(Before you) Travel Tips + What’s in My Carry On

 

Happy Saturday all! It’s not one of our best days here in Florida with the usual summer rain, so I thought this would be a good time to write my first post!

With our trip coming up to Asheville in just a few days (WOO HOO!), I wanted to share some important tips that I swear by before heading off to your destination.

1. Make an Itinerary 

So if you are any thing like me, when I go on vacations I need to leave my destination knowing that I did it right, so making an itinerary on where to go/what to see is super important. The first thing you should do is to figure out what your destination is famous or known for (i.e. Breweries, Hiking locations, Historical Monuments). Then start compiling a list of the top rated restaurants or sites around where you are staying that is walking distance or a short car ride away. If you know that one of your must sees are going to be far away, then you can plan on getting a rental car for a day or two. Otherwise having to figure out everything the day of could get hectic. Which brings me to another point that vacation time is pretty precious so being prepared is KEY to having a great vacation. It will give you more time to enjoy where you are vs having to look up “best restaurants near me” for 20 minutes.

**To create the itineraries I use Google Docs. All you need to do is sign up. If you already have a Google account then you are good to go! The program is really easy to use and you can share your documents with others that have an account. From there, they can also add anything to your original document and you will be able to see the changes in real time. I even download the Google Docs app to my phone so I can easily pull it up on the go.

2. Plan out your outfits (ahead of time)

The worst part is going somewhere where you KNOW there will be a pool or some body of water, and then you forget to pack your bathing suit. I know I am not the only one out there this has happened to (cue a slap to the face). So now for every trip I make sure to write down each day and what activities I will be doing. From there, I will go through my closet and start to organize and plan out my outfits for each of those days. If I don’t want to pack them right away, I will just hang and/or fold them together in a certain spot in my closet to be able to just throw into my suitcase later. EASY TIP: Leave all your empty hangers in one spot, so you can easily unpack and hang your clothes back up when you get home.

3. Make a list of essentials

So this brings me to my next point of planning a head. Aside from dresses and jeans, there are some essential items that you need to remember to pack – (i.e. toothbrush, underwear, that strapless bra, phone charger). Making a short list of those must bring items and checking them off as you’re putting them into your suitcase will ensure you’re not forgetting anything.

4. Clean!

The best feeling after a long vacation is coming back to a clean home. Before every trip I do a few things around the house, so I don’t have to do it immediately when I get back such as; Laundry, Emptying out the fridge, Vacuuming/Mopping…etc. I promise you won’t regret doing it!

 

What’s in my Carry On….

• Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes – These are hands down my favorite cleansing wipes. They remove even the toughest water-proof makeup and they come in small travel size packs to easily fit in your purse.
• Disposable Toothbrush- These are great to carry around to be able to brush your teeth anytime, anywhere. Also, they are perfect for long flights to be able to freshen up after.
• Neck Pillow
• Planner & Colored Pens– I use Erin Condren’s yearly LifePlanner. As you can probably tell from this post, I am a bit obsessed with organization/planning, and this has to be my favorite planner yet! You can personalize and customize the planner to what works best for you. It is covered with a ton of stylish design elements and inspirational quotes. Click Here for the planner.
• Noise Cancelling Headphones
• Charger 
• Hand Sanitizer
• Deck of Cards
• Book – I’m currently reading “Behind Closed Doors” – If you’re into “thriller” type novels then you will love this! Once you start reading it, it will be hard to put it down!
• Granola Bar- RX bars have slowly started to become an obsession. They use real ingredients and it also has No Added Sugar, Dairy, Soy, or Gluten. The Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sea Salt flavors are my favorite.
• Water Bottle- I use a Swell water bottle and highly recommend them. They have a ton of fashionable designs to choose from and the best thing about this water bottle is that it keeps my water cold all day! It’s also condensation free and won’t leave any surface wet.
• Deodorant (travel size)
• Hair Ties 
• EOS Chapstick 
• Hairspray (travel size)– For a travel size hair spray, I really like the Big Sexy Hair brand. It’s light weight, boosts volume and has a strong hold against humidity without the ‘crunchy hair’ feeling. 
• Mini Hair Brush
• Lipstick – I use MAC’s “Mehr” color.
• Hand Lotion – my favorite one recently is from Bath and Body works called Sparkling Limoncello.
• Batiste Dry Shampoo (travel size) – Recently started using this dry shampoo and I’m obsessed. It soaks up all the oil without leaving any type of white residue. Not to mention it’s very affordable.
• Lancôme Monsieur Big Waterproof Mascara – This is another product that I have been obsessed with. It offers volume, stays on throughout the day, and the best part is that it’s waterproof!
• Sunglasses- Maui Jim Polarized Sunglasses. The ones I have can be found here.
• Cardigan – My favorite cardigan is this One from Loft. Has cute flared sleeves and goes with everything. Also, it’s lightweight, but keeps you warm during the flight!
• IPAD or Computer – Some airlines give you the ability to watch free movies or tv shows on your flight, so bringing your IPAD or Computer is a great way to keep you busy.