Packing For The Unknown

So my big day has finally been & gone & wow what an amazing time I’ve had.  As I mentioned in an earlier post I had no idea where or what we were doing for my actual birthday as I had left all the planning in the very capable hands of my hubby & son.  Now whilst I had joked that we might end up at a Star Wars convention I secretly knew *prayed* that I was in safe hands as hubby had arranged a surprise trip for our tenth wedding anniversary six years ago when he surprised me with a trip to New York so I felt pretty confident that whatever we were doing would be fantastic & that there wouldn’t be a light sabre in sight!!! And I have to say he didn’t disappoint :-) 

Of course having to pack when you don’t know where or what you’re doing is a complete & utter nightmare.  And with wanting to travel light in the hope that part of our trip would involve shopping made things even harder.  All I knew about our trip was that the weather could be up to 14 degrees if we were lucky. 

Now initially when beginning the packing process I looked in my wardrobe & pulled out enough clothing let alone accessories to easily do me for a fortnight away let alone a few days.  It’s so hard to pack a capsule wardrobe when you have various favourite pieces that you’d love to take away with you & in my case that is particularly true with my love of jackets & accessories.  But when travelling with only hand luggage and one checked in holdall between three it was a case of HAVING to be sensible & only take what I thought I’d need plus a few options just in case, well a girl has to be prepared ;-)

So having been relatively successful & pleased with my packing for our summer hols I decided to stick to the same formula & pack a mixture of separates that could be mixed & matched to create a variety of outfits to suit the weather & our travels & cover both smart & casual options.  Of course if I suddenly discovered I hadn’t brought a vital something or other then that would just give me the valid reason *coughs excuse* to shop J

So after much deliberations here’s a list of what I took, apologises there's no picture...I did mean to take a piccie of clothes before packing but forgot...remembered & meant to take when unpacking & forgot....remembered & meant to take when packing to come home.....& forgot.....remembered & meant to take when unpacking back at home......but forgot!!!! Can you tell I'm now forty?!!! Think I might be suffering from memory loss now I've gone to the other side lol!!!

- Boyfriend jeans (light denim)

- Skinny jeans (dark denim)

- Faux leather leggings (black)

- Leather biker jacket (black)

- Double breasted blazer (beige)

- Tartan scarf (multicoloured)

- Woollen snood (grey)

- Faux Fur Stole (black/blue)

- Lightweight polo neck jumper (black)

- Thick warm polo neck jumper with button detailing (cream)

- Lightweight over-large jumper (navy)

- Camisole (cream)

- Lace effect blouse (cream)

- Long sleeved top (cream with splashes of blue)

- Furry cardigan/jacket (cream)

- Hi-top pumps (a soft gold effect)

- Shoe boots (black)

- Captain's cap (black)

As you can see I basically stuck to a neutral colour scheme with just a small injection of colour.

From a bag point of view (holdall not woman…although our seriously early start did mean I could have been described with the two words ‘woman & haggered’ but not in that order!!) I thought we’d most likely be visiting a city so decided to take a small bag that could be worn across my body that I couldn’t fill with a load of nonsense just the essentials….lippie, sunnies & my ‘flexible’ friend.  I don’t know about you but if I’m carrying a heavy bag for the day I start to get shoulder ache & if it’s crowded & busy you’ve also got the added worry of pickpockets & I find a small bag easier to keep nice & close.

Having been well & truly trained from my Brownie days, I decided to be well prepared & in case it rained took my H&M captain's cap as I find a hat so much easier for keeping dry (let alone warm) when walking in crowds than carrying an umbrella which you’re forever lifting up & down as you try to avoid taking people’s eyes out.  It’s also a great accessory if you’re having a bad hair day a.k.a. can’t be bothered to wash your hair & will hide a multitude of sins ;-)

H&M Captain's Cap

Of course scarves & gloves were essential & I have to say my Zara tartan scarf has been such a fab buy…..lovely & soft not to mention huge so perfect if cool on the plane & so cuddly for wrapping up in.  I also took along my fur stole for a bit of glamour (well if you can’t be glamorous on your fortieth then when can you?!!!) & my Sandwich snood.

Zara Tartan Scarf

Sandwich Snood

H&M Faux Fur Stole

Because of our likely destination I thought it best to stick with trousers for my bottom half as they’re so easy for dressing up or down & also easier for keeping footwear to a minimum.  Boyfriend distressed jeans for a casual relaxed vibe, a pair of skinnies if I fancied being a bit smarter & my faux leather leggings for evening. 

Zara Boyfriend Jeans

Zara Faux Leather Leggings

From a jacket point of view my biker jacket was a no brainer for warmth & simply throwing on in the day with a smart thick blazer for the evening along with several tops including a camisole that could be worn with both my navy ‘V’ jumper & my cream fluffy jacket/cardigan.  A black polo neck (useful), cream pretty blouse for smartening my jeans up, a cream top with a pop of blues & a cream chunky polo neck for warmth & style (I absolutely LOVE the gold buttoning).  Of course even I knew I wouldn’t need this amount of tops but I wanted to take something that would cover all eventualities & weather conditions.

Zara Double Breasted Blazer

H&M Fluffy Jacket

Zara Cream Polo Neck With Button Detailing

Zara Oversized Jumper

Topshop Cami

As I mentioned in a previous blog when deciding on what to wear for my day trip to London I have to have comfy feet & no matter which city we would be visiting I knew it would involve walking a LOT of miles & spending the day on my feet so I needed to ensure my feet & I were still talking to each other.  So I opted for my comfy M&S shoe boots that I wore to London for a smart look for evening & my hi-top trainers for pounding the streets of a day, which were also great for hiding my cankles which would no doubt spring up as a result of too much time spent upright!!

M&S Shoe Boots

So did I pack the right clothes for our trip & did I need as much as I took???  Well if you’re anything like me you no doubt already know the answer to this question!!  But will we ladies ever change?  Hell no, that’s what’s makes us so special ;-)

I’ll be back next time with a round of up my outfits from my wonderful birthday trip together with where we actually went & what we got up to in my next blog.  But in the meantime here’s what I’ve been wearing these past few days since our return.

Outfit One

Pearls - Birthday present

Shirt - Zara

Grey Snake Print Belt - Massimo Dutti

Vest Top - Zara

Jeans - Zara

Ankle Boots - Oasis

Outfit Two

Pearls - Birthday Present
Jumper - Primark
Skirt - Zara
Shoe Boots - Next
Stole - Zara

Outfit Three

Grey Pearls - Handmade
Vest Top - Zara
Jumper - Zara
Sequin Skirt - Zara
Boots - Oasis

Outfit Four

Necklace - Zara

Top - M&S

Blazer - Zara

Bracelet - J Crew

Jeans - Zara

Boots - Next

Outfit Five

Camouflage Scarf - Zara
Jacket - Zara
Denim Shirt - Zara
Jeans - H&M
Boots - Oasis

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has sent me such lovely birthday wishes....I can honestly say I'm LOVING being forty :-) so if you've got your 'big' birthday fast approaching embrace & enjoy every second.

Right seeing as my birthday has been & gone, I really need to get on with getting in the festive spirit…..so I’m off to wrestle with a tree & hang a few baubles.  In the meantime I’d love to hear if you’ve ever trusted your other halves to plan a surprise trip away not to mention your trips for travelling light when only going away for a few days.  What would you take?

See you at the weekend.