In the past, whenever I’ve done “Was this rude?” type of posts, it’s never been about me. It’s always been situations that I’ve witnessed happening to other people. Well, this time something questionable happened to me, and I want to get your take on it.

A couple of months ago, the Home Warrior, Mini Warrior, and I headed out to Vegas for a conference. I was in meetings all day, and the guys hung out in the hotel room or walked around looking at stuff. A good time was had by all, until our second evening. It was about 10:30, and the Home Warrior and I were watching a little TV before turning in for the night, while the Mini Warrior slept in his Pack ‘n’ Play.  All of the sudden, the Mini Warrior woke up and started crying. I get it—strange room, not his normal crib, etc. He cried for about a minute, and I went over and gave him his pacifier before going to brush my teeth. He cried for about another minute when I heard a loud banging noise. At first, I thought someone was at the front door, but when I checked no one was there. Then the Home Warrior told me it was a loud knock on the connecting door. Evidently our neighbor was disturbed by the two minutes of baby crying.

Here are my problems with this. First of all, banging on the connecting door is just rude, no matter what’s going on. Second, do you really think making a loud noise is going to make a baby stop crying? Third, it’s Vegas for Pete’s sake! I have heard all kinds of crazy things in neighboring hotel rooms, but IMO that is just par for the course in Vegas. Finally, he had seriously only been crying for two or three minutes—not long at all in baby time.

After a quick debate, we decided to call the front desk. They sent a security guy up to talk to us, and that was the last we heard of it. This is what our neighbor should have done! If your neighbor is being too noisy, call the front desk and let them handle it. I think this is good etiquette, but also seems safest. You never know who is in the room next to you, and handling it yourself could lead to uncomfortable confrontations.

This is the first time I’ve ever called the front desk on a neighbor. Typically I just turn up my white noise and drown out whatever I’m hearing from next door.

Readers, what do you think? Was our neighbor justified? What do you do when you have a noisy neighbor?

Country Inn and Suites has paired with celebrity interior designer Genevieve Gorder to celebrate their updated look and design. They are doing a contest for a weekend getaway plus $3000 in spending cash. Woohoo! All you have to do is go to their Facebook page, like the contest, fill out the form, and pin a picture from the new design to one of your Pinterest boards. I would love to win, and it honestly took me about 30 seconds to enter. The new designs look great, and I can’t wait to check them out for myself!

Click here to get to the contest Facebook page. The contest runs through this Thursday. Good luck!

In a couple of weeks, I head back to Manila. Yes, this means 25 hours of transit one-way. Even though I’ve done it many times before, I always get a little anxious in the time leading up to the trip. 14 hours is a long time to be on a plane! And the way my schedule works is that once I arrive in Manila I go to the hotel to shower and eat, then head straight to the office. There is no resting once I arrive, which makes comfort and sleep on the plane super important. In the past, I’ve been lucky and gotten upgraded to business class. The lie-flat bed (not to mention the free wine) makes sleeping much easier!

This time, unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to get upgraded. I bought my ticket late, plus I haven’t regained my Platinum status yet. Sooo I have to figure out ways to make myself as comfortable as possible and get tons of sleep in coach. Easy? Nope! But it should be tolerable if I plan ahead.

