Iām currently writing you from seat 34L at an altitude of 30,000 feet. Earlier this week I bought this bootleg keyboard off Amazon to turn my iPad into a compact laptop and fulfill my dreams of being the Carrie Bradshaw of the sky. Iāve had this dream since I started flying more often and let me tell you ā traveling is NOT the lux experience itās made out to be. Although, I must admit Iāve come a long way from missing flights and being charged $125 in overweight bag fees. Dare I say Iām close to my final form of being a professional traveler, I didnāt even have a single breakdown while balancing my luggage to the perfect weight (50lbs on the dot thank you very much.)
As a semi-intermediate traveler I can summarize my biggest tips as the following:
1) TSA Precheck
Worth every single penny and I donāt know how I ever flew without it. The best $85 Iāve ever spent and Iād do it again in heartbeat to skip the lines and keep my shoes on through security. Unpacking all of my electronics at security was a complete and utter debacle that had everyone around me rolling their eyes. Goodbye, anxiety!
2) Travel without a carry-on
Now, I can feel the disbelief of this tip through the screen and let me start by reassuring you I have a Mary Poppins-esque purse filled with anything you can imagine, need, or not need on a commercial flight. The ten labubus both on my bag and chaotically stuffed inside are a definite need. As a self proclaimed over-packer, with the bag fees to prove it, I can attest that this is a total and complete GAME CHANGER. Most of the flights Iāve been on are always packed and more than willing to accept checked carry-on items at the gate, but I unexpectedly discovered that this is the only way to fly when I was forced to check my carry on roller filled with my most fragile necessities. After I reluctantly parted ways with my 30lb bag that I was having nightmares about putting in the overhead bin I started to enjoy the luxury of hands-free travel. Luckily my bag made it safe and sound with zero cracked screens inside and now I wrap all of my fragile items in sweaters. I canāt wait to ditch my carry on as soon as the opportunity is presented to me.
3) Have a boyfriend that does everything š¤
Ā Kidding but not kidding. This morning when we arrived at the airport at 5am I told my boyfriend I wished he always travelled with me so I could promptly turn my brain off and arrive at my destination without a care in the world. This morning I realized I didnāt even set an alarm, HAHA! True love is making your significant otherās life easier, I love you babe!
Iām about halfway through my 5 hour flight into the next time zone, I joke with my boyfriend that Iām headed on vacation from my vacation but lately my life has felt that way and Iām so grateful! Thanks for joining me for makeup favorites, travel tips, and random banter. Iām looking forward to sharing more adventures much more often. Aloha!
Things that made me excited this week:
- Iāve been making the conscious effort to read more and today was the perfect opportunity to finish the book my virtual friend and sorority sister just released; Finally The Bride. I find it hard to sit down and finish a book from front to cover but I could not put this one down. Jen has been candidly sharing her life as it unfolds in her writing for years and sheās so candid and relatable. I always feel like sheās writing about my experiences and concerns before I live them and her books are a reminder to live life at your own pace and not at the expectations of others. I always like to order a physical copy of anything someone I know writes and having a tangible paperback was the cherry on top to make this the perfect airport read
- If youāre interested, you too can own the same bootleg iPad keyboard from Amazon. It works well enough although full transparency I might return this one for a more fun color, maybe pink? Now that my travel blog girly dreams are in motion Iāve decided this is a great way to be productive on the go and turn my iPad into a compact laptop when I canāt have the real deal
- Sephora extended my 15% coupon through this weekend after I successfully resisted buying ANYTHING from the sale after talking about my $400 cart in the last blog LOL. Contemplating picking up THIS or THIS
- The new season of Black Mirror. As expected was binge watched in three days and now I only have to wait five years for another season
- All my fellow Labubu obsessed fashionistas: Popmart is releasing a new series on April 24th!! May the odds ever be in your favor