All Things EARTH... part 2

[laurspag]

Great picture, Melody!!!  

[slidergirl]

laura - I LOVE the Dressbarn shirt!!!! perfect with those shorts, too.  

now - how many pairs of shorts?? is it 6 plus the skort plus the pants?  for me, that would be a bit excessive.  I did 1 cargo short from chicos outlet and then my 1 pair of pants had a 3-way - shorts, capri, pants.  They ended up too hot in the hot weather as they weren't very breathable.  Bought a pair of linen pull on shorts on our second stop and used them a lot.  They washed and dried quickly overnight.  If it was me, i'd leave out 2 pair of shorts until you are done packing everything else and add them if you have space.

[laurspag]

That Dressbarn shirt I have had for quite some time. I refer to it as "ours" because a few others on this site have it too.  When I lost weight, I took it in.  It fits a bit snugger now as I have had a more recent weight gain, but it still fits overall and I wear it regularly.   That shirt goes on just about every last cruise and has for a good...I don't know....6 years?  Maybe more?

 

I tend to get sweaty, and then I want clean clothes.  I generally don't spend much time washing clothes when I am on a cruise, but I find it hard to get everything to dry.  I know a lot of people put things on their balcony to dry, but we truly use the balcony a lot.  I guess it just seems like the wet/damp clothes get in the way?  

 

This is how I pack in general, and I can usually get things to fit really well when I use the packing cubes for the smaller stuff.  The catch is my husband.  If you think I am bringing a lot, you should see his clothes.  Here is the funny part: he brings more than me, but he does re-wear things, so he doesn't even need to.  He's in the shower twice a day.  (maybe that's why nothing dries that I hang in the bathroom - too many showers so it is always steamy in there)

 

I try to scale back, but I have had mixed results.   The two pair of shorts from Eddie Bauer are made of a fabric that might dry quicker, so that is a thought.    At home I re-wear my "play" clothes quite a bit.  For example, I am wearing the same shorts I wore yesterday.  A lot depends on how warm it is.  It is cooler today so it was easy to throw the same outfit back on.

 

When my husband and I traveled last October, it was to the cool side.  I have two pair of ivory cropped jeans, and I wore both of them quite a few times.  So, if I find that the weather isn't going to be that hot, I may switch around what I am bringing and re-wear some bottoms.

[awhfy]

3 hours ago, laurspag said:

When I am onboard a cruise, the things that I use packing cubes for are mostly left in the cube for me too.  That would be underclothes for my husband and I, pajamas,, swimsuits and socks.  my husband wears sneakers during the day, and dress shoes at night, so we literally bring two pairs of socks for each day plus some extra....and he tends to wear every last pair.  They are so easy to pack when you roll them up and put them in a cube.  I just unzip the cube, and pop them on the drawer!

 

I debate a lot on using packing cubes for daytime outfits.  I tried once, but I'm not an expert on rolling so I had mixed results.  This was just for tops - shorts with zippers I leave alone.

 

Speaking of daytime outfits, I just worked on those a little bit.  I try hard to wear things that are comfy and mix and match.  I always bring one extra outfit, and then a pair of cropped jeans and a shirt with sleeves in case I need them in the evening.  The funny thing is that I brought two pair when my husband and I traveled last fall, as I was iffy on the temps.  I ended up wearing them both quite a bit.

 

In May when I cruised with my daughter, we ended up spending the night at the airport, so I appreciated having the long sleeved linen shirt with me.  I had to add a zip up hoodie I had with me and we purchased fleece blankets at the airport....it was THAT COLD.  

 

Anyway, I try to make sure I have what I need without being too excessive.   The outfits are subject to change, and I haven't accessorized yet.  I keep that simple too, but I love a pair of earrings or necklace here and there, and figuring out which sandals to take along.

 

I'm also currently wearing a pair of shorts so one of the pairs in the coming pictures might be changed.  This is a summary picture, with everything.

