Travel: Carry-On Essentials

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I am in the midst of switching between jobs and took the opportunity to do a couple of short trips in between! I am the worst when it comes to traveling so I always come way way way way way over-prepared. I thought I’d share a list of my carry-on essentials in case any of you are in need of ideas for what to bring with you while you travel this time of year! 

1. iPhone - I think this one's probably a given 
2. iPad (+ keyboard!) - I like to bring my tablet on flights with me because I can always work on blogging while flying! It's also nice to bring my tablet instead of a laptop because I can be just as productive without having to deal with all the hassel of bringing a clunky laptop. 
3. Podcasts - Okay, you don’t really need to bring these but having these downloaded ahead of time is a lifesaver on boring flights! My current favorites: Psychobabble and Here To Make Friends.
4. Kindle - I'm a major kindle book hoarder and have downloaded 200 pages worth of books. At least I'll never get bored, right? Currently reading: Gone Girl
5. Magazines - Admittedly, I do love my share of trashy gossip magazines. The great thing about magazines on a plane, though, is that once you are finished, you can recycle them and make your load lighter! 
6. Snacks - so you don't get hangry :) 
7. Water Bottle - It's even more important to stay hydrated on a plane than normal so I typically will bring one of my Camelbak bottles to encourage myself to drink more water!
8. Pill Stash - My body doesn’t exactly take to traveling well so I like to bring a whole stash of medications (i.e. Advil, Tylenol, Excedrine, Pepto Bismol) just in case I’m not feeling well. 
9. Sleeping Essentials: a neck pillow, sleep mask, and earplugs are all necessary! 
10. Sunglasses - I find mirrored sunglasses to be the best for planes because they give you a little bit of privacy in a situation where you’re trapped in close quarters! Plus, if you’re not the one in the window seat, it’s likely that you won’t have any control over whether the window is open or closed and if you want to sleep but the window is open, sunglasses are a must.
11. Hat - I like to bring a beanie with me on the plane (yes, no matter what season it is!) because planes can get chilly and it’s nice to be able to pull a hat on over my face if I’m not in the mood to chat with my fellow plane go-ers! Beanies with poms on the end (like this one) are perfect because they are both cute and functional!
12. Headphones - both on ear and in ear headphones are nice to have on a plane. I own a pair of Beats that are fantastic for blocking out sound but can hurt my ears if I wear them too long so I always bring a pair of standard earbuds along as well. 
13. Phone Charging Cords - I usually bring at least 2-3 charging cords with me, just in case! My phone is my lifeline when it comes to planes!
14. External Battery - Along the same lines, phone = lifeline on a plane, so I always make sure to bring a fully charged external battery.
15. Gum! - Ears popping? Chewing gum really helps lessen the irritation that ear popping can cause. 
16. Light Jacket - Planes can get very chilly so I always bring along one of my North Face jackets because they are light and easy to carry, but actually provide a decent amount of warmth! 
17. Slip-on Shoes - I always take my shoes off on planes (sorry to the people sitting next to me!) so slip-on shoes are essential. My favorites to bring: Sperry Topsider boat shoes or Old Navy Flip Flops!
18. Tissues - You never know when you're going to need a tissue. 
19. Hand Sanitizer - Ditto for hand sanitizer. 
20. Notebook & Pen - Sometimes, being connected to my electronics all the time gets exhausting! If this happens, I like to pull out a notebook just to jot down my thoughts or write out blog posts longhand!
21. Just in Case Make-up - I always bring along my favorite pressed powder, chapstick, liquid eyeliner and lipliner! 
22. Wallet/Wristlet - When I travel, I'll usually transfer my wallet to a wristlet so that it is easy to carry hands-free. I love using this little wristlet because it's just the right size!
23. Passport - I like to bring my passport even when I’m traveling within the country! I like to be over-prepared - oops! 
24. Backpack - Last, but not least, I find backpacks so much more convenient when traveling on a plane. I've used tote bags in the past and they always end up being much too heavy to keep on one shoulder and oftentimes, they do not close properly and my things end up spilling out during the flight. Backpacks are awesome (I like to use this one) because they distribute all of the weight evenly and zipper up completely to keep all of my belongings in their place!

I hope this post has helped some of you pack better for your upcoming summer flights! If you have any suggestions for other carry-on essentials, leave me a comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

New York City in Pictures

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When you think you're taking the perfect picture, but no. -_-

This was my first time in New York City and while I was excited to be seeing friends and family, I knew that city life was not going to be for me! Crowds of people, traffic noise, dirty streets etc are pretty much the definition of where I don't want to be - so instead of seeing it as a relaxing vacation, I tried to think of it as an adventure where I got to try as much good food as possible! And oh boy did I get to try some absolutely amazing food. While food in New York can be a little on the expensive side, I always think it's worth it to try every food at least once :) 

I'm not the best when it comes to taking pretty, good quality pictures. Most of the time, my iPhone camera roll is littered with rando blurry pictures that I've somehow taken of my feet (I took a riveting 10 second slo-mo video of the pavement during this New York trip) and the rest of the photos are of my sleeping cat. Even though I'm pretty crap at taking good photos, all of the photos that I do end up taking make me happy :) I didn't take the best pictures of every landmark we visited but I made sure to take pictures of all the food I ate aka the part about traveling that makes me the happiest!

