I was never really a collector of anything. There are no dead bodies in my back garden, or stamps in my cupboard, well not that I am aware of anyway. I do however have a few nifty badges and broaches that I gathered up over the years, my favourite being a little pair of sunglasses.
If I invited you into my living room / little office, the things that would draw your attention, would most likely be my penguins. I liked penguins, but I wouldn’t have said I loved them. It all started because one year my Sister bought me a penguin for Christmas, but liked it so much she decided to keep it for herself. every year after that, as a joke, she and I bought each other something with a penguin on it, whether it be small or large. I guess word got around and then other people started to buy me penguins and now I have a lovely little collection and the like has grown to love.

It came to my attention yesterday however, that I also seem to have a mini fetish for mugs. The purchase that sparked this realisation, a Heinz Tomato Ketchup mug that was reduced in the sales to £2 and has ‘Hot Dawg’ in bold letters on the side. I have a little thing for Starbucks mugs too, so every time my sister goes away she brings me one from the location of her visit. The one I use the most at the minute though is my Geeky G4mer one that Lee had made for me, which has my old banner and tag line printed on it.

The standing joke in the office though it my unabashed love for all things stationary! Every time someone hands me something new I experience a little joygasm, I just can’t help myself. Pens, pencils, sketchbooks, notebooks, in fact anything at all and I’m as happy as a bee.
In my head I am organised and efficient, and promise that every new notebook I buy will have a purpose. The reality though is very different and the poor things usually get regulated to a shelf or a drawer within 3 weeks of purchase. I’ll go cold turkey for a while, not allowing myself to enter any premises where anything vaguely stationary like is sold. Eventually I give in.
Thinking about it, running a stationary store would have to be my dream job. I’d have the weirdest but coolest collection of things ever and people would travel from all over the world to buy what I was selling.
Ah….if only!
I own so many stationary items! I fall in love with notebooks with promises to fill them with AWESOME stuff, usually start doing it, then find better notebooks and do the same over.
Penguin umbrella is awesome, I absolutely adore penguins! :D
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BHS, it’s on the mainland right?
You’re so like me with all the notebooks and stuff, I keep them for a while and then end up giving them away to friends kids. I have made a rule, in my head so it won’t stick lol, that I am not allowed to buy any more…at all!! Nice to see you back :) x
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Cheers lovely, nice to be back! Thanks by the way. For being awesome and stuff.
Yeah we have BHS, its about the only thing left in our city!
I’ve been giving my notebooks to my little one, you know, I used to love journalling, but I love how my brain gets more clarity from typing, must be something to do with using both hands. :) Hugs x
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I agree. I have notebooks filled with poems and stuff, but I hate the thought that someone could open a drawer and read them. I understand that I am putting my life on the world wide web, but someone would actually have to know me to be able to make sense of it! lol
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It’s way easier to be yourself when you’re not worried about the people you know, it helps me a lot, hence all my blogs I’ve had – kind of like notebooks whoops lol (never leaving this one though, but this one is like a notebook people I know read it)… Then when you blog and find people who still like you whatever you write, like you mentioned in the post before this one, it’s so much more awesome.
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It is. People are more understanding than we think sometimes.
I’d have been lost without all of you lot you know. You all just came at the right time and kept me going. It’s amazing to think that complete strangers can become like an extended family.
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Penguins are my spirit animals. I love that umbrella!
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Aww I don’t think you have British Home Stores over there :(
I’ll buy you one for Christmas and post it! (that gives me time to save lol)
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LOL I will check around here.
We have “World Market”, which has a little bit of everything from around the world, but as determined by a major retail company.
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I’ve never seen one before and when I spied it I just had to have it. It was a bit dearer than the last one I bought but the last two cheap ones I had only lasted 5 minutes lol
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Penguins are cool. :)
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Why thank you lovely Bradley! I hope you are feeling better, or at least on your way to it :)
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Um, kind of touch and go. Some good moments in mostly blah days. I think I’ll recover (I hope). Thanks for asking. :)
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No!! Wrong answer….you WILL recover. Cos if you don’t there will be a posse round your gaff to beat you senseless with a wet lettuce leaf or two!!
