for Travel Archives

Want A Different Way to Pack? Start With Sandals – Ellen Backstrap Sandals by Keen

March 14, 2025

Sometimes, you're inspired by something that might not speak to many people. That's fine - you're one of a kind, and your inspiration will be unique!

How about these?

I didn't find all of these colors readily available right now in summer clothing, but it's always good to know colors to keep in mind...

Our heroine's dashing off for a quick weekend somewhere casual - and the weather promises to be unusually warm for March! It can happen - yesterday was shirtsleeves weather in Chicago...

So she's driving off like this:

It's very likely that they will go out for dinner - somewhere nice, but not stuffy or prim... Otherwise, she expects to walk and look out over the water, or to sit, and look out over ... View the Post

A Weekend Away? Start With Art – Abstraction Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

March 12, 2025

Remember our heroine from January, who was traveling into the city to go to a ballet matinee? Her inspiration painting is this luscious wonder:

Her wardrobe is solidly based upon blue, and this is her preferred color palette:

Friday afternoon... she's working from home. Wearing something... comfortable.

"Put on something pretty - I've got EXCELLENT tickets for tonight's opera!"

"I thought they were sold out???"

"Yup, but my boss has tickets, and she can't make it. She knows how much we love opera, and she's GIVING them to us..."

"celebratory noises..."

"I will be home in just a bit, so I can change clothes; we'll drive into the city and stay over 'til Sunday..."

She knows exactly what she's ... View the Post

Ready to Pretend That It’s Spring? The Marion Bartoli scarf by Echo

February 21, 2025

If you find any errors send me a note or leave a comment; I was on the phone with the Internal Revenue Service today for 90 minutes, and I'm not fully recovered!

With weather like we've been having recently - at least in my neighborhood - it's not a bad idea to pretend that it's already spring. Just don't go outdoors in a sundress, and you should be fine...

The colors in this scarf help get me in that frame of mind:

I didn't put a neutral color in our color wheel, because I suspect that almost any neutral would be lovely with these:

Our heroine and her sweetheart are going somewhere warm for a long weekend. Well, it should be warm. Unless it's not. But they're going to go, no matter what!

You ... View the Post

Do You Love Timeless Style? The Neo-Classical Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

February 19, 2025

She likes to wear things for years. Decades, if she can manage it! So she's mostly interested in classic garments - those things that nobody can really date, and that always feel familiar, comfortable and easy to wear.

For an upcoming business trip - short, but demanding - she's starting with her new bracelets:

Although she could use gray as her dark neutral, this trip she's going with black!

Partly because she knows that she's going to be cold in transit, and she wants to wear her flannel suit:

She only needs one additional "business" outfit, after she breaks the ice and meets everyone the first day. So she opts for a skirt and sweater - still warm, still business appropriate:

As ... View the Post

Love Classic Prettiness? Start With a Scarf – The Wendy Hollender scarf

February 17, 2025

So if you didn't get all of the pretty things you wanted for Valentine's Day, take a look at this beauty:

I chose pink and green as accent colors, but you wouldn't want to miss the plum, or the orange...

Our heroine is off for a long weekend with someone she loves. They have some dressy things planned, as well as a day or two of just wandering and being together. No big, complicated, stressful agenda for our heroine!

So her dressiness level is all over the place, from classic chinos to a lace-trimmed top! Pretty jewelry and a lovely bag are coming along too!

The green top feels a bit like an outlier, as does the striped tee shirt, but our heroine really wants to avoid overdoing the ... View the Post

Do You Love Deep, Rich Jewel Tones? The Baroque Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 21, 2025

Do you love the rich, classic colors of precious gems? A little ruby, a few emeralds, maybe a sapphire or two?

This bracelet is ALL about those beautiful colors!

A pretty classic outfit takes on a new feeling with some velvet loafers, a brooch stolen from the angels, and your new bracelet:

Burgundy and navy are classic cool-weather colors - add some pretty earrings, a lovely scarf and timeless loafers:

This late in the winter (well, in the winter clothing season!), it's hard to find forest green, but it's always worth searching!

