I shared a photo of this notebook on Instagram recently and a lot of people seemed to love it. I realized it’s quite unusual for me to show off a notebook that is this beat-up and battered!
Most of my notebooks are pocket size journals and sketchbooks. I tend to go through them fairly fast, and I’m not that hard on them. They get broken-in but they stay in pretty good shape. I’ve had a few notebooks where the spine tore apart– my first Moleskine softcover, and a Markings/CR Gibson notebook come to mind (photo in this post). But nothing has gotten as abused as this Picadilly notebook that I’ve been using for cooking notes!
The elastic lost its tension when it was relatively new. It didn’t take that long for the spine to break either– I think a better-quality notebook would have survived longer.
For many years, I’ve tended to tear recipes out of magazines and newspapers, and many of those are stuffed into an A4 size Moleskine Folio Portfolio— the jumbo size version of the Memo Pockets.
But at some point I started looking at more recipes online, and began copying my favorites into the Picadilly notebook. I bought it at a Borders store, almost 15 years ago. If I remember correctly, it was the first Picadilly notebook I purchased– I’d been wanting to try one, but I couldn’t find any pocket-sized ones at first. This larger size is unusual for me but it’s very practical for cooking notes, since it opens flat and stays that way.
For a few pages, I used it for random drawings and doodles. But I decided pretty quickly to devote it to jotting down recipes. It’s lived in a kitchen cabinet for years now, with more and more recipes being written and pasted and tucked into it.
I’ve gotten very behind on stapling or taping all the loose recipes into the pages, so the loose sheets have gotten rather crumpled, in addition to many of them being stained with splashes of whatever I was cooking. It’s only in the last few years that the notebook got so over-stuffed that the front cover started tearing off and had to be reinforced with duct tape.
My partner has suggested several times that I start a new notebook or some neater way to capture these recipes, but I’m kind of attached to this messy notebook. I’ve jotted so many notes about tweaks to ingredients and cooking times, and I like seeing all my sloppy scribbles. The only problem is that my partner can’t read them! Her handwriting is much prettier, and consistently neat, as you can see below.
We also have a couple of looseleaf notebooks filled with printed-out recipes, and saved recipe cards from when we subscribed to Blue Apron several years ago.
At some point I suppose it will make sense to consolidate everything, but even if I re-write all my favorite recipe notes, I think I’ll have to save this notebook. To me, it represents an aspect of self-improvement: for years, cooking was something I avoided because I just didn’t know what I was doing, and I felt very stressed about it. But as I learned more, and felt more comfortable not just feeding myself but cooking for others, the dishes that I mastered became a source of pride for me. Learning to cook is an accomplishment I feel good about, and I’ll always look fondly at how this notebook traces my progress.
Photography by Felipe Romero Beltrán for WSJ. Magazine
In the front is a notebook. I’ve been writing everything in notebooks since I was 18. We write because we don’t want to forget, and it’s something very physical, like a picture of me but through writing. I see myself evolving through my notebooks. On top is my father’s pen, which my mother gave me when he died. It’s sort of magical because it disappears then comes back. I don’t write a lot with it, I just touch it as a way of talking to him.
–Leila Simani, WSJ Magazine, 12.8.22
The pen looks like a Montblanc to me, and I would guess that the notebook is from Emilio Braga. Slimani has lived in Portugal for the past 15 years, so it would make sense. The notebook has their characteristic binding style, and marbled page edges, though it looks like the pattern in black and white isn’t the usual blotchy composition book pattern, but rather a geometrical design. From looking at Emilio Braga’s website, it seems like they are diversifying their designs. I didn’t see this particular pattern, but it’s possible it was a limited run that is no longer available.
Slimani is the author of several novels, most notably The Perfect Nanny, which I found really creepy and horrifying. I can’t say I recommend it, though she is obviously a brilliant writer. I would like to try one of her other books someday…
When I discovered Louise Carmen notebooks online, I thought they looked great. Their website, and their Instagram, feature some some pretty mouth-watering imagery, including before and after photos of brand-new and broken-in notebooks in lots of beautiful colors. It did not take long before I was itching to hit the “buy” button, except for a few things: the notebooks are expensive, shipping from France is really expensive, and the colors I liked best were sold out. And without seeing these notebooks in person, I couldn’t quite commit to such a big expense.
