packing!

a very messy start, but it gets better.

 

Tomorrow I leave on vacation to Rio and Buenos Aires, so today I went about packing, and as promised here's a post on how I do it!

First things first, I take out anything I am remotely interested in bringing from my closet and put it out where I can see it. The mess you see above isn't even everything I ended up pulling out.

From there, I start by taking aside and packing all the necessary under clothes/camis/tanks/pajamas. Next, I find a few clothes that are either new or haven't been worn much recently and work on creating outfits around those.

Here are two I put together working with a sheer H&M white blouse and a mustard-yellow sweater from Forever 21:

After doing this and creating more outfits with other pieces, it's time to pack! This is my trusty suitcase that saw me to France and back:

 

I start out by folding everything neatly, while keeping outfits together, like so:

In the past, I'd have started packing by layering these down into the suitcase, but I've found a better option now. Rolling! I find it saves me a lot of space and keeps my clothes from wrinkling. Even the neatest fold can still sometimes leave a crease on delicate items, but rolling generally doesn't. Voila:

From here, all that's left is to put it into the suitcase! Here's my finished product:

One last tip that isn't clear from the pictures: rather than keeping delicate skirts/lace items (as seen above) as the top layer, I always put scarves on top. I fold big scarves up into squares and use them as a buffer between pretty clothes and nasty zippers that could catch on them.

Next post will be an airport-outfit post. Hope you've all had a good day!

france avec mon ami

Well, after nearly 20 hours of airport/flying time, I'm back home from visiting my best friend, K, in France. It was a wonderful trip, and I already miss her terribly, but I've got plenty of photographs and new memories.

I stayed four days in Paris with her before we went with her family to Provence, and stayed near a town called St. Paul du Trois Chateau. Naturally, the main purpose of the trip was rest and relaxation, so I didn't bother getting fully dressed most of the time, haha. That said, here are some snapshots from the more interesting parts of my trip, outfits included.

 Delicious cup of hot chocolate at Angeline's in Paris.

The view from the villa we stayed at in the South: breathtaking. You could see vineyards and farmland for miles, and then hazy blue mountains with white rocky tops in the distance. The south of France is much like Italy (close to the Mediterranean as it is), but there are slight differences that make the place unique. It's full of winding roads and roundabouts, little towns with ancient history, gorgeous churches, miles of endless greenery.

K and I attempting to channel our inner Tyra's and smize.

 Mmm, molleaux chocolat, essentially warm, gooey chocolate cake.

This one was taken outside an old church atop a provincial town. It was very windy that day, and luckily I'd worn this long skirt that K gifted me earlier during the trip.

This town was called Nyon, and it's famous for its olives. We ate lunch in the little village square whilst being serenaded by an accordion playing singer. I had a provincial pizza with olives from the town, which were very, very good. For dessert (and dessert = most important part of every meal) I had crepes with chocolate sauce and bananas. I don't usually like bananas, but when you give it to me wrapped up with chocolate and whipped cream...well, it's hard to say no.

On a hilltop at another town.

 A cute little cafe where we stopped for ice cream (lavender flavor!) and tea after climbing the aforepictured hilltop.

I absolutely love food in Europe, primarily because it's so fresh. Even in Paris, we'd shop at markets instead of chain grocery stores.

Also, if it's even possible, I've eaten far too much goats cheese on this trip! Nearly every meal was accompanied by the glorious stuff. I might go into withdrawal now that I'm home.


Well, hopefully this account has been quick but interesting! I'm set to leave on another trip in a few weeks, and I think I'll try and document that one a little better. Maybe even do a post on how I go about packing clothes?

Are any of you going on vacation this summer?