePen! These are great because they come in so many different colors and they don't bleed through pages!

What is your favorite pen??

XOXO

Angela & Amy

5 STEPS TO YOUR PERFECT PLANNER

If you can't tell by now, we're pretty excited for the start of all the academic planners! Since we know we're not the only ones who love planners, we've decided to dedicate this week to anything and everything you need to know about planners!

Today, we are sharing the "5 steps" to your perfect planner- AKA everything you need to make you excited to get organized! Click through the pics for all of our favorite planner accessories!

LePen pack // Rifle Paper Co. pencils // Navy & Pink pens- available soon, stay tuned!!

periwinkle LePens // Sharpie highlighters // Sugar Paper pencils

Paper Mate InkJoy gel pens // Yoobu mini highlighters // motivational pens

The most important thing about perfecting your planner (besides finding your perfect planner, of course!) is finding your perfect pen and highlighters! Personally, I like to use both pens and highlighters in my planner- color coding everything with my pens, and crossing off my to-do list with highlighters!

watercolor sticky notes // Sugar Paper sticky note set // Kate Spade sticky note set

Lilly Pulitzer sticky notes // tropical sticky notes // Erin Condren sticky notes

desk sticky note block

I also like to use sticky notes and page flags in my planner so I can write down shopping lists, to-do lists, and so I can plan ahead without permaniately writing it in my planner. Using sticky notes and flags can save you from having to break out the white out in the future! (although, having some white out on hand is also a good idea, my favorite to use is this!)

Sugar Paper stickers // Sugar Paper washi tape // washi tape

Sweet Kawaii Design stickers

balloon stickers // metallic washi tape // color coding dots

Stickers and washi tape may not be everyone's style, but I love using them in my planner! I don't use them everyday, but it's fun to add a cute sticker here and there- my personal favorite stickers are from Sweet Kawaii Designs! How can you not be happy when looking at donuts with smiley faces?! I also like to use color coding dots to indicate paydays and when bills are due on my monthly view.

small binder clips // Sugar Paper clip set // Kate Spade bow paperclips

pineapple paperclips // hear paperclips // pink paperclips

gold paper clips // message binder clips

Having a few cute clips to keep your place in your planner is always a good idea! Plus, these options are so much more fun than just a plain old silver paper clips.

"Essentials" pouch // Kate Spade pouch // Ban.Do pouch

'Flamingle" pouch // Ashley Brooke Designs pouch

Last step, is getting a cute pencil pouch to put all of your planner accessories in!

What kind of things do you use to keep your planner organized and fancy??

XOXO

Angela & Amy

THE BEST ACADEMIC 2016 PLANNERS

August is my favorite month of the year for many reasons...

1.) It's my birthday month- whoo hoo!

2.) All the fall stuff becomes available in stores. Everything from school supplies to cozy sweaters I love it all!

3.) And most importantly, the academic planners finally start!

With the return of the midyear planners and the first day of school right around the corner we decided to share with you our favorite planners that will keep you stylish and organized throughout the whole year! Since we believe both fashion and function are important when it comes to picking out a planner, we included our file and style favorites for each. Happy planning!

LILLY PULITZER

Read our full review of the Lilly Pulitzer planner here!

Shop Lilly Pulitzer planners here!

File favorites: One of our favorites parts about this planner are the monthly and weekly calendar pages. The monthly pages are big, so if you have to write down your work schedule, school schedule and social calendar it will all fit perfectly! The weekly pages are also roomy so you can keep track of all your important due dates and tests.

Style favorites: Not only is the outside of this planner beautiful, but the inside is decorated just as vibrantly with pretty Lilly patterns! How can you not look forward to organizing your assignments when your planner is that pretty?

DAY DESIGNER

Read our full review of the Day Designer planner here!

Shop Day Designer planners here!

File favorites: We love that this planner has a whole page for each day! This helps you stay really organized when you have a lot on your plate. There is a section for a daily to-do list, hourly planning, notes and even a section to plan your dinner!

Style Favorites: The inside of this planner isn't very colorful or decorated at all, so if you don't want something as flashy as a Lilly planner this would be perfect for you! Also, since the colors are so simple, it gives you a ton of room to be creative with your washi tape and stickers!

RIFLE PAPER CO.

Read our full review of the Rifle Paper Co. planner here!

