Everything I (Over)packed for Vacation

PLUS something I sewed, a few things that I bought and what I actually wore/didn't wear!

There’s really nothing like going on vacation and wearing half the items you brought to give you a little perspective on what you truly need on vacation!

We just got back from a 2-week visit to southern Ontario where we spent time with my mom during the first part of the trip and then we had an airbnb with our best college friends and their kids on the beach for the second part.

I packed with the intention of wearing cute outfits each day, when in reality, I wore a lot of the same items/outfits over and over.

I really should have known that would happen based on all of the other trips that I’ve ever taken!

However, we drove to our destination and whenever that happens, I feel like I have a little more freedom when it comes to packing.

Everything I Packed

I packed my usual backpack and personal item that I take when we fly (Patagonia Black Hole Mini MLC 30L and Patagonia Terravia Tote Bag - if you’re interested in backpack travel, this is the best system that I’ve found since starting this mode of travel 10 years ago).

I love that this backpack has a square shape and opens fully for easier packing!

I also allowed myself an extra tote bag for toiletries and extra footwear and anything else that I threw in there last minute.

For any trip over 10 days, I usually pack a 10 item capsule wardrobe in my backpack (excluding accessories such as scarves, jewelry and shoes), which leaves me with room for makeup, toiletries and an extra pair of shoes, but I definitely didn’t stick to this method for this trip!

I pulled the following items the night before we left:

Can you guess which items I wore on repeat?

From left to right:

• 1 green jumpsuit

• 1 black maxi dress

• 1 blue denim shirt

• 2 striped shirts (blue, pink)

• 2 blouses (blue chambray, plaid)

• 1 black romper

• 1 ivory t-shirt

• 3 tank tops (cropped black for layering, black, white)

• 1 red crochet top

• 1 navy mini dress (made before I left)

• 1 pair of grey pants

• 3 scarves (large navy, grey necktie - not shown, long green silk - not shown)

• 3 swimsuits (2 black, 1 colorful - contained in the bag hanging from the rack)

• 3 pairs of shoes - brown ballet flats, black Tevas, brown fishermen sandals - and I wore my old Birkenstocks to travel in. My daughter packed my silver Adidas sneakers so I had those to wear as well.

• 2 pairs of shorts (1 white, 1 black).

I took 3 bags to use:

• tote bag

• belt bag to use while running and for more casual days

• small leather bag for dressier occasions

My travel outfit consisted of old black track pants, a black tank top and a cream sweatshirt.

Something I Made

A few days before the trip, I had the urge to make a new dress for the trip - something different than anything that I already had in my wardrobe - a minidress!

And I had just the pattern in mind, and also amongst my sewing supplies…

Common Stitch “Wattlebird Dress”

I used some thrifted navy material from my fabric stash and I made a straight size 8 with no modifications.

I was initially a little disappointed with the fit as the chest area felt too wide but I washed it and then tried styling it and I was pretty happy with the combinations that I was able to come up with.

I enjoy how it looks on it’s own but it also layers well over other items.

I think that I want to try making it again and maybe sizing down 1 more size or making the upper chest section more narrow. As it is now, it feels a little like a cowl neckline when wore on it’s own.

Here are some ways that I envisioned wearing it before I left for the trip:

Unfortunately, once we were on vacation, I wasn’t feeling any of these outfits and that feels like such a waste now that I look at these.

I wish that I had wore the first outfit out to dinner one of the nights!

Everything I Bought

As part of my low buy rules, I excluded things that I would buy on vacation. I was thinking more along the lines of souvenirs at the time I made the rules, but I decided to apply it to whatever I bought.

With that being said, I don’t feel like I went overboard!

My daughter is entering high school in the fall and she’s on the cross-country team, who start their training in the summer. Not wanting to miss out on too much training, she asked me to run with her when we were on vacation - very easy running for her but enough to keep her cardio up.

I did pack a pair of bike shorts to run in but I forgot to pack a sports bra, so on our first day there, we headed to a mall in London, ON and I hit up the Athleta store.

I grabbed an Interval sports bra in navy to match my old bike shorts but I also decided to get a pair of running shorts in red as it’s been such a long time since I’ve bought any new workout clothes, and I also wanted something red to wear to the beach on Canada Day.

