Going International: How to Travel With One Carry-On

Pack your Bag, We’re Going On an Adventure: 1 Month of Outfits in 1 Carry-On, and we're gone!

My eyes have seen the light and the glory of packing minimally so I can move around with maximum ease. On my last jaunt to Mexico, I was super surprised by all the outfit combinations I was able to put together with 1 average-sized roller bag carry on, which housed all of my initial clothes and shoes. Plus, I went and bought 2 additional pairs of shoes, a bag of coffee and other small trinkets to bring home; plus, room for snacks in my personal bag.

My biggest piece of advice if you want to try this minimalist approach to packing and travel is to pick a bright color palette of lightweight pieces, a couple of statement accessories and patterned scarves. Those few adjustments to the way you pack will give you sooo many more options to switch up and add flair to your travel style.

Here’s a list of everything I packed in my actual carry-on, which includes the 24-26 different outfit combinations:

2 tank tops
1 cami
1 flowy top
2 solid skirts (black and white)
1 kimono
1 jumper
2 cotton dresses
2 shorts
1 bikini (2 bottoms)
7 days of undergarments (3 bras, 7-8 panties)
1 long sleeve shirt
1 blazer
3 shoes (later bought 2 more pairs-- a sandal and a walking shoe)
Makeup bag (including Urban Decay shadow palette, full lippies, concealer, mascara, nail polish, the works!)
Jewelry bag
Toiletries (Hack: brought 2 sets, one for my actual carry-on and one set in my personal item)
An additional small electronics bag, including selfie stick, mini ring light, and other random cords and blogger tools
Travel altar with candles, crystals, etc.
Comfort blanket

Personal Item Bag:

Electronics, including my laptop, wireless keyboard, phone, Kindle & chargers
Wallet
Passport
Keys
1 Notebook
1 Journal
The new, previously mentioned walking shoes
Also, my 2nd toiletries stash
Plus, there was room for snacks, which I purchased at my gate.

Check out the video below to see how I made it all fit...

Want to learn how to live an abundant life full of travel and adventure? Discover how to reach out and grab the life of your dreams. Let's connect! 

How to Get Out of Your Routine & Give Yourself More Self-Care This Summer

Stagnant energy is the bane of creativity. And self-care is the love your spirit needs to replenish and fortify itself so that you can stay balanced as you journey towards cultivating a life that you love.

Your self-care practices need not be extravagant, they just need to be meaningful and uplifting to you. You can easily give your vibes a boost to help you power through your week by breaking out of your routine, and without doing anything too drastic. Yes, routines are in place for a reason. They help us to stay on task with what we need to get accomplished day to day. But, sometimes it’s the monotony that really sucks the life out of our day, and that’s how we know it’s time to shake things up.

This week we’ll take things nice and easy with some simple suggestions on how you can do a couple of nice things for yourself, without even leaving the house if you don’t want to.

Try these weekly easy ideas on how to mix things up and do a few nice and pleasurable things for yourself from our July Self-Care Calendar. ✨

All month we’ll be *revisiting and working through these tiny upgrades to make sure you stay stress free all Summer ‘18.

 

Week 2

Set an attainable goal for the day/week

Listen to some new, chill music

Apply a homemade face mask

Dress to the 9s, just because 

Take a New Moon detox bath

Get a mani or paint your toes 

Unplug for 1 hour

Week 1

Put together some summertime work or travel outfits*

Give yourself a pep talk* (we're learning some NLP this week, so stay tuned!)

Buy a new adult toy

Sing/rap in the shower

Phone a friend

Thoroughly hydrate yourself*

Sleep in

Ready to get your summertime self-care on? Download and print your calendar here today, because best of all, it’s a FREE love gift to you from me!

What do you need in order to make more time for self-care? How can I support your journey to live a more high-vibe life? Leave me a comment below or hmu here and let me know how I help. I'm here for you!

Get your free download💅🏾

No sign up required!

Want to take back your mornings for greater productivity? Check out my FREE 3-day mini-course The Sacred Art of Being the F*ck Quiet. It's all about creating space and pockets of quiet in your life, starting in the morning-- or wherever you can grab it.

