Capsule travel wardrobe (North QLD to Japan)

With parenthood and one thing and another it's been forever since we've been away and Japan is our holiday home away from home. The place we keep going back to. This is me in 2009.


And 2010.

Can. Not. Wait. To be back there.

Right now though? I'm about 85% excited and 15% stressed about our first time flying with this one.


There's something about packing a capsule wardrobe for travel however that I find very calming. A combination of clothes with list making, and the anticipation of adventure.


We're travelling to Osaka (cold), via a few days in Cairns (humid and hot). My wardrobe has to be adaptable to both climates (layers), as well as tight enough to leave room in the suitcase for all the Baby's gear (lots).

For 13 days I've packed 15 pieces. This includes two jackets (because I am easily bored) and a jumper for the cooler weather and one pair of shorts (Bassike Relaxed Cotton Pants - so so good) for the tropics. It basically breaks down as 4 x bottoms, 4 x tops, 4 x layering pieces, 3 x outerwear. I think these numbers are a good rule of thumb no matter how long a trip I'm packing for.

Everything layers over everything else so if it is freezing in Osaka I can wear almost everything in my suitcase at once, or just throw on a ponte mini skirt with a t-shirt and sandals in Cairns. If I am organised I will take some outfit pictures while I am gone.

These are all my bags, shoes and accessories.


This is everything.


And then everything packed. These packing cubes are the best invention ever.

My suitcase is still heavy as f**k which is disappointing, but I'm blaming the Baby for this one. I'm expecting him to be pretty high maintenance and have packed accordingly. I could do a whole additional post on things I'm taking for him but I might leave that one until we're home and I can see what worked and what didn't.

Brisbane's best ramen (really)

Baby and I met J in town for lunch. Taros is the only place in the Brisbane CBD I ever want to eat when I'm asked. It's on Adelaide St, across the intersection from the Christie Centre.

The tonkotsu makes me weep with pleasure.

I'm trying to turn and get a back shot of this 80s shirt here. I failed, but the back is complicated and interesting. I dug it out of storage in the shed while we were preparing for our garage sale. It was purloined from my mother's wardrobe many years ago.

The DKNY kicks are still first in my affections.

In other news, I've reorganised my iPhone with a view towards minimalism. I do so much on my phone and always have multiple of pages of apps to scroll through. Clearing the screen and forcing everything under a few umbrella categories feels fresh and so super organised.

The charming iPhone wallpapers are a free download from Eat Drink Chic.

Cat or cushion? It's so hard to tell sometimes.

Ultimate wardrobe organisation has been achieved

Ever since Clueless some part of me has wanted a computerised wardrobe like Cher's. How wonderfully Windows 3.1 does that screenshot look now? Love it.

I'm a geek who goes weak at the knees at the thought of a really solid database, but I can't be the only one out there who's dreamed this dream. Can I?

Anyway, I recently spent an entire day NERDING OUT and loading my wardrobe into the StyleBook app on my iPhone.

Now I have my own personal Polyvore and all my clothes look pretty and new and desirable, instead of stuffed, rumpled into overflowing drawers.

It's a little bit glorious.

The idea is that you photograph all your things and then use the in-app editing features to remove the background. This cut out feature isn't perfect (I used Photoshop as well) and neither was my photography set up, but it works for me. I also found pics of many pieces I own against a white background online using Google image searches.

I've always made little maps and lists of outfits I want to wear and this app is PERFECT for that particular obsession. You can even map what you wear each day on the calendar and it will give you stats on your most/least worn pieces, cost per wear etc.

I'm also finding that making looks using this app means I'm wearing more pieces that don't usually get enough love and are lost at the back of drawers. Seeing everything on one screen stops me from grabbing for the same three pieces every morning.

This is a travel outfit for a scheme of mine to get to Japan in November. I LOVE planning outfits around travel and once you have mapped out all your looks for a trip in the Stylebook app you can add the pieces you've used to a packing list. How good is that?

I'm currently in the process of convincing J of the Japan scheme. He mustn't know I'm already in the wardrobe planning stages though. I'm trying to play it cool.

Prams are like giant handbags, with babies in them (pram accessories review)

I like accessories and I like list-making.

