Come giggle around the world with me!
Come giggle around the world with me!
HI! My name is Erica. I live in NJ. I'm an Exercise Physiologist by profession - I literally fix broken hearts for a living. I'm obsessed with Diet Coke and spicy margaritas. I'm a big Harry Potter and trashy reality TV fan. I love country music and early 2000's hip hop, pop, and R&B. I am usually the loudest one in the room. The way to my heart is to laugh at all of my jokes. I LIVE TO TRAVEL!!! I'm either on a trip, booking a trip, or planning a trip I'm about to book. My travel love language is... YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!!!!!!! So, if you're interested in some unhinged travel advise, recommendations, and goofy stories you have come to the right place!
If you are looking for a way to pack the lit outfits without over packing… the outfit spreadsheet is the answer.
First, start by making a detailed itinerary of your travels. I usually use the “bubbles appointment calendar” template in Microsoft Word and map out my day’s activities there.
After my itinerary is all typed up, I start researching (aka surfing Instagram and Tiktok) all my dining locations to catch the vibe. I always like to match the aesthetic of where I’m going, so this is the best way to be prepared. I then write down the vibes or color schemes I want to incorporate at each location and use this to pick my outfit! Once I decide the perfect outfit for each location, I write it on the spreadsheet AND COMMIT – and that is what gets packed – nothing more, nothing less! I usually pack a daytime outfit for activities and a nighttime outfit for dinner.
I then print out the spreadsheet and pack it with me that way I always know what I’m doing, what I’m wearing, and I never have to rummage through my suitcase last minute planning the perfect outfit. It is the best way to stay organized, prevent over packing, and over shopping! (even though I’m still working on that last part HAHA)
Now that we have the outfit spreadsheet down, LET’S PACK!
To start, the suitcase… I SWEAR by my iFly luggage. I have the 28-inch Fibertech Hardside checked bag and the carry-on. They have the cutest and nicest colors and are also the lightest weight on the market. The 28-inch checked bag only weighs 10.8 pounds which gives you 39.2 pounds to pack all the things! This even beats the favored and extremely overpriced Beis luggage weighing in at 11.8 pounds, and sorry not sorry… every pound counts!
Next, I grab my packing cubes. Packing cubes are ESSENTIAL, especially if you are going to multiple cities or countries. This is how you are going to keep yourself organized and maximize space.
I then lay out all my clothes based on city/country, for example: I went to Rome, Florence and Venice in one trip which means three different hotels. I had two packing cubes for each city – a day packing cube and a night packing cube for Rome, then a day and night packing cube for Florence etc. I labeled each cube that way I didn’t have to pull out every article of clothing from my suitcase at every hotel. I simply take out the two packing cubes for each city and keep my suitcase closed. I find it easier and saves space to roll your clothes in the packing cubes. I then bring about 5-8 hangers from home to be able to hang up all my clothes and steam them upon arrival!
Aside from day and night outfits, I also have a packing cube for all undergarments – socks, underwear, bras, Spanx, and pajamas.
Then we move onto accessories! I am linking my favorite travel jewelry/sunglasses cases, and I usually just use a little bag for makeup. I literally only use one hair wand – it is the best hair wand to ever exist, so I will give you the inside scoop and link below. I also recently purchased the Revlon Blow Dryer Brush for those times I’m feeling a straight hair moment – I ordered with a type C plug, so I don’t have to worry about a converter!
Lastly, TOILETRIES! I have a separate bag for toiletries that I keep packed at all times because you just never know when you’re going to be on the move! I will also link my favorite toiletry bag below. It comes with a small hanger so you can hang it up in the bathroom. It saves room on the counter and keeps you organized... GAME CHANGER! In my toiletry bag you can always find: shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, leave in conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth wash, face moisturizer, face toner, hair oil, perfume, razor, a ton of meds (Tums, Aspirin, Tylenol, Advil), Q-Tip’s, ChapStick, dental floss, eyelash spoolies, a loofah, a mini sewing kit (you never know), nail file, nail clipper (which also comes in handy as a scissor), silk scrunchie, hair clip, mini hair ties, mini hair clips, and hair spray. It sounds like a lot, but I swear you will never run into a problem with all of these things!!
