the art of packing

happy wednesday, friends! my family is jumping on a plane tomorrow morning (the first flight ever for my three nieces) and flying to washington, d.c., to visit my brother for the long holiday weekend.

it’s been 13 years since i was there, so i’m looking forward to seeing the city with a new appreciation. eric and i are also planning to meet up with tania and megan while we’re there! and if we have time i want to sneak into zara, madewell and anthropologie :)

confession: i have proven myself in the past few years to be a terrible packer. it’s not that i forget stuff…it’s that i’m unrealistic with how much i need and completely overpack. five pairs of shoes for three days? sounds right to me. i also typically wait until the last minute and then resort to just throwing in a bunch of things until my suitcase barely zips.

well, i vowed to make some changes this time so eric and i can share a bag (honestly, he’s just as bad as i am! we need an intervention!).

some things i tried to take into account:

• the weather: i don’t want to jinx us, but the weather looks awesome. according to weather.com we’ll see 58-63 degree temps and sunshine. sounds like layers to me, so i’m cozy outside but don’t overheat inside.
• the itinerary: with a prego (me!) and three little girls under the age of 5, we’ve planned a fairly relaxed trip. still, there will be lots of walking involved. comfort head-to-toe is necessary.

i want to be able to sleep as much as i can to keep my energy and health, so i’m only packing grab-n-go outfits! i’ve preselected head-to-toe ensembles (including underwear, socks, shoes and any accessories) and grouped them together so i don’t have to think about it when we get out there.

if all goes as planned, you’ll see this outfit in a post next week!

question: what shoes do you wear when you’re a tourist? i admit this is a downfall of mine…i’d rather choose my shoes based on what goes with my outfit than wear tennis shoes. is there a happy medium?