These 2 items ended up being really great and I also rediscovered my love of running and decided that I wanted to get back into running again once we got home. So when I found myself back at the mall a few days later, I took advantage and grabbed the same shorts and bra in black.

I also grabbed 2 linen blend tees that were on sale to run in (olive branch and eclipse).

My new running kit - it feels nice to have some new items that I’m excited to run in!

I will also use the t-shirts and the shorts for everyday outfits, which feels like a good segue into the next section.

Outfits I Actually Wore

Most worn - This was hands down my favorite outfit that I wore and I have continued to wear it now that we’re home - I’m pretty sure my family is sick of seeing it!

The blue/white striped shirt was a June low-buy purchase and it’s become my favorite thing to wear. I like to only do up a few essential buttons and let the shirt casually hang open over my new running shorts.

A pair of sneakers and my belt bag feel like the perfect way to finish off this outfit that feels casual and cool and perfectly comfortable!

Best for really hot days - I debated getting rid of this jumpsuit at the end of last summer but I’m glad that I put it back in storage - it’s the perfect hot weather item and I love wearing it layered over a black high neck crop top with a pair of strapy sandals and a tote bag.

I wore this for walking along the boardwalk and popping into shops and stopping for ice cream to eat on the beach.

Best for the beach - my first day at the beach was on Canada Day and after running in these shorts in the morning, I layered them over my bathing suit for the walk to the beach. I ended up pairing them with my pink striped shirt and I don’t hate how it turned out.

This continued to be my beach outfit because even though I brought 2 other suits, I only wanted to wear this one!

Best for running errands - when I was with my mom, I helped her with some decluttering and also some other things that she wanted to take care of while I was there. I found this outfit to be great for running around and also working in the house.

It’s a go-to warm weather outfit for me that I’ll be repeating forever - long black maxi dress layered over a crop top with a different neckline, paired with sandals and a tote bag.

Best for dinner on a hot evening - our friends celebrated their wedding anniversary while we were on vacation with them, so we left our teens on their own for the evening and we went out to a nice restaurant for dinner.

It’s a restaurant that we’ve been to before but it’s gotten new ownership over the past year and the menu had changed a lot. It was still good but I don’t think I’d go back in the future - you know how it’s hard to accept when you love something and you’re excited about it only to find out that it’s changed pretty drastically?

It was really warm so I went with this romper that I recently rediscovered. I bought it around 10 years ago at Target and I wore it quite a bit at first but eventually decided to declutter it, but into a container for my daughter for when she was older.

Recently, as I cleaned out our storage room, I came across it and decided to give it another try and I’ve been enjoying wearing it again this summer! I thought about wearing it with my ballet flats but I went with my Tevas instead and my small black leather handbag.

Best for a walking on the beach on a chilly evening - it’d been raining earlier in the day and there was a cool breeze off the water so I was happy to have brought a pair of pants and this sweatshirt. I threw on my old Birkentocks so that I could walk barefoot.

This trip was definitely a walkup call to finally replace these sandals - they ended up rubbing at both of my arches so I had to be careful when I wore them.

Items I Didn’t Wear

In total, excluding jewelry and what I wore to travel in, I packed 29 items. I ended up not wearing 15 of those items:

• denim shirt

• 2 blouses

• ivory t-shirt

• white tank top

• red crochet top

• navy mini dress

• 3 scarves

• 2 swimsuits

• ballet flats

• 2 pairs of shorts

Out of everything I brought, I wore (and re-wore) 14 items, plus the black shorts that I bought, so 15 items in total, which is what I typically pack when I travel.

Lesson learned!! 😆

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What is your packing style? Do you overpack, or do you bring just the perfect amount?

I definitely think I’m more conscientious when we fly somewhere with the limited carryon capacity and go a little overboard when we drive 😅

Also, thank you for you patience while I took a little break. I really struggle with creativity in the summer but this break was good to get the creative juices flowing again and I have lots of things that I want to share. With that being said, I’m always open to any ideas that you have, so if something pops into your head that you’d love to read a newsletter about, drop them in the comments or send me a DM/email - I’d love to hear from you!