Shop Rifle Paper Co. planners here!

File favorites: This planner is actually really unique- the monthly pages are in a completely different section from the corresponding weekly pages, and the weekly pages are set up like a to-do list for each day. I wasn't sure how I was going to like this planner because of those two reasons, but after I put all my information inside, I ended up loving it!

Style favorites: Like the Day Designer planner, the color scheme inside of this planner is very simple so I've been having fun customizing it using colored pens and pretty washi tape! Also, this planner has a new quote for every week, a little detail I love!

ERIN CONDREN

Read our full review of the Erin Condren planner here!

Shop Erin Condren planners here!

File favorites: This planner has a ton of room for notes as well as space to write in the monthly calendar! What's unique about this planner is you can personalize it- so you can get a vertical, horizontal or even hourly weekly spread!

Style favorites: Just like the inside of the planner, you can personalize the outside too! You can pink the colors, design and even add things like monograms and pictures! 

XOXO

Angela & Amy

MORNING COFFEE MUGS

I don't know about you but my favorite part about my morning routine is coffee.... and drinking it from a cute mug makes it even more enjoyable! I seriously have so many coffee mugs that my cupboards are overflowing- but I can't help myself when I see another cute mug I know I can't live without! Since I'm basically an expert on everything you need to know about mugs now I decided to shop around and round up allll the mugs you need to add to your collection!

A Thing Created glam mug

Ashley Brooke Designs hustlin' mug

Evelyn Henson sloth mug (one of my personal favorites!)

Sweet Water Decor glass coffee mug

Where do you find cute coffee mugs?

XOXO

Angela & Amy

SUGAR PAPER @TARGET FOR THE WIN

For those of you who have been following us on Instagram you may have seen some sneak peaks of our flagship product.  After years of trying to find the perfect pen we decided to stop looking and just design our own.  But before we do any kind of formal launch we need to get our business details worked out and get all the administrative aspects organized.  Us File to Style gals love a good organizational project so we headed to...wait for it...Target.  I know we're so predictable :-) Our timing lined up perfectly with the Sugar Paper and Target collaboration.  We really went for timeless pieces that met our basic file needs as well as being stylish...our main motto.  

Magazine Rack - I was really looking for something to store file folders since I'm kinda limited on space and don't have a separate file cabinet.  Since this is designed to hold magazines it has plenty of room to hold a lot of file folders.  It's really a quality piece and looks great sitting off to the side in the corner.  I also love that it's multi-functional and can always move it to my family room to hold magazine in the future.

File Folders - These folders are so durable and sturdy they work great in the magazine rack.  Over the past year I've collected folders from different brands and although they are stylish they are so flimsy and totally bend when trying to display.  I have to honestly say I'm so impressed with the quality of these files especially for the cost.  12 folders for $5.99 is a great deal.  Not to mention they have a very simple and sophisticated look they will never go out of style.

Pencil Cup - I actually went to 2 different Target stores to track down this beauty.  I knew this stylish and affordable piece would be perfect for holding our new pens and it did not disappoint.  I absolutely love the way the pens they look displayed on my desk.

Tape Dispenser and Washi Tape - This is truly a dynamic duo.  I don't normally use scotch tape so I instantly knew I was going to use it for the washi tape.  I use washi tape all the time in my planner and notebooks.  It helps highlight things like project due dates and block off things like vacations.

Weekly/Monthly Planner - This planner has proved to be a perfect business partner for me.  I'm able to use the monthly spread for blocking off time and pencil in product timelines.  Then the weekly pages are great to get more detailed.  What I love about the weekly layout is all the days of the week are listed on the left page and the right page has a 'this week' section and 'remember~notes~to do' section. Both sections are checklists which is so helpful when working with multiple tasks such as launching a site and blog planning.

Post-It Notes and Sticky Flags - I was really happy to find out these sticky notes were made with the same high quality as traditional post-it notes.  I don't know about you but I can't stand sticky notes that don't stick.  I mean what's the point...right?  I use sticky notes all day long and by the end of a work day they are on my desk, computer, planner, and files.  I've picked up several packs just to stock up.

I'm pretty sure I'll end up picking up a few more items but I had to draw the line somewhere :-)  

All of the products I mentioned are still on Target.com and stock is very limited at the stores so I suggest to buy what you want now so you don't miss out.

xoxo,

Angela and Amy