no. 18: five things I always do before I travel

plus what I can't live without in my carry on

• Mr. And Mrs. Smith: a disarmingly charming (no pun intended) series inspired by the early 2000s Brad and Angelina movie. I found it witty, emotionally resonant and just plain fun. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine’s John and Jane are equal parts charismatic, magnetic and unexpectedly cutting. I loved it, beginning to end. Watch on Amazon Prime.

• Youth to the People’s Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask: another discovery courtesy of the quarterly brunch review! I tossed the sample size in my travel toiletries bag for my trip this weekand have been extremely impressed with how much moisture it packs in a tiny amount (plus it smells *amazing*). currently working my way through another sleep mask, but as soon as that one is gone I’ll be replacing it with this one.

• INDYX: Y’all know I’m on a fashion journey this year, and have been tracking my outfits for the 75 Hard Style Challenge via a very basic, but extremely detailed spreadsheet. Came across INDYX, an app dedicated to cataloging your wardrobe. There is functionality to both track what you have in your closet and to put outfits together with those items. The app is sleek and easy to use, and so far my only hang up is having enough light to get reasonable photos of my clothes. Will report back once I’ve used it more regularly.

The first winter we lived in Seattle, I grossly underestimated the impact of the dark and grey on my mental health. By the time February rolled around, I was in shambles, and knew If something didn’t change, this was never going to work long term. I did the work on routines and sleep hygiene and happy lights and all that jazz, and can confirm that it all helps. I can also confirm that sometimes the best solution is to just book a trip somewhere warm and sunny for February, because by the time you get back the first bulbs will be starting to bloom and your entire perspective will shift. It’s not particularly practical advice, but it is *extremely* effective. 

Not to bury the lede, but this edition of the newsletter is coming to you live from my winter vacation. I’ve got all my accounts on autoresponders, I am (responsibly) soaking in the sun, and absolutely delighting in the joy that is my toddler’s unabashed obsession with water. Beach, pool, bath tub, I have quite literally never seen him happier, and I feel a bit like the grinch after his heart grew three sizes, only it’s happening every 20 minutes and I could just explode I love it so much!

I don't think you understand, I'm *obsessed*

If you’re new here, my husband and I love to travel, and do so often, whether it’s a big Adventure Trip or simply traveling to see family on the east coast, we find ourselves on the go pretty regularly. I just checked, and in the first half of this year alone I’ve got 10+ trips planned or in process. We both work full time, have generous but not unlimited PTO, have a dog and a toddler, and are pretty regularly just making the most of long weekends and strategic PTO days versus galavanting off on a six week adventure. For me, it’s a priority that travel fits into the rest of my life without completely upending it. I won’t say I’ve got it completely figured out (see: the late night I pulled before this trip to get everything done in time) but we do have our routines before and after travel fairly dialed in in order to make it all work.

Today, I’m sharing the five things I always do before leaving on a trip to make things easy and (relatively) painless when we get back to reality, plus the things I can’t live without in my carry on (an of course, there is a fresh hits list this week!) . Safe travels!

xx

clean out the fridge:

I haaaaaaaate wasting food. absolutely hate it, both on a philosophical level and a practical “there is nothing worse than cleaning out rotting food from the frige” level. Starting the week before before we leave, I put a moratorium on groceries, only doing an abbreviated grocery run at the top of the week, and doing our best to eat our way through leftovers. Usually we do this through a combination of planned leftover meals and a few “fridge foraging” dinners. I tire of going out to eat quickly, and try to reserve some stamina for the good stuff while traveling - no need to start early!

The day we leave, I’ll do a 15 minute fridge clean out: any leftovers we didn’t eat get composted, and any ingredients that are still good (but would likely go bad while we’re gone) get frozen. I’ve got a large Tupperware I keep in the freezer where I put odds and ends when cooking (onions, garlic, carrots, etc) and every few months I’ll use it to make a big batch of veggie stock. All the empty dishes get loaded and dishwasher gets run so nothing gets gross or moldy while we’re gone (regrettably can confirm it’s horrible). 

the freezer containers! far left will become soup stock, the savory herbs pile regularly get blended up into sauces, and i’ll probably turn the mint leaves into ice cubes!