I hope you all have a great, safe holiday filled with loved ones and fun times. For those of you who are traveling, safe travels! I wish short security lines and on-time departures for you all. My family starts arriving next week in time for my sister’s wedding, so this weekend will actually be the relaxing time. I will try to post some over the next ten days, but I’m not promising anything…..

If you’ve been around Road Warriorette for long, you have probably heard me touting the wonders of yoga. Feel better! Have more energy! Be more tolerant of your fellow passengers, especially during the holidays! Right now I am even more in the “yoga” frame of mind than normal, as I spent this past weekend in Chicago with my sisters and did several classes at their favorite studio, Imagine. This morning as I perused my favorite yoga blog YogaDork I found that I was not the only traveler doing yoga this weekend.  According to NDTV Movies, Madonna also spent the weekend doing yoga. On a plane. Not that I blame her–it must have been very frustrating to have landed and then be stuck on the tarmac for hours. Her fellow travelers were not so tolerant, though.

“It was bad enough having to wait, but then she started doing her yoga in the aisles. After about an hour, a bus came along and took her and her party of about 15 off the plane. The rest of us all had to wait for another two hours,” said a passenger on the plane.

I like the YogaDork comment from Barbara B: “I’m going to do yoga every time a plane is delayed now. All 15 of her entourage got de-boarded 2 hours before everyone else.” Hilarious!

And if you have a minute, check out this amazing video from a yoga studio in New York. I want to watch it every day.

About eight months ago, I made a lifestyle change with regards to my eating habits. Figuring out how to incorporate that lifestyle change into my travel schedule was challenging, to say the least. After some research and trial and error, I think I’ve got it down. They say that one of the best things to do if you are trying to eat healthier, or to save money for that matter, is to bring your lunch to work. Well, I often commute two hours by plane for work, I can’t bring liquids with me, and there is basically no way to keep food cold. I often end up bringing fruit, veggies, cheese, and nuts with me on the plane. I tried to bring normal food containers, but they were such a pain to transport back. I tried plastic sandwich baggies, but felt bad about throwing them away. Enter collapsible food storage containers! They collapse for easy transport and storage, and come in many different sizes. This way you can take your food with you, eat it, and easily carry your containers back with you.

Another great green/healthy/money saving idea from Fly Gracefully: Fozzils. These very clever dishes completely flatten, allowing for simple transport, but will easily hold your food and beverages during travel. This way you can, for example, get milk and cereal from a store and eat that in the morning instead of room service.

We’ve had discussions in the past about the best way to deal with purses during travel. Carry a giant purse that doubles as a briefcase? Bring a purse and a briefcase? Or bring a clutch that you just drop in your briefcase? For those of you in the last camp, I have found a great little bag to use. I got it a month or so ago at Target, and it is a great travel clutch. It’s  small, but with multiple pockets, slots for credit cards and ID should you not want to carry your wallet, and enough room for keys, a phone, and a lipstick. It has a long enough strap that you can wear it cross-body, which is great when you need to have your hands available. And at $15, you can get one in every color. Mine is red, of course, although I do love the turquoise as well. Although it’s currently sold out online, when I checked my zip code it was available at every Target in my area. I highly recommend it!

My last trip of the year is a fun trip. I get to go to Chicago for my sister’s bachelorette party!! My big sister is getting married in a few weeks and we are celebrating her last days as a free-wheeling, care-free single lady. Or whatever. We are going to get facials, do yoga, and then have a night on the town. I am SUPER excited about it, and can’t wait to get up there. Or at least, I couldn’t wait to get up there, until I heard about the weather that they are anticipating for the weekend. A high of 23 degrees? The whole time I’m there? And yes, I know that isn’t as bad as some places right now, but that is REALLY COLD for this Texas girl. My younger sister sent me an email yesterday with directions on what to bring. And I quote:

it’s cold.  for real.  don’t forget to bring scarves, gloves, layering sweaters, and hats that cover your ears with lining on the inside.  no holey hats, they will do you no good.

