Ciocia Kristen

Hello, internet! Did you miss me while I was gone? We had a lovely weekend away in Detroit (not an oxymoron LOL); we went for a family reunion picnic but I affectionately called the trip our Casino Tour Across Michigan. I hit big on our first night in New Buffalo, and that paid for the rest of the pitstops along the way and our stay in the Greektown Casino and Hotel in the city itself. Yay!

But more importantly, what did I wear? The weather was crazy, the kind where you over-pack with shorts for heat, jackets for bundling up, and shirts and sweaters of every weight, just to cover your bases. And I ended up wearing all of them.

This was Friday; wore it to work and then on the car ride across Illinois and Indiana that night. Gap Outlet purple and grey striped sweater, grey Lauren Conrad for Kohls embellished tee, black Gap skinny pants, red Target cutout flats. Those flats got quite a workout all weekend!






Saturday we drove the rest of the way across the state then met up with my sister-in-law and niece for lunch at Slows BBQ in the city of Detroit. It's a funny restaurant, funky and upscale like many restaurants found in the funky urban neighborhoods of Chicago, but because it's in Detroit it's pretty much surrounded by abandoned buildings. The food was ridiculously good; I had a brisket and onion marmalade sandwich that was amazingly tender and flavorful. Plus, I got to spend time with my niece! She's only two so she's like an amnesiac still; she doesn't remember me between the times that I see her, so I have to win her over all over again at each visit. But Ciocia Kristen (Aunt in Polish) is persistent, and by the end of the reunion on Sunday she was running into my arms and kissing me. :)











I love how fearless my sister-in-law is in taking her daughter through the city. They live there, after all, and it's good to teach her to enjoy the good and not to ignore the bad.


This was one of 3 outfits on Saturday. The WHBM striped sweater kept coming off and on as it heated up, so I was glad I had just gotten this Old Navy long sleeved ruched v-neck tee this week on sale. It's so soft, and the optic white looks good against my skin tone. I ended up getting even hotter and changing into a fuschia sleeveless ruched tee from LOFT for a while, then that night I wore my batwing black top when we went out drinking and gambling with my brother-in-law. (Also when we went for Coney dogs at 10:30 at night. It's a Detroit tradition!)





Sunday was the reunion out at a gorgeous park up by my brother-in-law. The sun was out but the wind was cool, so my new Old Navy striped sweater kept coming off and on as the temps changed. Underneath was another Old Navy ruched v-neck tee, this time in deep teal. My gold circle Nasri necklace and Old Navy Dreamer jeans finished off the outfit. No full-lengths shots, but here are a couple of closeups. I bought those aviators last year, and they were expensive from Ralph Lauren. But they look awesome, and they've lasted well. No regrets about buying them at all!






Me and my nieces (ages two and sixteen). Love both of these girls so much! The reunion was perfect because the adults were busy talking to their cousins and aunts, but since I don't know any of them I got to spend time with my nieces one on one. Usually at family parties their moms and grandmas hog their attention. :)



 
My husband proudly wore his new Made in Detroit shirt. LOL!





He also did some fishing with our niece. She loved it, and didn't want to stop even though it was time to go. They kept catching the line on lily pads and other assorted greenery in the water, and my husband joked that they were catching "salads". When we got her back with her mom, she proudly said, "I caught salads!" We have been repeating it to each other ever since.

Good thing they didn't actually catch a live fish; she might have freaked out.




The kids played games at the picnic, and one of the prizes were bubbles. That turned out to be the most fun of all, as the little ones chased the bubbles all over the field. I could have watched them for hours. So adorable.





By Monday, my flats-length Old Navy Dreamer jeans had completed bagged out, but I did not want to wear heels for the drive home. So I rolled up my heel-length Old Navy Dreamer jeans (why do the other pair bag out, but not these? It's a mystery) and added the white long-sleeved tee again, my grey asymmetrical sweater from Marshalls, red Target flats and my new crossbody from Nordstrom. This was definitely a remixing weekend! (And an Old Navy one, apparently; they are my go-to store for casual this year!)



And now I am back at work. Alas!