 

For both the ruins and the eco walk, I was thinking a lot about function.  I am thinking sneakers are the best choice, although I do have walking sandals that I always have with me, and use a lot.  The eco walk will be the pants and top, and the ruins with be the skort.  I don't really love light colored tops, but I think they are both good choices for what I am doing.  It is nice that three of the four things I've had a while, especially the shirts.  I love the one shirt - it has these little speckles and there is blue as well as a rust like color.  The shirt is Merona from Target.  The other, with the pockets, is a lightweight, quick drying knit from New York and Company that I have had for ages.  The pants are Athleta from a few years ago and the skort is a new purchase from Eddie Bauer.  I have earrings that I think are perfect for the skort outfit, but do I really need them when visiting the ruins?  

 

 

The rest of the photos cover the rest of the cruise.  I don't have anything designated for a specific day, but I have some ideas, which I may add.

 

Our trusty Dressbarn shirt!  I swear, it goes on every cruise.  If the shorts look familiar, it is because I recently purchased the tan ones that are the same from Macy's clearance sale.

 

 

The shirt on this is really soft and nice.  I may swap it out for a different tank, as I am bringing a few tops that require a racerback bra, and I only have two racerback bras right now.  There is another one on order, so we will see.  Note: racerback for me is something I can convert - I seldom find a racerback only bra that I can wear.

 

 

I love this cold shoulder top.  It seems like a good choice for a sea day, since we often do trivia, towel folding or whatever, and the air conditioning is always on.  I can also wear it in the evening with ivory cropped jeans too.  The shorts have a cargo pocket so I have a place to put my sea pass card.

 

 

I wore this shirt when we flew down to Miami in May.  I wore it with cropped ivory jeans that day, but here I have it paired with shorts.  If I ever see any chocolate brown shorts, I'm jumping at them because I'm always wanting those and can never find them.  Every time I see this shirt, I want to wear it with brown shorts.

 

 

This outfit here is very comfy.  I think the short might feel a bit heavy.  I have a pair in the wash right now that are a rust color, and they have the same pull on styling but are a lighter weight linen blend, so there may a swap.  They looked very bright in the first picture, so I posted a second picture which is much truer looking.

 

Lastly, this outfit here consists of a pretty basic active top.  I can wear it to the gym or with a pair of shorts...it pairs well with a lot of things.  It's a clearance purchase I got with my Eddie Bauer shorts and I've worn it once already.  These shorts may be swapped for the Union Bay shorts I posted last week that I have on right now.  I would honestly need to try on the shorts in the picture.

 

 

Pooh Bear was happy to make an appearance in some of the photos.  🙂  🙂

 

 

I forgot about our Dressbarn shirt!!!  It just hit my cruise rotation with my olive green skort or capris!!!

[slidergirl]

all right - anyone have a spare Dressbarn shirt in a L or XL???? 😸

 

Laura - most of my clothes that I would take on any kind of vacation are the quick-dry things.  All month I did some things every few days (shirts, undies, socks, shorts) and outside of some thicker socks, nothing was still wet the next day.  That is a new requirement for me.   Having clothes that will dry quickly if you fall in a creek and they are your only clothes, well, yes, tha happened.  Walking around with semi-wet clothes for a few hours wasn't fun, but wasn't long. 

[awhfy]

Kat, you might be able to find that shirt on Poshmark. It’s a great travel shirt (this picture is from 2014 when it was brand new, so 8 years ago). This is a large. Melody

[laurspag]

Melody, I have a handful of pictures of myself wearing that shirt on a cruise.  I have to find them, lol.

 

I'll bet Ebay has it somewhere.  

 

I'm off fora few days to do some painting.  Sometimes, I just need an empty house to get a lot done.  Besides, what we don't use we lose when it comes to vacation time.  I have time scheduled for the cruise in October, and then some time near Thanksgiving.  It starts to fill up fast when people realize they haven't scheduled all their time yet.  

 

I was thinking a few days ago of another shirt that I really wanted to bring on this cruise, so I may swap out a shirt.  I think what I posted the other day was my first instinct for what to bring, and most of it will stay that way.  As of right now, the peach shorts will be changed out for the rust linen ones that were in the wash, and the last pair of ivory will be swapped out with a very similar pair.  

