Packing List - Take Two

Hello everyone!  I had so many nice comments from my series on packing that I thought it would be fun to do another one based on our most recent trip.  What you see above is everything, minus bras, panties, sunglasses and toiletries, that I packed for our recent one week whirlwind trip to Egypt.  It all fit easily into a hard size carry-on suitcase and my Longchamp tote.  Below are the items by category with a few details.


The Stars of the Show:

When I start my packing list, I start with shoes.  Always.  They have to be versatile and comfortable.  You've seen all of these before.  My trusty Merrells, a pair of comfortable  Dansko walking sandals, and old Gap flip-flops with a bit of bling for evenings, pool, and icky hotel room carpet.  Note: Shown in the picture on the very top of the page, but not below, two pairs of my favorite Smart Wool socks.  

Basic Bottoms:

A pair of straight leg jeans - ended up only wearing them to travel there and back.  It was hot in Egypt, a bit hot for jeans especially during the day, and I could easily get by with my other options.  A pair of sand colored pants from Athleta - spot cleaned once in the hotel sink and easily dried overnight.  A pair of Target black leggings - comfortable, especially on the overnight train.  A longer length, light weight silky skirt from Eileen Fisher.  It was a little more that I wanted to spend, but it was perfect, and therefore, worth it.

Tops - Color and Comfort:

Top photo shows the three long sleeve blouses - a lightweight denim shirt, a longer coral teacup print top from Gap, and a thin white long sleeve top from Nordstrom.  I actually wore the denim shirt the least, thought I would throw it on over a T-shirt in the evening, but most evenings weren't that cool.  The tea cup top is a bit longer and also served as my swim suit cover-up.  Finally, the white blouse was perfect for walking around the pyramids - great sun and wind protection.  It also dressed up with the skirt and jewelry for a nicer dinner.

The middle photo shows my Tees, an aqua shadow stripe from Banana Republic, a basic white scoop neck, a dragon fly print from Old Navy, and a blue Mossimo (Target) Tee with a dove - just doing what I can to promote peace in the Middle East!

The bottom picture are my two odd ball tops - a short purple T-shirt dress, another Mossimo from Target find,  and a basic white tank for layering (my favorite Target tanks!).  Across the top are my two scarves.  The blue/purple scarf was a last minute Target find.  I walked by it and realized it matched all the colors of the clothes I was taking so I snatched it up.  The pink scarf is actually a fluorescent coral on cream from Forever 21 in a geometric print, but that doesn't show up well in pictures.  The scarves were essential.  They were a sarong over my swim suit for beach time bocce ball, a bedouin-stype head wrap to keep the sand out of my hair and mouth while 4-wheeling in the dessert, a drape over the back of the train headrests, a head scarf while visiting the mosques, and of course, a colorful fashion accessory.

Oops, no separate picture of the aqua top laying on the khaki pants in the top "team" picture.  It's a C9 by Champion quarter zip top from Target - wore it there and back on the plane.  I love the aqua color and it looked real cute with the multi-color scarf.


Finishing Touches:

The top picture is my sleep/lounge wear.  Knowing I would be traveling with a bunch of guys, my husband, two sons, and a friend of my son, I needed my sleep/lounge wear to be double duty - comfortable to sleep in, modest enough to run to the bathroom in a shared suite.  I chose a Nike blue basic T-shirt and a pair of gray Merona leggings.  Great combination.

And finally, a few pieces of jewelry - shorter silver Target necklace for a nice dinner, a longer gold charm necklace with a tiger charm and aqua, coral and white beads - good match for all my tops - from Forever 21, a pair of "Egyptian style" dangling gold earrings, also from Forever 21, silver dangles (Target) and a pair of crystal studs (Claire's).  Nice, but not expensive in case something got lost or stolen.  

And to close, a few Action Shots of the my workhorse wardrobe:

Khaki pants, Coral tea-cup print blouse, coral & cream scarf, Ray-Bans, Merrells - getting ready for some desert 4-wheelin'

Black leggings, short purple dress, multi-color scarf, Dansko sandals - with my husband at the Nile

Khaki pants, white tank, white blouse, coral scarf, Ray-Bans, Merrells - with my younger son at the Pyramids