Since I really didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a notebook from France sight-unseen, I turned to eBay, without much optimism. But I was amazed to see several listings for Louise Carmen notebooks at bizarrely low prices, apparently due to a super-clearance of some overstock. The colors and leather style were the antithesis of all my personal notebook preferences, but for a total price of about $13 for 2 notebooks, I wasn’t going to quibble about them being metallic fuschia and gold! These were sold at Bloomingdale’s at some point. The metallic leather is still available an option for the lower-priced “Pocket Colors” notebooks on the Louise Carmen website. I bought a lot of two notebooks, just to test-drive the size, shape, and quality before committing to ordering a color I really wanted from France.
Louise Carmen pocket Colors notebooks from eBay
The quality of the leather in these metallic “Colors” notebooks was a bit lighter and floppier than I’d expected, but I liked them enough and figured the more expensive Heritage leather would be nicer. I was ready to place an order, but I kept waiting, hoping that the out of stock colors would be available again. In the meantime, I went into Manhattan one day and visited Goods for the Study. I couldn’t believe it when I glanced into a glass display case and saw several Louise Carmen notebooks– the Louise Carmen website makes no mention of any other stockists. Goods for the Study only had the pocket notebooks in natural and black, from the pricier “Pocket Heritage” collection. The natural leather is smooth and much stiffer than the metallic leather. The black notebook at Goods for the Study was a more supple and soft leather, also very nice. (Lots of other gorgeous colors are available on the Louise Carmen website, but it’s hard to tell from the photos which texture each color leather has.) I was really torn about which one to buy, but decided to go with something different (i.e. non-black) for a change. I still kind of want another color in the Heritage leather, as I’m feeling impatient about the natural leather developing a nice patina… but it’s already starting to soften and darken and I’m sure the end result will be rewarding.
Goods for the Study charges $129.95 for the Louise Carmen pocket Heritage notebook cover. I was charged an additional $7.95 for the notebook insert– not sure if that was a mistake, but if I’d realized it wasn’t included, I wouldn’t have bought it. (They stock extra refills in pocket and large sizes.) But the price for the cover is a relative bargain– if I’d ordered it from the Louise Carmen website, the price would have been 129 euros (something like $139, at the moment) plus about $50 for shipping. Ordering direct from Louise Carmen means you get one insert notebook in your choice of plain or dotted pages included for free, plus a little cloth bag to keep your notebook in, plus free gift packaging, if you want it. You can also get a custom color elastic (5 euro extra) and custom stamping of your name or initials (13 euro extra). Larger sizes are also available. They also sell accessories such as extra elastics and a leather care kit.
If you are in the US and you want a Louise Carmen notebook, you could check eBay to see if there’s any bargains to be had. But otherwise, I would try Goods for the Study. They don’t currently do online sales, though their website says online shopping is coming in Spring 2023– if you can’t wait til then, you could call their main store at (212) 674-4400 to place an order.
If you want to order from the Louise Carmen shop in France, you might consider a proxy shipping service, though I’m not sure if that would save you much money. Ordering more than one notebook at a time makes the per-notebook shipping costs more reasonable, so joining forces with a friend could be worthwhile. Best method of all? Book a trip to Paris! I’d love to go to the store in person to see and touch and smell these luscious leather notebooks first hand. I just wish I had known about Louise Carmen notebooks the last time I was there!
I’m always a sucker for a nice leather notebook— there is something so seductive about the patina on well-broken in leather, and the way it starts to form to the shape of its contents. It’s what made me love the Filofax notebooks I’ve used in the past, and it’s what made me buy a passport size Travelers Notebook. I ended up not enjoying using the TN enough to ever break it in the way I’d seen other people do. But now I’ve found the Louise Carmen pocket notebook, and this time I think I’m in it for the long haul.