 

I think that coral colored shirt will be the one I remove.  There is nothing wrong with it, but I wanted to bring this nice shirt that I have.  It will be great because it is lightweight and breathable.  It is this shirt here in spice:

 

Solstice Blouse - Coldwater Creek

 

Mentally,  I have a lot of thoughts on jewelry which I will probably pair up and take pictures of this weekend.  The pictures help me visualize, and then I plug everything into a spreadsheet.  I am sure that sounds crazy, but I love this process, and picking out things I love to go together.  

 

For example, I have this bracelet that we were talked into buying when we were in St. Thomas.  It wasn't expensive, and I liked it, but just didn't feel like buying it.  My husband then said to me "it is pretty and you like things like this.  It can be your momento from the cruise."  Many years later, I still bring my $10 bracelet with me a lot!  As a matter of fact, that exact bracelet will be worn with the shirt I just posted a link to.  I'll get a picture of it all together.  

 

 

[laurspag]

The painting came out so well....

 

Our house has painted woodwork.  I love the crisp look against whatever wall color we have, but for some reason, I had never painted the doorways upstairs, except inside the rooms.  So three bedrooms and a bathroom, and if you were inside the room, the trim around the door was painted.  You walk into the hall, and it is not.  It was long overdue, as it just looked weird like that.  I had to lightly sand and then add two coats of paint so it was tedious, but well worth it.  Of course, after getting done, I realized that I really need to repaint the walls!

 

It's never done, right?  🙂  Seriously though, I like that we make an effort to keep our house up.

 

My husband is working the Elton John concert at the Dome tonight, and he already left.  He prefers to do a lot of the safety checks when it is closer to empty.  It will be a long night for him.

 

I did play with jewelry ideas a bit.  I have a few things where it was a toss up with what I wanted to bring, and there were some jewelry pieces that I wanted to wear with more than one outfit.  That's a win, right?   

 

I know I should focus on only taking what I need.  I will say that what I bring, I wear so I am good with that...no guilt.  One thing about jewelry is that an extra pair of earrings makes zero difference in weight or space so there is no concern.  I know I have said this before, but my husband brings more than me!  It's the safety planner guy he is - always be prepared.

 

I didn't want to be too redundant, so I used the Layout app again to help decrease the number of photos.  In addition, I think it helps to visualize better too.  I'll post those next, directly from my phone.  I'll add the dinner attire too.  I am still deciding on what jewelry I want t wear with the red jumpsuit, but I have plenty of time to decide.  So it may or may not be the necklace I posted here.  (I am almost certain it will be the starfish one, or a different one I am looking at)

[laurspag]

[laurspag]

Our shirt!  I wore it when boarding in May.

 

 

[MJC]

Laurie, nice outfits! I'm going to have to check out that Layout app.

 

So jelly about your husband and Elton John. We saw him at Madison Square Garden during the Captain Fantastic anniversary tour, and he was amazing. So fun. It was wonderful to hear the whole album from start to finish, and he had some amazing gospel singers as backup. Excellent show.

 

I finally have all our port plans in place except the one last stubborn one. I know I am being picky about what I want to do, but I will plug away at it until the end. If we have to, we will hire a cab at the port to take us to the area we want to visit. I am not a last minute planner so I will have to adjust. 🙂

 

I rethought my formal nights (4) and think I have a better plan. I really wanted to bring at least one full length gown so I've made it work. I should have some time this week to post some photos. I have some ideas for day wear (it is resort casual on board and might be chilly to boot), but I need to lay everything on the bed and do some edits. And deal with the shoes, OMG.

 

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, I think we all really enjoy the planning!  Can’t wait to see all your outfits

[awhfy]

Thought this would work for my Christmas & Valentine cruises. The lighting in my bedroom stinks

[MJC]

Very pretty Melody.

[laurspag]

Melody, that will look great!  I'm very partial to red tobegin with, but that really looks nice.

[awhfy]

10 hours ago, laurspag said:

Melody, that will look great!  I'm very partial to red tobegin with, but that really looks nice.

I thought of you when I ordered it. It’s still available at Chicos on line & is under $50. Nice weight to it (cotton slub material) melody

[Brownie54]

We’ll, I just ordered it! It looks great, so I’m taking it on our Regent world cruise in January.

Thanks for all of the photos from both of you. Very inspirational in planning outfits!

