how to: pack for a business trip

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Well, I'm back from an unexpected work trip.  I was in Calgary, AB, for the week helping out at a store that had just finished up renovations.  This was my first ever business trip and it was pretty exciting.  We worked very long days, so unfortunately I wasn't able to do any sightseeing in the city, or really have much downtime at all (hence the quiet abyss of this blog).  But I was travelling with some great co-workers, so it made the long days go by quicker and the end of work day dinners that much more hilarious.

Because it was last minute, my packing skills were not at their best.  Let's be honest, I'm an over packer.  Packing smartly is definitely a skill I've been trying to perfect for a long time now, but I just can't seem to leave the kitchen sink behind!
I wish I was able to just bring my carry-on sized suitcase on any trip and be able to make it work.  This time I figured, I'm going for a full work week, that the next size up wouldn't be so bad, and luckily I wasn't the only one, but seeing the other girls whip through the lines with their cute little suitcases really made me want to try harder.  I did notice, however, that this time I didn't have it completely jam packed full of silly, useless things, but having to wear all black for work helps.

I'm starting to call myself a bit of a traveler and with that I've picked up a few tips along the way.  I'm slowly getting better, and one day will make it to just that cute little carry-on sized suitcase!!
Hope these tips help you pack your bags!  Do you travel for work? Any tips you'd like to add?

1. Pick a colour story for your trip, it's makes pulling complete outfits that much easier.  Obviously my colour this time around was black, but burgundy, or grey would be great for this time of year.

2. Wear your biggest items on the plane.  Wearing your tall boots makes sense, because they'll take up lots of space in your suitcase. And wearing or carrying your jacket saves you some space, and will give you the option to layer on the plane, where there's always a random draft.

3. Travel sized toiletries, aka. free samples!  I save samples of shampoo, moisturizer, or anything else handy from swag bags or cosmetic counters to pack instead of the regular size I use daily.  These little guys are so small that you can have them in your carry-on and won't lead to having to dump them at security. That's the worst!

I don't have any travel plans coming up, but I just may have to change that! Here's to my next trip!!

Portland

The last major city on our summer road trip was Portland, Oregon.  It was beautiful walking down by the river and passing bridge after bridge.  We strolled around almost the whole city and I loved looking in all the shops (no tax in Oregon!), as well as eating some amazing food truck meals. Hello Grilled Cheese!!!! 

One of the best things we did was visit the Saturday Market.  It starts by the river and leads through to VooDoo Doughnut.  There's tons of vendors with arts and crafts, jewellery, baked goods, and so much food.  If/When I visit Portland again, my stomach will be happy.

L.A.

Visiting Los Angeles has always been on my travel list.  The whole idea of Hollywood, the beaches and palm trees, sounds just perfect.  And it was! We stayed just outside of Santa Monica and toured around for the couple of days we were there.  L.A. is definitely the kind of place where you need a car, it's so spread out and vast that you need to drive everywhere.  That meant that a lot of what we saw was from the car.  
One of the days we did a beach tour, Long Beach, Balboa, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.  The Bf really loved the idea of living in a beach town.  Meanwhile all I'm doing is having flashbacks of old episodes of The O.C.

I would have to admit though, as tourists there for the first time we could have used a tour guide.  It's a bit tricky to navigate around the city, as well as knowing where the best areas are to hang out.  It's obvious to find the Hollywood sign up on the hill and Rodeo Drive (which I shopped on!), but to have a bit more of an insider feel, next time I may have to do more research (and I definitely did some)....or bring a friend that's been before...anyone wanna plan a trip?!

These are a few of my fave photos from Los Angeles.

San Fran

I thought I'd share a few of my favourite photos from our summer road trip, starting with San Francisco.  

Seeing as that's where my photos start.  I had some memory card issues and lost everything leading up to our first big stop, San Fran, so unfortunately no photos from Washington or the Oregon coast :(

I was really impressed with this city.  I loved the shops and restaurants (the best spaghetti carbonara!) and especially walking along the waterfront.  And yes the Golden Gate bridge is just as you imagine, huge!!  We walked all over the place, including up some of the steepest streets (including some so steep, they had stairs!).  Even our hotel was lovely, the San Remo, in North Beach was quaint and the staff were so great with suggestions and just loved Kea.

The Bf trying to escape from Alcatraz

(We couldn't get a tour, it was booked a month in advance!)

Szia

Tomorrow my Bf leaves for Hungary to visit with family for 10 days (he's not Hungarian, but his Step-Mom is). His trip has been in the works for a bit, but wasn't finalized by any means until roughly 2 weeks ago. We needed to sort out logistics and a little bit of money woes, but now he's finishing up his last day of work before heading out tomorrow afternoon.

Hungary is such a beautiful place. He'll be about an hour or so outside of Budapest, in a little village called Lovas. We visited when we were on our big European adventure last summer and I just loved it (I hadn't quite made it there far in Travel Tuesday, but don't you worry, I'm going to get us caught up in no time). It's a small little vineyard village where everyone knows one another and takes the time to say hello, which in Hungarian 'szia' (pronounced see-ya. sidenote: 'hello' means goodbye, yes i love the irony too). His Step-Mom is even the Deputy Mayor!

This means that I'm Bf-less for a whole 10 days!! We'll see how this goes, it'll be the longest we've ever been apart (even when I went home for a visit a few moths ago, it was only for a week!). I hope a) I don't burn down the house and b) I don't starve.

Feel free to check up on throughout the week.....just in case!

These are a few photos from our visit last summer.

life changing

July 13th, one year ago, changed my life.

It was the day my Bf and I left for our big adventure, three months travelling through Europe. It feels like it was so long ago, but at the same time it was only a year ago! We experienced so much in such a short time and learned a lot about ourselves and each other.

A lot has changed since then as well, for one, moving across the country to Vancouver. New jobs, new home, a whole new life, really. So much has changed in just one year, and after everything, I couldn't be happier.

These photos are a bit of and overview of the last year of my life, enjoy!

let's hear it for...

I can't lie, this January I've spent a lot of quality time with my beloved television. So between Sex and the City (both series and movies), Gossip Girl and throw in there a little bit of How I Met Your Mother, one thing lies clear...well, to me...New York City. It's another one of my most favourite places in the world. I've been there twice with 2 of my closest friends, love you guys!

Between the concrete jungle with tons of character, the greenspace that is Central Park, and well...i don't even think i need to mention it, but i will, just in case anyone is unsure...the magic of shopping in that magical city.

5th Ave, Soho, Meatpacking, oh my!!!

It's amazing what this city can make you feel. The grand buildings are breathtaking. The culture of the people, they are so friendly and proud. Just walking around and experiencing whats around you...i just love it there.

My 2 most favourite places in NYC are Central Park and the New York City Library.

Have you lovelies ever been? What's your favourite thing about NYC?