My Travel Routine & Tips To Enhance Yours

My hubby to be and I are always on the go.  Whether I'm accompanying him on out of state business meetings, poker tournaments, or we're jetting off on holiday, its safe to say that we travel a lot.  Even Ace is a frequent flier!  I could honestly do a whole separate post on how to travel with a small dog!

Packing for myself used to require hours of preparation and would give me anxiety on many different levels.  I used to be that girl who NEEDED all those shoes, "just in case".  As is the case with most things in life, the more that you do something (in my case travel), the better that you become.  I can now easily pack a 4 day day trip in a carry on and feel at ease about it - no more anxiety!  I have tried & tested many different products and methods on my quest to fine tune my packing skills, and it is my pleasure to share with you all that I have learned along the way!

Stick to a neutral palette
On my weekend trip to NYC last month, I packed 1 pair of shoes.  No joke!  One pair of heels, and my Rag & Bone Harrow booties that I wore on the plane.  This is worlds away from how I used to travel!  Sticking to a neutral color palette takes away the serious headache associated with packing your wardrobe options.  I always build my options around what shoes I want to bring that I will get the most use out of.  So for instance, if I wanted to wear my comfy brown leather riding boots I would pack shades of creams & browns that would coordinate with my boots.  I try to stick to either creams & browns, or black, whites & grays.  You can always add a pop of color with great accessories, like a statement necklace, a colorful scarf, or an amazing purse.  I always make sure that I can mix and match my tops and bottoms, ensuring multiple different outfit options out of only a few pieces.


Learn how to roll!!
Rolling your delicate items not only utilizes space, it also prevents your items from becoming extremely wrinkled!  I neatly align all my folded blouses onto one long pillowcase and working from one end to the other, roll it up.  Packing dresses too?  Lay out another pillowcase, and repeat.  Its so simple, and trust me it works!!


Invest in a good travel bag for your makeup
I seriously looked for months before I found a travel bag that I was happy with.  I bought the Bobbi Brown makeup organizer from Nordstrom.com and it is amazing!  I love the fact that its compact and can neatly fit into my carry on.  It has built in brush holders, zippered compartments, and can easily hold all of my daily makeup and then some.  I used this baby on my last trip to Europe, and with a little strategic placement, it held all that I needed for a 2 week vacation.  Get it here.  Another tip with regards to packing makeup is to always place a tissue in your makeup palettes.  It helps them from breaking.  I started doing this over a year ago and it truly helps! 

My well used Bobbi Brown makeup organizer

Pack a slipper bag
Bringing a slipper bag or a small cloth shoe bag are great for undergarments.  It keeps everything together, no more loose socks tumbling around in your bag.  I slip my bras, undies, and socks into into a small bag and its so discreet in my carry on.  On those annoying occasions when my bag gets searched, I don't need the security guy knowing my preference for underwear and this helps with that problem!


Plan out your airport outfit
If you ever travel with me or see me in the airport, you will see me wearing the same outfit every single time I fly.  It has become my go to travel wear, tested time and time again without fault.  First and foremost comfort is my top priority, but a girls got to look cute and fashionable also!

Comfy Airport Outfit by andreadewey featuring oversized tops

Above is the exact outfit I wear every time we fly, view the set and purchasing info on polyvore by clicking here.  The leggings are of great quality by BCBG.  I love them because they are super comfy, they never wrinkle (even on the longest of flights), and they are lint resistant.  SCORE!!  The convertible sweater is from Allsaints, and can be worn either as a cardigan or you can slip your head through the hole on the reverse side, and voila, it is a perfect wrap style sweater!  The Rag & Bone booties are easy to slip on and off when whisking through airport security, not to mention they are casual chic perfection.  My roomy Joie tote holds everything I need plus it matches my LV duffel bag perfectly.  I always pack a long scarf that can double as a blanket since the temperatures on all flights seem to border that of the Arctic.

Random Tips
A few other little things that I have learned along the way are:

• Always use an ultra moisturizing face mask the night before your flight.  My skin absolutely hates the recycled air on airplanes!  I found Burts Bees Intense Hydration treatment mask w/ clary sage to be the best affordable option.  I always apply it the night before I fly, right before bed.
• If you wear sandals, or Uggs on your flight (basically anything that wouldn't require socks) always, always, pack a pair of socks in your tote.  There is nothing more disgusting than the airport floors, especially going through security.  How yucky having to tip toe barefoot on top of everyone elses smelly foot germs! 
• Pack healthy snacks for the flight (almonds, fruit, protein bars) so that you aren't tempted, and don't forget to chug that water!
• Pack a good hand moisturizer.  Nothing dries out your hands more than the low quality, moisture zapping soap that airports & airplanes use.  The Body Shop makes great travel sized hand moisturizers.
• This might be the best tip that I give you!  True Story: My bag gets searched pretty often.  Apparently I look like a suspicious character :)  I always politely ask the security to put on new gloves before rifling through my belongings, and they have yet to say no.  I do get weird looks from them, but they always oblige.  The thought of them fondling everyone elses germy belongings before touching my precious goods freaks me out!  Yes, I am a bit of a germ-a-phobe but airports are icky!

I hope that you find this information helpful!  Please give feedback and I would love it if you shared your travel tips with me!

Safe Travels!

xo,

Andy