Travel Tips – The Essential Toiletry List

I recently went on a 10 day vacation and, as usual, agonized over packing. I always struggle with packing enough but not too much, not to mention packing it efficiently. While on this trip, I developed a little list of the essential toiletries one needs to pack for a few nights away. Naturally, what you need to take with you all depends on where you're going. My list has the things least likely to be in your hotel room and that you most likely have personal preferences about. It's a jumping off point that works well for me. If you're venturing into the woods or sailing around the world, your list might be quite different. :)

Moodboard – Fantasy Getaway

Last week was my first sort of real Spring Break in 10 years. It was lovely and I'm already fantasizing about doing it again in a warmer, more tropical location. Today, I've pulled together the items that I'd like to take on my fantasy vacation, all from Yoox.com. When traveling to a beach or poolside destination you don't need to bring a lot of clothes. Mostly, I want to be comfortable and not too hot. For me that means shorts and dresses. There's nothing easier to pull on than a simple dress or a pair of slouchy shorts. I went with a color palette of light blue and grey with a pop of orange so that everything can mix and match seamlessly. (I really love this color palette by the way. Light blue and coral or two of my all time favorite colors and so nice for summer.)

Besides my silly vacation fantasies, I have something special FOR YOU! An exclusive ShopSense discount code for you to use at Yoox.com. Use the code SHOPSENSE15 and receive a 15% discount and free shipping.

Top Row from left:  Chambray Shorts  //  Dress  //  Bikini  //  Toiletry Bag  //  Sandals  //  Weekend Bag
Bottom Row from left:  Striped Tank  //  Hat  //  Sunglasses  //  Headphones  //  Patterned Dress  //  Shorts

Related:
Essentials for Plane Travel

Travel Posts
Moodboard posts

Fashion posts

Pretty Clothes on Pinterest

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Moodboard – Summer Travel

One of the best parts of summer is getting away for a few days to enjoy a new or familiar place, relax a little while and remove yourself from "the usual". This last weekend, I went to a lovely wedding not too far away from where I live. It was great to get away from my usual activities for a few days (no computer!!) and enjoy the company of friends and family.

I'm sure lots of you are going on your own weekend getaways this summer, so here's a little moodboard to get you ready. I love this board's combination of color and prints. By packing patterned bottoms and solid tops that all coordinate together, you'll be able to mix and match quite easily. Meaning, you could easily pack these items in a small bag and be good to go for a three to four day weekend. Short sleeve shirts layered under a cardigan are my favorite way to dress for temperatures that vary throughout the day. Happy almost summer everyone!

Clockwise from top left:
Striped Tunic // T-shirt // Floral Printed Shorts // Sandals // Draped Cardigan // Navy Makeup Bag
Yellow Blouse // Overnight Bag // Floral Skirt

Related:

Moodboard posts
Fashion posts
Inspiration posts
Pretty Clothes on Pinterest

Summer Style on Pinterest

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Photos from Chicago and Font Friday

The weekend before last I took a lovely long weekend vacation to Chicago. I hadn't been to Chicago in over 10 years and it was so great to experience the city again. I can't wait to go back and see more of it. For today's Font Friday I seriously considered featuring the font Chicago (get it here for free) but instead decided to go with Sullivan from Lost Type Co-Op. Sullivan is a bold, masculine font available in three styles – Regular, Bevel and Fill. I'm actually trying to use it on a packaging project right now. I love the cross hatch shading on the Regular style. You can even combine the Bevel and Fill for a two-tone effect. The tall, classic style of Sullivan fits so well with the cityscapes of Chicago. It's the perfect fit for today's Font Friday.

If you follow me on Instagram you already know that I love urban photos so Chicago was complete eye candy for me and my iphone. After the jump you'll find more of my photos from the trip. I hope that it inspires you visit Chicago or just any city at your disposal.

Essentials for Plane Travel and Font Friday

Today I'm heading off to Chicago for the weekend. So exciting! I haven't been in about 15 years and I'm so looking forward to seeing it again. So in honor of the trip, today's Font Friday is Arsenale White – a handwritten font perfect for "writing" out a travel checklist. I found this font via this great roundup of free handwritten fonts from A Subtle Revelry.

