I bought a moleskin notebook for next year's bullet journal, and I already hate it.

As the year starts creeping towards the end, I usually find myself investing in next year's bullet journal. I get so excited, I just can't help myself.

Last year I traded my Muji dotted notebook for an Minimalism notebook I found on amazon for $7.95! I'm all about not breaking the bank for a bullet journal. I originally fell in love with the Muji ones, but once they discontinued the two styles I liked, I knew it was time for me to venture out and try something new.

The Minimalism notebook is actually pretty good. The paper isn't overly thin, the soft cover has held strong. While there isn't a mini envelope flap at the back or a pen loop or any of those extras, I honestly didn't mind.

I was able to play with multiple types of mediums, and rarely had much bleeding (when the pen/marker/water color you use bleeds to the other side of the page).

Again, caught up in the excitement of buying a new bullet journal and able to take my time designing the first few pages, I took the plunge and bought my most expensive bullet journal yet. The soft cover dotted moleskin. It cost me $12, which wasn't terrible. Since this was the most I've ever spent on my bullet journal notebooks, I was expecting this notebook to be magical.

The moment I received the notebook in the mail, I fell in love with the color of the cover. It was a nice forest green. I've always stuck with more neutral colors, since I was going to use this notebook for the full year. I wanted it to look good not matter what bag it was in or what else I was carrying with me. I also like the simplistic look of white or black. This time, I switched it up and got something more colorful.

I started to plan out my first few pages.

Immediately I noticed something wrong. I was using my felt tip pens, and when I looked on the other side I saw how terrible the bleeding was! It was so distracting to see everything on the other side of the page.

When I first saw it, I convinced myself that I wasn't overly bothered, and that I could still use it. Yesterday, I was working on some more spreads with a ball point pen, and guess what? It was completely visible on the other side.

I understood when it was a marker, because a lot of different types of papers bleed because of markers, but I've never had so much ghostwriting because of a ballpoint pen.

I'm kind of stuck. I don't really know what to do with the notebook. The fact that I haven't actually started using it in my day to day life, and it's already bothering me so much is not a good sign.

I kind of want to get a new notebook, but then I feel bad about having this notebook sitting there. What will I do with it? I can't give it away because I have already written in it and personalized it towards me & my needs.

As of now, I'm still leaning on getting a new one. I'm a little frustrated, because while this moleskin is the most expensive bullet journal I've ever gotten, it's for sure the worst in quality. Goes to show you, more expensive is not better. At all.

If any of you guys have any recommendations for inexpensive bullet journals that are pretty good quality, let me know!

Sending you love, strength, and positivity.

-melina xx