It’s coming. It’s almost here. Whether or not I choose to believe it, my trip to Italy is only a few days away. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m excited; I am, of course, but it still seems like the reality hasn’t yet set in. ITALY. For TWO WEEKS. This will be my first vacation in over a year and a half, and the first time I’ll have more than three days in a row off from work. Come to me, my beautiful Roman respite.

Thanks to a mother who loves traveling more than she loves, I don’t know, CSI: Miami reruns or YouTube clips of babies laughing (she loves those a lot, you see), I caught the travel bug at an early age. I haven’t been out of the country in about 4 years, so I feel a bit starved for new culture and a little overzealous about planning and packing. This time around I’ve come across some new tips and helpful hints, so I thought I’d share them in the hopes that they help out anyone else thinking of taking a trip, a weekend off, or someone who just likes packing suitcases for the hell of it. So, here are some of my not-so-secret best-kept-secrets:


Whether I have a trip coming up or not, air bnb has become a favorite site of mine. I get to pore through endless photos of beautiful homes — some bohemian, some spacious, some cozy, some modern, some funky — and the sheer prospect of one day just MAYBE getting to stay there is enough to make me teem with giddiness. We used this site to book both of our apartments in Rome, so I’m ecstatic to try out the experience firsthand!

I have a major, major crush on Lisa Eldridge. She’s the hip Queen Mother of beauty advice, so it comes as little surprise that I’ve turned to her long haul flight beauty regime video countless number of times as I’ve thought about what products to bring with me in my carryon. And really, anyone who can make me feel more comfortable with the idea of putting on face cream and an eye mask before snoozing away on a 10-hour flight is a new best friend in my book.

I’m usually pretty good when it comes to packing exactly what I’ll need for a trip, but just to be on the safe side I whipped up a checklist. When I was searching around for some loose guidelines of what to bring on a 2-week jaunt to Europe, everything I found seemed to have been written by either Rick Steves or a 50-year-old woman who lives in Birkenstocks and quick-dry nylon shorts (not that I’m knocking them or anything — do your thing, ladies). It was tough to find anything that a younger woman might like to pack in order to feel well-prepared but not over-burdened with too many options, so here’s my downloadable pdf packing checklist for anyone who might care to use it for her own travels.

And that’s about it! Just some cursory tips, really, but ones that I’ve found helpful over the past couple of weeks. Stay tuned for pictures (very soon, I hope), and happy travels!

air bnb homes, clockwise from top right: netherlands designers apartment, chicago loft apartment, bohemian san francisco loft