My Packing Prowess

Gail asked right before I left for Vegas how I packed for a trip. I am actually a great packer, at least in terms of getting everything to fit into the proper amount of space in the luggage -- and I am an absolute genius at packing the car for road trips. I can fit every bag, suitcase and oddball-shaped item perfectly in the trunk with no extra space, like a 3-d jigsaw puzzle. That comes from years of practice packing the car and boat for week-long trips with my family; my job was always to store everything away in the trunk and then the cubbyholes in the boat.

When it comes to packing the right clothes, though, I am often hit-or-miss. This particular trip worked out well, so I laid out what worked and why.

1. I packed by outfit. I literally laid out each outfit on my bed and included the accessories for each.



2. I took into account when we had special occasion days: my "elf" outfit for Christmas Eve day, a dress for Christmas Eve night (left photo). I assumed Christmas Day would be a mix of dressier and casual, so I packed my purple cardigan and a sparkly statement necklace. The road trip up to the mountains (I thought we would be doing some minor hiking, which we did not). (Middle photo for both.) Plus two flying outfits, and a hanging-out outfit or two. (Last two photos on bottom.)



3. I added a couple of extra scarves and a white layering top. The 30-for-30 taught me not to take my layering tops for granted, and I wanted the flexibility of swapping out a scarf on an outfit if I changed my mind. This proved astute when my mom forgot all of her scarves and was constantly cold when we were out walking. She claims she'll be mailing back my beloved white-and-black Target scarf soon!



4. I added my 5 most-worn necklaces as another accessory backup. Which was fine, because if you are going to overpack, make it something small or flimsy (jewelry and scarves worked out well for me!) The weather and fluctuating temps between casinos and outside made this a great decision: I often wore both a scarf and necklace, and when I got hot I removed the scarf and tied it to my bag handle. But I was still nicely accessorized with the necklace!



5. I made my only real mistake with shoes. I did not take into enough account how much walking we would be doing. I thought I had it covered with the sneakers and flats, and anticipated switching out of them throughout the day (which I did, and it worked out well). But the booties were not a comfort option for any of our treks, and they just don't look right to me with the dress. They could have stayed home. The patent oxford heels were perfect for the dress instead.



6. I took into account I would be shopping, so I kept my options open about buying a dressier outfit for Christmas Eve/Day. I also knew I was going to need a dressier bag: I brought a mustard casual crossbody for my casino-only purse, and my brown Gap tote for lugging around all my cameras when we went exploring the Strip and elsewhere. But I had nothing for a night-out bag.

One trip to White House, Black Market solved that! My new bag, two new sweaters, and two new belts. (The last one, a sparkly black beaded ribbon scarf was on sale and already gone from the website. But look at that cute pink one below!)

I also picked up the perfect pair of flat black clogs from Dillards, from their in-house brand. These saved me as a third walking shoe option -- and that isn't a style I have at home so it was better to buy them there. (No picture on website, but they are your basic clog but with a longer toe instead of that dumpy rounded look.)

7. The last key part to my packing plan was good use of my packing tools, all purchased from The Container Store (which is like my own personal organizational crackhouse. They have the best stuff.) I bought a shirt-carrier after a lot of skepticism, but now I love it. I was able to fold down seven days of shirts and sweaters into this space, and nothing got wrinkled!



I also have a great toiletries carrier, with two major deep pockets. I use it only for road trips and longer flights when I have checked bags, of course. Carry-on needs something much smaller!



Those two tools allow me to get everything into the bag, including a couple of books, my flattened tote, and our Christmas stockings. The bag itself is a Samsonite purchased at an outlet store also a couple of years ago. After nearly 20 years of travel to our families, I finally realized I should get some real luggage instead of the junky Target crap that kept ripping and breaking. I am so happy I did!



Cameras (I brought two, and two lenses), my actual purse and various electronic equipment and essentials for traveling all went in this sturdy nylon tote that fits perfectly under the seat. It has three pockets and is such a godsend (seriously, if you are scrambling for the right bags for every trip, consider investing in a good packing tool or two. They make traveling so easy!)



And that is how I pack for trips. Hope you picked up a tip or two that you hadn't tried yet. Got any to share with me?