Travel Savvy: Packing

I've just finished packing my clothes for Spain and decided to type up this quick post (including some pictures of my suitcase and how I packed). I don't really feel like typing a lot right now, so I'll just get to the point of this ;)

Packing Tip #1: Know the weather.  This one doesn't need much explanation, you've gotta know what you're packing for! Just look up the weather for the time period you're going to spend in the certain place -- it'll only take you a couple of minutes and save you a ton of hassle and luggage space.

Packing Tip #2: Make A List. I love making lists for a reason -- they can help you so much! Just make a list of the things you think you'll need for your trip (including the number of things). The number of clothing items as well as the clothing items themselves that you pack will differ, depending on the time you spend in the certain place. For example, if I'm going to Spain for a month and I plan to swim, hike, and walk around the city, my list will look somewhat like this:

• 10-13 t-shirts
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 3-4 pairs of shorts
• 3-4 skirts
• 2-3 dresses
• 2-3 swimsuit cover-ups
• 2 pajamas
• 2-3 cardigans/sweaters
• 2 pairs of socks
• 2 pairs of tennis shoes
• 1-2 pairs of flip-flops
• 1 pair of flats
• 3-4 bikinis
• 1-2 hats
• *underwear*

Packing Tip #3: Fold. Or roll. Or fold. When it comes to the actual packing process I prefer to fold my clothes. Everyone says how it saves space and time to roll your clothes but, honestly, it never worked for me, so I just fold them -- that way they don't wrinkle and are neatly packed away. I like to lay out all of my clothes that I'm taking on my bed first, then fold them, then pack them away.

Packing Tip #4: Categorize. When you arrange your clothes in your suitcase according to the purpose of the clothing, it is much more comfortable and convenient to unpack when you get to your destination. For example, if you have all of you tops in one stack, all of your bottoms and dresses in another stack, and all of your sweaters/scarfs in a third stack it will be much (and I mean much) easier to unpack or quickly find a clothing piece if needed.

Packing Tip #5: Leave your carry-on...empty. Okay. I'm just gonna put this out there. I love shopping. And, yes, I shop. A lot. So whenever I go somewhere I need extra space in my suitcase and preferably in my carry-on. As you can see by the picture my carry-on is practically empty. Well, on the way back, I can assure you, it will be jam-packed full. So if you're a girl who loves shopping (like moi) make sure to have tons of extra space.

xoxo,

Liz

pics from here ;)

My 10 Summer Essentials

I am totally and utterly obsessed with summer (if you couldn't tell yet). I love it. I look forward to summer all year long -- just everything about it is fun, sunny and hot. And here I came up with yet another list, this time talking about my 10 summer essentials. So, without further ado, I'd like to start.

To kick off the list,

#1: Hawaiian Tropic Tanning Oil SPF 8 Yes, I know, I know, tanning oil is bad for you, skin cancer and yadayadayada. Well, I want to be tan, and this is the only way I can get that tan. I do use sunscreen before I put on the tanning oil, but oh my gosh, let's take a minute to swoon over the wonderful smell of  the product. LOVE. LOVELOVELOVE.

#2: Sunscreen Any kind of sunscreen. I just get any kind that I see first on the rack in Target -- they all work fine for me. I prefer the spray-on kind, though, I find it easier to apply and it dries faster.

#3: White Short Shorts White A&F shorts for the summer are definitely a must-have for me! They accentuate your tan and they are perfect for the hot weather and comfy to run around in!

#4: EOS Lip Balm Chapped lips is the worst thing that can happen to me in the summer. Or any time of the year for that matter. I just hate the feeling of that dry skin on my lips! So I make sure to always keep them nice and moisturized with lip balm. I don't really have a preference, any kind will work for me, but the EOS lip balms are definitely my favorite.

#5: Neon Swimsuit I have 3 letters for this one. O. M. G. Okay, first of all, they're neon. And who doesn't love neon?! And neon is always trendy for the spring and summer. And neon shows of your tan. And neon looks like it's glow-in-the-dark. And...oh, this can go on forever!

#6: A Book While laying out on the beach or by the pool, or on a road trip with your friends the one thing you cannot leave the house without is a book. Well, at least I can't. So this one is definitely an essential for me -- will not go anywhere without it!

#7: Sunglasses Sunglasses can totally change the way you look -- I love them! I don't own many (just 2) but both of them are good quality and expensive, so it's enough for me. *Remember, quality over quantity*

#8: Knit Cover-Up This is perfect for the beach, where it's hot but windy at the same time. The bagginess of the sweater makes it look effortless but cute, and because it's knit it'll save you from the cold wind.

#9: Victoria's Secret Body Splash These. Are. Epic. They smell amazing, they aren't as heavy as perfume and they make you feel so refreshed on a 100+ day (especially if you keep them in the fridge!).  A definite must-have.

And finally,

#10: My Phone This was a no-brainer. My phone is always in my hand, I cannot go anywhere without it! I use it for everything -- pictures, taking notes, Temple Run... :p

Yeshhhhh, so I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!

xoxo,
Liz

What's on my iPhone?

