En Route to Vacation

I am stressed out sitting at the airport waiting to catch a red-eye out of Sea-Tac Airport. Just three short hours ago I was frantically wrapping up a project at work, racing home to pack and fighting traffic on the way to the airport. Here I was finally getting a minute to catch my breath sitting exhausted in a crammed chair by the gate. Knowing myself and knowing I wasn’t in the best mood I turn to my beau and in my kindest voice possible asked if I could have 5 minutes to myself. Of course being the sweet angel that he always is he gives me a quick kiss and without a word walks away. Some time goes by as I gather my travel documents, my thoughts and organize my in flight materials when he returns. He slides a donut next to my side table and says, ‘I know you wanted some time to yourself but I just wanted to say something. I hope you eat, pray and love on this trip.’ I burst into laughter and that was the end of my bad mood.

I still laugh whenever I retell this story. Often times when we travel we will squeeze every minute possible to account for the time spent flying to our destination. This results in plenty of red-eyes after a full day of work. More often than not I’m usually the one stressed out because I tend to struggle with mentally checking out at work. To create a hard break, the time spent en route to vacation is used to help me relax, unwind and sleep as much as possible. When people ask me if I’m excited about an upcoming trip, I usually answer with, ‘not until i’ve boarded the plane’ and it’s so true. Combine the day I just had with my fear of flying it's so important to me to be as relaxed as possible while flying.

Here are a few of my favorite things I always need on board with me:



Sleep Mask & Ear Plugs // I love flying delta because they provide complimentary sleeping mask and ear plugs. They also provide you with 16 oz bottled water throughout the flight to keep you fully hydrated. I try to drink about four.

Glasses, Hair Band and Hair Tie // I pop my contacts out and put my glasses on before I fly knowing I will sleep throughout the majority of the flight. My hair has gotten so long and I hate having it in my face therefore the first I do is put it up in a bun and pull back the baby hair with a headband.



Hand Sanitizer // I picked up this habit of using hand sanitizer while working at the hospital. I always have it on me and I use it all the time especially before eating or touching my face.

Make Up Remover & Wipes // I learned about DHC Deep Cleansing Oil while in Japan and I love it. If time permits I will wash my face with this make up remover in the restroom before boarding the plane. It takes all your secrets off. Otherwise I use the yes to cucumber wipes gentle enough to not irritate my skin and it smells fresh.


I try to stay hydrated as much as possible with:

Avery Rose Water // after a clean face I use this moisturizing spray to hydrate and set my skin for some serious work (see below)

SK-II Essence // contains holy water or so I read but I believe miracles are sold separately.

SK-II Face Mask  // I will only put this mask on if I am sitting by a window seat after the lights are out to avoid embarrass my beau.

Skin, Inc Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask // This is my back up hydrating mask if I'm too tired to deal with all the fuss of the sheet mask. My face absorbs this thing up so quickly it doesn't really do much for me. Tip: reuse the little sample jars from Sephora to eliminate taking up too much space in your carry on. Plus it's easy to toss out when you're done.

EOS lip balm // may not result in kissable lips for everyone but I love it

SK-II Moisturizer // magical and creamy! I would eat this jar if I could

SK-II Eye Cream // keep the attention on those sparkly gorgeous eyes

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream // for soft and smooth hands to hold on to babe during turbulence

My skincare products are SK-II heavy and I definitely don't look like Jennifer Lopez after using La Mer but I love that my skin reacts well to it and doesn't break out.



Other miscellaneous things that are just as important:

Altoids // necessary for fresh breath when trying to kiss babe and flirting with the flight attendant for some free pretzels

Notepad and Pen // to jot down ideas, inspirations and thoughts because you never know when you'll have an epiphany!

A Book // not pictured is my kindle which holds all the stories one can dream of if the imagination is lacking

Happy travels and where to next?!