For the 3rd book in my journey to the Butcher Orange, I’ll be using the 25th release of the Field Notes Colors Edition, the Ambition Edition. If nothing else, that’s fun to say! Ambition was the 2014 Winter release, and it ranked just inside the top 10 in my initial Field Notes Rankings. It’s a quirky edition with some specific special uses while still being flexible enough to be used for just about anything. It’s a good way to add some creativity to your routine.

First Impression: At first glance, these notebooks are impressive. From the embossed gold Field Notes title to gilded edges to the gold staples and muted, olive, chocolate, and wine colors, these gorgeous books have a high-end look and feel. Removing the plastic is special on this edition. Opening the notebooks for the first time gives you that slight cracking sensation you get with gilded edges that make it seem like more than a notebook.

In addition to looking refined and cultivated with gilded edges and gold titles on the outside, the books continue their air of sophistication inside by using Cougar Natural 50#T smooth, which has a milky, creamy appearance. It all combines for an elaborately rich, historical, archival presence without feeling too extravagant. After all, we are talking about notebooks here. (Random note, as you can see above, it appears that the olive green colored book is slightly bigger than the others.)

All of that alone would have been enough to make this edition special, but the good folks at Field Notes took it a step further by introducing a new print format. In addition to a memo book with graph print, the set includes a throwback to the Traveling Salesman edition with a ledger style print, and heads into uncharted territory with a 56 week datebook! Each of the books has a bit of blank space at the top with a double line that kicks into the format below. It’s great for titles.

Ok, I have to pause for a moment to brag. When I was thinking of some ways to make our wedding day extra special for my then fiancé, I decided to use the weekly datebook to write out 366 days of encouragements that she could keep with her forever and read every day of the year. (366 for leap year.) Our amazing photographers Joe and Jo Portnoy captured this moment of my wife Juleigh reading the note I put in the front of the book. It’s a picture I’ll cherish forever.

On to some more of the details. As I mentioned, the covers come in Olive, Chocolate, and Wine, and are French Speckletone 100#c. The print on the cover is done in Ambitious Gold, a metallic inc. There were 30,000 packs printed. My favorite Practical Applications are: Reasons to Quit Job Vol II, and Why I Don’t Trust Bruce. Bruce is a shady character. I do on occasion find the ambitious gold a bit hard to read, but it really helps sell the overall look that distinguishes this book from anything that Field Notes has done before. Colors subscriptions also came with a folded bookmark that indicates that this is edition FNC-25, and the bottom tabs of the bookmark are labeled Now and Later.

I’ll be using the memo book this month. As per the usual, a review will follow.