May 2012:

• The results were in! I rated how I did packing for my two-week long conference with both clothes and other stuff.
• I announced some big news, plus gave some tips on how to travel in the first trimester of pregnancy,

May 2011:

• Traveling with someone else? Here are tips for traveling with a coworker or your boss.
• I updated my comfort tips for trans-pacific flights.
• Compression socks and bike shorts both made my packing lists.

May 2010:

• If you’re feeling homesick, here are a few tips to feel better on the road.
• Trouble falling asleep? Try my typical pre-bed routine.

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After my last couple of day trips, it is very clear to me that I need a rolling briefcase. I just carry too much stuff in my purse for it to be comfortable, especially for huge airports like DFW. Even though I’ve been talking about getting one for almost a year, it just hasn’t been high on my priority list (like, say, shoes). But I promise you, here and now, I will have a rolling briefcase, that I love, before the end of May. Part of this is spurred on by the fact that I have three conferences over the next three months—my poor shoulders can’t handle the weight of my purse. Of course, one of the reasons I haven’t gotten one yet (and I know this will shock those of you who have read my blog for a while) is that I’m just too darn picky! I want all the features I need, I want it to be cute, and I want it for a good price. Is that too much to ask??

Here are the features I want:

• Lots of space inside. Of course it will need to have room for my computer, files, and purse stuff. But it would also be great if it had room for me to stick a change of clothes in for overnight trips. I often feel silly bringing my normal suitcase on a trip when it’s only half full.
• Outside pockets. Internal space is important, but I need to have a pocket on the outside where I can stick things I need immediate access to—my keys, phone, boarding pass, and lipstick.
• Sturdy construction. While I love my existing purse and my suitcase, I am rough on them. They get stuffed to the brim, shoved in tight spaces, rained on, dragged, and dropped on occasion. I need something that will hold up to serious wear and tear. Also, because I will likely set stuff on top of it, I need something that is pretty square—not just a purse on wheels, like so many of the rolling briefcases marketed to women.

Here are two of the ones I’m considering:

This houndstooth rolling briefcase by JKM and Company  (pictured above) is really, really cute. It looks to have plenty of pockets for clothes, files, a computer, and purse stuff. It’s also nice and square, and has good reviews. Plus it’s under $100!

I also love this McKlein USA Willowbrook Detachable Wheeled Briefcase. It comes in six different colors, is leather, has two main pockets, and it’s detachable if you don’t need the wheels! It’s a little smaller than the houndstooth one, but I do love the turquoise… It’s available from eBags for $206 and Amazon for $158.

Readers, do you have a rolling briefcase? What brand? Do you love it?

This post contains affiliate links.

April 2012:

• Although I hope you never have to travel while injured, here are some tips for making it easier. And yes, these are from my own experience.
• I spent a lot of time prepping for my two week conference, with strategies for packing and being out of the office that long.
• For some, eating at a restaurant is a time to relax and enjoy a meal. For others, it’s stress and anxiety producing. Try these tips to enjoy it more and stress less!

April 2011:

• I finished up the series “Building a Business Travel Wardrobe.”
• We talked about several different options for long-haul flights: t-shirt dress and leggings, yoga pants, and other travel-specific pants.
• A friend experienced a terrible breach in etiquette during a flight: someone clipping their nails. <<shudder>>

April 2010:

• My most important travel items three years ago are still valid today!
• I listed out the top three ways for dealing with the age old question, “Where does my purse go?”
• We discussed our best tips for remembering where you parked your car at the airport.

November 2011:

• I did a super fun Business Traveler Interview with Aliza Sherman and Danielle Smith.
• After suffering from a sinus infection, I gave tips for avoiding them.
• I went to Blog World, and figured out how to pack for a conference.
• Transitioning to Fall Wardrobe

November 2010:

• Learn what happens when you don’t stay home when you’re sick with The Tale of Typhoid Mary
• I rediscovered my love for sweater dresses.
• The TSA started their extra touchy-feely pat downs. Fun times!

November 2009:

• Recommendations for what to pack on a fun trip.
• DFW got the first Sephora vending machine. Swoon.

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During one of my many trips this summer I did something I’ve never done before: I paid for someone else’s room with my credit card. And it did NOT go well.

Normally I book hotels through my company’s corporate travel site. This time, though, the hotel had a really great deal on their website that wasn’t available on the corporate site, so I booked there. Because I was traveling with a coworker, I went ahead and booked their room too. The fine print said that the offer was refundable until the day before we arrived, and that the credit card was just to hold the room. Nowhere did it say it was nonrefundable—in fact, it said the opposite.

