If I could put together a ready-to-go suitcase filled with whatever I would need for up to a week in an unknown climate this is potentially what I would do. This was a question that was asked via email from a woman who recently became a flight attendant (I so wanted to be one in my early 20’s and still kick myself over not pursuing it). She said that she is on reserve which means that at any time she can fly off to any destination for up to 6 days. It could be hot, cold, in-between, or all three at one time, so what would I bring if this was up to me?
I wanted to stay around the 10-15 items of clothing number (excluding undergarments and pyjamas) plus shoes. First I would stick to a really neutral palette. A mixture of dark and light tops, with a colour thrown in. One silk camisole or tank, one t-shirt, one long sleeve, one white blouse, and one colourful dressier top.
For bottoms I would bring one pair of black pants, a dressy denim, a boyfriend style so they can be worn cuffed and are airy if it is hotter out, and a skirt. One pullover, and a cardigan for layers or light coverage and a jacket. I would bring a swimsuit, a scarf that is big enough to be also used as a swimsuit cover, a hat, and a light dress.
I would also include leggings or knit tights (not shown above) to be able to layer under the skirt and dress to transition through different weather. Three pairs of shoes (a boot of some kind, sneakers, and sandals or flats), two pairs of pyjamas, and undergarments (also not shown).
If you stick to a basic list like:
camisole or tank
t-shirt
long sleeve
blouse
colourful dressy top
2 jeans (one casual one darker denim or trade one in for shorts or lightweight pants)
black pants or dress pants (black is always easy to dress up in a pinch though plus it hides stains well)
pullover
cardigan
a skirt in your preferred length (could also swap for shorts or another dress but a skirt gives more options)
dress
swimsuit (or not, but it would be nice to have just in case)
jacket (the type of jacket would depend on how unaccustomed you are to colder temps and style preference. I tend to wear my leather jacket with layers until it is -10°C when I switch to my winter coat.)
You can see that it is very generic so it is really easy to reach in your closet and grab each of these pieces in a hurry as long as you pay attention to the colours you are putting together. Every closet has at least one option of the above, but probably more so you can change it up for variety.
If you really wanted to be prepared by keeping a suitcase pre-packed and ready to go by the door you could lay out each piece into outfits beforehand and take a picture so that you can refer back to it if you can’t figure out what to wear. I do this when I put together the outfits that can be made with each packing list. It is to show you how many options you can get without bringing your whole closet and avoids the “I have nothing to wear” problem. Quick, easy and to the point.
Outfit options for this list will be in the next post.
Do you have a go-to packing list that would cover multiple climates?
This weekend was Victoria Day weekend which is the long weekend that introduces the summer weather and becomes the countdown to summer vacations in Canada. Since it was a long weekend I decided it would be a brilliant idea for me to swap rooms with the girls. I have wanted to go it for some time, but man did I regret it once we got started. Tom was bitching because I asked him for his universal Allen key tool so I could disassemble the girls Kura bunk to move it.
Disclaimer: if you have one don’t disassemble it because the fighting the ensues made lead to divorce.
Oh man did we fight (not because of the tool). He mistook me asking for the tool to mean that I wanted help moving the beds (which it didn’t because I would prefer to do it solo since he complains non stop). This led to difficulties getting it through the doors which led to more fights. I moved things around for 10 hours before I quit and went to bed finally. I attacked the rest of it on Sunday and have reached a level of being 90% completed. I must say that I am rather enjoying the finished product though. The switch made much more sense and I am noticing the benefits of having more places to put things. I do need to go out and buy some black out shades for this room since vampire me can’t sleep with a sliver of light. I also need a big box of command strips so I can hang up all the pictures that we have. Aside from these two small things I think it was a good choice because it seems that everything has a place to go now. A lot of it being in my new walk-in closet (insert crying emoji) so I don’t get a nice beautifully organized walk-in but I do get less clutter. Beggars can’t be choosers…
Does doing household chores/tasks with your significant other bring out the worst in you both?
So you have booked a 21 day trip with the possibility of an extension. You know you will be going to Ljubljana, Slovenia but maybe you will be going to Turkey or Budapest as well. You plan on doing some outdoorsy stuff, not too extreme but probably some hiking and rowing so you are not too sure how to pack light for a holiday of this length that will require both regular and physical activity clothes.
The temperatures in July and August range from late teens to +30°C with and average of 24°C . Rain is also common at this time of year and the areas with walking/hiking trails can be 5-10°C cooler. Clothes that can do double duty are good, things that can be easily washed in a sink and hung to dry if necessary, natural and airy material are a good idea for keeping cooler.
My goal was to try to include the least amount if items I could, but to still make sure that all bases were covered. It would be easy to add an extra t-shirt or two if you felt you would need some extras though. The list includes few t-shirts of varying colours and styles, some long sleeves, shorts, a swimsuit, waterproof jacket, and sketcher black bobs for the outdoors stuff (even the striped dress could work if you aren’t do anything that would involve climbing walls or flipping upside down 😉
The regular day-to-day stuff would be jeans, black pants for a dressier outfit, blouse, some sweaters for layering when the temperatures fluctuate. A jacket for cooler nights, or rainy days, some booties and I couldn’t decide between flats or sandals for the third shoe option. The best choice would be whatever works best for you.
The outfit options for this list are in this post.
* What to pack for Ljubljana Slovenia by request
How do you make sure you have clothes for all circumstances while still packing light?
I had a slight epiphany last night (saturday night). I was in bed reading and it was really late, like really, really late. I finished my book and tried to log on to my library website so I could find another ebook to start and I couldn’t log in. It wasn’t until I went to the main page that I saw that every Sunday the login page is not available due to online maintenance between the hours of 3am-4. I wasn’t until that moment that I realized that I was up so late that websites were shut down for service upgrades since it was their low traffic time. Get off the internet at 3am Sara, nothing good happens after 3. That was something I used to tell my husband several years ago when he was doing the music thing. He worked as a bouncer part-time during this period because we were broke and it brought in some cash when he was home. He would work until close but then stay and party with the staff until like 5am. It pissed me off immensely when he would come home and then spend the entire day in bed to only get up, wash, and repeat. Nothing good happens at 3am.
When I was 11 years old I had an obsession with interior design. I watched design shows, read design magazines and books, and tried my design skills on my bedroom. I would draw to-scale maps of my room and then draw different ways that I could move the furniture. I think I moved it around at least once a month at that time even though my room was small and there weren’t that many options. I even applied to take interior design in college, but due to some ridiculous situation that involved them losing my art portfolio (part of the submission process) and me not being able to produce another one in the time frame I had left before the application deadline I lost my spot in the course. Yes, I am still bitter even though I took museum studies and geography (t was more of a travel and tourism but heavily focused on world geography and travel destinations) which are also things I love. I actually wanted to drop out of college and become a flight attendant but then 9/11 happened and I decided to stay in college for the time being. Which was probably a bad idea because of the year and money I wasted taking marketing during that time. I hated marketing. Five years in college and no diploma to show for it. Oh hindsight, how you bite me in the ass. I think that inner 11-year-old designer comes out periodically because it seems that every time Tom goes out-of-town for the weekend I embark on some moving shit around. This weekend was the livingroom. I really like the outcome, it has more of a designated sitting space computer/office space. Well, as much as an office space you ca have in 650 sq ft. 😉
Above is what I wore the last week. I hope you had a good weekend. Happy (or not so happy) Monday!
Did you have any career aspirations that didn’t pan out, or college regrets?
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