Travel Smart

Early on my career I frequently traveled around the country with my boss who was a VP of Marketing at the time.

As a business travel veteran, she insisted that I follow her "School of Travel," and I must admit, it made things easier.

Here are some of her rules and my own tips.

Never bring more luggage than you can carry by yourself in one trip. A woman should be self sufficient. You won't want to rely on the kindness of strangers. leave your luggage unattended, or throw your back out.

If your carrying on all of your luggage, reserve a seat at the back of the plane. The overhead bins near the back are less crowded, and you'll have more chances to find a spot for your luggage.

On a flight home from Boston my seat was in the middle of the plane, but the only available overhead space was in the back. I had to wait for everyone to exit the plane before I could walk back to get my bag.

If you have a lock on your luggage, make sure that code is one that can be read upside down. For example, "6" will look like a "9" upside down.

Go to the bathroom, before the plane boards, and don't leave your friend stuck watching your luggage when the plane is boarding. She might be in a different group that boards sooner than you.

Have a back up for the hotel's wake up call. Whether it's pre-ordering breakfast to arrive or setting the alarm on your cell phone, always have a back up.

Pack your carry on bag as if you will never see your checked luggage again. Because, in fact, you may not. Your luggage could be lost or an unexpected delay may have you sitting in the airport for hours.

For me, this includes, a pashmina wrap, contact solution & case, my glasses, something to read, a snack, a pair of undies, medicine, my iPhone/iPod, phone charger, and toothbrush/paste.

Never put anything in a checked bag, that you think someone might steal. Jewelry, laptop, camera, and other valuables should all go in your carry on.

Carry your passport, even if your flying domestically. Pulling your drivers license out of your wallet at every security checkpoint is a pain. With your passport, you can leave your DL safely in your wallet and keep your passport with your boarding pass.

Plus, it's a back up in case your wallet is stolen or you lose your DL.

Never get on a plane hungry. I made this mistake on the way to Miami one time. My colleague and I were ready for lunch, but thought we'd just eat when we arrived. We didn't expect our plane would be sitting on the runway for hours. We almost died.

Always carry a snack and bottle of water. This will save your life if your stuck on the runway somewhere. According to today's rules, you can't bring your own liquid through security, but just remember to buy one at the airport for your bag.

Stash some cash. Everyone who knows me knows that I NEVER carry cash--except when I travel. If your bank freezes your accounts due to suspected fraud while you're away, you'll be SOL if all you have is plastic. Also, you'll need to tip anyone who carries your luggage for you.

Spread out your cash. If you're carrying a lot of cash, never put it all in your wallet. Spread it out between the pockets in different bags. That way, if one bag is stolen, you will still have some cash stashed in other places.

Let you bank know you'll be traveling. Before the Happy Husband (HH) and I went to Belize, I made sure to call my credit cards to let them know that there would be some unusual activity in a foreign country, so they wouldn't freeze the accounts.

Be a "Pin Up Girl" at the Beach

Sometimes the best fashion inspriation doesn't come from Vogue--it comes from real people.

Over the weekend, Pirate Girl and I ran across another stylish way to jazz up a swimsuit; simply pin on a broach.

Broaches are a smart way to give a regular swimsuit several unique looks simply by changing the pin.

Forget practicality, you can just take the pin off before you get in the water. Or better yet, find a swimsuit that already has a bauble attached like the one in this picture.

Obviously, you'd want to find a broach that's inexpensive and costumey. Any shop that sales vintage jewelry should have tons of broaches, giving you lots of great options for spicing up your swimwear.

DIY Bookmarks

Genius!

Recycle your old paint chips to make a super cute bookmark!

I found this idea on Care2.com.

I'll be doing this with all of the paint chips I've collected over the years for colors that the HH vetoed, like purple for the living room and lime green for the bedroom.

Maybe he was right about that, but now I can enjoy the colors on a much smaller scale.

Best Dressed: Swimsuits & Accessories

I can always count on Pirate Girl to make a fashion statement at the lake (or the Texas Hamptons, as I like to imagine it).

And this last Memorial Day weekend was no exception.

Arriving at the dock rockin' big, dangly, gold earrings and a couple of bangle bracelets, she immediately reminded me of how great accessories look with swimsuit.

(It didn't hurt that she was also carrying a bottle of champagne.)

Adding some costume jewelry to your swimwear ensemble is such an easy way to look chic when you're sweaty.

Practical? Well, maybe not always, but it looks so great.

I proudly proclaim Pirate Girl Best Dressed Lake Texoma!

Style Icon: Audrey Hepburn

In my world, there is no bigger style icon than Audrey Hepburn. Here are some her looks that I love. Any one of them would still look great today.

- Black dress
- Orange coat
- All black
- Black skinny pants
- Ballet flats
- Big sunglasses

The good news is that all of these looks can easily be replicated on a budget!

Farmer-tastic

Testing out our skills as hip "locavoirs," my mom and I made a trip to the local Farmer's Market on Sunday.

Thankfully, she resisted the urge to dress in theme.

There's always such a nice selection of produce and meat, as well as plants. Although we didn't see anything in the dairy section, much to my cheese-loving dismay.

There was an entire shed dedicated solely to the sale of local produce. And that was our primary destination.

Booth after booth was manned by gregarious, young farm hands with thick East Texas accents.

As I strolled by, one took a glance at me, then hollared to his buddy, "biiiiiiiiiiig lemons,"--which, I suppose, is more subtle than "biiiiiiiiiiig melons."

(In the land of big Texas hair and big, fake boobs, no one has ever called my "lemons" big. I guess that just proves that they're not from 'round here.)

Anyway, I made it home with a nice, little bounty of fresh, local goodies, with the best of intentions of not letting them rot in my cabinet (like last time.)

Biggest Waste of Paper--EVER

In this day 'n' age is there a bigger waste of paper (and trees for that matter) than phone books? I argue "no."

These big, heavy books exemplify the waste of days gone by. And I don't like being reminded.

Every time I get a yellow-paged, cluttertastic waste-of-space dropped at my door, I shake my head as I drop it into the recycling bin.

Except for today.

Today, I decided that I wanted my address this piece of junk head on, and tell AT&T that I want my address off their list.

And that's where my adventure began.

AT&T has created the perfect system for avoiding these calls. It's the cul de sac of corporate avoidance. They are well practiced in this area.

(To be fair, their profits depend on the wide reach of their distribution. But it's only ethical to allow people to easily remove their names from the list.)

First, I went online, and sent a message--which I'm sure will go directly into the "trash folder" of some inbox that no one checks.

After calls to at least four different numbers and enough runaround that would make AT&T proud, I finally reached their distributor, DBA, who took my information to remove me from the list.

To stop receiving AT&T Yellow Pages, call (800) 792-2665.

I'm not completely confident that I won't trip over a phone book at my door in another six months, but it's worth a try.