When I checked in, I made sure my co-worker (who was arriving later) could check into her room without me. The clerk assured me it would be fine, but stupidly I did not ask if the room would go on her credit card. (I also checked to make sure that the lounge access that was supposed to come with my rate was showing up. It wasn’t, which should have given me the first clue that things may not go as smoothly as planned.)

The stay was actually quite pleasant, and the work part of our trip went quite well. The weirdness started after check out. As I was about to head to the airport, I got a text from the Home Warrior. “I was checking our credit card balance, and it looks like you were charged twice for the hotel. Can you fix it?” I only had a few minutes, so I ran back inside to find out what had happened. The manager on duty couldn’t tell me, and said he was only showing one charge. I pulled up my credit card account online, and showed him the two charges, but he was sure it was a mistake and would be fixed within a couple of days. Since I was out of time, I had to let it go.

As you probably figured, in a few days, it had not been fixed. I called the hotel again, they again couldn’t figure out what was going on, and said it must have been an error and would be corrected soon. They also gave me the contact information for their billing department, but said they were all “in a meeting” that day. I tried for three days to call the billing department, and could never get an answer. I was extremely frustrated, and swore I would never stay in this particular chain again. Ugh.

Finally, when I had basically lost hope and was trying to figure out how to dispute the charge with my credit card, I got an email from my co-worker (remember, the one whose room I paid for?). She asked me if my hotel bill had been weird, as they had only charged her $300 and she had been expecting $800. She looked at the statement in detail and realized there was no room charge, only charges for incidentals. Aha! Mystery solved. I hadn’t been charged twice for my room—I had been charged for both rooms! All I had to do was get them to refund my card and charge her room to her card, right? Hah. I should have known better! They kept telling me there was no possible way they could do that—the rate was non-refundable. Oh, and since I had gone through a third party (the hotel website!) there was nothing at all they could do. OMFG.

How did we finally resolve this? My co-worker submitted her expense report, got reimbursed, and wrote me a check. Drama! The moral of the story is that I will not try to hold a room for a coworker unless I am guaranteed by the hotel, in writing, that I will not be charged. Ugh.

Readers, have you ever paid for a coworker’s hotel room? Were you able to get reimbursed?

During the many conferences I attended this year, there was one important lesson that I should have learned but didn’t. It started at the super long two-week conference. Between the laptop, iPad, notebook, knitting, snacks, water, pashmina, conference freebies, and other miscellaneous items, my purse was full. Like, super packed and really heavy full. It was so heavy, in fact, that several people I was traveling with wouldn’t let me carry it, as I was six months pregnant at the time. A woman in my group carried around as much stuff as me, but in her fabulous houndstooth print rolling briefcase, as opposed to a purse that went over her shoulder (similar to this one from Overstock). Needless to say she had a much more comfortable conference than I did. I noticed her bag, and thought, How clever and lovely! Yet it didn’t even occur to me to get a rolling briefcase of my own before the next two conferences I had to attend, where I was seven and eight months pregnant. Whoops.

The moral of this story, friends, is that if you are going to a conference, or any trip where you will need to be carting around a lot of stuff, get a rolling briefcase. Otherwise you will carry too many things in your shoulder bag and end up being uncomfortable and possibly hurting yourself. If you only use it a few times a year, there are plenty of inexpensive options, and it is so worth it!

Readers, have you been to an event where you wished you had a rolling briefcase?

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Earlier this year, in a three month time span I went to three conferences. All had at least 500 attendees, most of who were on their computers or smartphones, and all had way too few plugs available. Inevitably, after a morning of feverishly typing notes or checking email, the prime real estate near any available outlet was full of people waiting to charge their various devices. For anyone trying to connect to the internet or interact with their office, it was an exercise in frustration.

I have certainly been to conferences before, but at the pace of one per year or so. This was the first time to attend so many in such a short period of time, so I would never have considered myself a “conference expert.” After all of this time spent in various conference halls, I noticed one thing the conference experts had in common: they all had surge protectors. Small ones, easily packed, but still turning two outlets into six or seven outlets. These people were of course some of the most popular at the conventions! And they were also able to talk their way to the front of the charging line, since it meant more people could charge at once. Brilliant!

So next time I go to a conference, I will definitely take a surge protector. They are available almost anywhere, including electronic stores, online, and stores like Target and Walmart. The one I like the best is this one from Belkin—it’s small, but has three plugs, and two USB outlets. That’s a total of five devices that can be charged at once! With this clever device, I will be the most popular person there.

Readers, what do you consider the most important item to take to a conference?

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, when you’re packing for two weeks, clothes are really only half the battle. I definitely brought too many clothes, but how did I do on everything else? Uh, I brought too much. The problem: when you’re away from home for so long, you get stuck in the, “But, but, but….I might need three magazines to read! Or dressier makeup! Or three knitting projects! Or a fan (in the Home Warrior’s case).” Etc.

