In about a week from now, I will be heading on vacation for ten glorious days. Next Saturday will be spent packaging--hopefully not at the last minute--and then Sunday morning I'm going to hop on the train and head to Washington D.C. Yes, I know Washington D.C. isn't the most glamorous of vacay spots but tons of my friends moved there after college, so it'll be like a Class of '07 reunion. Unfortunately, they all have to work during the day, but that's okay. There's tons of gardens for me to look at, plus I haven't done anything like tour the monuments since I was in middle school. So, it promises to be a fun trip.I do take the train, because I'm terrified of airplanes (well, not so much airplanes as heights). I also don't want to drive because even at my hotel's parking garage, it's a whopping $30 to park my car PER DAY. The train, round trip, cost me around $120, and once I'm in town the public transportation is amazing. So by taking the train (the cheapest flight--even into Baltimore--was right under $300) I'm saving money. Supposedly.
I've been thinking for at least the past month or so about what I'm going to wear. I don't want to be that tourist wearing clunky Sketchers, denim capris, and a tie-dyed "I Heart DC" tshirt picked up at a souvenir shop in Union Station. Since I've been saving money, I really didn't want to buy anything beforehand because I plan to do some shopping there. I lied to myself. A few weeks ago, a bunch of blogs began featuring orange purses, as orange is one of the hot colors for this spring/summer. I can't remember which blog it was from (maybe Refinery 29?) where I saw this baby:
Orange Melie Bianco Satchel, $99, backordered until 4/30
I love satchels, and I love orange (it was my signature color in high school), and under $100? I tried in vain to find this purse. I called I think roughly 7-8 stores across the country, and talked with the Melie Bianco company and still couldn't find it. I decided to try to find another orange purse, which is fairly hard. I looked online, everything was too expensive, and what I could find in stores was basically limited to Fossil, and I'm not a huge fan of their faux retro prints. In a search for luggage, I ended up at Marshall's in Huntington only to end up squeeing when I found this:
For a mere $25, I found a wonderful orange bag. Made by the now-defunct Baekgaard Ltd. company (a sister company to Vera Bradley that specialized in colorful leather instead of quilted calico), this leather purse is glorious. The pink pipping detail is also wonderful. The tassel didn't come with the bag, I purchased it, a matching ID case/wallet, and a cosmetics case for an extra $10. I still slightly like the Melie Bianco bag a bit more, but for $65 less, this Baekgaard is the next best thing. I was slightly afraid that it wouldn't be to pass my test for any purse--the ability to hold a bottle of water--but it did. On top of this bag, I'm also planning on taking my colbalt blue Coach Kristin hobo, and maybe my Anthropologie Linked Hasu tote.
I'm at a bit of a loss of what to pack. Ever since I became a landscape designer my wardrobe...lacks. Most of my clothes are basically tshirts and jeans, which is understood in West Virginia. But again, I don't want to look so touristy. My nicer clothes are summer clothes, such as my white Michael Kors jeans which make my ass look ahmazing. The weather is also going to be a bit unpredictable, currently, according to weather.com, I can look forward to the high 60s and a small chance of rain. Therefore, I think all those cute Old Navy cardigans I bought over the winter will work nicely, as I have some great tanks to wear under them. That, and some cute flats, and I think I'm set. I think.
This post doesn't even begin to describe my search for the perfect luggage, originally bought the cutest set from Victoria's Secret only to find out it's too small end and then ending up getting a great set from Macy's for $70. Or the fact I can't decide which nail polish to wear...I'm thinking the Black Pearl, with OPI's On Collins Ave. on my toes. Argh. I hate packing.
