Let's get you ready for your trip, shall we?
Travel planning can be an extensive, expensive, and exhausting process...but it doesn't have to be! Here's a list of all of my travel secret weapons: the products I turn to time and time again, to make my trips smoother and more enjoyable.
Read on...so you can focus on the FUN part of travel!
Carry On Essentials
Toss these six things in your carry on bag, and you won't be hating life next time you fly.
- A cozy scarf
- Collapsible water bottle (yes, they exist)
- Kind bars
- Blingin' headphones that you won't lose
- Lip balm to combat "airplane air"
- Pressed powder for touch-ups
Travel Clothing
Thankfully, the world of women's travel clothing is no longer limited to zip-off pants. There's a few brands that totally nail it in terms of creating pieces that are stylish, but also practical and versatile enough for travel.
Joie: I buy linen t-shirts and silk blouses from Joie, both of which I travel with constantly.
Encircled: Stylish travel gear for jet-setting ladies, including a cardigan you can wear eight different ways.
MM LaFleur: Me + MM LaFleur = love at first sight. Their dresses make packing for work travel a total breeze.
Beauty & Toiletries
I'm all about low-maintenance beauty when I travel...but I still want to look good! Feel the same? Here's what to pack:
- A one-quart bag that won't tear open
- Travel-size dry shampoo (it exists!)
- The perfect-sized liquid containers
- A flat iron: straighten, curl, save the world
Pass the Time on a Flight
A long, boring flight calls for entertainment of the addicting variety. Here's a few of my favorite page-turners - I promise you'll get hooked, and then you'll be landing before you know it.
The Nightingale: Hands-down, if I could recommend one book I read in the past two years, this would be it.
The Language of Flowers: Another favorite of mine, the book chronicles the life of a woman after she leaves foster care at age 18.
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A hilarious memoir of a woman who chose to travel the world in her 30's - and all about the love she finds along the way.
When Breath Becomes Air: Honestly, this is a literary highlight - and a bit of a tear-jerker. Just read it.
Brooklyn: Just one more reason to love Saoirse Ronan.
The Girl on The Train: A gripping thriller, this book had me up until the wee hours, because I truly couldn't put it down.
The Royal We: If you share my "slight" obsession with the British Royal Family - this is the perfect read for a beach trip.
Orphan Train: Written about a little-known movement in post-Great Depression USA, where trains carried orphan children to adoptive families across America. An eye-opening and engaging story.
Prep: A flashback to the days of high school gossip, within the halls of a posh New England prep school.