I was recently asked what my most important travel items are. What are the things that I never leave home without? I guess I talk about this in various ways all the time, but I’ve never thought about it in quite those terms. So, here is a list of my favorite things for travel.

• Pashmina. The most versatile clothing item there is!! Blanket, pillow, scarf, sarong, bathing suit cover up.…The last time I talked about pashminas one reader also suggested using it as a nursing cover. I would never have thought of that! They are available in a multitude of patterns in all price points.
• iPhone. If I didn’t have music on the plane, I don’t know what I would do. Plus it’s super handy for that whole phone/email thing. And I love my other apps too! TripIt, White Noise, Facebook, Echofon, YogaNow are all apps I use on a regular basis while traveling.
• Kindle. Gotta have my Kindle! Carry 1500 books with me at once. Buy a new book with the touch of a button. Love.
• Hair and face products. Keeps me looking and feeling great no matter where I am. Helps repair damage done from flying, and keeps my routine consistent.
• Travel yoga mat. Doing yoga on the road keeps me sane. Plus, if I have time or am on vacation, I love to try out local studios.
• Knitting. Just because I love to do it.

This is my off the top of my head list. I may have forgotten an item or two, but these are definitely items I can’t live without.

I recently got a question from a reader:

I know I don’t have to put my non-liquid makeup in that plastic ziploc bag. How do I know what counts as liquid, and how can I minimize that?

Great question!! I get searches on this all of the time, as well as emailed questions about travel makeup.  Beauty routines are critical during travel.  Dealing with all of the stress that travel (and lack of sleep!) puts your body and skin through is brutal.  Also, for frequent travelers keeping the routine the same helps keep things as much like home as possible. Maintaining consistency with skincare and and beauty during travel can also be very tricky, considering that your travel space is limited and you can bring only a very small amount of liquids.  Here are my tips.

• Powders don’t go in the plastic bag!! Remember, anything that is a powder (eyeshadow, plush, pressed powder) and their accompanying brushes can go in your suitcase. Some brands of powder (Bare Escentuals comes to mind) can be used as concealer, allowing you to leave something behind.
• Eyeliners and other pencils are also ok. Eyeliners, lipliners are also okay. One way to minimize the liquids you need is to exchange them or pencils when traveling. For example, instead of concealer bring a concealer stick, or instead of liquid blush use a blush crayon. In fact, that is a great way to minimize how much you have to bring, period. If there is one pencil you can use for lips, eyes, and cheeks, that cuts out several items you have to pack.
• Condense!! If you use tinted moisturizer or foundation, you can put the amount you need for your trip into a contact lens case. This way you don’t have to bring the whole bottle or tube. In fact, this will work for any liquid you are bringing! Face wash, eye cream, makeup remover, etc.
• Some liquids you can’t get away from. As far as I know, there is no way to make lipstick or mascara a non liquid. So to be cautious you may want to keep those in your liquids bag. But now you are down from multiple items to just a couple, leaving lots of room for hair products. Don’t get me started on those.

All this being said, many airports don’t notice if your mascara is in your regular makeup bag and your lipstick is in your purse pocket. As with other items, so much depends on the TSA agent screening the bags. But don’t worry! You can definitely take your makeup on the plane with you.

Something that has popped up on some blogs that I frequent is what to do with your purse while traveling. How do you fit it in your laptop bag? Why do airlines hate women, only allowing two carry-ons? What if your laptop is huge? My laptop bag is not that attractive, I don’t want it to be my purse. Etc. I find that there are three ways you can deal with this.

• Get a big purse that fits your laptop. I am a big advocate of getting a purse for travel that is big enough for your laptop. It’s the simplest way to make sure all your stuff fits. For some people, this means you have a really large purse for travel! But there are definitely large, attractive purses (or laptop bags that look like purses) that will fit a LOT of stuff. (Like this bag from Latico. Check out the so-cute lining!!) This works well for me because my laptop is pretty small, and I have found a regular purse that will hold it and my other stuff.
• Put everything in your laptop bag and pack your purse. I think this one is a little more complicated, but it seems to work for some people.  They simply take all of their purse stuff (wallet, phone, lipstick, etc) and put it in their laptop bag, and then they pack their purse in their big suitcase. This way when they get to their destination they pull out their purse and put all the stuff back in. They still only have two carry-ons, and they have a smaller purse for when they arrive. Best of both worlds!
• Drop a clutch or wristlet in their laptop bag. The other way to have the best of both worlds. Take your normal laptop bag, and have a wristlet with your wallet, phone, keys, and lipstick that you just drop inside. Especially convenient if you can put this small purse in a pocket or hook it to the inside top of your laptop bag.

