hello, loves! 

This post couldn’t come at a better time! Besides the fact that it is almost February, I spent most of yesterday angry at the whole Zoella thing. Basically, if you’re not aware, Zoella, the brand created by YouTuber Zoe Sugg, is under fire from media stories for a blog post about vibrators and female pleasure. Apparently, Zoella was part of a high school curriculum (something she did not know), and she was removed from the approved curriculum because of that post, sparking a conversation about female pleasure, and the “shame” perpetuated around it by society. You can read more about it in her Instagram post here. But basically… fuck that. First of all, a lifestyle and women’s health blog should not be expected to be “education ready” for teenagers, especially when her main reader demographic is 25-35. Secondly… if you think teenagers aren’t aware of sex toys, you’re very mistaken. And who cares if they do become aware?

Basically, there’s so much stigma – as much as I don’t like that word – around female pleasure. There’s next to no education on it, with sex-ed teachers saying “men have wet dreams, women have periods and give birth,” or the oft-used “crockpot vs. microwave” analogy that’s given about arousal from women to men, respectively. The whole system is created to be male-focused, but women can be just as sexual and sensual as men are expected to be. But that’s a whole other blog post. I’m getting a bit off-topic.

February is a month of self-love and self-care for me.

I wanted my bullet journal to reflect that, to remind myself every day that I am loveable, that I am beautiful, that I am glorious and empowered and wonderful and worth everything. I’m really quite proud of what I managed to put together, and I already look at it often – not always even just as a planner, but as a reminder. ? I hope you enjoy!

[ See my January 2021 Bullet Journal spreads here ]

[ See my 2020 Bullet Journal spreads here ]

[ See my Inspiration Pinterest board here ]

 

My Monthly Spread

I had a social media project last semester all about body positivity, and while doing research for it, I became entranced with all the beautiful female-focused line art I saw on Pinterest. So complex to create, but simple enough for a non-artist like me to replicate. I wanted to make that statement with my monthly theme page, usually just a pasted-in picture, so I chose this. The serif “F” that you see was a happy accident, where I accidentally started to write “July” directed on the brown paper. An easy fix, as you can see :)

The opposite page is kept fairly simple, just a regular calendar layout. If you turn the bullet journal, it’s the normal seven days across calendar style… I just wrote the numbers vertically.

 

Reading Tracker + Blog Dashboard

This page almost requires no explanation! It’s the same monthly reading tracker I’ve been using for about two years now. In addition to my online spreadsheet/database I use, this is just a nice thing to look back at and keep alive in my journal. Reading is so integral to my life, it often tells me about my headspace or what was going on when I go back to review my past reading.

My blog dashboard is just a monthly page I use to brain-dump my blog plans and to-dos. It’s nothing fancy, but very useful, as I don’t have the space to make blog plans in a regular weekly spread beyond simple daily tasks.

 

Habit Tracker + Ideal Week

   

This is the first habit tracker I’ve created since… 2018? 2017? I quickly gave up on them, because I never actually kept updated with them. But I’m so in love with this spread, I think I’ll find myself referring to it often, just to see how beautiful it is. I’m seriously in love with this line art, as well as the quote “Self-love isn’t selfish, it’s important.” It’s I often need reminding of. The three habits I’m tracking in February are Movement (whether it be yoga, working out, taking a walk), Water (that I’ve met my daily water goal), and daily 2-hr study block of focused work. I’ve been setting an app on my phone that locks it down and putting in two-straight hours each day – excluding Saturdays. It’s easier to get the work done and feel motivated when I set that timer. Often, it leads to me working beyond that once I get into the headspace.

My ideal week spread is one that I think is a bit of a necessity at this point. I just moved out of my family home and into an apartment for the first time. I no longer have a class schedule to keep me accountable, and online Zooms just don’t always do the trick of setting myself into a routine. This page is dedicated to telling me what my routine should be, and what classes I should be working on each day. A set routine that would have come naturally, had I cause to leave my apartment.

 

Weekly Spreads

   

Week #1: I’m kind of in love with statement serif letters right now? I’m normally a sans serif font kinda girl, but there’s just something incredibly sexy about statement serif letters. Plus, they help tie it into the serif “F” on the monthly theme page! Not a replica (at all), but this is the original bullet journal spread that inspired mine. I wanted some color, so I added some pink and green… globs?

You’ll notice some standalone letters on the edges of this spread. Those are spaces for me to write what I will eat for Lunch (L) and Dinner (D), and then what book I’m currently reading (CR). Those will be added to each spread as I use them.

 

Week #2: I’m pretty in love with how this one turned out, too! With the pink-outlined gorgeous face and intimate legs, this page just screams comfortable sensuality. The quotes “fuck perfection” and “you have a fierce nature” tie it all in perfect. Each day of the week gets a box, including one entitled “this week” for general tasks to be completed at some point in the week. Blog or work stuff generally goes here.

 

Week #3: These are my favorite spreads! I still had so much line art I wanted to use, and I really wanted some statement art pages. The first image shows the first two-page spread, with a pink-shadowed posed figure saying “dear body, I love you <3,” and the opposite page has a spot for weekly tasks, as well as three day’s worth of to-do lists.

The second image shows the second half of the week, with boxes for four days, and another pink-shadowed figure with this quote, “I don’t need permission to feel glorious.” I’m completely enamored with how these look!!!

 

Week #4: Here lies my most obvious mistake… the quote at the top of the page says “DEFINE: doing the things that make you feel more like yourself.” Define what you ask? Well, I didn’t say. It was supposed to say “Self-care” ? I managed to make an edit and fix that mistake, but not in time for this picture, unfortunately.

The second page is the same, with a box for each day of the week, and a posed figure on the bottom right, which says, “make yourself a priority” in this box for weekly tasks.

 

Monthly Reflection + Quote Page

One thing I’m trying to incorporate more of in my bullet journal is a monthly reflection/recap. Hence the page on the right! I have a scrapbook journal that I use to catch my thoughts and memories, but having this space in my bullet journal would be really nice to look back on. Plus, it will allow me designated time to reflect on my social life, finances, money management, or any other thing!

The right page is just a really cute drawing of someone who looks, to me, like she’d be carefree, fierce, and a little bit wild. I’m kinda thinking Donna from “Mamma Mia 2: Here we go again!” It says, “self-care is how you take your power back,” and “follow your passions to bring joy in the now <3″

 

Other posts you may enjoy…

      

Do you have a bullet journal? What’s your planning process/theme for the month? Let me know in the comments down below, I’d love to hear from you!