empire state of mind

Disclaimer: this post is not really about food. Well, maybe. We'll see.

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Tomorrow I embark on a journey across the country, to an unknown land...New York, baby!! Jon's lovely sister Jessie is marrying her sweetheart Steve at a gorgeous golf course in Long Island. I am so honored to have been invited to share in this celebration with them. Jon's parents and siblings have been like my second family in the 4 1/2 years together. It will be a really special week, to be sure - great company, great location, and a great reason to celebrate!

Only one hurdle had to be confronted before I could really get excited: packing. That daunting task is the bane of my traveling existence! I am a notorious overpacker. Just ask Jon: weekends at his place in LA always call for a full duffel bag, a smaller bag, and a stuffed purse, full of those "just-in-case" items like an umbrella (despite a sunny forecast), extra pairs of underwear, another pair of shoes that doesn't really go with anything but just in case I break a pair, an extra shirt in case I spill something on myself...you get the idea. So this time around, I vowed to keep it simple. My weapons of choice for packing light: a strict list, and the bundle packing method. Originally introduced to me through the lovely ladies at academichic, I decided to give it a whirl for this trip.

My progress, in pictures:

Laying out clothes on my bed. I think I ended up with 5 shirts, 1 pair shorts, 1 skirt, 1 pair jeans, 2 cardigans, 3 dresses (wedding, rehearsal, casual), running stuff, and 4 pairs of shoes (couldn't help myself!).

I arranged my garments around my "core" of undies, my fabulous madebyhank clutch (looking at you, Joyce), and a pair of wedges.

Ta-dah! The final package, nestled in my carry-on with room for gym clothes, jewelry, wedding shoes, and my hairdryer.
I just need to put a few things in Jon's check-on, namely another pair of shoes, my sneakers, and my bigger liquids like sunscreen. But otherwise, I'm a carry-on kinda gal this week! Woo!

Now I'm free to dream about days by the pool, greasy slices of New York-style pizza, and of course, seeing Jessie as a beautiful bride :)

Here's hoping for safe travels, and many adventures (food and otherwise) in the Empire State!