Clothing Recap

I am still very pleased with myself for overpacking. Alaska Airlines allows for a 50 lb. suitcase and shockingly, mine was only 42 lbs. And yes, I absolutely thought "I could have packed more!"

When we were unexpectedly dropped off in Portland on Monday night,we were relieved that we each still had a complete set of clean clothing. WHEW. We had all the toiletries that we needed as well. So unlike some of our fellow flyers, we were pretty relaxed about having to layover.

The important thing that I did forget? COATS. OMG COATS. We have taken them every single time and have only used them once. I decided that it wasn't worth carrying them around. Poor choice. Poor Kevin, actually. He had two sweatshirts on for three days. Poor monkey.

Let's recap what I am still pleased about. Oh, and keep in mind these are all second-hand. I rarely buy new.

I have a red, down, Eddie Bauer vest. I wore it every single day. It was Perfect. It was warm/cool enough. It was stain resistant. I could pack it into a travel pillow size. Go see if you can find one online because it is so worth it.

I mentioned the Dooney & Bourke satchel before we left. It held snacks, water bottle, assorted toiletries, a book, sunglasses, billfold. It was the bottomless satchel. It hooked on our rolling suitcase handle perfectly. I actually wonder how I ever got along without it. It isn't attractive, it's worn, and matches nothing but to me it's perfect.

I have a pair of brushed cords that I nearly wore out. They were good for evenings and they were warm. I had to break my own germaphobic ways in regard to wearing clothing multiple times without washing. They didn't wrinkle either.

I had brand new Sketchers sneakers in my closet from last Christmas. I am not sure how I forgot they were there but I did. They were great for the tremendous amount of walking that I did while we were there. They were just the regular shoes, not the training shoes, and they held up really well. My feet didn't hurt at the end of the day/trip, which is so important, right?

Finally, I told you about breaking the zipper on my favorite sweatshirt. I looked in the giftshops in the Stratospere shopping center and couldn't find a good sweatshirt. They were thin or just not what I wanted. There was even a "Everything is $10!" store which was a totally ripoff. I can't believe people fell for that gimmick. I had resigned myself to having to stop at Walmart to buy one. (Where I should have bought Kevin a coat instead)

My last ditch attempt was in this crowded with kitschy merchandise, LOUD, kid-oriented store at the end of the shopping area. In the back, on the wall, I found the perfect sweatshirt. $20!! I feel like singing Adam Sandler's Red Hooded Sweatshirt song when I wear it:



But this is what it actually looks like:

The moral of this story? Totally overpack. (and don't buy new. Unless it's a cool sweatshirt)