I Have a Confession to Make...

My husband, Garland, refers to me as "Inspector Gadget" and for a micro-enterprise business owner, I have to confess: It's true.

I've got the Gadget phone (a kyocera smartphone), the Gadget computer (an HP Pavilion that does it all), and so you don't think this is limited to my business, I've got the the Gadget breadmaker, which suffered a tragic meltdown recently (let us pause for a moment of silence) , the Gadget George Foreman grill...you get the point.

Proudly, I say to you that I use them all, but here's something interesting I noticed about myself: when I'm creating or trying to capture notes on the fly, I use pencil and paper. I had a smartphone and the best little laptop computer in the world, but I have to tell you that I'm hooked on these smart little notebooks. My favorite is pocket-sized and I carry it with me, tucked in my bag for those times when I just have seconds to jot down a note (or don't want to be caught tryping to graffiti a note into my Kyocera....dangit...how...do....you...make...a...."K"?!).

This one comes with a charming story (it was the notebook of choice for Hemingway and Picasso) and its beautiful. Sleek, simple and small. While you're reading it, think about a habit you have which might seem counter -intuitive, but it highly effective. Find one and make good friends with it.

Moleskine Small Ruled Notebook - The Legendary Notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin - Moleskin Blank Book Journal Imported From Italy

MOLESKINE IS THE LEGENDARY NOTEBOOK, USED BY EUROPEAN ARTISTS AND THINKERS FOR THE PAST TWO CENTURIES, FROM VAN GOGH TO PICASSO, FROM ERNEST HEMINGWAY TO BRUCE CHATWIN.

This trusty, pocket-size travel companion held sketches,notes, stories and ideas before they were turned into famous images or ages of beloved books.

Originally produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde, by the end of the twentieth century the Moleskine notebook was no longer available. In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed its shutters forever.

“Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus” were the lapidary words of the owner of
the stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie where Chatwin stocked up on the notebooks. The English writer had ordered a hundred of them before leaving for Australia: he bought up all the Moleskine that he could find, but they were not enough.

In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought Moleskine back again. As the self-effacing keeper of an extraordinary tradition, Moleskine once again began to travel the globe.To capture reality on the move, pin down details, impress upon paper unique aspects of experience: Moleskine is a reservoir of ideas and feelings, a battery that stores discoveries and perceptions, and whose energy can be tapped over time.

The legendary black notebook is once again being passed from one pocket to the next; with its various different pagestyles it accompanies the creative professions and the imagination of our time. The adventure of Moleskine continues, and its still-blank pages will tell the rest.