How To Pack for A Weekend Getaway

Most travelers aren’t content never taking a vacation or even slaving away all year to wait for their annual trip. In fact, aside from the usual two weeks, it’s hard to make it through day-to-day without getting away a few other times throughout the year. We tend to take a few days here and there a couple times a year. You might not think you have the funds to do it, but if you step back and take a look at your travel style you can find ways you can cut corners, meaning you’ll need a smaller budget to fund these long weekends. There are plenty of ways to save money, no matter where you go or how you get there. 

Inspo on Polyvore

When you fly to your destination, one of the easiest ways to save – time and money – is by traveling carry-on only. You don’t need much for a few days, which means you can pack quickly, skip the airline counter check-in and ignore the baggage carousel upon arrival. I always have a packing list to help me keep the number of items down and also to make sure I don’t forget any of the essentials. I know when I get to my destination I can probably buy whatever I missed packing, since a weekend getaway isn’t going to take me that far from home (like, I probably am not going to Bali or Columbia), but I’m adamantly against spending money for things I already have. Here’s how to build your packing list:

Instead of even travel-size shampoo/conditioner, these samples can work for a weekend getaway

Normally, I take this 3oz hand cream, but these two sample packs are more than enough for 3 days

Save those samples

I know I’m not the only one that has a bag full of samples and trial-size health and beauty items. Every purchase I make from Sephora or other department store makeup counters comes with mini sizes of beauty products. I also sign up for many freebies online. When I travel, I go through and see what I can use and then pack it in my 3-1-1 or toiletry bag. I’m never going to use a full-size thing on a two-week trip, much less just a few days, so there’s no point bringing a whole container of anything, be it toothpaste, moisturizer or shampoo.

Pare down your beauty routine

Even with all your travel-size items, it still smart to take less. If you have an extensive morning routine at home, see what you can just get away with. I don’t load up on the makeup normally, so I figure there’s no point in taking a bunch of unnecessary items that I’ll probably not use. I know when I wake up I’m going to do the bare minimum so I can hurry up and get on with my day. Four or five products are all I need: moisturizer, foundation, powder, blush and mascara (optional). See what things you can do without. If you are an eye makeup kinda girl, look for makeup palettes that have everything you need in a neat little package, so you don’t have to pack everything separately.

Decant, decant, decant

Sometimes you can't find samples of your fave products, but you don't need to waste space by bringing even a large travel-size container. In this case, I say decant. Eric has a fantastic shave cream from Kiehl's, but it takes very little for each use, so I put some in a travel pot and kept the actual container at home. This makes it doubly perfect for traveling.

Pack multipurpose items

I love it when things do more than one thing. Cheek tint that is also a lip stain. Tinted moisturizer with SPF instead of sunscreen, moisturizer and foundation. A maxi skirt that can also be worn as a dress. A tablet for games, books, email and internet. All these things are perfect companions for your carry-on bag, because they take up less space.

My previous summer Vegas attire: shorts, capris, dress, 3 tops, fancy sandals and a
pair of  ballet flats (to be worn on the plane)

Mix and match

As always, when you coordinate all your clothing, it’s super easy to pack in a carry-on. Two bottoms and three tops can mix and match to make SIX outfits. That’s way more than you’ll need for a long weekend. Don’t forget that what you wear in transit can also be rotated in as needed. And shoes! You should take two pair – max. Make sure they are both comfortable enough to walk in all day. I had a coworker who told me that she had 16 pairs of shoes she wanted to take with her to Mexico on a four day trip. Sixteen! I don’t even think that many shoes would fit in my carry-on and if they did, there would be no room for anything else, except maybe socks and underwear. Her trip was for a wedding, so aside from what she needed for the ceremony, she could have survived with a sun dress, a pair of shorts, her bathing suit and some flip flops. Learning to pack efficiently is important and can save you a ton.