1. Dress comfortably. This is the big one!!! I have seen people on these long flights wear craaaaazy stuff (tight skirts! high heels! leather!), and I just don’t get it. I don’t wear actual pajamas (although that’s not a terrible idea), but not too far off. This time, I’m not traveling with anyone (and so have no need to look professional) so I am wearing yoga pants, a long sleeve tee shirt, my adorable Nabee compression socks, and sneakers. If I were traveling with coworkers I could wear a jersey dress and leggings, which would look professional yet still be very comfortable.
2. Bring entertainment. One of the things I love about international flights is the movies (I’m a movie geek, I know). So I’m not super worried about having stuff to do on the flight since I plan to watch at least two movies. But I will still bring knitting and my Kindle for downtime at the airport. If you are not a movie person, I definitely recommend you bring stuff so you don’t get bored because 14 hours is a long time to have nothing to do.
3. Know what you need to sleep. I need several things to sleep comfortably on a plane: a window seat, pillow, travel blanket, eye mask, Tylenol PM, white noise app, and noise cancelling headphones. My friend needs a couple of glasses of wine. Whatever you need, bring!  There isn’t much worse than needing to sleep on a flight, but not being comfortable enough to do it.
4. Hydrate your skin. For long flights, I need to have all kinds of moisturizers so my skin doesn’t get dried out. Lip balm, face moisturizer, and hand cream are all in my bag, plus I try to drink plenty of water. I prefer to wear my glasses on long flights, since my contacts dry out my eyes after prolonged wear.
5. The little extras. Sometimes the little things can make or break a flight. I really like to have my slippers so I don’t have to wear shoes all the time but can get up easily. Face cleansing wipes feel soothing while wiping off travel grime. Plus, I always bring my toothbrush and toothpaste so I can feel fresh after waking up. Finally, I will definitely have snacks and a big bottle of water in my bag, so if the food service is taking too long I won’t be tempted to eat my seatmate.

It will be hard, but with planning and preparation I can have a good flight with lots of rest!

Readers, how do you stay comfortable on long flights in coach?

Don't forget your jammies!!

On two out of my last three trips I have gotten verrrry lucky.

First, two weeks ago. I was ready to go, feeling good because I was leaving a bit early for once, and took one last look around my hotel room. Satisfied I had gotten everything, I grabbed my bags and walked down the long hallway to the elevator. I walked out of the elevator on the ground floor, going through my mental checklist once more, and realized I didn’t remember packing my PJs. I paused, thinking it through. Drat! They were in the bathroom. Even though it was a little embarrassing to go to the front desk and explain I had left my PJS upstairs, and since I had also left the keys on the desk I had to get a new one, I was very glad that I remembered while I was still at the hotel and easily able to get my stuff.

Today, I enjoyed a delicious lunch before heading to the airport. I paid the bill, and double checked to make sure I had gotten the receipt and my credit card out of the folder. Because I had an hour drive, I hit the ladies’ room before leaving. As I walked out, my waitress ran over to me. “Ma’am! Your credit card!!” Which evidently I had left in the folder, despite double checking it.

So what’s the deal? In both instances, I gave a cursory check and then  moved on, but didn’t actually search. Two weeks ago, I looked around my hotel room and poked my head in the restroom, but didn’t actually look behind the door. Which was a bummer, because that’s where my jammies had fallen. Today, I didn’t check under the restaurant’s copy of the receipt, which was where my credit card was. I think I’ve been so busy lately that I’m just running from one thing to the next, and not taking the time to fully complete things. It could also be possible that I’ve been traveling for so long that I’ve gotten complacent. Either way, you can be darn sure I will be double and triple checking for my stuff from here on out!!

Readers, have you ever forgotten anything at a hotel?

Today has been one of those travel days with minor bumps all day. First TSA made me wait to send my suitcase through the x-ray machine for almost ten minutes. Then my flight wasn’t able to get into our gate at DFW because the plane using the gate before us had a medical emergency and was delayed for a while. This meant that once I finally got off that plane I had to race to the Skylink to get to my next flight. As I got off the escalator I saw that the train I needed had just arrived and was letting people off. I knew if I hurried I could make it. And I did—but there were so many people right at doors of the train that my bag was crushed in the doors. The thing that was so frustrating was that there was plenty of room—people just hadn’t moved into the middle, preferring to be right next to the door. Luckily everything in my bag appears to be fine, but still. Please move into the middle of the train! That way there will be room for everyone.

So that was the main point of my post—please move in to the middle so that there is room for everyone. But I also have to mention this: there are a lot of airport trains out there. Vegas and Miami are the first two to pop in my head besides DFW (even though I know there are tons more). I know many trains move slowly and in a straight line, so there really isn’t a need to hang on to the railings. But the DFW Skylink goes fast and around curves and unless you have amazing balance you have to hold on. And no, hugging your traveling companion who is holding on does not count. There was a couple in the Skylink today, and the man was holding on to the overhead rail while the woman hugged him. They both fell over during the first curve, which I could have told them would happen. So hang on tightly to the bars!