Oh, and if you’re wondering what I do with shoes… I wear sneakers on the plane and throw the rest of my shoes wherever they fit.
iFly luggage: https://iflyluggage.com/products/fibertech-ombre?variant=40590935031897
Travel backpack: https://amzn.to/3XoErMg
Toiletry bag: https://amzn.to/4gqsRc5
Packing cubes: https://amzn.to/3XFGIUC
Compression bags: https://amzn.to/3XJ7ADe
Jewelry case: https://amzn.to/3ZjhPPX
Sunglasses case: https://amzn.to/4ekHFHy
Travel steamer: https://amzn.to/3Xrsntz
Travel European steamer: https://amzn.to/3XJwRxl
Curling wand: https://amzn.to/3XJif0W
Travel outlet adapter: https://amzn.to/47q96NO
Travel sneakers: https://amzn.to/3ZpXokd
Go to sunscreen: https://amzn.to/4e1RQRD
Scalp sunscreen: https://amzn.to/4glqur3
Travel sunnies: https://amzn.to/4e4fxbQ
Water shoes: https://amzn.to/3Bdpl4I
Liquid IV (game changer): https://amzn.to/4d1Facd
GIRL MATH!!! You want the luxury bag? Book a flight, pack your bags, head to Europe, and buy all the luxury goods with no tax!!!
More than 170 countries worldwide (including all European countries) slap a VAT tax on goods and services. Whether or not you agree if this is good for the European economy, doesn't really matter because as a US citizen... you are exempt (YOU'RE WELCOME).
When buying all luxury goods in Europe, be sure to carry your passport with you! (If you do not have your passport with you at the time of purchase this will be a huge pain in the ass. Most stores will give you a hard time and believe me when I tell you, Chanel will not even give you the time of day without it) At time of purchase, the store will fill out a VAT tax form for you, make sure you make this clear to them. Many stores have relationships with refund companies like Global Blue (my personal favorite - they have an online system to track your refund) or Planet (which uses paper but still works). Don't lose your VAT tax forms, you will need to hand this in at the airport to a customs agent. At the airport, look for the VAT customs desk, you will find this before you even hit security. This is the only time you will be able to claim your items so make sure you stop before going through security! The customs agent will ask for your forms and your passport, put a virtual stamp on your VAT refund, and boom done!!! It sometimes takes a few weeks to receive your refund, but your refund will appear back on your credit card! It is a 10 out of 10 recommend. You will never get a discount code for Louis Vuitton in the U.S. so might as well fly to Paris and buy a Louis for 20% off! The math is definitely mathing.
2024 VAT tax rates by country:
Hungary 27%
Norway 25%
Sweden 25%
Finland 25%
Croatia 25%
Denmark 25%
Portugal 23%
Poland 23%
Iceland 23%
Italy 22%
Spain 21%
Netherlands 21%
France 20%
Greenland 20%
Turkey 20%
Romania 19%
Germany 19%
Ready for some more girl math?! Spend your money naturally, earn reward miles, use points to buy flights, then flight is practically FREE!!!
If you can find any travel credit cards offering a promotion.. for example: spend $1000 in your first 90 days and receive 65,000 miles… APPLY FOR THE CARD!!! Getting a travel credit card on a promotion is the easiest way to rack up flight miles.
-JetBlue plus card: offering 80,000 miles after spending $1,000 on purchases and paying the $99 annual fee in full within the first 90 days of having the card.
-United Explorer card: offering 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months after account opening. My referral link: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18s/OOF9YEEHAL
-Capital One Venture card: offering 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in your first 3 months after account opening. My referral link: https://i.capitalone.com/G7cZJJ9HT
These are my three favorite travel cards. One, I’m a huge JetBlue girlie! They have the most comfortable seats in coach, don’t @ me. The only downfall of JetBlue is that they don’t fly out of the country from my home airport. So I use all of my JetBlue miles to get back and forth to Florida all year. JetBlue is also very generous with their point system. Most of the time you can get a round trip flight to Florida from New Jersey for 14,000 points which I think is extremely reasonable!! Just as a reference, with my 80,000 JetBlue miles I was able to book: a roundtrip flight to Orlando in December, a roundtrip flight to Tampa in January, a roundtrip flight to Orlando in February, a roundtrip flight to Puerto Rico in February, AND a one way flight to Orlando in April! Just thinking about all the money I saved makes me want to book another trip!
