As I may have mentioned before a time or two, I love office supplies. I can happily spend hours wandering around an office supplies store, looking at notebooks, calendars, stationary, pens, etc. The possibilities while flipping through a clean notebook feel endless! Because of this, when Staples approached me about reviewing some travel-friendly office supplies I immediately said, “YES!!!!”  And not only do I get to play with some fun supplies, I get to give some away to my readers! A perfect set up.

They sent me the Arc Compact Notebook (plus some page flags to fit inside), an AvantPro SilkScribe pen, and a Relay Micro USB Flash Drive. I took them for a test drive on a recent business trip, and here are my thoughts.

Arc Compact Notebook. I love a good notebook, and this little notebook is genius. Not only is it a great size to fit in a small purse or briefcase, it has the added bonus of being able to add or rearrange the pages. The cover is sturdy, and didn’t bend while it was shoved in my purse.  I was also sent the Arc Notebook flags, which simply clip onto the notebook rings. The Compact is sold in stores for $3.99. There are bigger sizes that have accessories like folders, a pouch, dividers, a task pad, calendar, and others. It’s a pretty darn cool system! The smaller size is not available on the website, but here is a link to the other sizes so you can see the system.

AvantPro Pen. I love this pen so much. When I first tried it out I wanted to just make up things to write so I could keep using it! It’s very comfortable to hold, with a good grip. The ink comes out so smoothly, but dries very quickly and doesn’t smear. Plus it’s touted as being airplane friendly, and I certainly had no issues with it on my trip. Another cool thing—it’s refillable. The AvantPro pen is $6.99 and the SilkScribe refills are $2.99 for a pack of two.

Relay Micro USB Flash Drive. I have never seen such a small flash drive! It is so tiny and clever. The low profile makes it perfect for tight spots like on a plane, leaving more room for notebooks or a mouse. Definitely attach the included cord so it’s easy to get out of your computer. Keep in mind, it really is super small so be careful you don’t lose it. It’s available in sizes from 8-32 GB, for $13.99-$34.99.

All in all I LOVED everything they sent me. I would highly, highly recommend any of these products to anyone who travels often. Or anyone who likes office supplies.

Oh! And remember how I said above that I’m giving some of these items away to readers? Click here for details on how to win!!

Road Warriorette received these items free of charge for reviewing purposes.

One of the things I always try and do when traveling for work is eat at local restaurants. It gives me a more unique dining experience, a taste of the local culture and flavor, supports small businesses, and usually tastes pretty darn good. I will often use apps like Urban Spoon and Yelp to find highly rated local places, and recently I was introduced to another way to search. BiteHunter will help you find great places to eat, with an added bonus—you get real time access to more than 50,000 local dining deals around the country from companies like Groupon, LivingSocial, Yelp Deals, etc. So it’s tasty, and a great deal! Some key features:

• It will remember your log in information and password for the various deal companies, plus your credit card info, making it super easy to buy deals.
• You can view and redeem vouchers from within the app, so it doesn’t matter if you’re near a printer or not.
• Browse restaurants’ daily deals by cuisine or location.
• Very easy to use and set up.

The reviews are all pretty solid, which is something I always look for in an app. Plus it’s free! Right now it’s available for iOS, and they are working on releasing it for Android in the future, hopefully soon. I’ve been using BiteHunter at home for a few weeks, and it’s helped me find some new places to eat and some great deals. I look forward to using it on the road once I’m traveling for work again!

Readers, have you seen any new, cool apps that are great for travel?

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On a recent perusal through the TravelSmith website, one of their products caught my eye. It’s called TravelStix, and it is basically a credit-card shaped USB flash drive designed to hold all of your travel documents. I think it’s a very clever idea! Keep one in your wallet, and you’ve got everything you need–itinerary, emergency contacts, medical info….. However, the $30 price tag seems steep. You can get the same size flash drive (4gb) from Staples for half the price, and download forms for all of your travel info from a variety of places, including Microsoft Office. Or make up your own. You could even keep this information on your phone or in the cloud. I think the fact that it is designed to fit inside a credit card slot in your wallet is pretty cool, but other than that it seems expensive.

Readers, what do you think? Is the TravelStix worth it?

The clever folks over at Delight have done it again. I swear, they find the most interesting, most fun things to sell. Their travel toys have made my Christmas list for several years, including the travel toiletry containers, travel jewelry case, and luggage tags.  But this makeup palette? I have got to try this. It could possibly revolutionize the way I travel with makeup. Okay, maybe I’m getting overexcited, but seriously, how freaking cool is this thing? The UNII Makeup Palette is basically a magnetized makeup holder. You take all of your makeup out of their current containers and keep it all here. This could save so much space, especially if you use a lot of bulky single eyeshadows. The video below gives you a good idea about how it works. I have ordered one and will have a review soon. Today it is 20% off, and you can get an additional 30% off with the code HAPPYNEWYEAR (case sensitive). That makes it $16.52 plus shipping, which is a steal. Can’t wait to get it!!

I love this passport cover from Modcloth. It is irreverent, not too dignified, and super cute. It will also make you laugh–something that is becoming increasingly important while traveling these days. A great gift for the Road Warriorette in your life!!

I think this blurb from The Frisky says it all:

“This passport holder is more than a mock airplane safety brochure. From “consult nitrous mask for in-flight comfort” to a very necessary “no clapping” sign, this passport wallet is sure to cause a chuckle while you travel. Its humor will lighten your traveling load, and the bright colors make it easy to locate in your bag. What a humorous way to explain your plane etiquette preferences to your seat mate!”

When the iPhone first came out, I wanted one. A few months later when my brother-in-law got one and came to visit with my sister, and I got to be around it and use the amazing features, I really wanted one. When I went to visit them in San Francisco and my sister had one, I really, really, really wanted one. A few weeks later I somehow lost my crappy POS phone that I had used for over three years. I figured this was a sign, and got an iPhone.

A year and a half later, my iPhone is my second most necessary travel item after my laptop. Not just for the obvious phone, email, internet, and music capabilities (but I use those constantly and they are great!!) but for the apps. Not everything listed here is an official travel app, and is by no means comprehensive, these are just my favorites to use while traveling.

• Tripit. Once you register, it will help you keep track of your trips, alerting you to delays. It also lets you know if anyone in your “group” is traveling near you. Very handy!
• Southwest. Allows you to do all the stuff you can do on their website, but on a handy app.
• YogaNow. Helps you find yoga classes near you.
• Meditation Now 2. Different meditations. I use it on the plane or when I’m trying to sleep. Very helpful!
• White Noise Free. I use this every night!! There are many different “white noises” you can choose from. You can also set a timer. I have found that for hotel rooms that are near the elevator, or have a loud air conditioning unit, or are near a highway, this app is the best. You can drown out the offending noise and get a good night’s sleep.

I’m sure I will think of more to add, and there are certainly more that I use. Anyone have a favorite I missed? I’m always on the lookout for more apps!!

There have been rumors about this for a while, and it is finally here!  The Southwest iPhone app looks very similar to their mobile website and has all of the same functionality. The thing they have that is extra? The Ding! feature. This way you can find out about the specially-priced Ding! fares even when you are not at your computer. Cool!

For those of you who have other smartphones, Southwest says they are working on a solution for you, hopefully for release in 2010.