You have to look at it this way, she was not the one, so you had to make room for the one who is. :)
You’ll find her, you’re a great fella!
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I love stationery. I still write pen to paper. Lol at the term joygasm.
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I always had romantic notions of being a beautiful writer, having a gorgeous fountain pen and perfectly laid out blog. It never happened.
The reality was a half chewed biro and scraps of paper lol
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Lol, if someone reads the shyte I write on paper, they will know something not right. It isnt flowing at all, more like a thing filled with proofread symbols and scratch outs. I just like the feeling of writing and getting it out.
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From reading your posts I’d never guess because I love how your writing flows and it’s always perfect. Perhaps the reason, because you kick the shyte out of it on paper first! lol
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Sometimes. Other times, I just say fuck it, I love reading your blog….BTW, those post it notes are mine! ;-)
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Omg Jaded, I swear I got the best post it notes ever at Christmas. They are a hand, so you can fold the fingers etc. Essentially you can flip someone the bird lol
You can come and work in my shop on Saturdays lol
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The commute would be a bit much! I now have to go on a manhunt for those post it notes.
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handy-Notes-Yellow-Hand-Shaped-Sticky-Post-It-Notes-Make-Your-Own-Gestures-/360794775727?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item54010b60af
Lol, not sure if this is an Ebay USA link or not, but that’s what they are anyways :)
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If you had a store filled with your favorite joygasm inducing things, would you really be able to sell any of it to strangers?
Even if it was penguin stationary???
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Oh darn, that’s actually a really good point. I’ve be giving them the third degree to make sure they were fit to take my stuff home and would promise to love and take care of it. I used to think, when I was younger of course, that if I didn’t look after my cuddly toys they would wake up in the middle of the night and murder me lol
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Penguins are very cool! The umbrella is great :).
I used to collect almost everything I had two pieces of (I’ve got two stones? let’s collect stones! I’ve got two pens? let’s collect pens!). By now I don’t really do that anymore, but somehow I ended up with a quite broad collection of scarfs. Now that I find a bit weird, as I didn’t tend to use them that often. By now I’ve changed my mind and I’m glad I’ve got so many of them now :).
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Don’t you find the main problem is tho finding somewhere to keep the fecking stuff lol I’m constantly having to rearrange to put more wee bits and pieces in. The simple solution is to stop buying things I guess, but where’s the fun in that!
I only possess about 3 scarves, but I always seem to use the same one all the time lol
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Yep. There comes a time you have to throw it all away. We’re currently having problems with my giant magazine collection. Though I never watch those anymore, I don’t have the heart to trhow them away.
You know, the ‘what if’ thoughts…
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I know, I know lol I currently have two shelves full of Digital Photo magazines that I could be doing with dumping, but I’m the same…what if… lol
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Maybe we can rent like a container or something together and stock them there ;).
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…or…..you read mine and I’ll read yours!!
That’s like some kind of secret service blog code ffs lol
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Soooooo. Let me get this right. Your Sister steals Starbuck mugs wherever she goes?
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No, she buys them lol Las Vegas and Lukla Airport, Nepal so far! :) You need to get me one from Yorkshire lol
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Hahah! Yep, you and my best friend are birds of a feather. She’s mad for anything writing related – has ancient fountain pens and a source for repairing them (seems ye can find anything in the USA, bastards). I got my first Moleskin from her! But now I have an iPad. I barely even know how to form a proper word on paper anymore, I just have my own weird shorthand!
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Lol speaking of Moleskin, we were in a Clinton Card shop and they have 2014 Moleskin diaries and we asked how much they were. £16 reduced to £4 for the A5 size. I rang all my stationary freak friends to see if they wanted one too lol Best till glitch ever. Even the shop assistant said she was going to buy one lol
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£4!?!? Wow!
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I know. They said it was because it was after the new year and they were meant to be 75% off, but the till glitch made them £4 instead. I got an A5 and an A6 one lol
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Good catch! *happy dance in your honour*
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Ooh ooh I know I would! In fact I bind my own notebooks because I’m a feckin journal-holic!
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There are some really beautiful ones out there if money were not an option. A lovely journal and a fountain pen, nothing could beat it :-)
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I’ll opt for a mechanical pencil, personally! :)
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