Two Months in England & Europe – Packing Essentials

So, I might have mentioned it in a previous blog, that me and my boyfriend are going to a town outside London to see his family for 2 months. We’ll be working during the weekdays from our computers and exploring London and some awesome little towns like Canterbury on the weekends. Then, we hope to take a week or two off work and visit Paris! It will be our first real vacation in years and the first time Ill be meeting most of my boyfriend’s family.

Because we travel full time, (except when we stay in a cabin during the last 2 winters) we are basically storing all our things and taking whatever we can carry. Pretty much all airlines seem to limit you to one 50lb checked bag, but you can usually get away with any thing you can carry on, at least I’ve managed to get on every plane looking like a bag lady and had no complaints. Of all our traveling over the last 3 years, I haven’t been on a plane since 2009 so I’m pretty excited to get to use my new carry on bag, The Bolted Cross-body Vegan Leather Bag from www.NastyGal.com, and my older but mint condition Kid Robot Duffle Bag are great for my all my Packing Essentials.

For all the walking we would be doing, I needed some new shoes. I’m not usually interested in athletic shoes unless they’re vintage, and my usual walk around shoes were an old pair of black, flat soled Keds. I opted to split the difference and get a pair of plain black Vans – big jump I know, but nothing goes with everything better than black and I can only take a couple pairs of shoes. Naturally one of them is my Harley Davidson strap boots and the other is a grey and yellow pair of oxfords from H&M.

My duffle bag really wasn’t as big as I always thought it was so I couldn’t take nearly as much as I wanted. I had to take include something to do besides sit at the computer all day so I brought my beads and findings to make some jewelry while I’m not doing anything, 10 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 10 socks, 3 coats, 3 hoodies, 2 dresses and a reasonable amount of everything else.

The majority of my stuff is actually several cameras, lenses, my laptop, tablet, a bag of film and a book of DVD’s. Technology and entertainment are kind of high on my list of important things, even higher than having all my clothes with me. It’s going to be cold there, and coming from Phoenix where it’s 80 degrees this week, that will make it harder to bring the right clothes. So bringing the best clothes, when bringing few clothes, becomes more important.

The Essentials 

Womens Volcom Dress – Volcom Not So Classic Dress

Bing Bang Skull Pendulum Necklace

Rebecca Taylor Leopard Knit Blazer

Not only am I set for a night out, going to the museums or walking around some of the villages we plan to visit, but I have tons of stuff for sitting around the house blogging or watching movies. Packing smart is so much better than packing too many clothes and having a small bag on a long trip isn’t the end of the world. You can go without all your shoes or even a shoe for every outfit. Just taking a few diverse shoes and colorful elements can make you seem the height of style without taking a wardrobe with you.