When it comes to flying out of the country, it is United all the way! The only complaint I have with United is that their points are pretty high for a one way trip. But of course… I found a way around this and that is with the Capital One Venture card!!! Capital One Venture offers 2x miles for every dollar spent on ANY purchase! They also offer a 1 to 1 point transfer to all of their partner airlines (Aeromexico, Cathay Pacific, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Emirates, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles). It sounds crazy to look through all of these airlines to see who is listing flights for the least amount of miles.. but….. WORTH IT!!!!! 9 out of 10 times I book all of my flights through Avianca LifeMiles. Capital One Venture transfers points 1 to 1 to LifeMiles so you don’t lose anything. You can book United flights directly through LifeMiles with StarAlliance. You can purchase a round trip flight to Europe for the same amount of points as a one way ticket on United!!!! For example, I booked a one way flight from Newark airport to Zurich on LifeMiles for 30,000 miles.. that same flight on United was going for 65,000 miles!!! Definitely worth the extra effort. I was able to European Winter for 60,000 miles round trip!!!
My tips and tricks on booking with points… when you book through an airline directly (JetBlue, United, etc) only book one way at a time. This just makes it easier to keep track of your points, and if they cancel or change your flight – you only have to deal with one direction instead of a round trip flight. ALWAYS check back on the points. I have flights booked out until June of next year! I check on the miles every day to see if the amount of miles has gone down – and believe me.. the miles change all the time just like prices do! And since you are only going to book one way at a time – it is easy to cancel the flight and rebook a new flight with less miles!! Also, really read up on ways you can accumulate miles. A lot of times they offer extra miles when you pay with gift cards or shop in certain stores. You can always message me if you have any questions or want any inside scoop on how I do it!
Some would say my timeline is off. Erica, you’re 32, you have a master’s degree, you have a good job, you’re a nice girl, why are you still single? Why aren’t you dating? Don’t you want to get married? Don’t you want children? Your biological clock is ticking you know! Don’t you want to be independent, why do you still live with your parents? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
It took me a long time to accept that everyone’s timeline is different. I thought I wanted to be married by 30 and have two kids by 35, but in reality, my life has just begun. Fall of 2019 I went through a bit of a mental breakdown, I spent the last five years of my life finding myself, figuring out exactly what it is that I want, and leaving behind everything that doesn’t fulfill me.
In the meantime, all of my friends have found the loves of their lives, bought homes, had beautiful weddings, made babies, and I have become the designated third wheel. For a while, this bothered me. Like when will it be my turn? I was tired of not being able to do things because my friends couldn’t come along anymore. I wanted to go out on the weekends, travel, see the world, and my friends were...adulting. So, I decided to stop waiting.
Tomorrow is never promised. I don’t want to wait until I retire, or until my friend’s kids grow up, or until I meet someone to travel with. Instead, I decided I was going solo. I did some Instagram research (what better place to investigate) and I found travel groups hosting solo travelers! I was nervous at first. I thought, what if I don’t fit in, what if no one likes me, what if I end up in the corner alone, what if I drop the F bomb and they all think I’m crazy? I read 5000 reviews, stalked everyone’s Instagrams, picked a trip, and made my deposit. YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!
My first group trip was with Scout Escapes. They offer custom group tours for female travelers looking to explore a new destination and make like-minded travel friends. They specialize in luxury travel and exclusive experiences that make their trips one of a kind. After extensively stalking them and all of the girls who went on their previous trips, I decided to join their Classic Italy trip to Rome, Florence, and Venice. The group consisted of 12 girlies and I swear they are all my besties now. It was the best experience I ever had. I never once felt uncomfortable, I was never sitting in a corner alone, I definitely dropped the F bomb – if anyone judged it was in silence lol, may or may not have broken a wine glass, forced alcoholic beverages on the hosts, and made a million memories to last a lifetime! I would 100% do it all over again. Scout Escapes opened my eyes to group trip travel, and I will forever be grateful.
My second group trip was with Voyage and Vibes and we went to BALI!!!! This trip terrified me. 24 hours on a plane, no upgrade to first class, first time on the other side of the world, I’m a super picky eater, but YOLO. I was now going to challenge myself to keep stepping out of my comfort zone. I partied VIP at the littest beach club in the world, rode ATV’s, swung on the typical Bali swing, AND BATHED AN ELEPHANT! The vibes were vibing. I met 14 of the most amazing girlie pops that I can now call friends for life! So if you are thinking about joining a group trip and going SOLO, my recommendation is... DO IT!!!!
Basically, I’m addicted to group trip travel. So much so, that I am now collaborating with my friend Brittany at Blonde Voyage Travels (www.blondevoyagetravels.com) and I am now HOSTING GIRLS GROUP TRIPS! The stars have truly aligned for me. I am doing what I love and what makes me happy on my own timeline. So when people ask me...Erica, you’re 32, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I simply respond.... WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT! 😊
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I will do my best to get back to you soon!
-Erica
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