Posts tagged ‘weekend getaway’
On Packing for a Weekend
In the past I’ve been known to be quite the over-packer, stuffing as much as I possibly can into every nook and cranny of my suitcase(s). Well, not any more. Packing is an art, and it takes some serious narrowing down skills to be able to bring “only what you need,” a statement I personally hate. What if there’s a torrential downpour and everything floods and you didn’t pack your rain boots — something you definitely “need” but not an item on a typical packing list. But I’m getting off topic here, as this post is supposed to be about packing for a quick weekend getaway; so onto that…
This weekend I’m heading to DC to visit my brother and I’ve been scratching my noggin wondering what to bring. Packing for a weekend is significantly more difficult than packing for 4-14 days. All those options you swear you’ll wear as you use all your muscle to zip that suitcase closed never actually get worn and you’re stuck lugging around a heavy suitcase for no reason. Not good. So, in the likelihood that many of you will be packing up your cutest weekend tote in the near future, I’ve broken down my short-trip packing routine into a few necessary steps to hopefully make your life easier.
- Always make a list. Always. And put everything on there. This will force you to sit down and think about all the things you’ll be doing while away – fancy dinners, city walking, hula hooping, etc.
- Color-coordinate your clothes. I can’t stress this enough. If you keep within a basic color palette then you’ll have 10 times more flexibility in interchanging pieces than if you bring cookie-cutter outfits.
- Accessories! Bring them. They take up no room and take an outfit from 6 to midnight. Boing boing!
- Pick a fun travel bag! It just makes packing more exciting.
- Bring something new. This could be anything from a new pair of shoes to a new toothbrush – but it seriously makes such a difference when you unpack and have something new to bust out. I’ll never forget when I had a new retainer to wear while on an outdoor ed trip in middle school – scored me major cool points…just kidding. It scored me a lisp, but now I have straight teeth so take that suckers!
Austin, TX
As I mentioned yesterday, I spent the weekend with two of my bestest friends in Austin, Texas. Before this past weekend I’d never been to Texas (aside from the airport…don’t think that counts though), but had heard only wonderful things, particularly about Austin. We stayed at the Hotel San Jose and immediately fell into a routine of Jo’s iced coffee and breakfast tacos in the morning followed by long walks, a bit of sight seeing and silly dance-offs in our hotel room. Some of the highlights from the trip were the countless numbers of food trucks, a dip in Barton Springs (turtles and salamanders live in it! ooh la la!), and bike riding around the city. Austin is definitely a place I’d love to return to, and I only hope that the next time is for SXSW because that’s something I’ve been dying to experience.
{ yum yum yum in my tum…their tex mex isn’t joking around }
{ fo’ realzies }
P.S. (!) I’ll be posting some more photos of my trip to Austin on my Facebook page later today, so be sure to ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out!
Lincoln Center
Ok, so I’m kind of in love with New York right now. Despite the fact that it’s still freezing cold outside, there’s something about New York Fashion Week that has me completely infatuated with the city.
When Fashion Week first moved to Lincoln Center last season, I was dreading it beyond words. It’s farther out of the way for me than Bryant Park and the only time I go to the Upper West Side is when I feel like visiting my favorite museum, the Museum of Natural History. What can I say, I’m a downtown girl at heart. However, after experiencing all that Lincoln Center had to offer last Fashion Week (hello Bon Appetit Cafe!) I am beyond ready to head back uptown to the “tents” to see some beautiful fashion and hang around some of the most stylish people in the city. So, while this week’s “Weekend Getaway” isn’t exactly extravagant and adventurous, it certainly has me excited about the next couple of days to come.
Hope to see some of you there!
Luna Park
February is hands down my least favorite month of the year. Even though I managed to make it through last February without a single accident, trauma, or life-spinning-rapidly-outofcontrol mess, the second month of the year never comes without a bit of dread and fear. I’ve found that the best way to get through such months as this is to stay busy and involve myself around people and things that make me happy. Thankfully, this month is already looking to be pretty packed with Fashion Week less than a week away and one of my best friends Gillian and my Mom coming to visit soon there after. But I couldn’t start February off without a Weekend Getaway post that only emits positive and happy thoughts and memories.
Luna Park.
Although it’s a name shared by dozens upon dozens of amusement parks around the world, the Luna Park I’m thinking of is one I went to with my family in Viareggio, Italy back when I was a wee tiny tot. In case you didn’t pick up from my birthday post (here) that part of me is still easily five years old, then perhaps this will make it clearer. There are few things in life I love more than amusement parks. Yes, more often than not they’re overcrowded and it seems that I’m never able to win any of the games, but there’s something about the atmosphere, bright colors, and never ending fun that has me returning to them whenever I get a chance.
Aside from being horribly terrified by the Haunted House (my Mom was screaming too), I distinctly remember nothing but smiles and laughter when I went to Luna Park. I think my brothers and I must have gone down the ripply slides at least a dozen times and rammed into each other with bumper cars until our necks couldn’t take it anymore. I can still taste the fluffy sweetness of the pink cotton candy, can feel that moment of butterflies when a ride is about to start and can hear all those wonderfully playful sounds that can only be associated with an amusement park. I would love to spend just one day this month channeling my inner five year old at an amusement park like Luna Park. And I bet if I tried hard enough I could win one of those big stuffed animal prizes…ok, whom I kidding I suck at those games.
• is this not one of the coolest things you’ve ever seen? •
Have you ever been to Luna Park?
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photos via flickr
Oslo
I admit that on my list of places to see in the world, Oslo was never really high on my list, but after reading about it in my brand new travel book (I’m seriously obsessed) the Norwegian city went up about five slots. Much like any other major metropolitan city, Oslo is full of a variety of architecture both modern and old as well as beautiful parks, museums, and quaint cafes you long to become a regular of. The Opera House is the most well-known building in Oslo as it was the first modern design to be constructed in the city. Shaped like a glacier (something that Norwegians are relatively used to), the bright building appears to be both breaching out of and melting into the surrounding waters.
Since I’m a sucker for castles and palaces, I’m naturally drawn to Oslo’s Royal Palace and the medieval castle, Akershus Festning, which allows its visitors almost complete freedom to tour its tiny hallways and corridors. Let a game of real life Clue begin!
Aside from the Opera House, the one place that my travel guides keep mentioning is Vigeland Park which has an enormous amount of strangely disturbing sculptures by Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland. Surrounding a beautiful fountain and what at first appears to be a heavily textured totem pole are smoothly carved sculptures of strangely contorted children and interloping men and women. Not exactly what I would deem inviting outdoor sculpture, but the place is said to be quite pleasant and relaxing. The Fram Museum is another must-see on my list as it is home to the Vessel Fram, the world’s first ice breaker and last polar expedition ship constructed entirely of wood. I love a good shipwreck/sea story.
Along with all the sight seeing, Oslo is also known for its beer tastings or two hour beer school as well as a number of major shopping districts; but be warned, Oslo was ranked the most expensive city in the world in 2010, so careful what you do with those credit cards! Then again, the Oslo street style I’ve seen on Street Peeper and Face Hunter is so darn cute that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to splurge on some Norwegian clothes…just a little bit ;)
• Frogner Park •
• University of Oslo •
• Vigeland Park •
• sculpture by Gustav Vigeland in Vigeland Park •
• Royal Palace •
• the Opera House •
• backside of the National Theater •
• Akershus Festning (medieval castle) •
Have you ever been to Oslo?
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photos via tumblr & flickr
