The packages opened!

It wasn't until midnight last night that I finally got to open the packages - quite a self-torture, wasn't it! But it was worth it!

The first one is Personal Finsbury Pink Zip. The inspiration for it came from here - isn't it great?! It was quite a wait for it since it's discontinued, too, and you can only get black or red ones in this size on some sites, but I really was lucky this time! It is a brand new one (except for the diaries) and it cost me 14GBP! Usual retail price was 59GBP in UK, while I haven't seen it cheaper than 90 Euro elsewhere in European Union!

It's incredibly smooth and soft to the touch, I expected it to be stiffer, but it's obviously nicely padded, it's just irresistible to stroke!

Now, it doesn't lay flat and due to the zip, I don't expect it to ever do, but it's very soft and so it lays flat enough already!

I'm so in love with this binder!!! :)  I know many many Filofax fans don't like the zipped versions of Filofaxes because they don't lay flat, because they're a bit bigger and bulkier and because they limit the capacity of the binder. I, on the contrary, love them; the zipper makes me perceive the Filofax as a room on its own that I can close either tidy or totally messed up, without fear of anything being lost, and finding it just in that same state whenever I come back to it. That's why this beautiful binder is meant to be my personal Journal, the beholder of my most personal thoughts!

The next step is to find some nice dividers (which is far more stressful than it may sound!) and set it up properly. And stroke it, stroke it, stroke it! :)

Now, the next one is a totally different story!

Firstly, it comes out of Finchley range and it is a personal sized, non-zipped number. The colour is Teal and it is discontinued as well (see a pattern here? :) )
I never thought much of the Finchleys, they seemed too rough and non-elaborate to me. How little did I know! Because to know and appreciate Finchley, one must meet it in person!
I got that chance when buying one mostly because of the funny price (anyone who didn't hear about the great German Filofax sale?!) - and what a love it turned out to be!

The leather is the most gentle one and is pure pleasure to touch! I literally couldn't put it down! Teal is also my favourite colour of the range: clear, vibrant, refreshing (I'm sorry the photo's quality doesn't show it the way I'd like to!)!

This one is a used one, I got it for a third of its original price on eBay; the pictures don't show it well - it's in great condition. All I'm going to use is a damp cloth to clean it up a bit, and a cream to restore its shine, and it's going to be a real candy again!

What I never knew and never imagined (but love so much about the Finchleys) is that they lay really, really flat! And when you have one in front of you, opened and subtle as it is, it just screams at you: "Write in me now!" :)

Really, I think every Filofax fan should have one, none of them, including the Malden, is as soft as this one!

Like I said, I fell in love with this range and colour after getting one in my hands, and it was there and then that I knew I'll get one in my preferred personal size as well. Because there is no other colour and leather that would be more appropriate for the spring time, to bring life back after the grey winter! So, yes, this one will be given some TLC and will then wait for spring to come (or maybe a Valentine's Day, I know I will be impatient again, he he)! I bought it now just because I got the chance, I don't see many of them around - I only saw one before, and other bidders took it away from me in the blink of an eye! :)

Here, these are my brand new lovelies. I really hope you love them the way I do; I'm very misunderstood about Filofaxes around here! ;)