Make Your Own Scrunchies!

Right before we left for Portugal I decided I wanted to make some European-ish accessories. I'm talking the day before we left. I love the look of a scarf tied around a pony-tail, but a lot of times the scarf will slip off. So I thought a scarf-like bow on a scrunchie would be perfect. We saw some scrunchies at Forever 21, or maybe it was H&M, a few days before, and I couldn't believe that scrunchies were coming back. But something about the bow makes them a little more acceptable to me. I had this red fabric forever just waiting to be helpful in making something cute. I think it did it's job well!
I made a video showing you how to make your own bow scrunchie as I think it's easier to watch it happening rather than reading how to do it.
We hope you enjoyed this post and will experiment with making your own scrunchies! If you plan to do so, please pin the image below.

xo, Savannah

12 Tips For Your First Trip Abroad

Traveling is a fun adventure that allows you to explore a world outside of your own. However, there are many things to think about before you travel to another country. Done the right way, you can set yourself up for success as soon as you land. After a few trips of our own, we have compiled a list of things that will make your life easier on your first trip abroad.

1. Buy travel insurance. Besides the fact that having insurance will give you peace of mind, you'll want it in case a flight gets canceled or your luggage gets lost. It can also cover things like insurance for your rental car- just make sure you read the fine print.

2. Order money from your bank ahead of time. Some banks will let you withdrawal other country's money without an extra fee, so check to see what they will charge. You can avoid ATM fees and constantly-changing exchange rates if you get cash before you leave the country. Depending on the country, it may be cheaper just to use an ATM. Just do you research and figure out the best fit for you before you leave.

3. Bring a cross body bag that zips or locks shut. When you are walking around a new city, you need a way to keep your belongings safe and right by your side. Don't bring a bag that is open on the top. If you decide to use a backpack, just make sure you wear it in the front when you are in crowded places. But whatever you do, use something that at least has a zipper.

4. Purchase plug converters for the country you are going to. Check to see if your destination country has different plugs that what your home country uses. If they do, you'll want to buy a couple to take with you. You can buy converters right on Amazon. Make sure you check that the converters you are buying work for your specific country- there are a lot of different plugs out there!

5. Find out the country's emergency code/number. This isn't 911 everywhere you go. But you'll want to know this before you go. If you happen to need to call the emergency number, you won't want to have to look it up first.

6. Find out where your Embassy is. This is just good practice. Maybe we watch too much Homeland, but being prepared for the worst is never a bad thing.

7. Make copies of your passport. Leave one at home and keep one with you on your trip- in a separate place from your original passport. When you get home you can shred these or store for your next trip.

8. Do you research on tipping. How much should you be tipping in your destination country? This is different all over the world- some places don't even tip.

9. Find a couple restaurants and activities that are a must do and then leave all the other time for exploring. When you are in another country, you have to have some flexibility. A lot of the time things won't go according to plan. This is a fact and you'll need to have an open mind to make sure you can roll with it. If there is a restaurant or sight that you desperately want to see, make sure you see those things. Make a reservation. But leave time for exploring. You will find things you love that you just couldn't find in your internet research. In fact, if you are traveling somewhere where a different language is spoken, you probably can't find half of the things there are to do online. Be prepared to walk around and stumble upon things you've never heard of.

10. Drink only water for the 48 hours before you leave. And the whole time you are traveling. Hydration is so important when it comes to long flights and travel. And while you are at it, buy a box of Emergen-C to take with you. Start drinking it two days before your flight. We didn't drink Emergen-C every day on our trip, just the days leading up to flying through the day after arriving. The last thing you want is to get sick on vacation, so stay hydrated!

11. Add an international plan to your cell phone. Or make a plan to get a pay-as-you-go local phone. If you haven't done this, you'll end up with a hefty phone bill even with just one google search. Plans are different for every country, so you'll have to call your carrier to figure out pricing. Just make sure your settle this before you go!

12. Pack a foldable reusable bag. I can't tell you how important this bag was on our trip! In other countries they charge for plastic bags, as they should. So having your own bag will not only save you a little cheddar, it's way sturdier than any plastic bag. But we ended up needing to use this bag for more than just groceries. We used it for carrying giant water bottles that we bought when we were walking around, groceries, goods we purchased from vendors on the street, camera accessories, and even to move stuff around in our luggage for different flights. You can't even imagine all the ways that this little bag could be useful. It's so universal. It's takes up little space and will save your butt more than once.

I'm sure we will come up with many more tips when we travel again, but if you follow all of these, you will be set up for success. Do you have any travel tips you'd like to share? Leave them in the comments below.