That’s it. Think about what you truly need with you for three or four days and be realistic. Don’t play the “what if” game. What if I go out to a fancy dinner? What if it gets really cold? What if I want to go clubbin’? Did you plan for those things? Do you normally just change plans at the last minute? Sometimes it seems like it might be harder to pack for a short trip than a long one, but with some practice, it can be super simple. Just think, if you don’t bring something that you thought you could live without, by the time you miss it, you’ll probably already be back home.

Yup, that's my actual packing list!

My next trip will be a 4-night stay in Vegas to visit the Travel Goods Show and hang out with some friends. My bag is already packed and it consists of one pretty slim backpack that fits my clothes, toiletries, laptop and snacks. I've packed 4 tops, a pair of joggers and a t-shirt for pajamas, and a spare pair of shoes. 

Since the weather will be pretty mild during the day and chilly in the evening, I think one pair of jeans will do me. I'll be wearing a cardigan on my flight that will work for all the tops in my bag, so I'll be set for layering as well. I skipped my bathing suit, because I know me and I won't end up using it. There's no point in wasting space.

I even have a spare tote that I can use for any items that I pick up on my trip. That way I don't have to bring a bigger bag I don't want to carry and could overpack, plus it can be used as a shopping bag or laundry bag during my stay. I'll be carrying the smallest purse I can get away with, just so I don't have extra bulk.

What are some of your favorite ways to travel light?

Saving On Your Next Road Trip

Are you planning a road trip? With demand for gas up and price up along with it, you may be thinking it's not entirely affordable. Well, we traveled well on our road trip and though gas prices varied widely across 3 states (it was still between $3.79 and $4.69/gallon) we didn't feel like we were paying more. I also found a great gem of an app to save on gas through cash back. 

If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I love cash back apps. Get Upside is no different. I was able to find participating stations much of the time when we needed to stop for gas and I'm building my balance to cash out without a penalty (the threshold only $15), though you can cash out at any time you like.

Here's how it works:

• Sign up for free (but if you use my link or promo code: SHEREEN2633 you can get a bonus of 15 extra cents per gallon on your first gas purchase).
• When you need gas, open the app and see participating stations near you. You'll be able to see how much gas is and how much you'll save per gallon. 
• Choose the station by clicking on the claim button.
• You'll have 3-4 hours to get gas to redeem your offer (each participating station only has a limited amount of claims to be made).
• Once you arrive at your station - the app can also give you directions - you will need to check in. Sometimes this is just clicking the check-in button in the app and sometimes you have to put in partial credit card information for them to verify your purchase.
• That's it. Your cash back will be added within a day or two.

I received between 7 cents and 23 cents off per gallon while road tripping, which doesn't sound like much, but it can really add up. If you find yourself on a route that may have iffy cell service, remember that you will have, on average, 3 hours to complete your offer, so before you head into a dead zone, search for deals, claim one that seems doable, and then you're set for when you get there.

I'm sure you're thinking "70 cents is all good, but it's not really going to save me enough to make a difference on my trip." You might be right, though if you're filling up 10 times on a trip, that's several free gallons of gas. Also, Get Upside has now added hundreds of restaurants to their app that average 7% cash back. And soon, there will be grocery stores and convenience stores added as well, saving you on those snacks, cooler staples, and meal items for your destinations.

I know it'll take a little extra effort to get a bit of a deal on much of your trip, but it can be worth it. The person not driving can have the job of finding the stations and calling out directions for your trip. 

What are some of your favorite travel apps? 

Disclaimer: when you sign up with my link, I get a bonus just like you get a bonus. Thanks in advance for helping us both. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloweekend everyone! This has been a long celebration for us, since our anniversary is also on the 28th. Normally, we go out for our day, but this year has thrown a lot at us and we just weren't in the mood for other people. We lost our dog last week, and even though it's been coming for a while, it was still one of the hardest things we've had to endure. As such, we decided to do a low-key meal at home. 