I called to confirm, and indeed by “holey” hats she means knitted hats. Which of course, as a knitter, are all of the hats I own. So not only do I need to worry about finding a cute outfit for the actual party, I need to worry about getting all new, non-holey, cold winter gear. Today. Cue shopping freakout frenzy in 5….4….3……. Maybe I should just go get this coat? I don’t think I’ll be cold in it. Although it might be overkill, as I am not actually going to the Yukon.

As excited as I am about this fun party weekend, I am extremely anxious about the cold. If anyone has any additional cold weather tips for me I would be very grateful.At least I’m not driving! Thank goodness for small gifts.

And now I have “Single Ladies” stuck in my head. Let the party begin!

It is that time of year again! The frantic busy-ness of the holiday season can drive even the most organized soul into freaking their freak. I am definitely not the most organized soul, so I am halfway to the crazy house already. Hopefully, this gift guide will give you some ideas for your favorite Road Warriorette. Last year’s Gift Guide is full of suggestions, and here are a few more things I would love to find under the tree.

Travel jewelry holder

For the past few years I have simply used a small makeup bag for my jewelry. It’s compact, but everything gets tangled up. A travel jewelry case would solve all of those problems. There are great ones available from Delight, and I also love this recycled sari case from TravelSmith.

Noise canceling earbuds

While full size headphones are nice, the extra space they demand can be tough to find. Noise canceling earbuds give you the best of both worlds–easy to carry with great sound. These Klipsch earbuds received high marks from CNET.

American Airline upgrades

Allow your favorite traveler to fly the best way possible: first class! You can purchase American Airlines upgrades here, and other airlines offer them as well.

Portfolio

In addition to a laptop, business travelers need a good portfolio. Take notes, keep papers together, and look polished all at once. They’re also available in a range of prices. I like this one from Barnes and Noble.

Cashmere pashmina

I know a pashmina is on last year’s list, but this year I’ve decided I want a REALLY  nice one. And it doesn’t get nicer than cashmere. So soft, warm, and cozy. I have been drooling over these from Nordstrom, and really hope Santa puts one under the tree.

iPhone 4

The ultimate travel tool. Phone, music, email, GPS, camera, and whatever else you need all in one. I can’t wait to get mine!!

Amazon giftcards

Give the gift of choice! Everything under the sun is available at Amazon, but I usually buy books for my Kindle when I get their gitftcards.

Travel versions of her favorite toiletries

Sephora and 3floz.com have wide selections of travel toiletries available. Many of us won’t splurge on something nice for the road, so you do it for her! My favorites are Phyto and Philosophy.

Packing cubes

The gift of more space! It’s not a sexy gift, but packing cubes are incredibly helpful. I highly recommend the Eagle Creek ones, which you can get online or from REI.

Collapsible containers

Don’t eat badly on the road! Bring snacks with you and then simply collapse the snack holder so it travels back home easily. I like these by Progressive International, but Rubbermaid also makes some good containers.

Sigh. Last Monday started out like any other travel day. Got up, wrote a blog post, checked my email, packed, and left for the airport. As I was going through security, I noticed they didn’t have enough lanes open, which of course was creating a long line. As I got closer they opened another one. Yes!! I thought. I will fly through this as the first in the line. I already had my laptop and liquids bag out, so it was just a matter of maneuvering the bins into position while holding these things. I grab the bins and drop my stuff into them, and then turn around to get my purse, which is stacked on top of my suitcase. And I see my purse is on the floor. Sideways. With all of my little things, lipstick, earrings, keys, necklace, coins, etc, just falling out all over the floor. It was very strange because a) my purse made no noise as it fell. You would think that a large purse, with lots of jangly stuff, would have made some sort of crashing sound as it hit the ground, but no. And b) no one said anything! Yes there were like three men behind me, and maybe as men they just don’t realize you should let a woman know when her purse has fallen and her stuff is ALL OVER THE FLOOR. I was totally shocked when I saw it just laying there. My face turned really red (I could feel it) as I bent down and frantically tried to scoop all of my stuff up. I didn’t say a word, just got it all as fast as I could and dropped it into a bin. I still can’t believe that happened, but you can bet I will be much more careful about stacking my purse on top of my suitcase in the future.

