Anna's Travel Tips

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Rising with the City at Newark international

While we are still figuring out the perfect balance between floating flawlessly through the airport with the perfect amount of items and overpacking to the point of sitting on your bag, shuffling stuff at the airport to make it fit and juggling all of your overstuffed suitcases we will  get the answer some day. In the meantime here are some health and packing tips and tricks that I swear by during my many travels. 

Some of our wanderlust to inspire your adventures: 

San Francisco I & II 

Southeast Asia

Summer in the Rocky Mountains

Winter Getaway in Aspen

Ensenada Wine Country

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I don't go ANYWHERE without my Yeti water bottle

Hydration-THIS IS MY NUMBER ONE TIP IN LIFE IN GENERAL, but ESPECIALLY during travel. Drink lots of water! Before, during, and after traveling! This is my number one tip because it is the key to success for feeling your best on travel days. I don’t know if it’s the altitude, the recirculated air, or a combination, but plane travel has a drying  and dehydrating effect on your body and your skin. After going through security I always buy at least 1-2 LARGE water bottles depending on how long my flight is. For my 17 hour trek to Australia I had about 4-6 (which I still didn’t feel like was enough! I thought the water they would bring around would help hydrate, but they brought a plastic cup sealed with foil like those 90s juice drinks it was HORRIBLE). You can also bring your own refillable water bottle (empty) in your carry on and fill it up AFTER security, most major airports have a water refill station (not all are filtered, but hey you’re saving plastic bottles). I am eyeing up this DYLN alkalizing water bottle for my next trip. 

Food:

Airport food is generally fast food, or foods that are hard to digest, barely edible and overpriced. To feel your best while traveling I recommend packing your own foods/snacks for the plane. It is easy to do as long as you are not bringing liquids you can bring food on your flight. Healthy, easy options to travel with include:

• grapes(hydrating)

• apples

• bananas

• anything convenient that won’t get smashed in your purse

• cucumber slices (hydrating)

• carrot sticks

• celery

• almond butter packets (less that 3 oz)

• a salad

• sandwich

• raw chips

• superfood cookies

• I also like to grab cold pressed juices in the airport (when available) because they are hydrating and deliver nutrients.

 Apparently you can’t bring chia puddings because they are considered a gel and not allowed past security. Depending on what time and how long you will be on a flight plan ahead to have snacks for the duration to get you through until your next destination. Eating the greasy fast food options at the airport might seem like a good idea at the time until you are stuck sitting on a plane while your body is attempting to digest the heavy load you just put in it. 

My cousin reminded me that a ride or die is definitely ESSENTIAL OILS! I am never without peppermint, lemon and ginger in my bag. They are great for freshening breath, energy/mood boost, and you can add some drops to your water refill in case it's not filtered it can taste better. Plus there are a lot of smells at the airport/on the plane. Oils can help you freshen up when you arrive at your destination. Some favorites include: 

• Joy

• Abundance

• Peace and Calming

• Serenity

• Peppermint

• Lavender

• Ginger

• Lemon

• Grapefruit

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Mezcal for days at Gracias Madre in LA, wait until you get to your destination to enjoy fancy beverages.

You should also avoid alcohol on travel days (before, during). Travel days are draining enough on their own so why add more discomfort and stress on your body by dealing with the results of drinking too much the night before or day of. We’ve probably all been there, but I have learned my lesson and want to help others by letting you know it’s not a good idea to drink heavily the night before you are flying or during your travel day. At the airport many people enjoy a cocktail or two before or during their flight to calm nerves. Having a drink is OK If you must, but just remember that alcohol has a dehydrating effect on your cells so not only do you need to get extra hydrated for the plane, but also RE-hydrate to counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol. 

Packing

The struggle is real when it comes to packing. "What if I need this?" we are always afraid if we don’t bring a belonging we will forever be in need of it on our trip (usually we don't even need half the stuff we actually do pack). I have definitely tried to hone in on my overpacking tendencies over the years. I haven’t completely mastered the minimalist techniques of packing just yet. (I don’t think any girl with a remote interest in fashion has). I have found that PLANNING out my outfits helps a lot. 

