Little Black Guidebook

After taking my Aeronaut with me on a quick business trip to Anchorage this weekend full of 27 pounds (laptop, chargers, 2 pairs of shoes, 5 star restaurant clothes, weekend clothes, work clothes, toiletries, etc.) I got to feel first hand what it felt like with that much stuff stuffed into it. Any doubts I had about leaving the laptop at home for our upcoming trip are gone, it adds a lot of weight and takes up a third of the main bag space. I also realized how necessary the Absolute strap is when carrying heavy loads. Thankfully the heavy load almost disappeared when carried as a backpack, so it was nice to know that I could handle the weight even when it is super heavy.

After living with the clothes I planned on packing for a week, reading the suggestions of my wonderful readers, and going shopping in Anchorage last weekend I revised my packing list. Hubby is off on a 4 day work trip camping with his Aeronaut with his camp stove, clothes, cooking dishes and other camping gear in the bag. He’ll be reporting back on how it went

What came out of the bag:
1 dress-Two skirts with tops provide more options than two dresses.
1 pair flip flops-Not going to be taking showers in hostels and can’t walk in them all day.
camera (moved to Hubby’s bag)
1 hoody & 1 pair terry pants – I’m taking a smaller and easier to wash/dry sleep shirt.

Also not bringing:
1 messenger bag day bag-The flap on the bag made the items inside too inaccessible. The LED light inside also didn’t work so it’s going back to eBags.

What went into the bag:
1 Tide-to-go pen
1 pair Birkenstock sandals
1 cardigan
1 sleep shirt/2nd dress
1 bag lock

Also bringing:
1 hobo handbag – this replaces my messenger bag. It has a top zipper which keeps the stuff inside secure, fits under my arm, is roomy enough to carry all of our stuff for the day and has two rings on either side to attach a cross-body strap if I decide to. It also has a little pocket on the outside to slip the camera into and out of throughout the day. Ironically enough, I already owned this bag and didn’t need to buy a new one for this trip, sometimes it pays to take a look around before going shopping.

I’m taking tiny travel size shampoos and conditioners from the Body Shop after still being unable to find solid toiletries at a reasonable price and because I have strong allergies which make relying on hotel toiletries to be impractical. I did get my toiletries down to just the essentials so I

I know I’ll take some flack for it, but I’m still bringing the jeans and khakis. I hate travel pants and I get too cold to wear skirts the whole time. I’ve considered wearing leggings with the dresses and skirts, but in the end, I love my jeans, they make me feel beautiful like no other item of clothing and if I have to wash them halfway through so be it. We have two stays of 5 nights or more in one place and they will dry in that amount of time. Since we won’t be moving around every day, its not as much of an issue.