Solitude in our day is powerful. It's a space we can retreat to anytime we need to. And it's especially impactful in the mornings to give us the boost we need to create next level transformations in our life.

Self-Care All Summer '18: July Calendar

Summertime is the perfect time to get back to loving on teamYOU! The days are longer and the nights are warmer, and life is more chill. Now is the time to break out of your routine and try some new things.

To prepare for all the lushness that awaits you in the coming month here are a few things to keep in mind...

Be flexible. Look at what interests you and know that you can move things around at will.

Find a partner. There’s strength in numbers, boo! Find you an accountability partner and agree to check in on each other every few days or so.

Schedule your self-care time. Based on the activities you know you’re excited about doing, schedule them into your day to make sure that you have the space and time for them.

Go easy on yourself. You’re going to feel amazing once you get into a groove of treating yourself daily. However, don’t beat yourself up if you have to skip days or decide you want or need to double up here and there.

Keep notes about your faves. As you move through the month, take ownership of the suggested tasks, make adjustments as you see fit and do more of what you love. As you develop the habit of doing nice things for yourself, and taking better care of yourself, the more awesome you will to feel.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get my summertime self-care on. Download and print your calendar here today, because best of all, it’s a FREE love gift to you from me!

What are some of your favorite self-care rituals? Leave a comment below or on social. Want to work 1 on 1 with me to learn how to live a more high-vibe life?  Hmu here and let's talk about your dream life and how to get you there. 

 

Get your free download💅🏾

No sign up required!

Want to take back your mornings for greater productivity? Check out my FREE 3-day mini-course The Sacred Art of Being the F*ck Quiet. It's all about creating space and pockets of quiet in your life, starting in the morning-- or wherever you can grab it.

Solitude in our day is powerful. It's a space we can retreat to anytime we need to. And it's especially impactful in the mornings to give us the boost we need to create next level transformations in our life.

3 Practical Ways to Clear Your Energy at the Full Moon

Now that I understand the moon cycle much better, the full moon and I no longer have any qualms about anything. I just know that anything that comes up during this time is because it needs my attention. So, if I'm feeling off or not like myself, the chances are it's time to clear up my energy field. 

Those of us who are into holistic practices know all about saging and what not. But, if that's too woo-woo for you, here are 3 practical things your can do to clear your energy at the full moon, which don't require dancing naked and howling.

Drink more water

Water is the unsung hero of clarity. I don't know if you're old enough to remember the movie "Troop Beverly Hills." It was one of my faves during my Girl Scout years. Anyway, there was this one scene when the mom was down and out about something that went awry, and went into hiding in her room with the drapes drawn. Instead of going nuts and binge drinking alcohol, when her friend came to check on her, there were Evian water bottles littered all over her room. To this day, whenever I get sad or pissed, I automatically crack open a pack of water bottles. This habit has prevented me from using things like alcohol or food to comfort me when the going gets rough. I have nothing against baked mac & cheese and a stiff martini, but it's not my first line of defense. The moral of the story is, make it a point to increase your water intake, especially when you energetically feeling sucky, and see how it makes a difference in your thinking and judgement.

I mean, if the moon affects the tide, and we're also primarily made of water, what do you think is going on inside of you too? Plus, most people are under-hydrated anyway, so tossing back a few bottles is probably in all of our best interest. Hydrating yourself is a quick way to alleviate a cloudy mind and sluggish-feeling body.

Avoid drama-loving people

Sometimes the drama-loving people are right in your home or in the palm of your hand (hello, Twitter). But you know what? YOU are still in control. You are the one who can decide how to react in the presence of someone else who's having a dramatic meltdown. And sometimes it's as simple as telling them to their face, 'I'm unsubscribing from this conversation, because I literally can't right now.' That may seem crude, but it's you and your sanity or the BS, it's truly your choice.

And, when it comes down to that handheld device, you can opt-out literally at any time.