I first came across the Louise Carmen notebook brand on Instagram. I checked out a few photos, thought they looked nice, sent myself an email with a link to follow up on later, and then forgot all about it. Months later, I rediscovered the email and for some reason, this time I fell in lust. Their before/after shots of broken-in notebooks were especially to blame!
Louise Carmen websiteLouise Carmen InstagramLouise Carmen Instagram
Louise Carmen is based in Paris, with a retail shop in the 2nd arrondissement. Their leather notebook covers, which come in various colors and sizes, are made in France, and from what I could see at first, sold only in France and via their website. But as it turned out, I was able to buy a Louise Carmen notebook elsewhere. I’ll tell you more about where to buy one in Part 2 of this review, but in the meantime let’s check out the notebook itself!
Louise Carmen notebook, a few days old (but already with a slight stain)
Louise Carmen notebooks are designed in a style quite similar to Travelers Notebooks, but with some important differences. Most importantly for me, their pocket notebooks are sized to hold a standard 3.5 x 5.5″ refill. Louise Carmen makes their own refills in plain and dot-grid formats, but you can use Field Notes, Moleskine Cahiers or any other slim notebook in this size, and depending on what else you have in there, it will probably hold two refills. The Louise Carmen website also notes that Moleskine’s soft cover 12-month weekly planners will fit inside.
Louise Carmen notebook after about 3 1/2 months of use
I know there are other “fauxdori” travelers notebooks out there that are sized to hold Field Notes/Cahier sized inserts, but from what I’ve seen, the covers always have a lot of overhang. What I love about the Louise Carmen design is that the cover size is pretty close to the same height as the notebook.
The other clever thing they’ve done is to design the notebook with a wrap-around flap: this allows the notebook to expand in thickness, and a little bit in width, all while still maintaining its shape as a tidy, enclosed bundle. The flap is meant to be tucked under the front cover, which gives the closed notebook a cleaner look than leaving the flap on the top. But you could put the flap on the outside if you prefer– it looks fine that way too.
Louise Carmen Pocket Heritage notebook shown with pocket Moleskine In my opinion, the grommets for the elastic should be positioned slightly higher, so they’re more in the center of the spine, but they work fine as is.
The natural leather I chose is very thick and sturdy with a smooth surface. Over time, it should darken and soften and develop that lovely patina. I’ve been using mine for a few months and you can already see the exterior breaking in, with a noticeable difference on the parts of the leather that aren’t exposed and haven’t darkened and scuffed as much. I tried to get shots of the notebook “before” and “after” but couldn’t quite get matching lighting for a true comparison– but I do think the change is noticeable!
In addition to the wonderful color and feel, the leather smells great. This natural leather is one of the choices for the Louise Carmen Pocket Heritage notebook line, which features vegetable tanned leather in gorgeous colors. There is also a less expensive “Colors” line that has a lighter weight leather in different textures, including metallic colors. (From what I’ve seen of the other Heritage colors, they don’t necessarily have the exact same texture and smell as the natural leather.)
An elastic closure is anchored on the back cover, just like a Travelers Notebook. I find this closure more awkward than the vertical elastic on Moleskine-style notebooks, but it does keep things secure inside.
The left edge of the flap shows the lighter color where the leather hasn’t gotten as much wear.
When you open the notebook, there is a tuck pocket in the front, with the stamped Louise Carmen logo and a cute ribbon loop in the colors of the French flag. There are two elastics for holding notebooks, which are tidily threaded through grommets in the spine. Inside the back cover, there are pockets for two credit cards, with a space in between that can hold a mini pen. There is a larger pocket behind.
All these pockets got me thinking about how I might use the Louise Carmen notebook as a wallet. I tried that with my passport size Travelers Notebook, using some accessories to hold cards and cash and even coins in a zippered pocket. But I found it awkward and fat and heavy, somehow. And because the size wasn’t really my preferred proportions in the first place, I didn’t love it enough to want to make it work. With the Louise Carmen, the love is there!
