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This week I have an awesome little book to share with you called Beware of the Dog! Written in 1968 by Christine Woyke and illustrated by Stina Nagel, it’s a super cute story about a little girl who is afraid of her neighbor’s dog that she can’t see but can hear (on the other side of the fence). Don’t worry, it has a happy ending!
As usual, I am especially loving the clothes the kidlets are wearing. Some hip little kiddos!
“Home is where I hang my wig.” – Dolly Parton
You have to admit, Dolly was on to something. You can spend a lot of your time traveling, but you must be as comfortable and happy as you can be wherever you are–be it one night or one month. As you’ve read on this blog Alix and I do more than our fair share of travel for work. And play.
When traveling always try to bring a bit of home with us. Whether it is watching videos of your kiddo before you go to bed or making sure to pack your house slippers for additional comfort, every little bit pays off.
I just got back from another little work trip. This time it was to L.A. for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3 as it is often called) where video game makers come out and give other people in the industry a sneak peek at all the goodies our kiddos will want this holiday season. The L.A. Convention Center is completely over taken by booth babes, storm troopers, salespeople and super video game fans.
Needless to say it is a lot of fun and a lot of work. The days started at 6:00AM and always seemed to end somewhere south of 1:00AM. Sadly there wasn’t much time to cram in any fun little outings since L.A. has too many tempting things to do, but it IS work.
However here are some of my little tips to make business travel or any travel where you know you’ll be slammed perhaps a bit easier. They may not make you less homesick, but they’ll hopefully save you a bit of grief on the road.
1.) Carry your phone charger in your purse:
Image via:Â Nathanborror.
Phones today (I’m looking at you iPhone…) seem to have such short battery lives. I’ve had many a friend whose phone has died right when they needed it for directions to dinner, sending them into the local 7-11 instead. If you see a plug during the day, plug that little phone in and let it get some extra juice. One friend of mine dropped her phone off at the concierge of the hotel where she was having lunch so he could recharge her phone. And the concierge did receive a nice tip.
2.) Pack a nail file:
Image via:Â CollectorOne.
Because you will break a nail. And you will be driven insane by its raggedness which will catch on everything. And who wants to run out and buy one. Of course you can use the unglazed bottom of that coffee mug they leave in your hotel room to file it down, but really just stick a nail file in your dob kit.
3.) Pack your vitamins (and zinc)
Image via:Â Aithom2
Business travel wears you down. And airplanes are wonderful stews of recycled air. I had a friend who also came down with a cold after any business travel longer than two days until she started using Zicam every day. Best change she ever made. And the last thing you want to do is come home bearing the gift of a cold knocking you and possibly your loved ones out when you return.
4.) Nylons are your friend
Image via:Â Bluemerle
I know. I know. Who wears nylons, right? Well, if you are on your feet all day in pretty shoes or super comfortable shoes or even flat shoes, they are going to rub. Nylons, tights or socks provide that necessary layer to stop the friction of your skin against leather or whatever man-made material is lining your shoe. I remember wearing the exact same shoes as my friend did but wore nylons when both of us were working a convention booth. Â I ended my shift with no aching feet whereas my friend’s feet looked like they went through a battle and she had to go home and soak them. Heck, I’ve even been known to rock compression knee highs, but let me tell ya, they kinda rule when you’ve been on your feet all day. Trust me.
5.) Never say no to that glass of water
Image via:Â April-mo.
Anywhere, anytime. All of that air conditioning in airports, hotel rooms and convention centers can really dehydrate the heck out of you. And you are so busy and out of your normal routine that you can easily forget to get your eight daily glasses of water.
And bonus tip: just check your bag!
Image via:Â Creative Criminals.
I know. Crazy, right? I don’t care if my roll-on could fit in the above compartment–I hate carrying around all that additional baggage before I get on the plane. Going to the bathroom with that rolling box of doom is such a big pain in the kiester. And maneuvering it through Hudson News so you can pick up that People magazine is so annoying. Also, I don’t want to roll right out of the airport and into a cab. I’m fine taking my time when I get off the plane, visiting the ladies room and checking my make-up. And if you need to bring a bigger bag, you can. I think it is completely OK to over-pack a bit. Better to have the options and wear an outfit that you feel fabulous in than be stuck with something that you just don’t want to wear.
So, those are my top tips—what are your travel survival tips?
