Suitcase Ready!?

Ok ladies, Spring Break and Summer vacations will be here before we know it...  and hopefully we will all be taking trips to the beach, mountains, mission trips and more! If you are anything like me, then you’re always over packing! Here are some of my best tips to give you on how to pack most efficiently and effectively for a most pleasant trip!

• Pick the right suitcase!  This is important especially if you are flying, because as we all know, those airlines will tack on fees left and right for an overweight bag!  It must be 50 lbs or under to avoid charges for overweight luggage!  My tip is to throw your bag on your scale before leaving to make sure there are no surprises at the airport! Next, choose a bag that is light weight and is easy to roll. I have a hard shell case one with swivel wheels on it. (TJ Max $69)

Here is my hard-sided suitcase, TJ Max purchase and I LOVE it!  It is so handy and easy to maneuver thru airports! Not to mention I don't have to worry about about anything inside getting damaged!

Here it is open, I like how I can pack things on both sides and then just fold the suitcase closed and everything stays in place just like I packed it!

• When it comes to clothing pieces, the key to being able to fit more in your bag is rolling up your clothing! You will be amazed by how much more room this will give you! Oh and it helps with the wrinkles too! It's super easy to do with my suitcase and there is plenty of room!

• Try your best to purchase travel size toiletry items to limit how much room your shampoo, etc takes up! Most items these days have smaller sizes for travel, but if not you can get a set of empty travel sizes containers (Walmart, Target, etc) you can fill with your own products!

Here are a few of my travel containers, I even found my hairspray in travel size!  I use this small Tory Burch cosmetic bag for travel as well, just keeps everything all together!

• Don’t bring your big bottle of perfume, try bringing a smaller tester or body splash! You don’t want your nice bottle to break and it is probably pretty heavy too!

Here is my guilty pleasure, Bond #9 perfume!  My friend Alicia at Maison Weiss hooked me up with LOTS of samples of all my favorite scents!  I have started a collection of the full sized bottles for home, but these tester sprays are the best for travel!  Go see her and she'll help you find your favorite new fragrance!

• Don’t forget your sunscreen! I have been looking and I am going to try La Roche-Posay Anthelios, I’ve heard it’s great for faces!  It has been chosen as best sunscreen for years now and has great reviews! So I will give it a try and let you know!

I've heard great things about this one, I'll let you know as soon as I give it a try!

• If you’re headed to warmer temps... you’ll want to work on the perfect tan you, so are going to need some tanning oil! I use the continuous spray kind in the metal canister and nothing lower than SPF8 (which is still pretty bad I know)!  I did, however, give up tanning beds almost 2 years ago, they are just so horrible for you! YAY! But I do tan in real sun! Hey, everyone needs a little vitamin d!

This is as simple as it gets, Banana Boat Dry Oil!  You better believe I have a can of this whenever I'm heading out to the beach or pool!!  I like it because it doesn't getting you all greasy like the true oil in the pump spray!

• SHOES!!! I am always taking way too many shoes! But who cares! Shoes make the outfit ladies! It is very important to have wedges, flats, and sandals/flip flops that  you don’t mind messing up in the sand!

Ok laugh it up, I know some of you are thinking that these are SO not like me, but I LOVE slipping these on at the beach, so cute with your denim shorts and a little tee headed down to the beach or shopping! Like I said, it's about practicality and you don't to mess up your cute sandals for a day at the beach!

Here is a new wedge that just hit the floor at Material Girls!  I am definitely keeping a pair of these for all my favorite Spring dresses & skinny jeans!

• Baiting Suits… a MUST if you are going somewhere WARM!!! I know I’m not the only one who literally looks everywhere each year to have “the best” bathing suits! My favorites so far this year are the fringe tops! (Sportique www.sportiquems.com $130)

Need I say more? OBSESSED!!!

• Cross-body bag!  My life is much more simple since the cross body bag has been put on all the must-have fashion lists! I can’t even tell you how convenient these are for travel... it frees up your hands and is much safer than something just over your shoulder. It's always key to have practical travel pieces, y'all know I have a slight thing for having a few nice designer pieces as I've mentioned before, but you TOTALLY do not have to go spend that kind of money, just find something that has the same use and practicality (just like my suitcase, only $69).  Here are my 2 pieces that I have found so helpful!

The duffel is great for weekend trips or a long weekend off to the beach! The shoulder bag is our must-have for market week, it's great to fit everything we need while working, invoices, etc.

•  Shrink that wallet size! I do not like traveling with a large wallet! Sorry HOBO Lauren wallet lovers! I use a small credit card id holder with a hook, also great for safety reasons! It makes your handbag lighter and besides, you don’t need all that “stuff” in your wallet for travel! Lighten that load ladies!

Here's my little LV one that I have found to be such a necessity when traveling!

Here's another option that is in stores now from Hobo, it's the Cali & it's $52.95!

• Jewelry is another thing that is very hard to pack! Everything is so small and can get lost or broken! So it is important to have a good jewelry holder or bag! I like hard shell ones but you can do draw sting soft bags. Just don’t just throw it in your make up bag or toiletry bag this will definitely not help the life of your costume jewelry!

• These days we all use our phones for EVERYTHING, including our cameras! Which is a lifesaver and so much easier for traveling! For those of you who have an Iphone 4 make sure you update it because if you do you will have almost all the features of the Iphone 4S. Which is  including being able to EDIT photos! YES that’s right you can crop, red eye, and fix coloring! What more could you need! I love APPLE!

So ladies, I hope you enjoyed reading my tips on packing!  Please feel free to share if you have any other ideas or tips when packing too! Hope everyone has a GREAT Spring Break! Thanks for reading!

LOVE,
Whitney