My mom has loved Clairefontaine papers and journals ever since my oldest sister lived in Montclair, NJ (we’re talking 1998-ish) where there is (was?) a small stationery shop that carried the brand. So, to help my parents remember a hiking vacation to Hawaii a couple of Christmases ago, I gifted her one of these travel journals found on Vickerey.com. The pages alternate colors as you flip through the book—solid black for images and white for text (or photos, I suppose). I’m glad to see they’re still for sale!

Obviously, this would be a bit big to actually take on a trip, but it does make for a great way to review any vacation or special event after the fact. Rest assured, though: in addition to the standard Moleskine, Vickerey has a lot of options for carrying in your pocket, which works especially well for those of us who like to have a pen and notebook on hand at all times:

Even though I haven’t bought anything from their site in a while, I’ve kept Vickerey in my bookmarks as a great source for gifts. Besides paper goods, their inventory ranges from yoga gear to uniquely packaged soaps and lotions and includes a fair amount of casual men’s and women’s clothing. Take a look. You might find something you like.