Well, francophile fashionistas, we have found the right store for you! Apricot Culotte, who buys gently used baby clothes and sells them on her Website for a fraction of the cost. And oh, they are so so so pretty.
A few weekends ago we hit the road for a mini vacation with our pals in Fresno. (“Fresno??”) Yes. Fresno. We love going there—our friends Dan & Lisa are a blast to hang out with and Wolfie adores their two kids Ben and Emmy. They have a really cool house on a cul de sac and I always feel like I’m hundreds of miles away from the crazy city. (Which I guess I actually am, so bad example.) ANYWAY! In addition to swimming and BBQ-ing and chilling, we always end up doing something goofy and fun. This time it was helping Wolfie with his school project….THE EGG DROP.
THE ASSIGNMENT: Create a container in which an egg could be placed and dropped from the roof of the school without breaking.
FUN FACTOR: Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After much consultation we decided we would stuff six zip lock sandwich baggies with recycled plastic bags and tape ’em all together to form a cube. It worked really well and we liked the idea of re-using all those pesky plastic bags laying around.
We need to add a little extra baggie action to make sure the egg fit snuggly….
Kiddos, don’t try this at home! Cousin Ben climbs up on the roof and the egg survives! But we didn’t stop there.
We decided to try one more round….could we beat the zip lock cube? AWolfie had the idea to put the egg in a bag of water, inside another bag of water—his theory being that it would float. Sound crazy? Sure….but we knew it would make an awesome SPLAT as it dropped. The big surprise? THE EGG SURVIVED! But the outer bag did burst and got water everywhere. It was rather spectacular.
So the plastic bag cube was our winner, but because we were having so much fun we decided to give it one last test. We went to the Fresno State campus and did an even higher drop:
SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then it was time to celebrate, and Ben and his mama Lisa got the champagne ready for the Big Shower.
Whooooo hooooooo! Awesome.
Another successful Fresno Weekend. We’ll be going back for the Fourth of July. And for the record, Wolfie’s egg was one of a select few that survived the drop off the roof of his elementary school!
As Alix was selling vintage goodies this weekend, I was buying. Oh lawdy, I was buying!
Dame Rusty of Moxie Deluxe is not only a fabulous gal, but also works estate sales in her spare time. She hipped me to this uber estate sale liquidation where they were emptying their warehouse of all vintage goodies from five past estate sales. And friends, the prices were good.
How good you ask? Enough to get ALL of this for under $50.
First, these sassy Pyrex straw holders. Perfect for summer entertaining. Don’t you think?
And this vintage sewing kit was filled to the rim with sewing wonders.
Pretty laces, a beautiful old sock egg. Hmm…Don’t know I need the latch hooks…
I’m tiring of my Fiestaware and right now crushing on the simple lines of plain Willow ware and vintage blue and white plates. So, I’m going to slowly build up a nice collection of blue and white plates (no need to match) and pair with my newly acquired stash of vintage silverware I purchased–more than 100 pieces some match, some not and all fabulous.  These will replace my pretty red Laguiole every day set which for some reason has chipped to the point of almost no return.
And look—little windmills! I have to admit that after the Peach’s birthday party, I have totally fallen in love with all things Dutch since that party…
And how will I finish off my new table setting? With this lot of vintage napkins. But dear readers, this is not just any old lot. This is the uber crazy-town-bigger-than-I-can-imagine lot of vintage napkins. It contains more than 15 sets of napkins–some beautifully embroidered like these. Overall there were more than 150 napkins.
Oh, and I adore these little roll wraps. Too dear for words.
But that is not all that lurked in this box. I also am now the proud owner of more than 30 linen finger towels. I almost forgot that these existed! Seriously!
What lovely lovely embroidery. I’m thinking of refashioning some of these future projects.
Oh, but that’s not all. Â cocktail napkins. With little cocks on ’em. Roosters, ahem. Plus one darling little wine glass foot cover. I. Die.
And last, but not least, I also bought some darling little dresses for the Peach. For a buck each I don’t mind if she gets ’em dirty. But I must say the little ric-rac vein up the side is too wonderful for words!
I also had to share with your this amazing coat my friend Jen picked up for herself.
Vintage I. Magnin heavy knit coat with probably the most stunning collar and matching button beadwork I’ve seen in awhile. And how much do you think it cost? How much do you think it *should* have cost??