My life in the past few years has changed the way I even use a wallet. I rarely use cash anymore. Most of the time, I could probably get away with only carrying my drivers license and a credit card. But there are also health insurance cards and a vaccine card I sometimes need, an ATM card, and a few other odds and ends. They were too much to just shove in the tuck pocket, so I found a plastic insert that holds 12 cards and fits perfectly. (Available here, or search for “hipster wallet card holder insert” and get one that is top-opening. It will have an extra plastic flap that is what holds it into other types of wallets but you can cut that off. It would work fine with a passport size TN too.) I currently have 10 cards in the holder, plus my COVID vaccination card. There are two additional cards in the back cover slots, and usually some business cards and receipts in the front cover pocket.
Louise Carmen notebook in use as a wallet vs. thickness of a pocket Moleskine.The plastic card holder has 6 pages of two card pockets each. I love that the cards are all visible on both sides, with no overlap.
For cash, I started off keeping a few bills in the cardstock pocket I’d bought for my Travelers Notebook. I also threw in a Chic Sparrow plastic folder– it wasn’t really necessary but was a good place to stash the vaccination card and could also hold stamps or photos. And finally, I found that I could just put my coins in the large back pocket. If I had too much change it might get awkward, but the small amount I’m usually carrying is fine, not too lumpy. I opted not to use my old Travelers Notebook zippered pocket as I didn’t like the bump of the zipper itself. After a month or two, I decided to ditch the plastic and cardstock folders– for a while I just tucked my cash into the elastic, but I recently decided to bring back the cardstock folder, as it was a little less cumbersome. I’m still a little on the fence about whether to just carry a separate small coin purse for cash and change, but for the moment, I’m sticking with keeping them in the Louise Carmen– I use cash so rarely, it hardly seems to matter.
Cash tucked in the elasticCash in cardstock folder that I bought for a passport size Travelers Notebook
With all these items turning my Louise Carmen notebook into a wallet, you’ll notice that I left out the actual notebook! I’m always using so many other notebooks, I really don’t need one in my wallet, but I suppose I could rearrange things a bit to add a notebook if needed. If I ever manage to travel internationally again, I will also be able to insert my passport. This all makes a bulkier and larger wallet than I’ve used in decades, but so far, I don’t mind. I love the shape and feel of it, and it’s great being able to carry everything I need. And if more cards start to support Apple Wallet, I might be able to slim it down even more.
But to get back to the notebooks… The Louise Carmen branded inserts are attractive– a pretty minimalist black card stock cover, with just “notes” and the Louise Carmen brand stamped on the front, and the Louise Carmen website stamped on the back. 60 pages are stitched in a single signature, similar to Moleskine Cahiers, rather than the staple-bound Field Notes. Dotted and plain versions are available. The dotted version has numbered pages, and a header with a space for the date. It bothers me a little that on one side, the word “date” is on the left, and on the facing page, it’s in the middle. Why?? The numbering of the pages was also sometimes slightly cut off by the rounded corners. All the pages are perforated.
The paper is ok, but not great. It has a slight texture to it, and doesn’t feel as smooth as the silkier Moleskine and Nolty paper I’m used to. Some fountain pens bled through a little bit, at least on the dot-grid paper, but gel ink pens worked fine, and showed through perhaps a little less than average. My tests on the plain paper were better– Sailor Seaweed Indigo ink seemed to feather a bit, but nothing bled through, and the ink colors looked nice and vibrant. Some people may be fine with this paper, but since there are so many other options for refills in this size, it’s not like you’re stuck with it!
To sum up, I love this notebook/wallet. For me, it solves most of the problems that made me not love my Travelers Notebook. The wrap-around horizontal elastic will never be my favorite closure, but the overall design and quality of this notebook cover make it something I want to hold and fondle and use. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s versatile and durable enough that it should be useful for a very long time.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this review tomorrow, where I’ll discuss options for purchasing a Louise Carmen notebook.
My most recent Netflix viewing was The Glass Onion, which includes an incredible number of cameo appearances by celebrities. It also happens to include a fun cameo appearance by one of my favorite notebooks!
I won’t talk about how the notebook is involved in the plot, but here’s a few photos I grabbed.