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Quick tips when packing:

• Check the weather for your destination and plan accordingly

• PLAN your outfits with staple pieces that can easily translate to multiple outfits. Overlapping pieces are key, for example: a high waisted pair of shorts with a crop top or with a vintage tee that might double as a workout top.

• Wear layers on your flight (the hots and colds of the airplane are so so unpredictable)

• Packing a hat? You’re gonna wanna wear it or at least keep it with your carry on so it doesn’t get smashed in your checked bag.

• Pack valuables in your carry on! I always, always, always pack any valuables in my carry on, jewels, laptops, cameras, etc. Better safe than sorry if your luggage gets lost/stolen/smashed. I am OBSESSED with the away carry on I splurged on as my first rollie carry on suitcase! 

• Shoes: what kind of trip is it? My rule of thumb is one pair of casual+comfortable shoes, one pair of going out/formal/professional shoes, one pair of athletic shoes. Picking the right shoes that go with all outfits. Trying to keep it minimal. (key word…TRYING) 

• Wear your largest pair of shoes on the flight..within reason (boots? done, platform disco heels? maybe not.)

• ROLL ROLL ROLL your clothes.

Tangent story of why I now SWEAR by rolling my clothes when traveling! When I was moving to SOCAL and packing all of my clothes my large rolling duffle bag was completely full and I still had a massive pile of clothes next to it that were not going to fit…until my friend pushed rolling on me…. it is life changing. I was skeptical at first, but we re-packed my full bag by rolling all of the clothes already in it and all of the clothes that wouldn’t fit, they all fit by rolling them WITH room to spare! Now I’m a believer and can never go back to normal, folded, packed clothes!

At Create and Cultivate Dallas they gave us so much swag Gina had to rethink her carry on packing and once we rolled her items they all fit and she’s now a roller too!

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@KittenLeia always trying to sneak into my bags to come on my adventures.

BOOKING TRAVEL: 

1. Go incognito or to a private window when searching for travel. Airlines collect data just like your online shopping and will increase prices for the dates you are searching for. Going incognito or to a private browser blocks this from happening.

2. I use kayak.com or Justfly.com for deals. I have heard that Sky Scanner (a paid service) is worth it for finding cheap flights if you are constantly traveling to far off destinations.

3. Get on a price alert. If you know the dates you are going somewhere get on a price alert for those dates and you can get weekly emails on the prices. Even if you don't know your dates that can be even better just put in your destination that you want to go to with flexible dates and you can really save big. I am always on alerts back to PHL for family, LA, and some of my other favorite cities just so I can snag a deal if it comes up.

4. When the flight is right: always book on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Those days are always cheaper, not sure the reasoning behind it, but it is definitely a thing and I can confirm from experience that it's true.

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My ride or dies for the airport, hats, bells, layers and my @kittenleia

Anna’s go to plane/travel outfit: Boots, leggings (teekis!), comfortable bra or (preferably) no bra, comfy tank or tee, a layer (or two) of warmth (flannel, button down, boyfriend long sleeve, fuzzy cardigan, kimono, etc.) A jacket depending on time of year/travel destination, a scarf/pashmina (I cover my face with these and avoid people's bad breaths and bad plane smells + a hat. Keep it comfortable and stylish. The goal is to be super comfy, but at the same time someone at the airport might mistake you for an off duty model. I haven’t gone wrong with this look plus have received a zillion compliments on my hat/sweater/boots. Unique pieces will tie your outfit together, but at the same time you are just sitting on a plane and you could just as easily wear some sweats and go incognito with an eye mask. zzZzzZzz  

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGbVLEHoA8s&w=640&h=480]

(this video is someone I know and Love, they are a travel expert as you can see. I like the way they roll.) 

Look out for Gigi's perspective on travel soon.

What are YOUR ride or die travel tips / items? Please share xx

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