Packing it all in

I love to travel but I seriously hate to pack for trips.  I have been known to ask my mom for ideas of what she is packing (well, for major trips).  I just get worried that I'll never want to wear what I pack so I end up overpacking because "you never know what you will want to wear."  Well, I have learned how to get over that.  I have done a little better this summer with my packing.  Here are some tips that I have learned over the years:

-I like to use plastic bags and a lot of them.  I put underwear, socks, workout clothes, undershirts, etc. in separate bags so it is organized in my suitcase and easy to find.

-I buy extra toiletries and have a bag that I keep these in so it is already to go at a moments notice.  I just add a few items the morning of after I use them.

-I keep a packing list for my son of everything I need to pack for him on my phone. This way I can look at the list and not forget anything.  This was more helpful when he was a baby when you have to bring WAY more items.

-Pick bottoms and tops.  I make sure that many of my tops can go with all or most of the bottoms.  This way you can mix/match your outfits and never wear the same thing twice (for longer vacations).

-Add the shoes.  I try to go with color combos so I don't have to take tons of shoes.  Example- I try to have most outfits go with brown shoes so I don't have to bring black, brown, and other shoes too. I'll be the first one to say, "But I need to pack the fabulous shoes."  But let's face it.  It's not practical and you probably don't have room for those must have shoes in your suitcase. 

Don't worry, somehow I end up with a lot of shoes anyway when trying to pack light.  Go figure!

What are you secrets to success for packing for trips?

Grey+Pink= Love

I often struggle finding something to wear with this skirt.  Well, once again I felt a little daring and stepped outside of my box a few days ago and wore this ensemble.  I absolutely loved it! It's dressy yet the tank top turns it into a casual, everyday look. I swear Pinterest is helping me put together new things. Plus, I love all the color combos.

4th of July

I know this post is late in the making.  Sorry, I've been traveling so I've been away from the computer.  Wanted to post my pre-holiday outfit.  Don't worry, I wore good ole red, white, and blue on the actual day but I like to wear these colors the entire month.  The rest of the year I feel like people are saying, "Wow!  She is very patriotic," if I wear these colors out on the town together.  Or maybe it is just my husband for being notorious for things like that.  Either way I love it.

Shopping:
Skirt: thrifted
shirt: Banana Republic
belt: JCPenny (came with a shirt, but I wear the belt WAY more than the shirt)
undershirt: my lucky striped Shade shirt.
shoes: Target

Substitutes

Back before I was a teacher, I was a substitute- hate to toot my own horn but I was (or at least thought I was) pretty darn good.  Then, I became a teacher and knew that most of the time when you make sub plans, you don't plan on grading anything that goes on that day or have them teach anything new.  I also ended my career as an excellent sub. But after saying that still, nothing can replace the actual teacher.

So, is true with aerobics classes.  Every morning us go getters at 5:30 am, expect great workouts because by golly we woke up for this!  You normally don't have newbies joining that crowd so we have good form and we know what we are doing.  And they have extremely great teachers teaching us.

Unless there is a sub. 

I should have learned my lesson two weeks ago when the same sub taught the same class.  I didn't see the teacher today before it was about to start and I had my gear all lined up.  That's when I should have packed up and gone out to the treadmills.  She wasn't so bad but she just talks WAY too much explaining things in between when we should have been working.  Plus, my heartrate doesn't get nearly as high as I'd like.

I repeat.  Nothing can replace the teacher.

Just me and my Garmin

I can't really call this my latest obsession because it really has become a apart of my life.  Just like my heart rate monitor and the bodybugg, the Garmin is now something that I can't exercise without.  If you like running, especially outdoors, this is a must have accessory.

Love it! Love it! Love it!

Did I mention that I love using it while running?  It's like a treadmill where it tells you how fast you are going.  That is a major motivator for me since I like to keep a certain pace while running.  Plus, I found out this past week that one of my many routes in CA wasn't as long as I thought it was.  Bummer! 

Seriously, what did I do without my Garmin?

Purl Soho

A few of us girls went to the Purl Soho warehouse while in California.  Talk about heaps of fabric!  It was awesome.  It wasn't that far away from where we were staying and it is SO worth the trip if you want cute fabric.  Plus, you don't have to pay for shipping.  :)

I bought a package of fabric remnants that look so cute together.  Some of the fabrics really go with each other and I probably wouldn't have paired them up so I'm glad I went with that choice.  I am so excited to make my next quilt.  This might just have to be an annual tradition.

To Fedora or not...that is the question.

While on my trip I stopped by the Orange County Swap Meet.  My family and I had a great time but I was on the hunt for one thing.....a Fedora hat.  I've been wanting to buy one for awhile but was worried if I could pull off the look.  I've tried on several at Target and thought that it wasn't me.  But there is something about being at the beach that can make you try new things.

At the Swap Meet, there was booth after booth with hats.  I can't even tell you how many I tried on.  Note to self....not all Fedoras are the same.  But I found a lucky winner.  I'm pretty pleased with the look but am slightly worried that I'll only wear it at the beach.  My goal is to wear it again in the next two weeks.  It might just be when I'm having a bad bang day.

Road Trippin'

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Newport Beach, CA.  I was having too much fun to post anything so excuse me for my absence.  But I have a question for you. 

What do you wear on road trips?

As I sat in In N Out Burger today, I saw all walks of life.  Some people were in work clothes and others you could tell were road trippin' it.  How do I know?  They were wearing pajama pants.  Yes, even the guys.  I don't know about you but I rarely wear my pajamas for anything but sleeping in.  Maybe it's because I wore them too much to school when I was a junior in high school. 

Now, I try to wear comfortable clothing but still look decent.  I just wore this grey shirt and jean shorts.  Nothing fancy but it was comfortable.  I usually like to wear open-toed shoes but today I went with the TOMS and I might have just found my new traveling shoes (p.s. I wore them to Disneyland and they were beyond comfortable).

What do you wear?

 

Oh Happy Day!

(green shoes: Ross, yellow undershirt: Shade, Thrifted skirt and shirt...or maybe I just forgot where I got them)

Doesn't this outfit just scream HAPPINESS?  I love it when outfits just put a smile on my face.  I wore this get up to church because sometimes going to church at 8 am is not my cup of tea.  Actually, I like it better than going at 12 pm, which we will switch to in August.  You might see me wearing black then. Until then I will leave you with a smile about my wonderful, green shoes.

Fashion tip (even though sometimes I break it myself): 

 I heard that your shoes are supposed to match or go with what you have on the bottom (pants, skirt, shorts, etc.), hence why I wore green shoes.  But let's be honest....you don't have to follow that advice because I rarely do.  What do you think?