Writing blurred so as not to give any spoilers!
The notebook seems to be one of my beloved Bindewerk Linen journals, with unlined pages. At first I thought the size might be a little larger than my 3.5 x 5.5″ notebooks– maybe 4×6. But it’s hard to tell and it could just be that Janelle Monáe’s hands are smaller than mine! It looks like they added a ribbon marker to it, at least in some shots, and a character’s initials are embossed on the cover. There were a couple of close-up shots of writing in the notebook where I thought the paper texture looked exactly like Bindewerk’s.
Here’s mine to show a comparison.
If it’s not a Bindewerk, I have no idea what brand it could be. And I can’t identify the slightly larger notebook that is shown on the table underneath it in the first photo. Let me know if you have any guesses!
I’ve been reading everyone’s year-end recaps and new year’s resolutions and feeling like I need to jump on that bandwagon! But I can’t say I have any sweeping overviews or grand intentions. I’m kind of a creature of habit when it comes to notebooks, so “new year” doesn’t mean there’s that much new to talk about.
My notebook routine for 2022 was about the same as ever: a Nolty planner, a Moleskine sketchbook, and usually a Moleskine or Bindewerk journal as my daily carries. Around the house: another Nolty as an image diary, a Nolty daily book to play around in, and a few other sketchbooks and single-signature notebooks for occasional use. And a larger Mnemosyne notebook on my desk for work notes.
I did have a couple of exciting purchases in 2022. I added a couple of fountain pens to my arsenal, notably the Sailor Pro Gear. (See this post about my pens.) And there is one other significant item that I won’t talk about here because I will be posting a review very soon! But otherwise, I can’t say there was any new product that really got me excited other than the Nolty Daily Book Gold– yes, they released the leather covered version I had been fantasizing about for years, and since I obviously manifested it into existence, I had to order one. I’ll review that soon too.
As for 2023 resolutions, I plan to get cracking and write more reviews of the various stuff in my stash! I have some fun things to share with you all. I want to do some more giveaways too, as it’s been a while and I definitely have some things that need to be re-homed. Getting better organized is also on my to-do list. For someone who puts so much thought into her writing and drawing supplies, it’s really sad that my desk space for using them has gotten so out of control that I can barely find an empty flat surface to write on! If you follow me on Instragram, you may have noticed the clutter encroaching on some photos and videos!
In the meantime, I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year full of productive, creative, soothing, satisfying notebooking!
This notebook feels almost like a Holy Grail find. A pocket sized Smythson notebook with UNLINED paper!
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Smythson notebooks. I splurged on one of their address books ages ago because I loved the classic and classy Panama cross-grain leather cover and light blue pages. At 3 3/8 x 5 1/2″ and about 5/16″ thick, Smythson notebooks are lightweight and flexible compared to a typical Moleskine-type notebook. They have luxurious little details like gilt edges– and very luxurious (i.e. expensive) prices to match. Unfortunately the ones you see for sale on eBay at lower prices usually seem to be in odd colors, and/or have annoying slogans stamped on the front– stamped in gold foil and a beautiful font, at least. And often the prices aren’t that much lower than MSRP, or they’re adding on expensive shipping from the UK.
Comparison to a pocket size Moleskine sketchbook
My main reason for not having bought another Smythson notebook all these years, aside from price, was that the pages were always lined. I’ll buy a lined notebook to review sometimes if it’s not too expensive, but otherwise, I really only want to use plain, squared or dotted pages day to day.
I once saw a photo online (story here) that led me to believe that unlined Smythson notebooks might sometimes exist, but when I inquired in a Smythson store (and learned that one pronounces it with a long I, as in Sm-eye-thson) they said they only came lined. But I can now confirm that at least one unlined Smythson notebook has been made, and it is in my possession.
I was so pleased to find this on eBay. “Notes and Sketches” on the cover is so much more “me” than, say, “Sloane Ranger,” or “Yummy Mummy.” I love the red color. And the pages really are plain, no lines to be found. There is one page with Smythson’s brand info but otherwise it is completely blank.