Maybe your life suggests that you should have a dress! Or another piece of green clothing? And some amazing jewelry is never a bad ... View the Post

Want a Statement Color Palette? Start With Art – Icarus by Lee Krasner

January 10, 2025 The Reluctant Traveler

We think that you should go on this site visit, because the Superintendent says that you two have never met..."

WHAT kind of chocolate-frosted nonsense is this? She worked with the Superintendent for a half a day, at the end of the LAST site visit, drafting the recommendations for update and next steps. They sat at a table together for hours...

Still, if they say go, she goes. This time, she's going to make just a bit of a bright statement with her travel capsule wardrobe, starting with some accessories for her travel outfit:

Nothing inappropriate - but maybe the Superintendent will remember her this time?

If you've got to do business travel in January in the Northern ... View the Post

When Your Color-Scheme Doesn’t Happen – Start With Art – Abstraction Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

January 8, 2025

"I've got tickets for the ballet matinee on Saturday!

We can go downtown Friday night, have dinner, go to the ballet on Saturday and then have dinner AGAIN, and then come home after brunch on Sunday..."

She can manage this - it won't take much for clothing... Something for Saturday that's dressy but comfortable, and something Sunday for brunch and the ride home...

And she's dreaming of packing a soft, water-colored, shades of blue and green travel capsule wardrobe!

The ride downtown is easy - a navy "suit" with her "glacial teal" tee shirt, and her stunning scarf...

Her navy skirt is perfect for this kind of adventure - it's soft and comfortable. And she has a lovely pink sweater that will be ... View the Post

Last-Minute Packing? Start With Art – The Annunciation by Jay DeFeo

December 27, 2024

When the phone rang, she knew...

"We need you to come in for the weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. We need coverage for the full twelve hours each night..."

At least she doesn't need to wear a uniform, but that almost makes it harder, at the very last minute!

Deep breath, remember what's important...

And then figure out what's clean!

She channels one of her favorite paintings, and decides that she's going to just wear neutrals. Keep it simple, low-key, and focus on her support role...

She won't really have to go outside - they've got a spare room for her in the facility. Although she will almost certainly take a few minutes to walk outside, every now and then...

She packs a ... View the Post

Want Something Pretty? Start With a Scarf – The Artiquel Scarf by Artifact.

December 18, 2024

Sometimes, you see something that just makes you happy. If you keep thinking about that thing... six hours later?... you might want to listen to your heart!

That's my feeling about this scarf; the minute I saw this, I knew I wanted to share it with you all here:

What an interesting image - dill? Some sparse hydrangeas? And artichokes? What do you think?

Of course, these colors are difficult to find...

Our heroine knows that she's going to struggle to find the soft accent colors - the green and purple are QUITE elusive. But she also knows that she can wear this scarf with her neutral grey, or she could look for a different green like soft olive. Or use beige as her neutral. There are always ... View the Post

Feeling Bright and Casually Festive? Start With a Scarf – The Trina Turk scarf by Echo

December 16, 2024

These are NOT traditional holiday colors, but they're certainly bright and cheery enough to be appealing this time of year:

Of course, this scarf has more colors than our heroine has chosen for her palette—she's pretty happy that in warmer weather, she can choose beige, olive green, or off-white.

Just a Bunch of Friends It's a tradition for all her friends who can't get away to be with family this time of year; they get together at someone's home for a few days, attend a couple of parties, go out to dinner, and go to a movie one evening...

It's not dressy, but it IS festive. She dresses warmly to drive there, although the weather has been pretty moderate. She can't leave until late—she can't leave until ... View the Post

Need a Warm Break? Start with Bracelets – Winter Sky Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 13, 2024

They spend Boxing Day cleaning up. And on the 27th, they're in the car early in the morning, heading SOUTH!

She's dreaming of the Winter Sky, but the sunny winter sky where they go every year for a while - just to avoid the worst of the cold and snow...

This year, she's inspired by these:

She has some clothes down there already - no reason to bring them back north! But she has new colors in mind to expand her existing wardrobe of navy, beige, white and bright green:

It's not bitterly cold where they are right now, so she doesn't have to bundle up all that much the first morning... But she loves feeling cozy for the first day of the drive...

She packs some warm-ish things, and some ... View the Post