What I took (non clothing items):

• Kindle
• Computer
• IPad
• Sunscreen
• Legal pad
• Binder
• Magazines
• Knitting
• Jewelry
• Curling iron
• Makeup
• Fun makeup
• Umbrella
• Pashmina
• Headphones
• Water bottle

What I should have brought:

• Kindle
• Computer
• Legal pad
• Jewelry
• Curling iron
• Makeup
• Umbrella
• Pashmina
• Headphones
• Water bottle

Honestly, I didn’t do too badly. My biggest mistake was that I was very optimistic about how much downtime I was going to have. The magazines, sunscreen, and even my knitting (and I brought a lot of knitting!) sat unused in the hotel room the entire trip. Same with my fun makeup—I’m not sure when I thought I would have dress up time, but I definitely did not. Finally, I brought a binder to coral all of the papers I was given, but I should have just brought a simple folder. Would have saved a ton of space.

After this experience, there are a few things that will help me pack for a long conference. The biggest thing: Know your conference!! Look closely at the agenda. If it looks like there won’t be much downtime, plan your packing list accordingly. It helps to ask people who have gone before! Had I done that, I would have known that there would be little to no time for fun. Also, remember that you can buy things on location. If I hadn’t packed the sunscreen, but had ended up needing some, I could have easily purchased some at the hotel gift shop or the CVS down the street. Finally, don’t forget to leave some room for giveaways you receive at the conference. I ended up leaving behind some pretty sweet stuff since I simply had no room for it.

One thing I did need that I didn’t have: compression socks. But that will go on the “tips for traveling during your second trimester” post….

A few weeks ago, I wrapped up my longest work trip to date: a two-week conference in Florida. You guys helped me make my plan for packing for this long trip, which I really appreciate. But I’ll be honest: my packing was not perfect for this trip. I brought too many things, didn’t wear all of them enough, and ended up checking my bag because it was too heavy for me to lift. Boo. But I know for sure what to do differently next time…..

What I took:

• 4 dresses
• 1 pair of pants
• 2 skirts
• 1 pair of shorts
• Jean jacket
• 3 cardigans
• 2 casual tees
• 2 nice tops
• 2 tanks
• 3 pairs of flats
• 1 pair of flip flops
• 1 pair of athletic shoes

What I should have taken:

• 2 dresses
• 2 pairs of pants OR
• 1 pair of pants/1 skirt
• 1 pair of shorts
• Lighter-weight jacket
• 2 cardigans
• 2 casual tees/tank tops
• 2 nice tops
• 2 pairs of flats
• Flip flops

So as you can see, I was pretty close. I just brought one too many of, well, everything. Four dresses was definitely too many! And 2 skirts and a pair of pants was, again, too many. Two dresses and two other bottoms would have been perfectly adequate. The jean jacket was too heavy and didn’t pack compactly—I would bring a different jacket next time. I ended up wearing the nice tops and tanks under the cardigans often, but didn’t wear my casual tees very much. I could easily have worn the nice tops with my shorts on downtime. Two cardigans would have more than sufficed—I rarely wore them unless I was wearing a tank. Finally, the shoes. Three pairs of nice shoes were too many; two would easily have sufficed. And though I knew ahead of time there would be little time for exercising, I brought shoes anyway, and did not wear them once.

The moral? It is possible to carry-on for a long trip, but you have to be ruthless in your decision making. I wasn’t quite ruthless enough! Next time, though, you can bet I will be rocking the rollaboard. In the next few weeks I’ll do a post about packing other stuff for a long conference. Because after all, when you’re gone for two weeks clothes are really just half the battle…..

The first of what I’m sure will be many stories/learnings from my two week conference……

Where there is a conference, there is free stuff. Whether it’s papers, books, bags, water bottles, coffee mugs, or some other random tchotchkie, it doesn’t matter. Every time I’ve been to a conference, regardless of length, I have ended up cramming freebies into my suitcase before my flight home. Inevitably, some get left behind in the hotel room (sorry maids!!). This is especially true after the two week conference I just attended. I purposely stayed away from the exhibit hall so I wouldn’t get too much stuff, and I know I missed out on some cool items (smelly candles? hand carved necklaces? dangit!). So moving forward, I am going to strategically leave some extra space in my bag for the freebies. It may be junk, but it may be something I really want, and I want to have room for it! I recommend you do the same.

Readers, what is the weirdest thing you’ve ever gotten from a conference? In the last year I have gotten a fly swatter, a paper mustache on a stick, and an inflatable airplane hat. Useful? Ah, not so much. But fun! And memorable, which I guess is the idea…..

(Don’t forget about our awesome contest!! Win a vacation for two from Home2 Suites by Hilton!! Open for one more week.)