Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E5, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec, ISO800 “Daily Timeline” Cedar Park, 2026
I’ve been using the Hobonichi Cousin Avec for a couple of weeks now, and I’m really enjoying the bigger size. My little A6 techo is compact and cute, but the A5 is just a better writing experience overall. The pages lie flatter, so I can use my Clampy, and I get to write at my normal size instead of concentrating on keeping my letters tiny. There are still spots where small writing is a must, like the daily timeline in the photo, but even there I’ve got twice the space to work with. And on the free-writing pages, I can just write without worrying about size at all. As a bonus, I’ve got more room to print bigger photos too. Overall, I’m happy with the mid-year switch to the Avec ✏️
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO500 “Pen and Drink” Cedar Park, 2026
I made an Aperol Campari Spritz in one of the glasses we brought back from Mexico. I love the color combination so much. And then the pen is my beautiful new Zento Signature. Just for fun. 🍹✏️
I made a quick trip to Kinokuniya today on a bit of a long shot, hoping to track down the Zento Signature pen. I honestly wasn’t expecting to find it, so I asked one of the clerks behind the counter. Turns out they had a few in stock, just not out on the floor. ✨ I looked at the silver one and decided to just go for it. It’s a little spendy for a gel pen, but it feels like a genuine buy-it-for-life situation. No rubber parts to degrade over time, and refill cartridges are easy to find. I’m already thinking about swapping the stock .7 mm Zento ink for a .38 mm One cartridge, which is my go-to ink.
I also picked up a multi-pen Juice Up with red, blue, and black inks, which means I can finally retire two separate pens for one sleek little thing. It’s so pretty too! 🖊️ Really happy with today’s stationery haul.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/3.6, 1/50 sec, ISO3200 “Finished Notebook” Cedar Park, 2026
I finished another Morning Pages notebook, and honestly, it feels like a small victory!
One of my long-term goals is to actually use the notebooks I’ve collected over the years. If you’re a stationery lover, you know the struggle. Beautiful notebooks everywhere, and somehow they just accumulate. My daily morning journaling practice has been the perfect way to work through them, one page at a time. It’s actually fun to see how many blank pages are left (and see the amount getting smaller).
This particular Rollbahn notebook was a good one. It served me well through a lot of mornings, and I’m saving the cover as a keepsake. Do you do that? Save little artifacts from journals you’ve finished? I love looking back at them. This notebook is special because Mariko bought it for me when she was in Japan.
Now I’m moving right into the next one, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s another Rollbahn that Mariko gifted to me!
Let’s keep the streak alive. 🤙
What notebook are you currently writing in? I’d love to know.
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 2.2200000286119mm, f/2.2, 1/60 sec, ISO500 “Exercise Log” Cedar Park, 2026
Three months into my Hobonichi Techo A6 and still really enjoying it. 📓
Writing small has been a challenge, but I’ve slowed down and started paying more attention to how I form my letters. It’s a different kind of writing than my morning pages, which stay big and loose since that’s all about getting thoughts down fast.
The slow, deliberate approach has been a nice surprise. Turns out I like it a lot.
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 2.2200000286119mm, f/2.2, 1/45 sec, ISO800 “Small Writing” Cedar Park, 2026
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/5.6, 1/55 sec, ISO1600 “Hobonichi Spread” Cedar Park, 2026
I finally settled into a journaling layout that feels right. 📓 The left side tracks the day’s timeline, the right side gets a few short notes. Top left is for the day’s high and low temps, and top right has a checklist for tracking my language learning.
I keep tweaking things here and there, adding icons with a stencil or pasting in little bits of ephemera. I’m having a lot of fun with it!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO1250 “Tomie Hobonichi” Cedar Park, 2026
We spent the day shopping in Umeda, Osaka, and it was a really good time. 🛍️
First stop was the Nintendo Store. We were in there for a while, just soaking it all in. I’m a big Splatoon fan, so I picked up a keychain and a notebook. I had my eye on a mini skateboard too, but no luck on that front.
From there we headed to Loft, where I found exactly what I was looking for: the Tomie A6 Hobonichi cover! Just the cover by itself, which was perfect since I can swap it right onto my current setup. Yatta! I also grabbed a Tomie Weeks (March start), which is super cool. I’ll use it for Japanese vocabulary notes. I still need a pencil board and an A5 cover to complete my Tomie Hobonichi collection, so the hunt continues. 👀
The last stop was Tsutaya Books, and wow, what a place. The layout is circular, so you just browse in one direction and loop back to where you started. They had an amazing wall of fancy fountain pens, a solid selection of more affordable pens, and even a camera section where I checked out the latest Fujifilm and Sony gear. Highly recommend if you ever find yourself in Umeda.