So there you have it. Lots of options when it comes to purses. And of course, the fun part is shopping for the combination that works for you!

I recently discovered a fabulous line of shoes. They are super cute, have a variety of styles and heel heights, and look super comfy for travel!! I can’t wait to order some.

They are called Geox, and they use a technology developed in Italy to create comfortable, breathable shoes. They have everything from sneakers to flats to heels to boots. Here are a few of my favorites.

(Sorry for the crazy formatting, I am having some issues with WordPress)

These are very cute, versatile peep toe wedges.

I like these shoes because they are not quite flat, they are patent (fun!) and are not your typical ballet flat. Plus the embellishment adds interest without being distracting.

Geox has many colored shoes, but I like these (in the not-awesomely-named “Prune”) because the color will still go with plenty of stuff, they are patent (again, fun!), and on sale.

In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, all of my posts this week are going to focus on some aspect of traveling green. If you know of something I should write about, send me an email! RoadWarriorette@gmail.com

A few years ago, if you tried to find eco-friendly clothing, you would not be happy. There were a few companies that made t-shirts and casual skirts, some tank tops, lots of yoga pants, but not really anything that could be worn to work. Boy, have times changed!! Now when you search for “organic cotton clothing” or”eco-friendly clothing” all kinds of sites, designers, and CUTE things come up, including things that are totally appropriate for work. I had a hard time picking my three favorites for this post–not only are there a ton of cute things, but they are so affordable! So I hope you visit some of these sites and do just a little bit to take care of our earth.

Love this top, please forgive the weird styling and the model’s very strange pose. The blouse is ladylike, interesting, very cute, and versatile. Plus, it has the added bonus of being made of organic cotton in the US.

I love this dress. It is your basic wrap dress, comes in different colors, and is so, so cute. I’m hoping it’s a little longer IRL than on this model though! Wear with a cami and you are good to go.

This dress is fabulous. From the interesting colors, to the bow detail, to the flattering princess seams. Make it work ready with a coordinating cardigan, and be ready for dinner later! If kiwi is not your style, there are other colors available as well.

In addition to these three things, there are a ton of tops that are great for work, and comfortable enough for travel. I’m ready to shop!

In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, all of my posts this week are going to focus on some aspect of traveling green. If you know of something I should write about, send me an email! RoadWarriorette@gmail.com

One of the small ways I have changed my life at home is by refusing plastic bags when shopping. I bring my own bags to the grocery store, to buy clothes (and shoes of course!), basically any time I will be bringing something home with me. I remember bags most of the time, but if I don’t? Often I will just drop it in my purse or hold it. Of course, it’s not as easy to hold two cartons of milk and dog food walking out to the car, but it’s also not impossible.

While traveling, I have found it very helpful to bring a bag that doesn’t take up a lot of room in case I need an extra. For example, my sister gave me  a bag for Christmas one year that folds down into a tiny little zipped-up package. And for extra-credit cuteness points, it says, “Spare the Air, Save a Bear” with a bear on it. Love!! My favorite shopping website Delight sells bags called RuMe (short for ReUseME) that fold up into nothing.

Of course, for the really small stuff (a book, bottle of water, small food items) I can drop it in my purse or carry it. It’s an easy thing to do and it makes a difference.

Happy Earth Day, friends!

In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, all of my posts this week are going to focus on some aspect of traveling green. If you know of something I should write about, send me an email! RoadWarriorette@gmail.com

If you have been following this blog for long, you are probably aware that I love green beauty products. Over the past two years I have been making an effort to replace my beauty regimen with eco-friendly products. It’s not “green” if you throw a bunch of stuff away, so I have waited until whatever I’m using is gone and then bought something better to replace it. So it has only made sense that the same has happened with my travel items as well. I have done several posts on makeup and toiletries, and almost all of the products I mention are considered eco-friendly or natural in some way.

A few of my favorite green toiletries:

• Juice Beauty Organics To Go travel set. I get my face wash, hydrating mist (love this!!!), and moisturizer from here. Smells great, works even better.
• Phyto Hair Products. This stuff is the best. Smells amazing, recycled containers, the best haircare products I have ever had.
• Skyn Iceland Icelandic Eye Pen. A great way to get rid of puffy eyes. Feels cool coming out of the tube, and so, so soothing.

