Packing For 3 Days in New York City

Damn me! I’ve done it again. Waited until the last minute, and now I’m ready to hurl myself through a window.

Maybe it isn’t so bad. Let’s see… what have I packed already? Oh yeah, absolutely nothing.

Fellow blogger and traveler Willia over at Cebuana Adventures posted about her travel bag recently, and she gave me the inspiration to try it out myself. She’s packing some cute things. You should definitely check her out!

My to-do list outside of packing is pretty extensive. I’ve got to shave my legs. Here’s a history of my relationship with shaving. So I need to shave, buy snacks, get my hair done, make sandwiches for the plane, paint my nails and toes (the mention of my toes just made me shiver. It’s bad folks.) Decide which clothes I’m bringing, check in with the airline, wax my eyebrows, buy Annie comfortable shoes, buy Austin a pair of shorts, charge camera, clear my phone’s storage, buy new SD cards, then pack. I skipped a few things for both of our sanities.

I believe in very light packing, though it wasn’t always this way. I had a problem. When I realized how much money I can save and how much less hassle I’ll have by packing light, I reformed.

Here are the most important things, outside of clothing, that I’ll be packing.

I thought it would be cool if my kids got to walk around with old school cameras like back in my day. I’d like them to feel the importance of the shot. When you are working with a limited number of opportunities, you’ve got to be thoughtful and self-disciplined. Even now, I try to value every shot. I wonder if my childhood shaped that? It’s something that I’ve wanted them to experience for a while now, so I’m excited for them and me.

I’ve decided to buy 2 16GB storage cards instead of my usual 36GB. Here’s why.

1. I always have multiple projects going on, and I don’t always go through the pictures on my card until I’m looking for some specific things. If I’ve been using the card for a while, there will be a mountain of unrelated events to get through.
2. I am paranoid about deleting photos, so I normally keep most of the good photos that I take on the SD card. When it’s full, I buy a new one and put the old one away. So, it’s more difficult to label what’s on an SD card if it covers a huge span of time.

I need my writing journal and my personal journal. I need a book always. Portable charger for when we’ll be out all day, which is every day. I bring a watch because it’s much safer than constantly whipping out your phone in public whenever you need the time. Plus, I love this watch. Got a tripod for adorable family photos. And headphones because music.

The last time we went shoe shopping for Cheyenne, she tried on about 4 different sized shoes before we realized that the design of the shoe was ill-formed. But before that realization:

Austin: Cheyenne, you’re a size 3.

Annie: No, I’m not.

Austin: Yes, you are.

Annie: No, I’m not. I’m wearing a size 3, and it doesn’t fit.

Austin: Well, maybe you aren’t strapping it on right.

Annie: How can I not be strapping it right?

Austin: I don’t know, but you’re a size 3. Stop wasting time.

Everyone reading this is entertained because it’s not your children. And that just makes all the difference. I wanted to wipe a whole shelf clean and just walk away.

So at this point, I have no idea what her actual shoe size might be. I took a guess on 3. The boy was adamant.

Cat & Jack sandals. Their kid’s clothes are freaking beautiful. I wasn’t paid to say that, though it would be nice, if anybody is listening…

The kids are with their dad this week, and I won’t be picking them up until the night before the trip, so I will be doing their packing for them. Any parent knows that this is not easy. They are 12 and 9. They know what they like.

Hell, I haven’t even checked the weather report. New York will be getting a cold front as soon as we land, just you wait. I guess I should suck it up and be adulty.

I’ll try and remember to check the weather report, okay?

Maybe I can reserve a few minutes at night for the kids to check my work. I don’t want anyone leaving behind some vital thing– usually a stuffed animal, am I right? They never remember the sweater they are supposed to bring.

As for me, I’m packing all of my stuff into this beautiful thing. Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, allow me to introduce my latest boyfriend.

I found this clean, functional and cool suitcase at a thrift store for $3. Yes, it was the highlight of my day. It’s the little things.

There’s no mark of any kind as to the maker. I’m dating it around 1970s because of the fabric type and color. It’s a total guess, but I’d love to hear from you if you think you might know something. We’ll call it The Thrift Store Mysteries.

I love texture.

Because it’s a carry-on, I don’t have to worry that anyone will pop into it and take anything. I guess they made these locks before the days when folks rifled through other people’s luggage.

I’d love to go pack everything into the suitcase now, but I’d rather love more to go cut up some cheese and watch a movie.