As you know I enjoy travelling. But I hate packing and unpacking. First, I have a hard time limiting what I pack. I want to have options. What if I run into Mindy Kalig and she thinks I?m funny and asks me to lunch, but I don?t have a pretty patterned dress?

Or what if David Beckham sees me kick a soccer ball in Central Park, admires my form, and asks Scott and me to dinner with Victoria, and I didn?t pack the dress she designed.  All of these things have actually happened to me, in my mind.

Recently, to help me with my packing problem, I decided to buy new luggage. I figured if I had nicer luggage, I would like packing more. Mind you, I have a hard time spending money on luggage because it gets dirty, without fail my lotion, or shampoo leaks out, even though I have taped it, put it in a ziploc, and a school lock on it.  That?s why every time I see someone with Louis Vuitton luggage, I know I give them dirty looks. I can?t help it. I kind of shake my head in judgment, as if to say, ?Really, you can?t find anything else to waste your money on??

Me, I went to Target and bought super cute luggage designed by Orla Kiely.  It has the cutest design, it?s easy to spot on the belt, and I look good pushing it in the airport. But it didn?t break the bank.

After I told my friend Marci about my purchase, she surprised me with my favorite gift thus far…

One of the best thing about girlfriends is that the nice ones, the really good ones, will share their tricks with you. They are not like J Lo, who when asked what her beauty secrets were, she said Oatmeal. That’s it. That’s all she shared. Oatmeal my ass! Unless she rubs it on her ass, and that?s why it?s so good. Wait, do you think that?s what she meant? (will try and get back to you)

Back to Marci. She bought me Ebags.  They come in different colors and sizes, one bag for underwear, one for t-shirts, etc. You can organize your suitcase perfectly, not overpack, know where everything is, and leave most of your stuff in the bags so at the end of the trip it?s easy to pack back up again. Once home, it makes unpacking so much easier. Keep your dirty laundry in a separate bag, and it?s painless.

And if Marci couldn?t do more, she introduced me to something else that has literally changed my life. Ladies, how often do you find the perfect hat? A hat that makes you look so good that random strangers take your picture in the street, a hat that not only protects you from the sun, but gets you better tables at restaurants. A hat that masks your real age, and you are hit on by 38year olds? And then, you pack it in your suitcase, and it?s over. The form is gone. You put it on, and the straw hat is so disfigured, it looks like you?ve spent the night with Bill Cosby.

Well, I now use the most perfect hat case every time I travel,  and when I wear my perfectly shaped wide brimmed hat, really large sunglasses, pucker my lips, and make sharpee tattoos that spell out Shiloh on my arm, I can pass for Angelina Jolie after she’s had a really bad bout of the flu, and hasn?t had any sleep because Brad screams out Jen?s name in his sleep. 

That scenario may also just happen in my mind, but these packing tips are reality… Cute affordable luggage, good packing tools, and possibly, oatmeal on the ass.

Happy Travels.