Readers, have you seen any crazy stuff in airport trains?

On almost every packing list I have, cardigans are there. Whether it’s winter or summer, the lightweight button down sweater is a must-have. They pull an outfit together, keep you warm on cold planes, and look professional but not too formal. They are available everywhere, on every budget, so it’s easy to find one that works for you. I actually wear them so much that I replace them regularly. I bought a ton of long-sleeve cardigans during sales last winter, but three-quarter sleeve is most versatile (IMO) so I need to stock up on those!

As always, Old Navy has many different cardigan styles at very low prices, in lots of colors. My favorite is the three quarter sleeve version in Aqua Bath. It’s a steal for $22. They also have longer boyfriend styles and cropped versions.

I like this Anne Klein sweater because of the texture, although it would be best on slightly cooler days since it’s a little thicker. (I also got distracted by this adorable dress! Wow I want that.)

If you get very warm and need short sleeves, Talbots has a cute option in a bunch of different colors. Lands End also has a cute version that has some interesting gathering on the back.

I swear by cardigans, and don’t think I can ever have enough! Looking forward to taking advantage of some sales this weekend.

Readers, do you wear cardigans for travel? What’s your favorite brand?

In my opinion, hotel rooms often have a terrible plug set up. There either aren’t enough, they’re inaccessible, or they are in the wrong place. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to unplug an alarm clock or muscle a very heavy night stand out of the way to plug my phone in. It’s one of my biggest travel pet peeves! The worst was when I went to Blog World in 2011 and stayed in the Westin Bonaventure. A great hotel, with famous elevators, a lovely room, and zero accessible plugs.

So imagine how excited I was when I got to my room in the Hampton Inn in West Haven last week and found this:

Not one, not two, but THREE plugs sitting right on the desk! Plus it had two USB plugs. Then when I started getting ready to go to bed, I realized there was another one on the nightstand! I don’t know if this is a new program Hampton Inn is rolling out, but I think these are great and all hotels should have them.

Readers, have you seen any great plug situations lately? Any terrible ones?

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How often is the middle seat open? Probably not that often these days, right? But it does sometimes happen, and man is it great! However, sometimes sharing the middle seat can be a little tricky. On a recent flight, the middle seat was empty, and as we took off I thought: Hallelujah! Until the lady next to me pulled out her large purse and dropped it in the seat. I figured that surely she was just getting something out and would put it away quickly. But no, she left it there the whole flight. Another time, the guy in my row put his laptop on the seat (and it was a big one so it took up all the space) and left it there for like two hours of a four hour flight.

My recommendation is to treat the middle seat like you did when you were a kid on road trips with your siblings: draw a line down the middle, and try not to encroach onto the other half. I know it’s tempting to get everything you might possibly need out of your carryon and put it on the middle seat, but it’s just not necessary. Obviously if you need to set your laptop on the seat while you reach down to get something out of your bag that’s not a big deal, but leaving it there for the whole flight is rude IMO. Like with all etiquette, just try to remember that you are sharing the plane with a lot of other people and treat them the way you would like to be treated!

Readers, what do you think about sharing the middle seat? Is it first come first serve, or should you just take your half?

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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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I have written several times about how I wear bike shorts under skirts and dresses on travel days. It just makes so much sense! It alleviates worry about any unexpected TSA pat-downs, wind gusts, or, of course, chafing. For what seems like forever I have just worn normal bike shorts from Target. My problem with them, and with most typical exercise bike shorts, is that they’re just too long! With my knee-length dresses I am constantly concerned that they will show as I’m walking. Not fun at all.

On a recent Corporette post, a commenter mentioned that she uses Jockey Skimmies Slipshorts. Seriously, these seem like the answer to a prayer. They are inexpensive, come in a bunch of colors, and have different lengths. Plus the reviews are mostly very good, and report no roll-up (or down) or muffin-top. Woohoo! I am definitely going to be trying out the regular length, although there is also a shorter length. $20 at Amazon.

Readers, have you tried the Slipshorts? Do you feel comfortable wearing dresses on travel days?

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