Last week over drinks, my friend Michelle pulled out her cute new planner from Paper Source, and I was instantly envious. So cute and colorful! So slim and sleek! Suddenly, I had to have a new planner. My battered purple polka-dot Franklin Covey three-ring binder was just not working for me anymore. It was too bulky to fit in my purse, uninspiring, and just plain tired.

I’ve used binder-style planners for years because they just seemed more economical, but I always grow tired of them eventually. I decided this time I needed a one-year version so it would be slim enough to fit in my purse. And, it had to be cute enough that I would actually be encouraged to use it.

Like anything else I set my mind to, once I decided I needed a new planner, it became an obsession. All the basic planners at places like Office Max were too boring, and all the academic planners were too juvenile. Even Target was a disappointment, offering a limited selection and nothing all that cute.

So I went online, and was pleasantly surprised to find this uber-cute bluebird design from Barnes & Noble. It’s so adorable I had to give it a shoutout. The planner is produced by Working Class Studio, which uses artwork from students from the Savannah College of Art and Design. “Blue Bird Chat” was designed by Lindsay Alexandra Neilson, MFA in fashion design.

The planner, which includes July 2009-December 2010, has a soft cover that opens flat, an elastic band closure, simple yet stylish interior pages, and a back-cover pocket for stowing important papers. The corners are even perforated so you can tear them off when the week is passed. All this for $9.95. Such a find … I can’t wait to start using it and say goodbye to my beat-up old binder.