Remember how I wanted an award for fitting two months’ worth of stuff into a single bag?
It turns out…I might have been able to do with even less. Because there’s a bunch of stuff that I brought that I thought I’d use constantly and don’t, and a handful of other things that I packed “just in case” and ended up being what I wear/use nearly every single day.
Fringe Booties. I totally anticipated wearing flip-flops every single day out here, but these boots have barely left my feet – they feel totally California-perfect to me, and make me feel “dressed” even when I’m wearing the same old tank and shorts.
(The pair I brought with me, pictured above on a cocktails-and-mocktails park picnic, are no longer available, but click here for a bunch of similar options I found.)
Backpack. I’m a huge bag lady, as we know, and brought out a couple of clutches, a black tote, and a backpack because I figured I would want to swap my bag out once in awhile. As it turns out: I don’t. I wear this backpack every single day, because despite the fact that it’s kind of annoying to have to take the thing off every time I need my phone/a tissue/hand sanitizer/whatever…it is so wonderful to have both hands completely free.
I remember this from middle school backpack-wearing; it was the best way to lug around lots of stuff back then, and it’s the best way to lug around lots of stuff now. I’m not tossing my bag collection anytime soon, but I’ll remember this next time I have to bring along the bare minimum on a trip.
Body Oil. I felt silly about toting out both my African Marula Oil and my Lierac Huile Sensorielle, but am glad I did, because I didn’t anticipate quite how much I’d enjoy having them with me in this dry heat (and with an expanding-by-the-day body that benefits significantly from constant oil application). Every night before bed, I spend ten minutes rubbing every inch of my body with one oil or another, and it’s a great, luxurious little wind-down.
Candles. Another indulgence that I wasn’t sure made a ton of sense to allocate valuable suitcase space to, and another thing I’m really glad I brought. I’ve been lighting them every single night while I knit/watch TV/read, and it really does make our apartment feel that much more like a home. (I got homesick last night for the first time, and lighting a candle and making our bedroom feel nice and cozy did help.)
Travel Steamer. I am both inexplicably terrible at ironing and hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. Kendrick feels the same way, so even though our handheld steamer took up quite a bit of space in our luggage, it’s saved us ten or fifty arguments at this point, so: excellent choice.
