So my dad’s text messages wend their way to me from the Southern Hemisphere and I plaster them – band aid like – across my heart. It’s been two months since we were with them and already the photos we’ve printed and plastered across the boys’ bedroom walls are wrinkled from all the telling and re-telling of the story of home.
Micah sleeps with photos of meerkats under his pillow.
We dream of South Africa.
Nando’s chicken, melktert and the smell of a highveld fire in winter.
We walk our earmarked memories.
And wonder if perhaps you too would like a pocket-sized travel journey for recording your walkabouts.
Because the incredibly creative Katie from Gadanke has just such individual, memory logs each hand crafted and available for you.
I love how her love for journaling was born:
I started wondering about all of the other women who have stories deep inside of them, and I started thinking about how my tendency to just listen and ask could help put those stories onto paper. Gadanke was born with fabulous writing prompts and recycled papers. I feel so lucky to be living my dream and celebrating stories.
I am a lover of stories. And if carrying around this handmade journal helps you stop and capture yours with even just five minutes of writing here and there, that would make both me and Katie very happy.
She sent this travel journal home with me to South Africa.
It traveled alongside my passport. They’re about the same size – pocket friendly. And at only $17.00 they’re a steal for a personalized place to record your memories.
I love to flip through the pages of how others have used their Gadanke journals – whether they’re for travel, love, doodle, or prayer – they are each exquisitely personal.
She even has ones just made up of silly lists – putting a spin on anyone’s ordinary to-dos.
And she’s offering them to Gypsy Mama readers at a lovely discount – just enter GYPSY10 from now through the end of the week and received 10% off your order.
I rarely do any kind of reviews over here – but I travel and any way I can find to capture memories in the moment is something worth sharing.
And if you do snag yourself a Gadanke journal – please tell me – I’m snoopy like that and would love to know what makes you want to stop and just write.
Oh my word! These are amazing. We are leaving to Australia in a week and this will be perfect for me. Australia is my husband’s native land and his entire family is still there. We usually include our children in this journey, but this will be our second trip this year (s-i-l’s wedding) and we just couldn’t swing taking the kids this time. This will be a perfect way for me to record our journey so my children can re-live the memories with me. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! I am a journal junkie and these are simply perfect. I often make my own as I love to scrapbook and create journals–many to give as gifts. This summer was just too busy to put one together before we left for Finland, and I ended up grabbing a notebook that contained random musings and study notes. This one would have been perfect for our trip. Dang. Anyway, I intend to order one and have it set aside patiently waiting for our next adventure. Thanks for the recommend.
Great pictures! :) I love to write and journal. I have often wanted to scrapbook but never seem to have the time to do so. :(
I love that Micah sleeps with meerkat photos under his pillow… what joy! I also fell in love with them at the lion park in Jo’burg last month! I am thinking about what photos I will slip under my pillow….
Your books are a great idea!
Found Katie awhile back and fell in love with all of the journals she makes. Her goodies would be one of the reason’s I keep my purse far away from the computer!
I scribble gratitude in a little 89 cent notebook that I painted on and keep in my purse. But that is just the beginning of my journals….the dream journal, the daily life journal, the notebook that is well everything from the grocery list to photo ideas…and some day I will have a journal for my “I want to read” list (because the list is long enough to be a book).
Might just be the right time for an early Christmas shopping!
Awww – love the little meerkat!
It is so hard when those we love so much are so far away! I love that he sleeps with the pictures. A friend of mine took all the pictures like that and put them all over the room. They made the room into a sactuary place of things their children loved. You could do the same. There are frames and shelves and posters and pictures. The cutest was using the pictures all around the door frame, from the ground up. There are lots of ways that you can decorate with them.
I really liked the idea of a memory journal. I have kept a journal for over 34 years. Since blogging has come about I actually keep two journals. The other on is about our Inner City Mission. am going to think about having a journal with me to record moments; it’s something to think about.
Blessings to you and keep on recording those precious moments.
These look amazing! We used to make scrapbooks like this when we traveled as kids, but I haven’t done that recently. I’ll go have a look!
Nandos!!!!!!!
Ahem, that is all.
So awesome that you mentioned Gadanke. I was thinking where have I heard of these before – in my local paper! She lives close by and was just featured in the paper. Very cool and thanks!