And if you liked this post and would like to see more like it, please pin the image below on Pinterest!

xo, Savannah

How To Pack For 2 Weeks In A Carry-On

Why on earth would someone want to pack for 2 weeks in a carry-on? I would have asked the same thing until I did it myself. But on our trip to Portugal we did just that. We thought long and hard about making this decision and in the end I'm really glad we packed in a carry-on. We moved around so much on our trip and were often stuck for hours between hotels/Airbnbs- having anything bigger than a carry-on would have been a nightmare. Many times we had to carry our luggage up and down stairs too (think 4th floor walk-ups in Lisbon and down to the underground subway). But the biggest factor was cost. We flew on 8 planes and paying to check baggage on all those flights just wasn't an option.

Here are 9 tips if you are trying to pack for a long period of time in a carry-on suitcase:

1. Plan your outfits + stick to neutrals. This is an obvious tip, but we all know that towards the end of packing you just start throwing things in your suitcase. There is no room for this when all you have is a carry-on. If you have a beautiful top that you love but aren't exactly sure what pants it works with- don't take it. Make sure that each piece you have works with exactly what you have. It's a balancing act. The best thing to do is stick to all neutrals. (Or things that are easily interchangeable.) Almost everything I brought was black and that is the easiest way to go. I mean, you could bring all yellow things and it would be way better than bringing pieces in 10 different colors.

2. Only take 2 statement pieces. Having a statement piece like a floral or polka-dot top will make your wardrobe for the trip seem a little more lively. If you don't care about that, you can definitely bring 0 statement pieces. But just set yourself a limit. Casey and I knew we'd be taking photos of each other so we definitely wanted some piece of interest for that.

3. Take less than you think you need, and then take even less. If you are like us, you wear the same basic pieces. There's no need to think you will want to dress any differently when you travel. When you have all your outfits planned out, you probably could handle taking some things out. You need less that you think you do. I bought this really cute top specifically for our trip and I almost did not bring it. It required an undershirt and although it was thin and took up little space, I was on the fence of whether or not I thought I'd actually wear it. I chose to bring both pieces and guess what? I never wore it. A good rule of thumb- if you are ever on the fence about a piece, leave it at home.

Bring minimal shoes. For our trip a stylish sneaker and our hiking boots could've worked for the whole trip. We did bring some nicer comfortable shoes though, and we used them a lot. Don't bother with heels or having a variety to choose from. A sneaker and a nice/comfortable shoe like this one will usually do the trick.

And when it comes to makeup, only bring the necessities. There's something about traveling that makes you think you will want to wear or try new things when it comes to clothing and makeup. Every single time I travel I never wear half the makeup I bring. Bring the absolute bare necessities. We didn't wear any makeup for the last week of our trip because we were mainly exploring out in nature.

4. Leave (most) toiletries at home. Bring things that are not interchangeable like a travel size of your favorite dry shampoo. Leave things like shampoo and conditioner as your hotel will most likely have these. If you are really short on space, don't pack any toiletries at all. You can always buy these things when you get where you are going.

5. Use Space Saver Bags. These are a lifesaver for things like bulky sweaters and coats.You have to use these sparingly and wisely as they can become more of a pain if you don't have the right things for them. You don't want to stuff these bags full, just use them to condense a few things.

6. Wear your biggest item on the plane. This is pretty self-explanatory- If you are having to pack boots or a winter coat, save space by wearing those pieces.

7. Join forces and coordinate who is bringing what. This won't work if you are traveling solo, but if you are traveling with a friend, plan to share some things. Only one of you needs to bring a curling iron. Figure out who needs to bring what, but both of you don't need to bring 2 of a lot of things. Every little thing you can share counts.

8. Book a hotel or Airbnb that has a place to wash your clothes. If you are traveling for 2 weeks, you are more than likely going to need to wash something- especially if you are trying to pack in a carry-on. If you can't stay in a place with a washing machine, then do like we did and hand wash your clothes. Whatever you do figure out a way to wash your clothes so you can bring half the amount of clothes you'd need for 2 weeks. Bring enough clothes for a week and wear them twice.

9. Utilize a backpack or purse in addition to your suitcase. On most planes you can bring two items- your suitcase and a personal item. This is usually how you carry your valuables like laptops and cameras. But you can also fit things like your makeup, laptop, and chargers in there.

10. Pack socks and underwear in nooks. If I'm traveling in a big suitcase, I like to keep things like underwear and socks all together in a packing cube. But there's no room for that in a carry-on. One packing cube takes up 1/4 of the suitcase. Roll these things up and stuff them into the little spaces that nothing else can fit in- like inside your shoes.

Most of these tips are great for packing in any sized suitcase! But if you are packing in a carry-on, you will want to strictly adhere to these.

If you liked this post and would like to see more like it, please pin the image below on your Pinterest!

xo, Savannah
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