preparing for takeoff

Hola, cutie pies.

To kick off my posts from abroad I thought that I would air and explain some of the more miscellaneous items that I packed.

Not that I am the most meticulous of packers or anything. Forgot my tooth brush, after all.

Nevertheless, these things have served me well so far

so I thought I would share.

Feel free to comment with any questions.

(from left to right, top to bottom):

1. REI compact travel duffel -  can expand to hold plenty of things and then condense into this portable little guy. Perhaps even better than the size are the removable backpack straps (If you travel around a lot, get used to backpacks. Make friends or whatever. They are necessary). Perfect for weekend excursions.
2. Oxford Spanish/English dictionary - goes without explaining... Incredibly helpful in any Spanish speaking country.
3. Fodor's Travel Guide: Spain - The Bible of Spanish travel.
4. O'Neill camouflage backpack - Super cute and durable.. Snagged this on a wicked KarmaLoop sale, ye ye!
5. Restoration Hardware smartphone camera lenses (compatible with iphones 4 and 5) - Includes fisheye, polarized and macro lenses. Affixes onto the top corner of your iphone. Favorite Christmas present. Love love.
6. Bobble filtered water bottle - A great thing to have if you plan on traveling to various countries and cities.. filters your water as you drink it, making tap water consumable anywhere.
7. Lucky magazine - For the airplane, ft. my boo-thang Zoe Saldana.
8. REI sleeping mask - Incredibly soft material and includes heavy duty earplugs + a pouch to put them in. The stewardess actually had to wake me up and tell me our plane had landed when I was using these.
9. Journals - 2 exquisite blank journals and 1 "One Sketch a Day" visual journal.
10. Nikon D3000 - For those moments far too valuable for iPhone quality photos. Thanks Mama.
11. Compact umbrella - No one likes to get caught in a downpour in a foreign country.
12. REI first aid kit - Because I went shopping with my mom. It never can hurt to have bandages and antiseptics on hand, though.
13. RFID-Safe wallet/passport holder - Constructed from a material that protects against radio frequency credit card and Identity theft. Plus I can fit everything I need inside the well designed, spacious pouches.
14. Forever 21 sunnies - These make even my sloppy, been-in-and-out-of-airports-for-the-past-18-hours-attire look put together. 
15. Touch-screen gloves - You can find these in so many cute styles and colors now. Allow you to use your smartphone without having to expose your hands to the freezing cold.
16. iHome Bluetooth cube - Quite possibly the smartest purchase I made. Has an 8 hour battery life when its fully charged, is totally wireless, and gets remarkably loud for its teeny size. Perfect for a day trip to the coast or a picnic beneath the Granada sky. 
17. PicCell International phone - Makes communicating with other people in your same foreign country about a thousand times cheaper than if you used your smartphone. 
18. REI adapter kit - Includes every adapter you will need to get plugged in anywhere in the world.
19. Luggage tag - Lost luggage is fairly common when traveling internationally. Make sure that your luggage can get back to you in a crisis situation with a cute or unique tag.
20. Scully's Lavender Sleep Aid - Dab on your temples and under your nose for a soothing, sleep-inducing lavender smell.
21. Evolution Of Smooth lip balm - Because I'm very adamant about making sure my lips do not get chapped.
22. Macbook - For those brutal 4 hour layovers, as well as taking care of business once you've already reached your destination. 

 xx