Hello readers! Sorry to have been a bit MIA for the past couple of weeks. I have been traveling almost nonstop, and have been from Florida to Virginia to North Texas. This week, I’m finally at home for a few days, and ready to get some blog posts done!

After my post a few weeks ago about completely forgetting my room number (This Has Never Happened to Me Before), I got some great tips from my readers to avoid this situation. Hopefully this will help you keep that very important number in mind next time you travel!

• Keep the key in the jacket, but tear off the room number and put it in your wallet. (From Grace)
• Using your phone, ake a picture of either the door with the room number or your key jacket. (From Ann and Elwing)
• Dial your room number into your phone and hit send, then hang up. This stores your number in the “Recently Dialed” list.

Great tips! When I traveled last week I took a picture of my room number at both hotels just in case. I didn’t forget, but it was reassuring to know that if I did, I wouldn’t have to wander the halls trying random doors. Thank you for that!!

You may have read about how, on my first work trip, I brought a ridiculous amount of stuff with me. That trend continued for a while, as I grappled with how to pack efficiently and yet completely. About four months after that first trip, I took a trip that spanned the country: three towns, three events, and three completely different climates. This trip necessitated a large amount of stuff, so much so that I ended up having to check a bag. Which the airline promptly lost. I spent that evening searching frantically at Target in Eugene, OR for replacement tablecloth, shoes, and makeup. That trip was so stressful that I vowed never to check a bag again.

For the next trip, I decided that I was going to take the ultra-minimalist approach to packing. For a four day, two city trip I brought two pairs of pants and two tops. Surely, I thought, I could wear each top once in each city, with no one being the wiser. I thought this until, on the second day of my trip, I spilled coffee all over my cream-colored sweater. As overnight soaking had no effect, I spent a frantic evening in Old Navy in Oklahoma City trying to find a top that would work. Sigh. In my efforts to bring less, I may, possibly, have over-corrected.

Which leads me to my tip. Please bring at least one shirt more than you require. For example, on that fateful coffee-spill trip, I should have brought three tops so I had one just in case something went wrong. One option, of course, is to bring a separate shirt for each day. If you have multiple locations, just make sure that your wardrobe is not dependent on every shirt looking fresh after the first wearing. One extra shirt, that is all I’m suggesting. Hopefully this will save you the stress of a late night visit to a department store, searching the racks for something, anything, that will go with the one pair of slacks you brought with you….

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to California. This was the trip that inspired the post “Traveling When You Don’t Feel Your Best,” because, well, I didn’t feel well. Following my own advice, I took plenty of things to keep me comfortable during the flight, from an extra sweater to my Bucky pillow to Emergen-C. All of these extra things helped immensely, but necessitated a larger purse than my normal travel bag.  Although my current purse is fabulous, it’s quite a bit smaller than my older, larger but more boring purse. So I pulled the old gal out of the back of the closet and proceeded to fill her up. She took all of my belongings without protest. In fact, my only complaint was because I haven’t used it in so long I forgot where I used to put all of my little things, and there were so many pockets I would have to search for a bit for my keys, phone, etc.

What does this all mean, you ask? Well, during my trip last week I used my old purse again. I plan on taking it to Virginia today. And it makes me feel a little bit like a fraud. I love my red purse! I do! It’s just starting to get worn from excessive use, and it doesn’t fit all of my stuff as well as this old one. It’s kind of like wearing super hot red patent heels; they look fabulous, but maybe are not as practical for a long day as your cute, but less interesting, black wedges.

I am going to go on the hunt for a new purse. I’ve had the red one for almost two years, and I think it’s about time for a new bag. This time I will try really hard to go for function as well as form. I will look for inside pockets, a divided interior, and comfortable straps. And a great exterior and cute lining! Surely it can be found. Surely…..