I would guess this notebook was not made very recently: the Smythson stamp on the back cover looks different from how it is currently styled, and the brand info lists the address as 40 New Bond Street, which is not their current address. But it must be from after 2002, as the info shows 4 royal warrants, and the 4th was only granted in 2002 according to the company history. I suppose this notebook was aimed towards people who might want to draw as well as write. But the only unlined notebooks currently sold by Smythson are in larger sizes, sometimes with sketchbook paper.
The paper Smythson uses is very thin and lightweight– they refer to their notebooks as “featherweight,” in fact. It is hard to believe that this paper could be fountain pen friendly as claimed– but it is! Fountain pens work beautifully on this paper. I found that my ink colors looked more vibrant than I would have expected on blue paper. There is pretty much no bleedthrough, and show-through is less than that you’d expect too, hardly noticeable at all and definitely less than Tomoe River paper. (Somehow the show-through is less noticeable in real life than in these photos.) Where I pressed down for some line variation, you can see some marks from the pressure of the tines, but still no bleed-through. The only pens that did bleed through a little were the very juicy Uniball Signo 207, an oil-based Uniball marker, and the dreaded Super Sharpie, which really seems sacrilegious to use in a Smythson notebook. I feel like I have to apologize to the notebook by saying “Oh, I DO beg your pardon, terribly sorry!” in a British accent, but maybe that’s because I’ve been watching too many episodes of The Crown.
If I had to find something not to love about this notebook, it would be that it will never really “lie flat.” It will open completely flat as the sewn signatures and binding are very flexible. But the spine will stick out a bit so it’s always going to want to close itself. But that is pretty common with slim pocket sized notebooks anyway.
The closest you can get to this notebook in Smythson’s current catalog is the Panama Notebook with featherweight blue lined paper. It comes in various colors at $75. There is a Soho notebook with plain blue featherweight pages and the same leather texture on the cover but in a 5.5 x 7.5″ size– it will set you back $250. But beware– that notebook looked like it has the Smythson brand name on each page, so while it is unlined, it is not truly “blank.”
Smythson Panama notebooks are still made in England– it’s been a couple of years since I last looked at current models in a store, but the quality still seemed excellent, as it should be for the prices they charge, and hopefully that hasn’t changed since. If you are a fountain pen user who wants a simple, classic, luxurious notebook or agenda, or if you want to give a special gift to a notebook lover, or if you just have really deep pockets, they are well worth considering.
A old friend of mine lives in South Korea. Whenever she visits the US, she brings me some little gift, usually cute Korean stationery! This little notebook set was from her last visit. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen notebooks clipped into a carabiner before!
The notebooks are all blank inside, and each has a different colorful design on the exterior. The construction is a single stitched signature, and the covers are nice and sturdy. At 3 7/8 x 5 1/2″ , the size is a little wider than a Field Notes or most other single-signature notebooks, but it’s still good for tucking in a pocket if you unhook them from the carabiner.
I don’t think I would ever buy a set of notebooks hole-punched for a single ring or carabiner like this, but I can’t deny that it has a certain practicality. You could clip one notebook or all three to a bag to keep then handy for jotting quick notes. Maybe they could be clipped to a reuseable bag to keep a shopping list at hand when you go grocery shopping. A kid could clip them to a school backpack… though I can see how that would backfire, at least if you went to school with some of the wiseass kids I did!
There’s no branding on the outside, so I have no idea who makes this notebook set. A quick google search didn’t turn up any similar products, so they are a bit of a mystery! They’ll never be something I use daily, but they’re a fun curiosity, and a pleasant reminder of my thoughtful friend.
Hi all! A reader recently pointed out to me that my email notifications for new blog posts were no longer working. I had to do some behind the scenes work and delete various WordPress plugins and lost that functionality. But I think I’ve now added it back! In the menu below the header, there is now a “Subscribe” link to a page where you can enter your email address to receive blog updates. This is very much in testing mode! But hopefully I’ll get it working so new blog posts trigger a notification to anyone who wants it. My apologies to anyone who has been missing the updates!
Notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, diaries: in search of the perfect page…
