Where to Find Aesthetically Pleasing Stationery

I will eat a box of pasta that costs a dollar and some change for an entire week for dinner and eat bagels from a bag from Trader Joe's for breakfast every morning. I don't have expensive taste. Well, that's a lie. Working at the consignment store spoiled me for almost two years, introducing me to the finer things in life when I was living on a budget. I digress, I don't really need to splurge on most things in my life. Well, except for stationery. This is something that is probably incredibly outdated as the digital age is becoming more and more prevalent. I still like to take notes by hand, keep physical to-do lists, and track all of my blog posts in an agenda, even if that means crossing out and erasing things as my schedule inevitably changes. 

This is partially because I just love aesthetically pleasing things and partially because it spices up my desk and really jazzes it up. I want to do an entire post about the psychology behind my desk and why it's organized the way that it is, but that's literally another post for another time. Today we're just talking about where to get cute stationery. Is it always necessarily the most functional? Maybe not. Pencils that aren't mechanical are kind of a pain in the ass but I've yet to find cute mechanical pencils so this is what I'm working with. I am, however, incredibly picky when it comes to pens so if I'm not using any that I mention in this post, I'm donning a classic Bic in either black or their colorful collection because their pink and light blue pens are fantastic. That's neither here nor there though...

I'm really sad to see that Pop & Suki doesn't seem to carry these quote pencils anymore, but I'm mentioning them just in case they decide to bring them back. Are they kind of impractical because they have to be sharpened and I haven't used a pencil sharpener since middle school? You betcha, but it is what it is! These have really cute quotes from Beyonce, Stevie Nicks, and my favorite fictional blonde, Elle Woods, engraved in them. Do I smile every time I use these adorable pink pencils? Maybe. I will not disclose the truth but put two and two together, yeah?

I get my pens from a few different places. My favorite are the Ban.do pens. They write really smooth and like, have you seen how cute their designs are? I gotta catch 'em all, honestly. They're my Pokemon, but better. I also really like my pens from Kate Spade and Cynthia Rowley in terms of regular pens. For a little bit of fun and color, I use my Gelly Roll gel pens in a few different pink shades, occasionally reaching for the teal, blue, and purple that I picked up years ago when my obsession was much larger than it is right now.

There may or may not be some more pens and pencils from Bando coming to me soon after their warehouse sale sucked me in, including some cute mechanical pencils that I'm praying work fabulously so I can continue to use pencils in my blogging agenda without having to sharpen and ruin those adorable Pop & Suki pencils.

My agenda for the past few years has been from Bando but in the past I've dabbled in some Lilly Pulitzer (not my style anymore), Kate Spade (hated that the paper was off-white and not regular white but still cute), and Sugar Paper from Target (cute and budget-friendly). I've heard good things about Rifle Paper Co. and Anthropologie agendas, but my millennial heart belongs to Ban.do. I love the artwork, stickers, and supportive imagery and messaging. I can't see myself using anything else for the time being just based on how darn adorable it is!

In terms of notebooks, I love picking them up from Ban.do,  Kate Spade, Target, and TJ Maxx/Marshalls. It's amazing what stationery you can find at those stores, especially at some dope reduced prices. Gimme the budget cute shit, TJ Maxx!

Where is your favorite place to get stationery?