Some of my favorite green makeup:

• Tarte Lock ‘N’ Roll 12-Hour Eyeshadow. This stuff is AMAZING. You put it on and it stays in place forever. And it looks awesome. I have it in multiple colors, and I bought more yesterday. Love!
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara. I tried some mascara by a “green” company before and it was not a great experience. This one though? I love this mascara. My lashes look great, it stays in place, and the tube is very pretty.
• Aveda Tinted Moisturizer. I just got this a few weeks ago (on recommendation of many people, including my stylist sister and my esthetician) and I am already a huge fan. Goes on smoothly, gives a tiny bit of coverage, and my skin feels great all day.

As you can see, there are tons of great options for staying green and beautiful on the go. If I missed one of your favorites, please let me know!!

In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, all of my posts this week are going to focus on some aspect of traveling green. If you know of something I should write about, send me an email! RoadWarriorette@gmail.com

Two great news stories so far this week for green traveling! I love it.

First: Big news in the Star Tribune. Six airlines have promised the US government that they will NOT charge for carry-on luggage. This was a concern for many in Congress, because once one airline does it, the whole industry often follows (remember checked baggage fees? no free food on flights? charging for pillows and blankets? etc.). Thank you to Delta, American, Sun Country, JetBlue, United, and US Air for nipping this in the bud. (Not on the list? Continental and Air Tran to name a few.) How is this green travel news, you ask? Well, as green travelers it is always our goal to bring only what we need. If all travelers did that, less fuel would be used for starters. However, if you have to pay to bring your bag on regardless, people will start bringing more stuff and weighing planes down because they will just go ahead and check. This is good news on the financial front, too.

In USA Today’s Airport Check In, there is an article about Sea-Tac implementing a new program to get airlines to recycle more. Since not too many airlines recycle at all, this is a huge step. Not only are they encouraging recycling, they are saving money! A great concept, and one I hope takes off in other locations as well.

In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, all of my posts this week are going to focus on some aspect of traveling green. If you know of something I should write about, send me an email! RoadWarriorette@gmail.com

This may be something that people consider elemental, but I wanted to call it out nonetheless. When you are at home, do you wash your towels and sheets every time you use them? Thought not. Whenever you are staying in a hotel, hang up your towel. (Sometimes I have noticed they replace the towel anyway, but if you leave it on the floor they will for sure replace it, right?) Also, let the front desk know not to change your sheets, or use the card the hotel provides. There is no reason for anyone to change their sheets during a short hotel stay. (Now if you are there for two weeks, that is a different story.)

Better yet, put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign during your entire stay. Unless you are really messy, all that effort vacuuming, wiping down counters, etc is a waste of energy and resources. Of course, it is really nice to not have worry about making my bed every day…..

During the visit with my aunt and uncle last week, they told me how they are going to Portland in May to visit their grandson. My aunt lamented the additional cost they were going to incur by checking their bags on Continental. Immediately my packing instinct (which I definitely was not born with, see this post) went into overdrive. “You don’t have to check your bags for a four day trip! You can each take a carry-on suitcase and a backpack and be good to go,” I said, then gave her a list of what to pack. This works for business trips and personal trips, just bring the correct type of clothes (i.e. slacks instead of jeans).

What to pack for a four day trip

In your suitcase (try this one from Samsonite or this one from Tumi)

(Choose your travel outfits from these clothes as well)

• Two bottoms, one comfortable for travel, one suitable for dinner (i.e. slacks, jeans, shorts, a skirt)
• Four tops that coordinate with both of your bottoms
• At least one light jacket or sweater (unless you need a heavier jacket)
• No more than three pairs of shoes, including a pair of flip flops
• Enough undergarments, including socks/hose
• Something to sleep in
• Something to work out in
• Toiletries (see my toiletry list here)
• Chargers (phone, laptop, etc)

In your purse/backpack

• Phone, wallet, lipstick, keys, etc.
• Boarding pass
• Laptop (if needed)
• Plastic bag of liquid toiletries
• Scarf/pashmina
• Book or magazine

And with that you should be good to go! Carrying-on for a four day trip is pretty easy.

My packing list for the last four-day trip I took:

• Black slacks, gray pinstripe slacks
• Red cardigan, pink 3/4 sleeve cardigan, gray tunic sweater, teal short sleeved sweater (with coordinating camisoles)
• Red winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves
• Blue flats, gray boots, flip flops
• Yoga pants and tank for sleeping and yoga
• Toiletries
• Chargers
• Curling iron

In my purse:

• Normal purse stuff (wallet, phone, lipstick, etc)
• Laptop
• Kindle
• Plastic bag of toiletries
• Knitting
• Pashmina