We had a full Halloween wedding, where everyone dressed up and we danced to spooky music and had a blast, so I brought some of that to our day by having a Halloween food board, backdrops, and we watched a few horror movies. Keep scrolling for some of my favorite Halloween movies and the list of movies we've watched over the last month that I may or may not recommend.

Favorite movies:

• Cabin In the Woods
• American Werewolf in London
• Pet Semetary (the original)
• A Ghost Story (this is slow and quiet, but in the BEST way)
• Trick R Treat
• Monster Squad
• Train to Busan
• The Hunt
• Jennifer's Body
• Happy Death Day
• Shaun of the Dead
• Scream
• Final Destination
• Idle Hands
• Poltergeist
• The Others
• Hellraiser
• Get Out
• House of 1,000 Corpses
• Practical Magic
• Ready Or Not
• Drag Me To Hell

Movies that I loved, and recommend if you like being scared:

• The Ring
• The Conjuring
• Midsommar
• Silent Hill
• Resident Evil (the first one)
• Cabin Fever
• Hostel
• Us
• Teeth - TW: sexual abuse
• Hereditary
• The Woman In Black - the one from 2012 with Dan Radcliffe. Skip the sequel.
• Green Inferno - another Eli Roth movie, but this one's about cannibals, so it might be a hard watch for some. I learned beforehand that all the cannibals were actually a tribe of natives that had never acted or seen a movie before and thought blood was hilarious, so that made it easier for me to consume.

Movies I've watched lately: So, I specifically got Shudder to watch movies I've either not heard of or missed when they were new. I have been watching History of Horror and listening to the accompanying podcast by Eli Roth and was tired of not being able to find the movies they talked about. I can't find all of them, in the 5 streaming services we have, but I have found quite a few.

• Old - an M. Night Shyamalan movie that was so much better than I expected
• Night Teeth - a twist on your normal vampire story
• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - a Persian subtitled vampire movie filmed in black and white that I really enjoyed.
• Hell House, LLC - 2 & 3 are on Shudder, but you can watch the first one on YouTube or Tubi. It's a shaky cam movie a la Blair Witch, but it's properly scary. I've actually been too scared to watch the others yet.
• Mayhem - with Steven Yuen and Samara Weaving about a virus that makes people violent. It's not scary, but it is über gory. I really felt like it didn't have much of a point, though I liked seeing Steven Yuen play a badass.
• Haunt - an Eli Roth movie about a group of friends who go to an extreme haunted/escape house and get more than they bargain for. I liked this, because it had some interesting twists.
• Escape Room: Tournament of Champions - we liked the original and we also liked this one. It's not phenomenal, but I like trying to figure out the "games" too.
• Creature From The Black Lagoon - I had never seen this before, and it was a typical monster movie, though I think it would have been scarier if they had not shown the creature until further into the movie.
• Friday the 13th - I'm not sure if it's just because I waited so long to watch the original, but I found this really slow and boring. I didn't care at all about any of the characters, so I didn't care if they died, including young Kevin Bacon.
• Friday the 13th Part 2 - because I had to know the whole story behind Jason being able to come back and kill people. Spoiler: you still don't really know.
• Halloween Kills - I don't know what they were going for in this sequel, but it kind of sucked from beginning to end, except for the gay couple - Big John and Little John - that I found charmingly weird.
• They Remain - I'm still not sure what the point of this movie was. It was about two scientists looking into a cult that lived in the woods years ago. It was very bad and I don't recommend it. I figured out the twist halfway through when I wasn't even paying that much attention to it.

I also rewatched some movies, because it had been a long time since I've watched them.

• I Know What You Did Last Summer - though I had forgotten it had such an all-star cast, I still liked it and felt like it held up pretty well.
• Halloween (the original) - I was so disappointed in Halloween Kills that I felt I needed to go back to the beginning to cleanse my palette.

You can see more of my spooky Halloween spread on my Instagram, including a reel showing my table in depth. 

Cheers to your Halloweekend! Now, hit me with your favorite scary, spooky, atmospheric movies below that you watch over and over or just discovered or wish everyone would watch, too!