I had a strange weekend. Instead of hanging out with friends on Saturday, or shopping for shoes for my sister’s wedding, or sleeping late, Home Warrior and I got up and drove to Dallas with our dogs. I had a rare Saturday meeting to attend yesterday, so we gathered up our dogs and our coffee and my work outfit and headed to Big D (see picture at right of the boys in the car).

We stayed at the Sheraton Suites Market Center near downtown, which was the closest hotel to my meeting site that took dogs. The hotel itself was very nice, the rates were reasonable, and they had no pet fee or weight limit for my dogs. Which is good since one of my boys is a 90 lb. black lab.  The bed was pretty comfy, and breakfast this morning was totally fine.  My meeting took about two hours (and was in a hotel that had an ice skating rink in it–crazy!), and by that time I was starving. Which brings us to the best part of our trip.

We had dinner at a downtown steak restaurant called Dakota’s. Your first impression is taking the elevator down from street level to the subterranean dining room. There is a lovely outdoor area with a stunning waterfall, a firepit, and a terraced garden. Of course, it was 28 degrees, so we did not spend too much time out there. Which was okay because it got us to the best part about Dakota’s more quickly: the food. It was freaking amazing. Everything from the wine selection to the the wedge salad to the steak to the chocolate bread pudding was delicious and perfectly prepared. I had the filet with bluecheese while Home Warrior had the Cowboy (20 oz!!) steak. It was tender, juicy, flavorful, and overall delicious. I was very full so I had to stop eating, but I was really sad to see it go away. The service was flawless, and wine recommendations were right on. It was not cheap by any means, but well worth it for a splurge. We will certainly go back the next time we are in Dallas.

We finished the night with Home Warrior playing on the computer while I read. It was definitely strange to have to get all dressed up in my work clothes and go to a meeting on a Saturday, but all in all we had a very nice weekend.

Countdown to my sister’s wedding: 20 days!

TravelSmith has released its new City Shirts. I love City Shirts because they are button down, but wrinkle-free, and they repel stains. Now they come in colors! My favorite is the Lisbon in French Blue. The feminine details make it more interesting than a normal button down shirt. Granted, not all of these shirts are work appropriate, but there are several options for no-iron button down shirts.

They are also having their annual rainwear sale. Good deals to be had!

Going through the security line is one of the least fun parts of traveling, if not THE least fun part. There are ways to speed it up though! With a little planning and thinking ahead, going through the security line can be way less painful. If everyone went through security like a business traveler the lines would move much more quickly! (Don’t worry, I won’t rant again…this time)

• Have your travel documents and identification ready to go. Get it out before you get to the TSA agent and life will go much more smoothly for everyone.
• Another helpful thing to do when you are in line to show your i.d.–get your toiletries out of your bag. Not everyone can manage this, but if you can do it gracefully, without dropping anything, this will really speed things up.  I have gotten to where I can pull my suitcase with one hand, which is holding my i.d. and boarding pass, while pulling out my laptop and toiletry bag with my other hand. If you can’t do this, don’t worry, just make sure your toiletry bag and laptop are easily accessible.
• Ideally when you get to the x-ray machine line you will have everything ready, or at least accessible. Know how many bins you will need (I need two: one for my laptop, one for my purse, toiletries, and coat; shoes go on the conveyor belt) and get them out, stacked. I put all the things in one bin, with my shoes and laptop on top. This conserves room on the tables and allows other people to get their stuff together. Once you are close to the x-ray machine, separate the bins and put your laptop in the empty one.
• Once you get to the actual x-ray machine, put your shoes through first (which are slip on and don’t require tying, right?). Then your laptop bin, then your purse bin, and finally your suitcase. Put your suitcase on the belt handle first for easy pick up on the other side.
• Keep your boarding pass in your hand when going through the metal detector. Some airports need to see them, some don’t.
• When you get to the other side of the x-ray machine, pick up your shoes and drop them on the floor. While you are slipping your feet into them grab your laptop and toiletry bag in one hand, put your purse over your shoulder, and pick up your suitcase and put it on the ground. Walk everything over to the convenient bench just a few feet away so that you don’t hold up the line putting all your things in their right places.

See? It’s not so hard! It just takes a few times to get it down. Just try to be prepared for the next step and you will be fine.

Whenever I am trying to decide what to bring with me for business trip, I have to stifle the urge to over pack. But I LOVE that shirt! I will think. I should bring it in case I get a chance to wear it. Or, I know! I should bring that red jacket. Even though it only goes with one thing, and takes up a lot of room, I should bring it. Sigh. Packing is often an exercise in self-control for me. Of course, remembering that if I pack too much I will have to check my suitcase, which adds almost an hour each way, usually helps me restrain myself.

The best way to pack for a trip is to bring along pants or skirts that are in a similar color and therefore go with all of the shirts you bring. I have been loving the color gray lately, so I found this great set of suit options from Banana Republic. They are a neutral gray color (but also come in black and taupe), don’t wrinkle, and are very cute and versatile.  The pants and skirt work for most job situations, but there is a matching suit jacket that you can bring if need be.  Bring a few coordinating tops, some cute shoes, and nice jewelry and you are good to go!

I promised this a long time ago, and now I am delivering!

