TIME TO PACK!

I have a confession to make...I am a list maker!  I love stickey notes and I like pencils for writing my lists because erasing is SO much neater than crossing out!  Well, for weeks I have been writing lists for things to pack in my suitcase, things to pack in my tote bag, things to do at home before we leave, things to remind Gary to pack, and things to tell Bryan and Matthew about feeding the dogs...I need a list to keep track of all my other lists!  Anyway, today was the day to stop writing lists, and start packing!

As most of you know, I am a huge believer in packing wisely and travelling light!  Gary and I both plan to travel with a small "wheelie" suitcase, and one tote-bag/messenger bag each for our 2 week trip to France...should be a piece of cake!  We were able to do it for 3 weeks in Italy a few years ago, so this trip should really be a cinch.

With a little planning (and some help from Eileen Fisher!) I think I have mastered the art of packing lighter and smarter.  There are a few tips I can share:  pack mainly light weight knits (they layer well, don't wrinkle and they stretch for comfort), use scarves to change up your look, and accept that you will only have 3 pairs of shoes max.  If all your pieces are interchangeable, you will have optimum mixing (and avoid looking the same in all your vacation photos!).  I find it really helps to keep the colors pretty neutral (black & grey for me!) and then just stick with one pop color (for this trip my pop color is blue).  And remember...although YOU may be sick of your smaller than usual assortment of clothes and duplicate outfits...the locals where you are traveling will not see you every day - the people you saw yesterday probably won't see you tomorrow! As we will be in an apartment for our first week, we will be able to do laundry easily...but it can be fun to do laundry at a European laundromat and mix with the locals!

So exactly what am I packing?

• 3 pairs of slim pants (black, ash grey, silver grey)
• 3 cardigans (black, grey, blue)
• 1 blue light weight pull-over sweater
• 2 silk shirts (blue & varigated grey)
• 2 longer "underpinning" tops/tunics (black, ash grey)
• 3 organic cotton tank tops (white, 2 shades of grey)
• pj's & undies
• silver ballet flats, black wedge sandals
• 1 light weight rain jacket (black) (I prefer this over an umbrella)
• 5 scarves (various colors...mostly greys and blues with 1 green one thrown in)

(I will be wearing a grey sweater, striped t-shirt,  scarf and black EF slouchy pants with black ballet flats)

Believe it or not, this all fit in my little tiny suitcase, leaving my tote bag to hold my kindle, toiletries,  Clairsonic, make-up, some snacks for the plane, my knitting, various charging devices, and even my purse!  Easy-Peasy!!  I'll even have a little room to bring home some gifts.

The beauty of traveling light like this, is that when we land Wednesday morning, we can easily hop on the RER train from the airport in Paris, transfer to the Metro at Gare du Nord and get off at the St. Germain de Pres station, walk 5 minutes, and be at our apartment fairly quickly......no having to wait and wait in line for a cab, dragging more luggage than we can each comfortably carry. Viva la difference!