I don’t know about you, but for me, one of the most stressful parts of getting ready for a vacation is figuring out what to wear, and how to fit it all in my suitcase. I always, always, end up feeling like I hate everything I packed, and it’s impossible to remember what shirts I brought and how I can pair everything together into a moderately fashionable ensemble.

This time I had an idea. I would figure out what I wanted to wear by actually dressing up in the outfits. (If I was really ambitious I would have paired jewelry with everything but shoes+clothes was enough brainpower the night before we left.) I’d use my iphone to take a picture of the the outfit, and then I would save those photos on my phone as a sort of reference guide each morning whenI was getting dressed. You know that scene on Clueless when she wakes up and has the computer match up her outfit for her? Coolest closet ever! My system worked like a DIY version of that.

Here are all of the iphone photos. Doing this also ensured that I had shoes to match AND, very importantly, that I had all of the undershirts/other accessories that I would need.

And now you can see how it all came together. We were gone for about 20 days, and I ended up with only 13 outfit pictures (thank you TH for being patient enough to take all of them!) so there are a few pieces above that I utilized but must not have asked for a picture in. Getting dressed each morning was so much easier than it normally is on vacation, if I felt a bit stumped I’d reach for my iphone and flip through the photos above to figure out what made the most sense based on the planned activities for the day. 

We did some shopping in Florence where I was able to pick up some lighter clothes – I hadn’t packed for the very warm weather found in Italy in early September! My wardrobe was perfect for Poland, too warm for Italy.

Oh, and my pretty green bag? It’s by Jenny N. I love it so much, and had a friend help me add a padded camera insert so I could use it as a camera bag throughout the trip. I like it so much better than the Kelly Moore.

Also some nice commenters pointed out I need a new bra. How did I not notice this before? Bummer. Will work on that soon (I believe this is a product of only having one bra (gross of me I know) and wearing it every single day for the past 6 months, barring the times I work out).

Going along with my post on trials a few weeks ago, here is an excellent list of phrases to use, and phrases to avoid, when you’d like to reach out to someone in need. Based on recent familial experiences, I can tell you these really stood out to me as being the truth:

To avoid

1. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

They already feel like a burden. Listing off their needs only compounds that feeling.

3. DID YOU TRY THAT MANGO COLONIC I RECOMMENDED?

If the person has been ill for awhile, they have probably spent a considerable amount of time researching and hanging out at the office of several different providers. If you do feel like you have to tell them about a miracle solution that worked for your friend or your aunt, offer up the suggestion once and then let it be.

To use

1. DON’T WRITE ME BACK.

I’ve actually personally experienced how awesome it is to hear this one. Mrs. Corn sent me a lovely package filled with toys for T1, and explicitly wrote that I didn’t have to write her a thank you for the gift. The toys were awesome, we’re still using some of them today, but that little note was the part I appreciated most.

2. I SHOULD BE GOING NOW.

Don’t overstay your welcome. Unless the person is talking non-stop, a shorter visit is better than a longer one.

As you can tell, I have this topic on the brain lately. If you have suggestions that aren’t on the NYT list, I’d love to hear them!

I’ve got vacation planning on the brain (we’re leaving in two weeks!) and so I was more than happy to oblige when my friend Anni asked if I’d be interested in writing a guest post for her Through My Lens travel series. Click over to read my guest post, where you’ll find my views on some of the best ways to plan a vacation that’s a bit off the beaten path.

And because this post needs a picture… me in front of the Coliseum, auditioning for America’s Next Top Model. (Kidding!*)

*But seriously, that really is me in a wedding dress in front of the Coliseum. You can see more of them here if you’d like.

If you follow me on Twitter or Formspring, you may have seen me talking about the sock bun. I am borderline obsessed with this hairstyle. It looks fancy, keeps my hair off my neck in the summer, and allows me to go several days without washing my hair while still looking put together. I learned about it from this video, and I recommend watching it if you’d like to see how it works from start to finish.

If you want to see me acting like a Beauty Department wannabe model, check out my little graphic below.

Read more →

I feel kind of ambivalent about showers. As the guest of honor, it’s overwhelming to have so much attention lavished on you (and I’m obviously someone who likes attention.) The games are usually cheesy, although I always like the food.

Last week I attended the shower of this lovely friend of mine (the girl planning a grey and yellow wedding in a month!) and my mom was asked to organize the game portion of the evening. My mom asked me to do a little brainstorming, and so I turned to my Weddingbee friends to ask what shower games they had experienced and loved.

I decided to try out a game that incorporated the story of the couple.

I emailed the bride and asked her to write up their story as a couple. I then rewrote it, adding in as many “rights” and “lefts” as possible. If I was writing out my own story with That Husband, I would write something like this:

That Wife was starting to think that marrying That Husband would be the right thing. Unfortunately he had already left for Dallas! She made a decision right away that she wanted to fly down and visit him as soon as possible. That Wife wondered how long it would take them to get married, because she had right around 30 credits left during her time at BYU.

My mom wrapped up 5 different prizes, and we passed them out to different people in the circle. We directed those holding a present to pass it right or left every time they heard the word “right” or “left”. I stood in the middle to read the story, and just before I started we decided that any time I said the name of the couple, the gifts had be tossed across the room to the person opposite.

This was the winning element to the game! As you can see, the gifts were flying, everyone was laughing, and those present learned a few things they didn’t know about the couple when they walked in the door.

When I finished the story, the person holding the gift unwrapped it and kept whatever they found inside.

I plan to use this for any and all showers I host/come up with games for in the future. And I think I’ll brainstorm a way to tweak it for baby showers as well.

Are there any other shower games I should consider adding to my arsenal?