There were a few items that we packed (or didn't pack) that soon became must-haves for our recent trip to Wisconsin Dells and Rush Lake.
1. Clothes Steamer
A friend had been swearing by a steamer foh-eva. I had been putting off getting one foh-eva. But Kindrey needed a steamer for her dance outfit this fall, and I finally bought the one pictured. You can find smaller travel size steamers, too, if you're short on luggage space.
This one has come in SO handy. Apparently all of my clothes turn into a wrinkled ball after they are washed, and I was having to IRON everything. It was really annoying, and I just quick doing it. It made it difficult to find clothes to wear....then this bad boy came into my life, and now I'm a steaming fool!
It took a few minutes to get the wrinkles out of my clothes each morning of our trip (and it sure beat the whole "let's try to use the shower to steam these") and I was ready to go for the day. There's something SO gratifying about watching the wrinkles disappear!
2. Flat Iron Travel Case
Another recommendation by a friend...well, it actually turned into a gift from her because she was tired of seeing my flat-iron and curling iron sit on top of a folded washcloth on my vanity sink.
I can fit both my flat-iron and curling iron in my travel caddy - and it's great because it's heat resistant. I can put my "still warm" irons inside and wrap the cords around the outside, stick it in our suitcase, and I know that it's going to be okay.
And isn't it just the prettiest with the paisley pattern?!
It's definitely worth the investment. You can find several different types and pricing options on Amazon.
Thank you, friend, for looking out for me!
3. Travel Roll-Up Make-Up Bag
I use my Mary Kay travel roll-up bag every single day, but it's awesome for it's true intention - travel!
I love the clear, individual, removable pouches. They hold a LOT! And the case comes equipped with a hook for hanging when un-rolled, and it all rolls-up nicely!
I usually have one for my makeup, one for my daily skin care products, one for my specialty skin care products (you never know when you're going to need a charcoal mask!), and the last one for my contact lenses, contact solution, and other small do-dads like tweezers, etc.
Find one like mine here or search Amazon for similar products.
4. Fresh Mascara
I should have known better than to NOT pack a new mascara because two days into our trip, I noticed my mascara was almost gone! Oh no! I could not have naked eyelashes on vacation.
Then I remembered a beauty hack I had seen somewhere...add a couple drops of contact solution to your mascara and use the wand to mix.
Yep. Contact solution and mascara!
I tried that trick, and my mascara was back to it's smooth and plentiful self.
Crisis averted!
5. Sweatshirts
This was a mom fail. I had every intention of grabbing the girls' jackets before we headed out the door, but in true Lindsey fashion, I didn't.
We knew we were going to need jackets when we go to The Dells. It wasn't going to be sweltering all day every day. It was going to be cool...and it was! Our poor kiddos had to just hang tough until we found these adorable sweatshirts Monday morning in the quaint downtown area of Wisconsin Dells.
Our girls wore these EVERY SINGLE day. They were lifesavers!
6. Umbrellas
This was an almost fail. We brought one. One umbrella. We should have known better after our Black Hills experience that every single person in our pick-up would need an umbrella!
We planned a tour of a lavender farm, and wouldn't you know that rain showers had planned a tour at the same time!
Luckily, the rain let-up right before the tour started, and everything worked out just fine.
7. Coffee
This is a no brainer, but coffee makes every vacation super vacationy.
Make sure to stay in a town or near a town where you can get espresso. Gas station coffee just isn't going to cut it, okay?
Our resort had a coffee shop just down the hall from our room (only open until 11:00 am - boo). But how nice is that to have it right around the corner??
The Nest in Perham, MN is so stinkin' cute, too. If you're ever in the area, you should stop in and see all of the fun merchandise they have, or at the very least go through the drive-thru. Isn't their signage pretty??
8. Sleep Mask and Ear Plugs
This is one of those - I wish I would have thought of this before - moments.
The sun seems to never set in Perham, MN. I'm serious. It was 10:30 p.m., and it was still somewhat light out. And the sun rose before 5:30 am. The fishermen rose around 4:30 a.m.
I decided after waking up at who knows what time in the earlier than I wanted to wake-up a.m, that next year I would bring a sleep mask and ear plugs to attempt to sleep soundly until 8:00 a.m.
Maybe I'll try this Audrey Hepburn look next summer from Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Totally lake appropriate, don't you think?
9. When in Rome
There's no picture for this...just a little advice. Take time to see the sites.
See a sign for "The World's Best Cup of Coffee"? You better go find that cup. "Famous Cinnamon Rolls"? Order some. "Turtle Races"? Sign-up. "Cranberry Museum"? Okay...that one is a little harder to convince some to jump on... ;)
Immerse yourself in your surroundings. When in Winona, when in Wisconsin Dells, when in Ottertail do as the locals do.
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