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my New York trip. I'll be starting a new job soon at a company that has an office in NYC so I hope to have many more NYC based food pictures to come :) 

Thanks for reading! 

Staying Active

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For most of my life, I’ve struggled with staying active. I’ve always been an introverted person and growing up as an introvert, it was incredibly difficult to derive any sort of enjoyment out of playing sports. In every PE class I was forced into, all I learned about were sports, sports, and more sports. Since I tend to shy away from competition, sports were not my cup of tea and my education didn’t really teach me any other way to be physically healthy! It seemed like the only way stay physically fit was to join a sport - something I avoided at all costs.

As a result of this distaste for PE class, I hardly got any exercise between the ages of 5 and 20. I got sick easily because my immune system was always hanging on by a thread and suffered horrible migraines throughout high school and college when school stress started to take a toll on my body. It wasn’t until my late college years that I started to investigate more options for staying active as a result of becoming more invested in my own health.

Now, I try to stay active for my own health and also try not to put too much pressure on myself! Yes, I would love for my fitness adventures to lead to abs and non-flabby arms, but given my YOLO philosophy when it comes to good food, those six pack abs aren’t really in the picture. Despite not being the best at sticking to a workout regimen or going to the gym regularly, I have noticed a huge difference in my health simply by trying to stay active. I used to get migraines at least once every couple of months and got sick at least once a month on top of that! It’s been a little over two years since I became more invested in my own health, and not only have I evaded migraines for nearly a year and a half, this past winter season, I did not catch a single illness despite being surrounded by snotty, sneezy co-workers! :) 

One of the biggest light bulb moments for me when it came to fitness was realizing that fitness is very much a personal journey. It’s hard not to look at other people and compare, especially when it comes to fitness - but everyone is so different - your body is not their body, your brain is not the same as theirs, and something that works for them is not necessarily something that is going to work for you. With that in mind, I try to give everything a go and try new activities or workouts even if I’ve never heard of them before (or even if I'm a little scared to try them!). It took me long enough but I finally figured out some strategies that work for me and help me stay active!

Invest in a Fitness Tracker

I know that fitness trackers are all the rage right now so it may seem a little gimmicky - but for me, fitness trackers really have helped me stay more active. I lead a pretty sedentary life - most of my commute is getting in and out of a car and I sit at my desk in an office for most of the day. I had no idea just how sedentary my life was until I started using my fitbit. It’s helped me become much more aware of how little I actually walk and it reminds me to put in that extra effort to take the stairs!  

Pact App

I was extremely wary about this app at first because it’s an app that allows you to earn money if you hit your fitness goals, but also causes you to lose money if you do not hit your fitness goals…eek! This is actually pretty fair if you think about it, but extremely scary when you’re pretty lax about your fitness regimen like I am! After using it for a couple months though, I’ve found that the fear of losing money is so powerful that I really have been following through with the pact that I made on the app - and earning (a minimal) amount of money in the process. That fear of losing money, though, has been incredibly powerful towards making me get up and move more often! 

Change Up my Workouts

When I first started working out, I wanted to be a yogi, or a runner, or an -insert fitness guru title here-. I wanted to become an uber fitness-er in one specific area but could never quite muster up the commitment to truly immerse myself in any one type of workout. Over time, I’ve realized that I just become bored when doing one workout over and over again! Now I try to change up my workout often and do whatever workout I feel like doing that day instead of cornering myself into a specific workout. 

Keep Your Mind Engaged

Like I already mentioned, my biggest obstacle when it comes to working out is that I get bored! Especially when I’m doing something physically exhausting, my mind will find any excuse to stop exercising! I’ve found that dance based workouts have been amazing when trying to combat my mental boredom. I tend to be very goal-oriented. I like having a challenge and an agenda to follow so imitating a fitness instructor and trying to get all the moves right is an awesome challenge for my brain as well as my body (no matter how silly I look dancing!).

Watch The Amazing Race! 

I know this one is a little weird and extremely specific, but I find that watching really active, competition based shows is an awesome motivator for me! If I’m running and need to watch a show to keep me occupied, I love to watch The Amazing Race because the competitors running around motivates me to keep running! 

Walking Counts as a Workout :) 

Okay this isn’t so much a strategy as much as it’s a philosophy.  In almost any situation, I try not to put too much pressure on myself and try to remember that I’m human! In the name of self-compassion, I consider long walks (….or walks accompanied by shopping trips!) forms of activity, too! It may not be a direct sweat sesh at the gym, but as long as I’m staying active and contributing to my health, I consider that a success!

What are your favorite ways to stay active? I’d love to hear your thoughts!