Travel Essentials: What’s in my bag?

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This past weekend my mom and I spent in Nebraska visiting my sister and her husband at their home!  I had such a busy week last week, and wasn’t able to pack until super late Wednesday night, and we had to leave at 4:00am Thursday morning…ughh!  Last minute packing has sort of become my specialty 😉  Honestly, I totally am not a procrastinator (major Type-A over here!), but I always manage to put packing off until the very last second.  Because of this, I have a system of what I bring, and rarely stray.  These are essentials, of course I pack more, but these things come with me on the plane!

Longchamp Bag:  When my mom bought me this bag for my birthday a few years back, I had absolutely no idea how much I would use/love it!  [Thanks, mom!  You know me best!]  Seriously though, I use it for everything from overnights, to returning things at the mall, to the bag that goes on top of my rolling carry-on.  Everything on this entire board gets thrown into my Longchamp bag, and somehow it fits…totally a Marry Poppins bag 😉  It comes in a zillion colors and is such amazing quality!  Every single girl should have one, hands down.

Coloring Book & Magazine:  I’m sure you aren’t living under a rock and are totally aware that “adult” coloring books are all the rage right now, and for good reason if you ask me!  I’ve even seen them referred to as “therapeutic,” and while I kind of think that’s over the top, I have to agree.  It’s super fun and doesn’t require a lot of thought, so it definitely is relaxing!  I like this one, and these markers [my perfectionism kicks in with coloring hard core, and I can’t get regular old colored pencils to be precise enough ;)].  A good magazine is also an essential for me on a flight!  Honestly, the only time I will sit down and read a magazine for an hour is one a plane.  Anyone else?


Scarf & Cozy Socks:  I always run super cold, and at some point along the line airline companies stopped leaving the little blankets on your seat.  So, I need to bring something to keep me warm, but will fit in my Longchamp bag.  A knit scarf like this one totally does the trick because I can wrap it around me or lay it over my legs, and just throw it on when I get off the plane.  For longer flights, I like to bring a pair of fuzzy socks like these so I am even more cozy!


Snacks! & Water Bottle:  My family always laughs because I literally can’t travel to run errands without snacks, so getting on a plane for who knows how long most definitely requires that I bring snacks!  My absolute favorite snack EVER [obviously passionate about this ;)] are these organic Clif Trail Mix Bars.  The “Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry” is my favorite flavor.  YUM!  And I always keep a little baggie of these dark chocolate acai berries in my purse for when I am craving a little something sweet!  [Don’t even get me started on the Costco-sized bag of these…]  Airplane snacks are normally not good, so I always make sure I pack a little something to hold me over.

This Camelbak water bottle comes with me everywhere, but I love bringing it when I travel.  You can’t take liquids through airport security, so I bring the empty bottle, and someone will always fill it for me at a restaurant in the terminal.  This saves me from buying a ridiculously priced $7 water bottle once I’m inside, and I have it throughout my trip.


Portable Charger:  Being the girl who’s totally guilty over checking her phone wayyyy too often, a portable charger is an absolute necessity when I travel!  Getting off of a plane with a dead cell phone and trying to get in touch with whoever is picking you up, just doesn’t work out all too well.  And frankly, I don’t feel safe traveling alone without a charged phone.  I absolutely love this charger because the cord is attached!  I haven’t found one like that before, plus it’s super cute :).  If you’re looking for something smaller, this one got great reviews and is the “size of a tube of lipstick,” so it would be perfect for your purse.

Umbrella:  Okay, so I may not be telling the full truth when I say this is one of “my” essentials, however it should be one of them!  I hate spending money on things like an umbrella [California girl over here, people] when we rarely get the opportunity to use it at home.  But, when I take my mom’s nice umbrella, I think to myself, “Gosh, this is totally worth the $30 just for this one use.”  Ridiculous, yes.  But I hate being wet, and when traveling you don’t really know what the weather will be like when you land, so I like the idea of keeping one in my carry-on.  This one is super cute in the hot pink, and I am thinking I should order it for the “El Niño” they keep saying is coming this year 😉

Some other things I always bring along are my computer & a pair of headphones to listen to music/drown out all the other noises on the plane, hand sanitizer [because I can’t even deal with how many germs you come in contact with when that many people are crammed into that small of a space], and a neck pillow!  This neck pillow is made of memory foam, and it’s Daniel and my absolute favorite!!  You can wear it forwards or backwards depending on how you like to sleep.  And, if you can’t sleep on a plane, it’s still nice to have a comfortable place to rest your head!  And if you’re like me, and need to freshen up a bit after your flight [ahem…from laying on that neck pillow], I pack my favorite dry shampoo to give my hair a much needed pick-me-up, and I’m good to go!
Are there any things you have to bring with you on flights?  I’d love to hear them because we have a lot of trips planned this year!

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2 Comments

  1. 1.25.16

    Longchamps are the best and are essential for travel!

    • 1.25.16
      Daryl-Ann said:

      Seriously! I can't travel without mine now!

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