Weekend Photos - Palm Springs

This weekend I escaped to Palm Springs for a little getaway. I got some good relaxation time and a bit of touristing. The temperature was about 90 degrees. If that was different than the average in LA, it would definitely have felt like a vacation. The weekend is never long enough but it was really nice to get out of town for a bit.


The photo group at the top is a combination of instagram photos and Canon Rebel/Photoshop. The one above is a photo that I adjusted using the app TaDaa. It's free to download and a lot like instagram but with more control over blurring and some additional filters. There are probably more differences that I haven't discovered yet. You can see all my TaDaa photos here.

Friday Faves – September 14

This week's Friday Font is Veneer from My Fonts. Veneer is an awesome, grungy cool all-caps font. Veneer comes in three "weights", italic and dingbats. The weights are really just different levels of grungy distrress. And (bonus!) the dingbats are available for free. Can't get enough font inspiration? Follow #FontFriday on twitter.

This week I wanted to show you how I would use this font. So, I did a little designing. Inspired by this song, I designed the graphic above using veneer and its dingbats. I layered the letters and dingbats over paper (available for free from Fudge Graphics) using different transparencies. Pretty cute right? If you need more design inspiration, check out my design board on Pinterest.

Or, if you want to combine Veneer with some photos, you could layer it over your favorite Instagram shots. I took these photos during a trip to Madison, Wisconsin last weekend. The two above are from the University area and the ones below are from the lakes and arboretum that the town is built around.

You might be wondering how I get such intense colors in my Instagram photos. First, I take a photo using the iphone camera, then I edit it in the app Aviary to increase saturation and sharpness. Finally I load it in Instagram and filter it. It takes longer but I really like the intensity of the photos.

For these collages, I used the PicStitch app to make the photo grids. Then I added the text and dingbats in PhotoShop. If you want to stay up to date on my Instagram photos, follow me at @bethwould or on flickr. Have a great weekend everybody!!! Happy creating/crafting/making!

Photos from Cincinnati

Today I just want to share some photos from a recent trip I made to Cincinnati. It was a really beautiful city. Being from the Western U.S. where everything is relatively new, what struck me most was how old the buildings are there. Check out my set on Flickr to see more.

 

Oregon Weekend

Friday Faves - Traveling July 24

My must-pack air travel list

1. Noise canceling headphones
After you try these, you'll never want to fly without them again. The rumble of the plane is majorly muffled and when listening to sound you can keep the volume to a nice medium volume.

2. Scarf & slippers
The scarf will keep you warm as well as a light sweater and slippers will keep feet warm and comfy. A silk scarf will also double as a headband or sling bag.

3. Small craft project
plus a retractable measuring tape and photocopies of the pattern. Socks are a great travel project.

4. Drawstring bags
I organize everything into these bags – craft project and tools, electronics, shoes, dirty clothes.

5. Non-liquid toiletries
powder makeup, solid perfume, disposal face towelettes

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

A few photos from my weekend trip to Olvera Street, Los Angeles

a few more photos on flickr

Santa Barbara Weekend

I spent the weekend in Santa Barbara and intended to post Sunday night but only just got it together. It was a lovely weekend, cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. On Saturday I went to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. It's a beautiful, native style garden with hours of walking trails. If you've already gone to the mission and the beach or if you just like gardens, you should head on over there.

Earlier in the day the clouds filled the sky.

Late in the day, the cloud cover burned off revealing mountains.

Bed of Cactus

Field of lupine

I've been doing some crafting and some cooking, including knitting a second sock, crewel work, and even some steeking. I hope to get another craft post up soon!

Amsterdam

I've returned from my trip to Europe and am trying to recover from jetlag and a minor cold before work tomorrow. Here are some pics from my weekend trip to Amsterdam. It's a lovely city.

Amsterdam has many canals

and many bikes

flower markettulips

window shopping pics
cute, kitsch and vintage all seem to be very popular in Amsterdam

this store has a fun viva Mexico feel

I also stumbled across a few yarn stores in Amsterdam. The magazine racks had dutch versions of the Burda World of Fashion magazine. I wasn't wild about the styles so I didn't buy either magazine. In shopping news, I did buy a cute patterned plastic tray and some little wooden tulips. Besides shopping, I visited a number of fabulous art museums.