What I like even more, is accessories that help you be organised. More than that? Making lists of accessories that help you be organised. Shall we? lets.

When I was pregnant with Baby I spent a great deal of time researching what things I would need to nail this mummy business. Nearly eight months down the track these are the things I cannot live without.

Let's start with the pram. This is my Bugaboo Cameleon and it is the bomb. Let no one tell you differently. Mine is an old model purchased second hand on Ebay but just about everything on it is new apart from the chassis. That's because almost every blessed part of this pram is changeable and replaceable. Love it.

I have to tell you, I did not start off with this pram. My research led me to decide that the high end of the pram market was a scam and that I would be just as happy with a cheap and cheerful model. Which is what I bought, and I HATED it. I lasted almost six months with the Steelcraft Agile before I cracked and bought the Bug.

I love it because:

I can turn the seat around so Baby can face me. The lack of this feature in the Agile was one of most pressing reasons I wanted to change. This isn't the Agile's fault, I should have valued this feature higher when I was looking for prams. I didn't think it was important. I was wrong.

The seat recline is super easy to operate with a baby in situ. I used to spend ages squatting and fiddling with the last pram.

Baby can sit up properly straight in this pram and see around him. Even on the most upright setting on the Agile I felt like he couldn't really see out.

Everything is replaceable and Ebay is full of second hand Bugaboo accessories (see above). I haven't gone down the path of buying new colours for mine, but I could. I may.

It's true the fold on this thing is not the easiest out there but I'm such a fan of everything else about it I just don't care.

Prams are like giant handbags, with babies in them. Thus, they need to be well organised. These are the things I use for that.

This Joovy Organiser is made for a different brand of pram but it fits snugly (very snugly) over the handle of the Bug and the chassis can still be folded with it in place. There are a ton of these kind of organisers out there but I dig the flat neoprene look of this one.

It has two drink holders and various little pockets for sliding phones and keys into. Phones and similarly slim items are pretty invisible in these pockets so it's not obvious they are in there at all. I like this feature a lot for when I'm out in crowded places, even if it means I sometimes put the pram in the boot with my phone still in there. The taut neoprene is also handy for clipping things onto. I do this with sunnies and my little insulated food holder when I want to keep it handy.

I love handbags. So I found the idea of carting about the same nappy bag for years instead of being able to change up my collection of bags at a whim so disheartening when contemplating motherhood. The horror!

I've put a lot of thought into ways to around this. Some might say too much.

I have this Bugaboo Organiser attached to the back of the pram seat. It folds up with the pram and stays in the car when not in use. In it I keep:

3 nappies

Wipes

Plastic disposal bags for nappies

Hand sanitizer

Spare outfit for Baby

Towelling face cloth

I find this is all I need for nappy situations at the moment. Nappy bags come with a changing mat but I think these are a waste of space. I keep a light muslin throw in my handbag that can be used for nappy changes, general mess cleaning, shoulder protection or modesty as the need arises.

The Bugaboo Organiser takes care of a large amount of the nappy bag crap when I am out with the pram but what about when I am going somewhere pram-less?

I throw this Melobaby changing wallet in my bag instead.

This holds pretty much the same list of things as the pram organiser and fits in most of my handbags.

There are usually a few other small baby things, like the muslin blanket, sunscreen, a hat, socks and teething rusks kicking about in all my handbags even with these measures but they definitely make it a lot easier to avoid the dread nappy bag.

I am such a nerd I have two kinds of bag clips on this pram to hold said handbags. They are each useful for different kinds of bags.

The clips are these ones and are excellent for attaching bags with ring hooks like the one in the photo.

The hooks are here and are handy for bags with fabric straps or general shopping bags.

The last thing I want to tip my hat to in this list is Lamaze toys. This is Baby's collection. They are generally around $10-$15 from Big W and Baby and I couldn't love them more.

Not only are they all bright and fun with lots of crinkly, squeaky, rattly, grabby bits, they all come with a massive hook that lets you attach them to cots, pram bars, handbags or people as necessary.

I've taken to wearing one on my handbag like a giant Japanese bag charm most places I go and I kind of love it. The horsey is my current fave.