Tag: Personal Item Packing Lists

Destinations, New York, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: A Packing List for Buffalo, New York (in a backpack!)

Alyssa stands on the steps of the Buffalo AKG Museum

I recently spent a summer weekend in Buffalo, New York, and it was glorious. No, not in the typical sunshiny way (in fact, the sun rarely made an appearance), but because summers in Buffalo are comfortable affairs with highs only occasionally crossing the 80°F mark. Coming from muggy, sticky Charlotte (and having recently visited other …

Travel, Travel Tips

How to Avoid Paying Baggage Fees: 12 Tips for Traveling with Only a Personal Item

Alyssa holds a duffel bag

As budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier become stricter with personal item rules and some legacy carriers begin charging exorbitant fees for accessing overhead bins, more travelers are facing a tough choice: bring only a personal item or risk the headaches associated with checked luggage. In addition to running the risk of lost luggage, the …

Connecticut, Destinations, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: A Spring Packing List for New Haven, Connecticut (in a backpack!)

Alyssa wears a black tee, blue jeans, and white sneakers

Packing for a trip to New England is always a fun challenge. The region’s fickle climate, with intense winters and sudden seasonal shifts, requires thoughtful planning to ensure you’re prepared for anything. Especially when you’re packing for four days and limited to bringing only a backpack. This post is not affiliated with any of the …

Destinations, Massachusetts, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: A Winter Packing List for a Weekend in Boston

Alyssa wears all black with a camel coat

Opening up my suitcase – err, backpack – and sharing everything I packed for a weekend in Boston. Although I’ve always considered myself a “weekend travel blogger,” I suspect this year was the one where I truly took the most true “weekend” trips of all, departing on Saturday and returning on Sunday (in the past, …

Destinations, Packing Lists, Pennsylvania, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: A Backpack Packing List for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Alyssa wears an all black outfit on a sidewalk in Philadelphia

Revealing everything I packed in my backpack for a weekend flyaway trip to Philadelphia For better or for worse, the number of personal item packing list posts on this blog has grown significantly this year. This is largely due to the fact that I fly more budget carriers like Spirit or Frontier than I used …

Destinations, New York, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: Packing List for a Weekend in Rochester, New York

Alyssa wears a black dress in front of a black wall in Rochester, NY

Sharing my ultra-light packing list for a summer weekend getaway in Rochester, New York This might just be my smallest pack ever (not just in the history of the blog, but ever) with four days/three nights in a tote bag. Until a recent weekend in Rochester, New York, there was a tie for my lightest …

Destinations, Michigan, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: Packing List for Detroit, Michigan (in a backpack!)

Alyssa stands on the steps of Hitsville USA

Heading to Detroit? Today I’m sharing my backpack-only packing list for a weekend in the Motor City. Once upon a time, I traveled primarily with a carry-on suitcase – a fact that seemed to boggle people’s minds: “You travel with just a carry-on? I could never do that. My shoes could fill a carry-on all …

Destinations, Ohio, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: Packing List for Cleveland, Ohio (in a backpack!)

Alyssa on the lawn at The Cleveland Museum of Art

Sharing everything I packed in my backpack for a Spring weekend in Cleveland, Ohio

Destinations, Illinois, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: Essential Packing List for Chicago (in a backpack!)

Alyssa wears all black and stands in front of the bean

I was devastated when I saw the forecast for Chicago. (That’s a bit of an overstatement, but I’m okay with that). After a few weeks of delightful weather in Charlotte, we were headed North to Chicago, which hadn’t quite gotten the memo that spring had arrived. Snowflake and raindrop icons appeared on my phone’s screen, …

Destinations, New York, Packing Lists, Style, Travel, USA

Traveling Light: New York City Winter Packing List

Alyssa stands on a street in SoHo in a Swiss dot top, black pants, and black boots

This is the second NYC packing list in the history of this blog – the first was way back in the fall of 2017 when skinny jeans were de rigueur and my Vejas were brand new (wow, look how bright and clean they were!). While my style has shifted some over the years, my love …