How to Pack a Suitcase

Not to brag or anything (I am totally about to brag), but I pack a lean, mean suitcase. This trip poses a unique challenge because I am driving to North Carolina but flying home so while I have plenty of room for the road trip, everything I pack has to pass muster at the airport, too. I’ll keep a few things out for my handbag like road maps, GPS, camera and charger, iPod, my trusty Sperry’s and some snacks. Other than that, everything is here! Check it out…

1. Curling iron	10. Socks that match – 3 pairs; pajama pants
2. Hair brush	11. Tank tops – 2
3. Bag with hair elastics, bobby pins, jewelry to match outfits	12. Flip-flops
4. Make-up bag with foundation, blush, bronzer, eye shadow, liner, eyebrow kit, mascara, lipstick, brushes, blemish serum	13. Pants – 1 denim, 1 navy, 1 cargo. Leggings – 2 pairs
5. Face scrub, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, contact lens solution (all travel-size), moisturizer, sunscreen dab-on, and Intuition razor	14. Swimsuit and shorts
6. Sundresses – 3	15. “Unmentionables” as my mother calls them
7. Black felt-tip pen for journaling and postcards	16. Hoodie – 1. Cardigans – 2. T-shirts/tops – 3
8. Journal	17. Belts – 1 red, 1 navy.
9. New book for the trip (Sarah has demanded that I read it)	Also pictured: eyeglass case, phone charger

 

I invested in a buckle-style luggage strap to secure my vintage suitcase, in lieu of a lock. Mine is from Target but you can find them lots of places, including this cute handmade one I spotted on Etsy.

What are your best tips for packing light?

love, elizabeth

Love Letters

Haven’t mentioned this on the blog this week but Kyle flew to Colorado on Sunday and he’ll be gone till the end of the week. To say that I’m homesick for him would be the understatement of the year. It may be silly to be this lonely without him after only a few days but I’m going to put it in the ‘Win’ column for our marriage that after nearly seven years together, we both teared up saying goodbye in the airport. You’d think he was going to the moon. It makes no difference, really, though. I miss Kyle when he’s in the next room. So down the hall…across the country…on Mars…I miss him.

In a spur of the moment decision on Sunday afternoon, we bought each other a paperback book (his for the airplane and mine for bedtime). Inside, we scrawled love letters and a few random notes in the margins. Kyle wants to make this a tradition so I think we’re going to start writing all our love letters in books. I kind of like it because a book is just another kind of love letter, I think (a good book, anyway!).

 

And because I can’t help sharing it with someone, here’s a tiny peek at what Kyle wrote to me…

Anyone have a favorite memory of a love letter?

love, elizabeth

Death is like taking someone to the airport

via

Sometimes they’re in a hurry and you just drop them at the curb. You leave your hazards on and you pull their suitcase out of the trunk and you hug them and they tell you what a great time they had, how good it was to see you. You know they have to go. Their plane is leaving. They can’t stay any longer.

Sometimes they let you park and come inside with them. You watch them check-in and promise they’re not carrying contraband. You watch them check their bags and you say meaningless things like “Wow, $25 for that little duffel bag…” and “How long is your lay-over in Atlanta? Oh, nice and short then.” You make it as far as security. You need a ticket go on but you don’t have one. Because this is their flight. Not yours.

They shrug and say, “I guess this is it.”

And you say, “Yeah, don’t forget to take off your shoes.”

They head for the back of the line and you call out their name. Just one more hug, one more kiss, one more “I wish we had more time.: One more goodbye.

You’re only prolonging it now but you stand at the top of the stairs and watch their progress through security. You see the wand waving and you see them step through that last metal doorway.

You can’t even see them now but you walk to the impossibly large windows now and stare out, trying to decide which plane is taking them away from you. Eventually, you watch one taxiing down the runway, farther and farther away, faster and faster it goes, until it’s up, up in the air taking someone away from someone else and it just seems so unbelievably unfair.

But it would be selfish, wouldn’t it, to want to keep those planes on the ground forever? It would be selfish to keep those passengers from reaching their destinations.

Today I’m feeling a little selfish and a little sad.

love, elizabeth

PS: I apologize for my absence from blog-land for the past few days. I have been reading your blogs and trying to comment (my log-in wasn’t working). I think things are fixed now and I should be back to regular posting and reading, too. Hope everyone is having a restful weekend!