Vacation Capsules

I have news that may or may not excite you today. I have had a secret Pinterest board for a while...one in which I've collected some various posts on capsules, and now, just for funsies, I've linked all the posts I've written so far on the subject. I switched it to a public board, so if you want to see the posts that inspired me, or link back to any of the ones I've written so far, you can visit my little corner of capsule heaven on Pinterest here.

Now...on to today's topic: packing a capsule for vacation:

 I am known for my...ahem...overpacking. Always. Everywhere I go. This time I wanted to try to take clothing that could be mixed and matched and reused...and since we were vacationing in the fall with unpredictable weather, I wanted to try to create outfits that could be layered up or down to fit the weather needs. I was really pleased with how it turned out, and I wanted to share my fall vacation capsule with you.

I'm such a nerd: I actually took a picture of every outfit before we left home, so I would remember what I packed and why. So below, you'll see the original concept and the actual rendering.

Day One: Travel Day

 I chose workout clothes for our travel day. One of my most comfy shirts, a pair of workout capris, and my trusty Go-Walks. I wanted to be cool and comfy in the car, and it didn't matter what the weather was like, since I knew we would be IN the car the entire day. I guess this is about as good a photo I have from that day.

Day Two: The Beach

 For this day I chose a graphic tee, an infinity scarf, my trusty zip up hoodie, a pair of skinny jeans that I could roll up {to avoid dragging my jeans in the sand} and the Go-Walks again - easy to kick off and walk in the sand. It ended up being warm enough that I was able to ditch the jacket for part of the day. But with and without the hoodie, I loved the outfit.

Day Three: Church and Walking through Williamsburg

For church, I chose my trusty little black dress with a belt, another infinity scarf, gray leopard tights, a denim jacket and my cute black ankle boots. It was warm enough that I had to ditch the jacket when we arrived at church, but I loved the layered look.

 And then for the afternoon, this had been the PLAN for walking through Colonial Williamsburg: 

 This was actually the outfit I messed up/altered the most. My plan had been to use my regular jeans, another graphic tee, go back to the first infinity scarf, keep the denim jacket, and keep the cute shoes. The day ended up being colder than we expected, so I chose a spare long-sleeved tee to put underneath the graphic tee for extra warmth. I kept the denim jacket and accidentally kept the scarf I wore at church. And I ditched the cute shoes for the Go-Walks again, and I was SO glad I did, since we walked  a lot that day.

Day Four: Cape Henry Lighthouse and Shopping

For this day, I went back to the skinny jeans, kept the Go-Walks, brought out a white long-sleeved tee, a quilted vest, and kept the same scarf that apparently I loved way too much for this trip. And I am sorry this is the best full length photo we have of this outfit. EEK!

Day Five: Travel Day

 For our second travel day, I picked another workout shirt and yoga pants, with, of course, the trusty Go-Walks. Super comfy, and yet presentable enough to tour the coffee roasting facility.

Day Six: Hiking in a State Park

For our hiking day, I recycled the white shirt from the day at the lighthouse, and layered it under a striped t-shirt. I recycled the yoga pants from our travel day, and pulled out my running shoes. For the cooler parts of the day, I also pulled out the gray zip-up hoodie again, but it got warm enough that I didn't need it the whole day.

Day Seven: Niagara Falls

For Niagara Falls, the trusty scarf came back, and I PLANNED to use the skinny jeans again. The Go-Walks were back again, as well as the vest from lighthouse day. The new part of the outfit was a blue long-sleeved t-shirt. In reality, I wore the regular jeans in place of the skinny jeans, but otherwise, the outfit stayed true to my plan. For part of this day, I also layered the gray zip up hoodie under that vest.

Day Eight: Travel Day

 For our last travel day, I had one more comfy workout shirt, and I'd planned to bring those workout capris back, coupled with my running shoes. But in the end, I wore a second pair of long workout pants I threw into the luggage at the last minute. I'd used them throughout the week to lounge in during the evening, and I thought the traveling home temps needed longer pants.

 So that was the capsule! Much mixing and matching...much attempting to bring a good mix of blues and neutrals. I was pleased with the outcome!

For an eight day trip:
1 Dress
2 Scarves
1 Vest
1 Zip-Up Hoodie
1 Denim jacket
2 pairs of jeans
2 graphic tees
3 long sleeved tees
3 workout tees
1 striped t-shirt
2 pairs of long workout pants
1 pair of workout capris
3 pairs of shoes
1 sweatshirt {for lounging around}
1 pair of shorts {for lounging around}
1 pair of jammies