I have gone through several toiletry phases in my traveling days, but I am by far happiest with the system I have now. I have my two bags, my clear plastic 1-quart size bag with liquids and my cute travel kit with my non liquids.  I have also tried many different brands of toiletries, and here is what I use (and love) now.

• Face wash, toner, moisturizer (one of them)–Juice Beauty Organics To Go travel set. This has the Cleansing Milk, Hydrating Mist (which is GREAT for long flights), and the Moisturizer (which I mix with a tinted moisturizer, see this post). Before I switched to Juice Beauty I used a traditional cleansing set made with traditional ingredients. About a year ago I started replacing all of my beauty regimen with organic products made without parabens or pthalates. I was a little anxious about how my skin would react, but after a few weeks of transition time my skin has never looked better!
• Contact solution–I use Opti-free Replenish in the tiny little bottle.
• Body wash–I am not that picky about this. A few hotels (thanks Marriott!) give away good body wash on certain floors, so I always snag one (or a few) whenever I stay there. If I run out of those I will just pour whatever I am currently using into a reusable bottle. Read more of this article »

I recently got an email from one of my readers asking for help. Her question: is it possible to have children and still travel for work?

“My husband and I will start trying to a child this coming June.  I’m terrified, because like you I’m a Road Warriorette and I truly love my job! I’m afraid I will not be able to travel as much because of the baby and I’m afraid I can lose my job since I won’t be able to perform the duties as often.  I know I’m over reacting and things will work out, but do you or anybody have experience with this? any good websites? How will I pump while I’m away?

Any advise will be appreciated…Thanks!”

Now I will start this by making sure everyone knows–I do not have children yet. Home Warrior and I plan to start in a year or two, and this question has also been plaguing me. How do you travel all the time when pregnant? How do you have kids and travel every week?

I have done some research and talked to some moms, and I think I have found some good ideas for coping. I will save the “How to Travel When Pregnant” post for another day, but here is my advice for traveling moms.  If you have any suggestions or comments, please post them! Help the future moms/Road Warriorettes out!
Read more of this article »

One of my new co-bloggers on Boarding Area is another young female business traveler. She writes Fly Gracefully, and it seems that we have a lot of similar experiences. She recently posted a list of questions that people often ask her as a woman business traveler. I can relate!

I get “Do you like what you do?” “Will you still do this when you have kids?” “Do you ever make it to your company’s headquarters?” and “Do you ever get to see anything cool when you visit towns?” all the time. Yes I like what I do, but sometimes the hassles of traveling get tiresome. I don’t have kids yet, but I imagine when I do have kids my husband and I will figure out a way to make it work with my job. I meet weekly with my boss, but I haven’t been back to company headquarters in over a year. Sometimes I get to see cool stuff when I visit places, but mostly I am in and out of a town too quickly.

Anyone have other questions? Post them in the comments and I will be happy to answer

The last two times I have gone to Nashville, it has rained. Like, cats and dogs rained. Like, delay flights, drench all your stuff, drive five miles an hour rain. And of course, I have not had a rain coat or umbrella with me for either of those trips. Not great for professional looking hair, let me tell you. This has peaked my interest in rain gear that is travel friendly.

After copious (or not) amounts of research, it appears that there are two options. Umbrella or raincoat. I think both have their place, and in fact the most successful rain protection plan probably involves both. However it is hard to imagine giving away not just one, but two valuable spaces in my suitcase for “just in case”.  I have had a travel umbrella in the past, and in my experience they just haven’t worked all that well. Plus umbrellas are kind of a pain because you have to use one of your hands to carry them, and if your other hand is pulling your suitcase you are out of hands to, say, open a door. However, if you really want a travel umbrella, there are many different ones available at many different price points. You can find one virtually anywhere, from Amazon to Eddie Bauer to REI.

After these last few trips, I have decided I am going to start packing a travel raincoat. They are small enough to condense into a tiny package, but unfold and will protect you from rain. And they are much more attractive than a poncho. There are several on the market right now (since it’s the rainy season in a lot of areas) and many are even on sale! Again, they are available in all price points and levels of quality. A couple that I really like are from Patagonia (on the high end) and Old Navy (on the low end).

Happy shopping! And stay dry

Southwest Airlines has announced its “Vows in the Valley” contest.

“To celebrate 35 years in Harlingen [TX], we’re awarding two lucky LUV-birds an opportunity to exchange vows in the Valley and fly away on a complimentary honeymoon. Nominate your favorite couple to tie the knot, Southwest-style!”

So basically you get married in the Harlingen airport in a “Southwest” themed wedding and you get free tickets to your honeymoon.It’s actually not a bad deal, and Valley International Airport is very pretty, as far as airports go.

What makes this hilarious to me is that my sister is actually getting married in the Rio Grande Valley next month. I sent her the link, but she has declined to enter as she has already planned her wedding at a different location.

I hope Southwest posts pictures of the “Southwest-style” wedding! I would love to see that.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week about airlines and discounted fares. Basically, there are a variety of different ways to sign up to hear about the discounts airlines are offering.  You can follow them on Twitter, sign up for email alerts, or, in the case of Southwest, download their Ding! tool. Deals range from buy one get one free, to percentages off total fares, to hugely discounted fares to and from certain cities. So if there is an airline you prefer, make sure you sign up! Or heck, sign up for all of them! We can all use some cheaper travel right?