Packing for two nights in London
As this blog post was posted, I was on my way to London with my Sister and her Fiancé. It’s Dad’s 60th birthday, and he and my Mum have gone to London for a long weekend. They went down on Wednesday but we came up this evening to surprise him! I’m really glad I got to go, as I was supposed to be in San Francisco , but I’m really happy to be able to spend this happy time with my family, especially for a big birthday.
Updates to come later on the status of my journey to the U.S, but in this post I thought I’d focus on packing for a city break/short stay.
I am terrible when it comes to packing! I always want to pack every item of clothing I own, I can never decide on what shoes to take, I need to take every possible outfit option with me and I have trouble minimising my make-up and hair products.
So I saw this little trip to London as a challenge to pack lighter. We are only really having one full day in London, which help when it comes to packing but you’d be surprised at how I struggled.
So this stay was for two nights in London, travelling down on Friday, travelling back to on Sunday- simple!
So I started with the essentials. Things like shampoo, conditions, hair brush, styling products are hard to condense when packing so I prioritised those first. I took those cute mini travel size bottles that I know can be bought in London, but who has time for that, well I don’t! And with almost hotel rooms having hair dryers these days, I only had to take my curling wand, and possibly a little bit of dry shampoo. Underwear and the usually skin care product are packed next, yet again another unavoidable packing necessity but don’t really take up that much space in my tiny ‘cabin approved’ suitcase.
But it’s the clothes, and shoes for that matter, that cause the problem. So I decided I would travel down in the same thing I would travel back in- a late arrive and early departure means outfit repeating is somewhat acceptable.
I bought a new beige/‘oatmeal’ coloured oversized jumper from H&M, which is perfect for the cold weather layered over stuff, so this with the same jeans, shoes and a different top underneath lightens the load from what I had originally planned, and perfect for the train journeys.
Then there was only the day and night-time outfits for Saturday.
Having been to London the week before for my appointment at the U.S embassy, I knew exactly how cold it was! And I hate being cold! I’m one of those rare creatures who would much rather be too hot than too cold, so I was all about wrapping up.
I picked up another knitted dress from H&M, this one not as brightly coloured but a lovely creamy with a nice wide funnel neck. It’s not itchy at all, in spite of being quite textured and oversized. This layered over a long top, with tights and boots is perfect for me to keep warm, with my oversized black coat and a new camel coloured scarf I bought from Zara. The forecast is rain but I’m afraid fashion overrules everything so a handy umbrella will just have to suffice for any autumn downpours.
I’m an avid lover of black clothes and I’d say 80% of the clothes I own are black- and I’m proud to say that. As dull or boring at black clothes are considered to be, there is no denying that they’re easy to pair together and have an effortless look. So that helped when choosing what to wear on the evening, sticking with my beloved black jeans and picking two black tops. So here I could have been more decisive but I allowed myself a little option. A long-sleeved, off the shoulder black top and a black jumper with a little bit of embellishment- depend on how I feel on the night. Paired with some black heels and a little black clutch bag, as I said- simple!
I only wear minimal jewellery anyway so I packed my usually pieces, which are all gifts from various people and mean a lot to me. My travel sized Jo Malone perfume is perfect for London and the smell is a lovely musky scent ideal for the season.
And that’s everything, pop in a possible change of shoes -purely for comfort and that everything! I’m very surprise at myself and I’m thinking there might actually be something in ‘packing light’.