Because of the work that I do, I kind of have to monitor social media daily. But when it gets to be too much, I log off for a couple of hours. I refrain from posting if I'm angry. And if I'm really annoyed, I turn all my notifications off. I bet your phone has that feature as well. Try it sometime. You'll be so relieved from the lack of dings from those real (and virtual) drama queens interrupting your peace every ten minutes. 

Clear the clutter

There is nothing as liberating as throwing and giving away sh*t that's no longer serving you. A good clutter purge is symbolic of letting go of stuckness (yes, I just made that word up) -- whether it's in your thoughts about a decision you need to make, to fire up your creativity or to get rid of the monkey mind. Chuck it in the f*ck it bucket and move past it. You can mini purge all over your life by clearing your desk, removing unnecessary apps, unfollowing Negative Nancys, cleaning out your closet now that the season has changed, or shining up your ride. When your space is clear, it clears out your mind as well.

So, that's it. 3 BIG, practical ways you can purge some energy during these beautifully charged, and sometimes intense lunar cycles.

What are some of your fave. energy clearing processes? Leave a comment here or on social!

Want to take back your mornings for greater productivity? Check out my FREE 3-day mini-course The Sacred Art of Being the F*ck Quiet. It's all about creating space and pockets of quiet in your life, starting in the morning-- or wherever you can grab it.

Solitude in our day is powerful. It's a space we can retreat to anytime we need to. And it's especially impactful in the mornings to give us the boost we need to create next level transformations in our life.

A Plant-Based, Eggless Scramble Breakkie You're Gonna LOVE!

For the past ten years I’ve been living in pescatarian bliss. It’s been a good run, but lately I’ve realized it’s time to step my plant game up in the kitchen. As Emeril, one of my food chef idols would say, “It’s time to kick things up a notch!”

So in my current  quest to transition to a more plant-based diet, I’ve been scouring the inter webs high and low for quick and SIMPLE egg replacement recipes, and this one completely knocked it out of the park on the first try.

I’ve done the VeganEgg thing and didn’t hate it. You can see the results here. I experimented with the Indian street style eggless omelette, and it was meh. I’d definitely give it another try once I get my hands on some Himalayan black salt, aka, kala namak. It’s supposed to give the faux eggs the same pungent smell and egg-like flavor. Yummm, right, lol. 

However, this little gem of a recipe is the front-runner for now. My only real concern is the soy consumption. Although, the brand I used was organic and non-GMO …still too much soy is not ideal in any diet. So, just keep that in mind.

Here’s what you’ll need:

½  Pack of tofu. (I chose a firmness of 4)
1-2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon of turmeric (for color)
1 cup of kale
1 Roma tomato
Coconut oil or vegan butter to lightly coat the pan
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika to taste

What you’ll do:

1. Press the excess water out of the tofu with several paper towels
2. Rinse and pick the stems from the kale
3. Chop the tomato
4. Heat your coco oil or vegan butter on medium to coat the pan. (I like to use a bit of both)
5. Crumbled the tofu into the pan, followed by all the seasonings and fold together. Break up any larger chunks with your spatula until everything is well incorporated.
6. Let cook for about 3 minutes
7. Push the tofu to half of the pan
8. Add your kale and tomato to the other side of the pan
9. Fold the tofu over the top of the veggies to help them soften
10. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. I like mines vegetables just heated through. 

Important: DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR VEGGIES!
They should still have a bright, crisp texture to them in order to maintain the nutritional value. A dead veggie has never helped anyone.

Plate & enjoy!

That’s pretty much it, folks! A quick and savory eggless omelette that’s sure to satisfy your breakfast or brunch craving.

HMU in the comments or on social and let me know how you if you try & like the recipe!

Want to take back your mornings?  Check out my FREE 3-day mini-course The Sacred Art of Being the F*ck Quiet. It's all about creating space and pockets of quiet in your life, starting in the morning-- or wherever you can grab it.

Solitude in our day is powerful. It's a space we can retreat to anytime we need to. And it's especially impactful in the mornings to give us the boost we need to create next level transformations in our life.