We would need to pack hiking clothes that would keep us warm in the highlands, which get down to 32 degrees fahrenheit at night this time of year, and then for the jungle climate of the Amazon, which gets up to 95 degrees fahrenheit. Moreover, there were weight restrictions for our luggage for both parts of our trip and we wanted to do carry-on for our long flight down to Peru. Backpacks it was, and we each managed to pack a sleepingbag as well as 10 days worth of clothes, both cold weather and warm weather, into each bag. Granted, we wore all our clothes more than once and did some hand-washing along the way. We also knew that we’d be taking infrequent and usually cold showers while traveling, so we were ready to be pretty dirty by the end.

Our packing lists ended up something like this:

And our bags ended up looking something like this:

LJ and I had a fantastic time despite the cold winds and rain that blew in from Argentina and Brazil which dropped the temperature around 15 – 20 degrees lower than normal for most of the trip. On the way from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo we had the opportunity to go to a remote mountain village where local women put on a display of their gorgeous handwoven goods. Along with two guides, 18 porters, and 11 other travelers, we successfully hiked the Inca Trail from kilometer 82 to the end at Machu Picchu and saw some amazing vistas of the craggy peaks in the Sacred Valley.

During our stay in the jungle we went on day and night hikes to see monkeys, parrots, macaws, alligators, snakes, tarantulas and many other birds and bugs. We also climbed up the 10-story canopy tower to catch a sunset.


LJ and I had joked at the beginning that this trip was really going to be a test of our friendship, and we definitely passed with flying colors. It was a fabulous trip overall and thanks to LJ for being a truly excellent traveling partner!

If you’d like more specific info about the trip please email us and I’ll get back to you. Please don’t forget to register for the Tom Bihn giveaway before midnight on Sunday!

L.

Sources:

• Tunic: Forever 21, via consignment store
• Dress: Forever 21
• Belt: thrifted
• Sandals: Old Navy

End Notes:

I’m being told that the seventies are back, so I guess I’m being trendy though, quite frankly, comfort was foremost on my mind when assembling an outfit for a day spent driving. Yesterday little e. and I headed down south for husband N.’s sister’s graduation (got all that?), and I knew that seven plus hours in the car meant that anything with a waist band was out of the question. Enter the maxi dress worn as a skirt, layered undered a dolman tunic.

I’m loving this subtle analogous combination of smokey navy with rich purple (and yellow sandals thrown in for occasional peeks of fun). But since everything is jersey, it’s like wearing really sophisticated pajamas. I can get behind that.

(P.S. I’ve been traveling a lot this semester, both alone and with my family, and I’ll have a few tips on family packing over the weekend. Stay tuned…)

By land, by air or by sea, whether you are traveling over a school break, gearing up for a summer trip, or just found out you’ll be spending a research year abroad there are always myriad questions one asks when preparing to travel. What should I pack? What should I wear on the plane/train/boat/car ride? How formal will I need to be? What outwear should I bring? How many shoes will I need? and finally, How on earth am I going to get all this stuff into one bag?? Elizabeth Bishop has a few more philosophical questions in her poem “Questions of Travel”:

Should we have stayed at home and thought of here?
Where should we be today?
Is it right to be watching strangers in a play
in this strangest of theatres?
What childishness is it that while there’s a breath of life
in our bodies, we are determined to rush
to see the sun the other way around?
The tiniest green hummingbird in the world?
To stare at some inexplicable old stonework,
inexplicable and impenetrable,
at any view,
instantly seen and always, always delightful?
Oh, must we dream our dreams
and have them, too?
And have we room
for one more folded sunset, still quite warm?

This is one of my favorite poems, and while I (L.) have no answers for Bishop’s questions, I have compiled a few tips on the more basic travel and packing questions mentioned above.

When it comes to a long weekend, E. is a pro at packing for any occasion or climate it seems. She tackles what to pack for a wedding weekend in Colorado, what to pack for a warm weather weekend, and she even manages to pack for 14 days and three different climates, AND fits it all in one bag!

For a more formal event, like an academic conference, E. suggests bringing a few interchangeable items to mix things up depending on your mood. Of course, it is always nice to know that when you’re going to visit friends, chance are you can borrow things when you get there as well.

As for European get-aways, A. also figured out how to pack for 10-days and four countries all in one bag, and I briefly noted what I like to wear when flying “across the pond” as they say.

As far as packing for a longer stay, S. is by far our expert on not only what to pack for a research year abroad, but also how to pack efficiently for an extended trip. Once you’ve figured out all your interchangeable items S. thoroughly examines the pros and cons of Rolling vs. Bundling in your suitcase.

I hope these posts will be helpful for you lucky ducks who are traveling in the near future… and for those of us who are always planning a trip or two in our dreams!

I’ll leave you with Bishop’s concluding thoughts:

Is it lack of imagination that makes us come
to imagined places, not just stay at home?
Or could Pascal have been not entirely right
about just sitting quietly in one’s room?

Continent, city, country, society:
the choice is never wide and never free.
And here, or there . . . No. Should we have stayed at home,
wherever that may be?

Sources:

• Jacket (below): Zara
• Scarf (below): Burberry (grandmother’s)
• Dress: French Connection
• Shirt: Banana Republic
• Tights: Target
• Shoes: BR

Endnotes:
One last post before I leave spring in London for the dregs of winter back on the East Coast. I did a little birthday shopping this weekend with my sister and this fabulous dress is one of the things that I nabbed while we were wandering around Selfridges. As you all know I love bright colors, but the neon trend was not something that I had embraced yet. Because of the range of neutrals also in this print, the fluorescent pink was just enough of a pop without becoming overwhelming, which at least for me, is the best way to start dipping your toes into new trends.