I've always been a tech-y kind of girl... I got my first phone very early (I think I was 5 or 6), which, of course, was a privilege. I remember it being a Motorola, the screen was black and white, and there was only one ringtone. Then I accidentally dropped it and it broke :p. From then on, all of my phones have been Nokia. I know, I know, people make jokes about them and say that they're impossible to break (they really are!) but I just loved them so much! When the first iPhone came out I didn't even think about getting it. I loved my Nokias and I never thought I would go back to any other phone. Then my parents both got iPhones and I hated them. I couldn't type on them at all and I just didn't like anything about them. After that, I was beginning to see more and more people with iPhones, but I still kept my vow to Nokia and I was still strongly agains iPhones. But then, my friend introduced me to Instagram. That's when I started really growing on the iPhone. I borrowed my Mom's iPhone whenever she wasn't using it and I pretty much abandoned my Nokia. After a couple of weeks of using my Mom's iPhone non-stop, my parents decided that it was time I got an iPhone, and I have to say, by that time I really wanted one. So, about a week ago I got my very first iPhone. I got the iPhone 4S (mine is black, I didn't want a white one) and let me tell you, I LOVE IT. I've been using it 24/7! Ok, enough about my phone, I'm going to get to listing the apps on my phone that I have for this moment and telling you guys a little about each one.


1) Facebook
Just the average Facebook app, it does make browsing Facebook much easier on the phone than just using the web version.



2) Twitter
Even though I don't use Twitter, I still stalk people from there, so it's comfy to have the app ;)


3) PicFrame
This is an amazing app for stitching pictures together/making a collage and I use it a lot to post pics on Instagram. You can choose from tons of options of different picture "frames" and the borders of the frame can be different colors and I just love it!


4) Instagram
Hello, my name's Liz, and...I'm an Instagram addict. >.< I can't say enough about this! This app, as I already said, is what sparked my love for iPhones. It's basically an app where you just share your pictures that you can filter through different filters and make them very tumblr-esque. I Instagram every. Single. Day. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I love it!

5) Emoji Free
This app is used by a lot of my friends who have iPhones and it's basically an app that installs a different "language" keyboard with a bunch of little cartoon-y smiley faces and cars and animas and whatnot. It's a very easy and fun way to send smiley faces through texts.

6) Yelp!
Yelp! is a cool app if you don't know your town/city that well or if you're just looking for new places in town. It locates where you are and then shows you different restaurants, bars, cafés, salons, gyms, etc. I live in Russia, so it doesn't work where I live, but when I'll be in America, I think it'll help a lot.

7) Fitness Buddy
This is a good app if you're into working out (like moi). It has tons of great exercise moves for your, lower body, chest, shoulders, back and arms, as well as stretches and cardio. You can keep an exercise log and make your own workout schedule and such... It's kind of confusing and hard to figure out at first, but it gets easy after a while (I still don't know how to use it properly).

8) MyNetDiary
This app is my new obsession. It's like a food log, except it'll calculate your BMI and BMR and it'll tell you how many calories you have to consume a day... It just helps me a lot and if you want to keep a healthy lifestyle this app is for you.

9) Shazam 
Everyone raves about this app and they do for a reason. It is. Amazing. So you know that moment when you're driving in the car or listening to music from the speakers in the gym, and then you hear this song that you really want to get, but you don't know the name of it or the artist? Well, then this app is for you. You record a couple of seconds of the song using the recorder in the app, and it gives you the name of the song, the artist, and the album which the song is from. So helpful!

10) Countdown+
Just your average countdown app. Nothing much I can say about it. It's okay, nit the best, but at least it's free ;)

11) HauteLook
This is for us girls who love bargains. Okay, who doesn't love bargains? I'm sure a lot of you know about the HauteLook website, where everyday there are flash sales for designer brands that are super discounted. Well, this is the same thing, except an app. The convenient thing about the app, though, is that you can choose for it to send you notifications so you know when a certain sale is going on.

12) Hollister
OMG, I can't explain how obsessed I become with Hollister for the summer time! This is basically just an app where you can view some of the bestsellers from Hollister at the moment as well as new items.

13) Abercrombie and Fitch
Same thing as the Hollister app, except it's Abercrombie :p

14) Etsy
Etsy is an amazing online store where you can buy/sell handmade or vintage items. It's amazing, I love to shop there for accessories and cases for my phone. The app is basically just a website viewer for your phone that allows you to view the items more conveniently than on Safari.

15) OPI
Just a nail polish viewer where you can "try on" the different OPI colors on your skin tone and browse the colors.

16) Temple Run
I've been playing this game 24/7 for the past 3 days and my high score is about 750,000 ;) Pretty good for me. I'm sure that you already know this app, so I'm not going to go all into describing that game, basically you just flick the screen and the character runs around and the further you go, the faster the character runs and after a while it gets really hard...

Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what kind of apps you haven your iPhone ;)

P.S. Feel free to follow me on Instagram, my user name is lizzyfurs

xoxo,
Liz

photo from dis awesome website