The last time I traveled to the continent was with my partner to visit Washington in May of last year (read about what I packed for that trip in this post), and although I’ve gone back and forth to Maui and HawaiĘ»i island for work and pleasure since then, this week’s trip is to California for my first work conference! Not only is this my first work conference, but it’s also the first time I’m traveling with only one carry on suitcase and one duffel bag. You may have seen in my previous packing posts that I unfortunately and expectedly tend to overpack my full sized suitcases, so using small carry on luggage has been a new challenge for me! I’ll be in California for five nights and four days (two days spent vacationing and exploring and two days at the conference), so I needed just enough clothes for each type of day. I’m using my mom’s small carry on suitcase, which I filled with all of my clothes, shoes, extra bags, accessories, and toiletries, and my duffel for my work and personal laptops and on hand essentials like wallet, makeup, headphones, and snacks! The weather in the city is a perfect 60 degrees almost every day we’re here, so I packed long sleeve/warm items to keep me warm and a couple of short sleeved tops in the event the temperatures are completely different. In my suitcase for my first work conference, I brought my Abercrombie 90s Ultra High Rise Straight Jeans, Uniqlo Linen Blend Tucked White Leg Pants in white (I wore my black ones on the plane), two thin Uniqlo sweaters in hot pink and pale yellow, blue Quince cashmere tee, yellow H&M turtleneck, Boden rainbow turtleneck, sheer purple Mango long sleeve top, short sleeve orange t shirt from Target, thrifted hot pink 3/4 sleeve top, BCBG pink and green floral dress, J. Crew nude kitten heels, pink/orange/maroon socks, brown/black/white belts, black Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC bag, yellow knit bag from The Sak, and all of the toiletries imaginable. On the plane I wore my favorite ever thrifted Gap white tank top tucked into my black Uniqlo linen pants with my puffy sleeve pink sweater from J. Crew and my most beloved Mary Jane Tbilisi yellow flats. I’m planning on styling my pairs of linen pants with my thin sweaters layered over my basic tops or with the cashmere tee under my thick pink sweater. Who would have thought all of these items would fit in a tiny suitcase? Wish me luck that I’ll be able to lift the luggage in the overhead bins myself and that I won’t be a complete weirdo at the conference!
