Hello lovelies, it’s time: I’m off to Sardinia in the morning!
Hopefully I’ll be back with a (responsibly begotten) tan
new shoes
and some pretty pictures 
But for now, it’s packing, packing and more packing. I have a long list of things to bring, including some gifts for my family, special requests of things from Switzerland, German books for Sarah, and of course our vacation wardrobes. I tend to be a bit of an overpacker, but this year I have resolved to chill on vacation and not stress as much, and I want the content of my suitcase to reflect that: I want my wardrobe to encourage me to relax and actually be on vacation.
Tim Gunn has some tips in his book
“Having a narrative is a way to streamline what you are going to bring. If you are going for ‘Urban Sophisticate Visits the South of France’ you will not bring your ‘Hoedown Elegant’ outfits as well.
“The packing theme is also a way to avoid that malady that strikes so many travelers: Aspirational Packing Syndrome. Who knows, we might be invited to that dance at the Albanian Consulate or pressed into last-minute service as an emcee at a silent auction while visiting family in Seattle.”
In my case, I probably shouldn’t pack for cocktail parties with celebrities, since all I’ll be doing will probably be walking on the beach, swimming, outdoor barbecuing with family and friends, taking photos and some shopping.
What should be my packing narrative? “Island Getaway With an Urban Twist”? “Relaxed boho meet Tory Burch”? Or how about “I’ll wear whatever I like and if you don’t like it you can bite me“?
And here it comes, the real reason why my vacations at home become stressful: people have no qualms about telling you you look like crap. You’ll be walking around minding your business, then suddenly you hear a voice: “Elisa, is that you?” You turn around and sure enough it’s an ex-schoolmate/old neighbor/[other person from your past whom you haven't seen in ages] and they say “Mamma mia, it’s been so long!” with a smile, like they are oh so happy to see you, like this chance meeting just made their day. And just when you start relaxing and smiling back, they say something like “Wow, you have gained a ton of weight!” (or if you are a man, chances are they’ll say “Wow, you have lost a lot of hair!”) or something else that completely defies any etiquette manual ever written and just makes you want to punch them in the face then go crawl under a rock.
I wish people would just shut their yap. Listen you harpy, you look like crap too, but I am too polite to say “Holy cow, the years haven’t been kind to you, old friend.” because really, is that what you think when you see someone for the first time in many years? Not whether they are married, if their parents are still alive, how they are doing, no, you think of how fat they’ve gotten.
Holy Mother of Shallow.
Truth be told, I don’t care if that’s the first thing you see when you look at me. But for Pete’s sake shut your trap. Be polite. Or say something generic like “Your hair has gotten so long!” which sounds totally dumb because yeah, hair tends to grow quite a bit in 15 years, but at least you won’t behave like a complete ass.
And when all else fails, resort to lines from Disney movies – like that one in Bambi: If you can’t say something nice… don’t say nothing at all.
Listen to Thumper, people. Then I won’t run you over with my shopping cart. And Emily Post won’t haunt you. Win-win.
Image credits: 1. Brooklyn Bride, via Pinterest; 2. WeHeartIt; 3. moi ; 4. Corrie Bond, via Pinterest and Santa Barbara Chic.
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– and I knew that a walk and a bit of a look-around in a pretty place would help us recharge a bit for the 7-hour drive ahead of us, so I convinced my family to take the morning to shop and explore a little.