Because this was a night-time outfit (and hence the indoor pics, sorry!) I layered a long sleeved-T and tights under and finished off with my studded olive flats. For our walk to the pub I cozied up in my grandmother’s scarf and a khaki Zara jacket that I’ve had for ages.

In case you’re in London any time soon – or are lucky enough to live here already – I wanted to include just a few of my favorite spots:

Enjoy!

L.

Sources:

• Long Sleeved T: Splendid via Nordstrom Rack
• T-shirt: concert
• Blazer: Max Studio via Filene’s Basement
• Black Trousers: Ann Taylor
• Pink Boots!: Polo (borrowed from sister)

Endnotes:
Thanks so much to my co-bloggers for their kind words and their rockin’ outfit tributes! You three definitely know me well and pink was certainly the order of the day for a rainy birthday in London yesterday. I love pink. How can you not smile when you’re wearing pink rainboots? Who cares if it’s raining, my boots are hot pink!

I also am wearing one of my favorite T-shirts. Yes, Britney Spears has done some highly questionable things and titling a song “Hit me baby” is definitely not a move in the right direction for women, however, she has done a lot for pop, she shares my affinity for pink, and if nothing else, I can wear this shirt with a certain amount of irony. If you can’t laugh at yourself sometimes, what’s the point, right? Anyway, I love this shirt.

To celebrate my rainy day I went to the graphic art show up at Somerset House, which is also home to one of my favorite museums, the Courtauld Gallery. Pick Me Up did just that and the variety of up-and-coming graphic artists represented was inspiring. Some of my favorites were definitely Jules Julien, Victo Ngai, and Tom Gauld.

But my absolute favorite was Stefanie Posavec, who does graphic representations of novels and literature. The one on the left below shows the first chapters of famous novels charted by sentence length. Each new sentence turns the line 90 degrees and the length of the line is proportional to the number of words in each sentence. Notice how long the lines are in Faulkner (bottom left)! On the right below is her representation of one novel broken down into chapter, paragraph, sentence and finally the fan at the end of each line is a represenation of how many words are in the sentence. The color coding is either the character or the subject depending on what book she’s doing. I’m sorry these images aren’t great, but I really wanted to share her with you all.

Birthday Splash, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Tank: Forever 21
• Skirt: Anthropologie, with birthday money!
• Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell
• Earrings: gift from brothers

End Notes:

I love it when I get to spend my birthday in my favorite place: back home on Oahu with my family. Since arriving a few days ago, I’ve been soaking up the sunshine, helping baby e. explore the new geography, flora, and fauna, and eating a delicious array of local food.

I bought this skirt (and a dress I’ll premiere later) during Anthropologie’s after Christmas sale using some early birthday money. Everything about this skirt — the color, the Japanese doll print, the fullness, the pockets — called to me, and I decided that it was the perfect birthday skirt. Between the skirt, striped tank, and cut-out sandals, the only real accessorizing this outfit needed was the addition of these minuscule origami crane earrings that my brothers gave me this morning.

Thanks for your warm birthday wishes, and a special thanks to L. and A. for their sweet posts and spot-on outfits. L., you’d better not bring that top with you back to Academichic central, otherwise I just might steal it from you! And A., I’m so proud of you for surrendering your waist for a day. You are both so dear to me, and I’m so grateful for your friendship and for this space to be creative together!

Birthday Splash, originally uploaded by academichic.

On the Move, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Scarf: gift from SIL, Chinatown
• Cardigan: Old Navy
• Tank: Old Navy
• Belt: thrifted
• Skirt: Banana Republic Factory
• Tights: Hue
• Shoes: Mia from DSW

On baby e.:

• Cardigan: Anthropologie, gift from a sweet friend
• Pants: Target
• Shoes: Target

End Notes:

All of the chics are still off enjoying time with family, but I thought I’d check in briefly to let you all know that I’ve enjoyed looking at your outfit suggestions created from my limited packing list and they’ve helped to keep me clothed in non-boring outfits since we’ve been in Houston! Thanks!

My days have been filled with cooking (and eating) delicious food, playing “telephone pictionary,” laughing and telling stories, and watching baby e. learn how to slide backwards down carpeted stairs. We’ll be back in the swing of things soon. In the meantime, I hope that many of you have been able to spend equally delightful time with those you love.

24 November 2010 – Barefoot in the Kitchen, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Sweater: Forever 21
• Belt: thrifted
• Maxi dress: Forever 21
• Pear tart: self-made with sisters-in-law

End Notes:

I’m a little surprised that I’m already halfway through this 30 for 30 experience. I’m trying not to fuss over whether or not I’m being creative “enough” or even “fully” utilizing all of my chosen items. Instead, I’m reveling in the creative possibilities of making do with less in ways that suit my changing daily demands and the volatile Midwest weather. Case in point, today my sisters-in-law and I spent most of the day in the kitchen, hiding from the wet, cold weather outside and baking pies for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal. I know it’s only been a few days since I last wore this maxi, but I’m afraid I’m getting a little addicted to its swishy, snuggly coziness for casual fall days.

Anyway, today I’m barefoot in my kitchen, and inordinately proud of this beautiful pear almond tart we made! An early Happy Thanksgiving wish, to our American readers. I hope you are able to be surrounded tomorrow by those you are most thankful for.