[MJC]

Well it's hard to believe that a week from today I will be at sea on the QM2! Today we are doing all the house chores necessary before leaving it for almost 3 weeks. Tomorrow we are pulling the jetski for the season.  We plan to head back to the apartment early on Monday, so we have been doing laundry and eating up what food we have left. Packing what clothes and shoes we want from here (not much). Making a list of those last-minute tasks.

 

Because I can, I think I will bring two rolling suitcases, my small rolling underseat bag, and my laptop backpack. I plan to put all the heavy stuff in the smaller rolling suitcase, clothes in the big one, and treat the other two bags like I would if I were flying... tech, jewelry, paperwork, etc. Oh and the wine! Word is that embarkation in Brooklyn can take very long, so I don't want to be carrying anything too heavy. 

 

So, our four formal nights are red & gold (red dress, gold shoes and clutch), black and white (I'm wearing a dark blue long dress and silver shoes), roaring 20's (brown sequin dress with a fancy head thingy), and masquerade (the short blue dress with the rhinestone straps and a sparkly mask). 

 

I've sorted out my non-formal dinner wear, which is a mix of dresses or trousers with pretty tops. All I have left to sort out now is day wear, which I have to lay out on the bed and then eliminate some things. I have three fleece jackets, brown, black, and blue, but I will only take two of them. I have to see what goes with what once I've chosen my day clothes. For outerwear I'm taking a rain jacket, packable down vest, two fleeces, two cardigan sweaters, a couple hats, and gloves. I'll choose either my laptop backpack or a cross body bag for shore visits. I'm taking my good camera for most days, and my underwater camera for a zodiak excursion we are doing.

 

So, yes, this is a lot of stuff! It feels like the total opposite of our African safari, and also very different from an easy week in the Caribbean. We will see how we like this kind of travel, and if we want to do it again. In complete contrast, I have my eye on a 12 day Japan cruise on a ship that only holds 700 and has no formal nights. But that wouldn't be until 2025. I gotta get through this one first!

 

 

 

[laurspag]

Margaret, this is so exciting!  I can't wait to see your outfits, and hear all about it when you get back.  How many days is this again?

 

My husband is generally a no more than 7 day traveler.  It's a combination of work and home responsibilities, and that he is a creature of habit.  I would like to try an 8 or 10 day cruise at some point.

 

I have reviewed my clothing choices a number of times, and I feel good about them.  I've toyed a lot with the jewelry for the red jumpsuit, and might change my mind again. 

 

It must be so interesting to plan out clothes for longer cruises, and those with such specific theme nights.

[awhfy]

Where we fly for all cruises we usually do a b2b (& make the airfare work for me). This is only an 8 night in December but 2 nights on the front end. 

[MJC]

I've put together my daywear. I'm taking black knit dress pants, black GoWalk pants, blue jean-look trousers, and blue GoWalk pants. I'm taking four sweaters:

 

And five long-sleeved tops:

 

My embarkation outfit:

 

I may wear this top later in the cruise.

 

 

[MJC]

We're going to have temps that range from 72 to 41!  The skinny on the ship is that it tends to be cool, especially in the evening.

 

These are dressier tops that I'll wear for dinner with dress pants and heels. The one on the left is a black cut velvet. The blue flowered velvet one will probably reappear for lunch one day:

 

 

Another evening top, this one is by my designer friend:

 

 

If I have room, I'll take both my black and brown fleeces, but these are the scarves I'll take. The top one is large enough to be a wrap also. The bottom one is versatile because it shows different colors depending on how you wrap it:

 

 

 

The rest of my outerwear (the vest is actually navy blue):

 

 

The vest layers under the jacket. I bought them for our South America trip that didn't happen, but I've actually used them a lot this year. I'm glad to have them for this trip. The blue scarf can also do double duty as a wrap.

[awhfy]

Love your embarkation outfit Margaret!  Great outfits, hope you have great weather. Melody

[laurspag]

I agree with Melody - you have some great outfits picked out!  

 

I hope you are warm enough.  It looks like you have some great layers chosen.  I think you mentioned the temp could get as low as 41...brrrr!  

[MJC]

41 is a nighttime low, so hopefully we'll be fast asleep then. 😴