How To Pack Light For A Weekend Away

York Train Station

Last weekend I went on a girly trip to York with two of my friends, Danielle and Amelia, who I went to Uni with. We went to Uni in York and try meet up as much as we can, this time was a celebration of Amelia’s graduation!

Here’s my guide to packing light and making sure you only take the essentials.

Packing Prep

First off, I always start by deciding what we’re going to be doing each day. Once we’ve come to a conclusion, I then start planning my outfits. If you’re unsure what the weather’s going to be like, I suggest checking that first so you know what kind of outfits you’ll need. I went for 3 days, Friday – Sunday, and knew the weather was going to be rainy with possible snow, so I needed:

An outfit for travelling in (obviously I don’t need to pack this but it saves time on the day of your journey), an outfit for Friday night, an outfit for Saturday day and one for night, and an outfit to travel home in on Sunday.

In order to make the most out of the space in my case, I decided to wear leggings and boots to travel in both there and back. This means I only needed to pack a top for the last day because I was already wearing half of it on the way there!

Once you’ve decided your clothes, it’s time to make a list. I actually make two or three lists, one with all my clothing items and outfit pieces on (including extra bags, socks, underwear and jewellery), another with toiletries and then one for extras (headphones, chargers, etc).

Lets Get Packing

Shoes:

I pack shoes first as they’re heaviest so should be on the bottom. If you’re worried they might dirty your clothes, you can wrap them in bags.

Clothes:

Next I roll all my clothes up, this is a tip my mum taught me, it saves space and reduces creases. Think of the case standing up, I put clothes in the top half of my case. This is because, if you put them on the bottom and heavier things on top, the heavier things will squash the clothes down.

I put my underwear/socks/tights into the front compartment of my bag to keep them all in one place.

Toiletries:

I pack all my toiletries and make-up into this bag and try to take as many travel-sized items as possible. I use this little tin (shown on the side of my case) for storing some cotton buds, hairgrips and cotton pads. Only take as many as you need and then a couple extra. What I mean by this is; I’m going for two nights so know I’ll need four cotton pads, but I’m taking six just in case. I'm not going overboard and taking a full packet though.

A good tip is to decant some of your products. The lid on my moisturiser has gone missing so I’ve squeezed some into a little pot. You can do this with a variety of products to save some room.

Always remember to utilise your space as well as possible. For example, my heels take up a lot of room, but there are gaps in between them. In here I fit my hairbrush and small jewellery case (as shown above). If you plan to pack full sized toiletries, these can often fit inside shoes or be rolled up in clothes, also saving space and keeping them secure.

Extras:

Check on the hotel website what the rooms include. More often than not, you won’t need to take towels so don’t worry about making room for these. A lot of hotels also provide hairdryers in your room but these can be, for want of a better word, rubbish, and also sometimes painful (I’ve had my hair caught in a few before!). Therefore, if you want to take your own hairdryer I highly recommend getting a travel sized one such as the Ego Gold Travel Set, which I reviewed here. I probably won’t take a hairdryer, as one of my friends will be, but I’ll be taking my travel straighteners from the same set. They save so much room and work just as well as normal straighteners.

I put my phone charger and headphones in my handbag so I can use them on the train.

And that’s it, we’re done! Packing is a bit like playing Tetris, you just have to put the pieces where they fit together best.

Happy travels :)

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Becky
XO

Three Ways To Wear Long Dungarees

I recently bought these Long Black Dungarees by Liquor & Poker from Asos (identical ones from Boohoo here). I'd been wanting some for a while, I looked at the blue denim ones, but decided they weren't for me so eventually took the plunge and went for black. They only had a size 10 left so I bought them and hoped for the best as I can sometimes be a 12 on the bottom. When they arrived I liked them and they fit but I wasn't 100% sure on them (I thought I maybe looked a bit too much like a painter and decorator...), but now I really love them and I've come to realise how amazingly versatile they are!

I decided to make this post as I think a lot of people might be wary of buying dungarees for fear they won't suit them, or they won't get enough wear out of them, as that's exactly what I thought. Hopefully this might help you decide whether to buy some or not, or if you already own some, give you some quick outfit ideas. 

Outfit 1: Everyday Casual

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Miss Selfridge Crop Top (similar) // Miss Selfridge Necklace // Forever 21 Bag (similar)// Steve Madden Shoes

I like the look of long sleeved crop tops with dungarees as it breaks up the outfit a bit by giving a flash of flesh on the waist. These Steve Madden slip on's are perfect for the cold damp weather, the keep my feet dry and warm throughout the autumn/winter seasons. 

Outfit 2: Winter Layering

H&M Scarf (similar) // New Look Sleeveless Jumper // River Island Boots (similar) // Apple Watch

I love layering and dungarees are perfect for this! Throw a jumper on underneath them with an oversized scarf over the top and you're good to go. Pair with your favourite boots and you'll be ready to tackle the cooler autumn days. If you want to wear a sleeveless jumper, like I have here, but are cautious about your arms getting cold. Make sure you wear an oversized scarf because they can often double up as a cape or shawl so you'll never get caught out. 

Outfit 3: Going Out Out

Miss Selfridge Embellished Top // TK Maxx Clutch (similar) // New Look Heels (similar)

You might not immediately think of dressing up dungarees, but they look perfect with heels and an embellished top like this one I got in the sale at Miss Selfridge recently. I like the all-black look for a night out, I feel it makes the dungarees look more night-time appropriate and classy. However, if you're more into colour, you could easily inject some in there with a pair of bright heels and/or a colourful clutch.

Becky

XO

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How To Save Your Suede Shoes With One Little Tool

So I was having a bit of a clear out and I found out a pair of suede heels that I don't wear anymore so decided I was going to try and sell them on Depop. They were a bit worn and scuffed and needed sprucing up a bit. I asked my Mum if she had any ideas and she told me to try a suede brush. To cut a long story short, it worked amazingly, so much so that I went and used it on all of my other suede shoes. 

Today I pulled out this pair of heels and thought they were beyond hope, but as you'll soon see, they now look as good as new! So here's how to get your old looking heels and shoes back to their former glory.

What you'll need:

• Worn/Scuffed Suede Shoes
• Suede Brush 

This is the suede brush I used on my heels. It's nothing fancy, just some brass wire bristles on a wooden handle. You can get one similar here and they aren't expensive at all.

Once you've got your brush, you want to grab your shoe and hold it firmly so it won't slip out of your hand. I opted to put my hand inside mine as this allowed me to hold the shoe steady. When you have hold of your shoe, get brushing.

Tips:

• I find that swirling the brush in small circular motions works well.
• Brush 'against the grain', if your scuff is horizontal, brush vertical.
• Don't be afraid to be quite rough.
• Don't give up, it may take a good few minutes to get the desired result.

A scuff occurs when something has scrapped down the side of your shoe and, effectively, flattens the suede down. What using a brush does is fluff the suede back up. 

Before:

This is what my shoe looked like before using the suede brush. These scuffs were quite deep and at one point I didn't actually think they were going to come out.

After: 

This is the end result! As you can see the scuffs are invisible. The area where I've used the brush looks slightly difference to other areas of the shoe, but once you brush round the edges and flatten it out, it looks as good as new.

I hope this helps some of you, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below!

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Becky
XO