Friday, November 30, 2018

Friday Finds

Happy Friday!! There haven't been Friday Finds posts for the past couple of weeks, did you miss them??

This weekend we don't have a ton planned, but I'm hoping to sneak in a date night, and we're going to try to go see Crimes of Grindelwald with my sister. I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd (is anyone else listening to the Harry Potter Binge Mode podcast series?) but am not so excited about the Fantastic Beasts series. I felt like the first one was just okay. Fingers crossed this one is better, or that the popcorn is good at least!

Here are my finds for the week - how cute is that naughty-ish sweatshirt?! There's a "nice-ish" version too if you don't think you deserve that coal ;) I ordered it during the Black Friday sales and got it in the mail yesterday, and it is so cute in person!! I got the XL and it definitely works with my baby bump, and I probably would want the same size even if I wasn't pregnant.

one / two / three / four / five





Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Our Hawaii Babymoon


We had known Jeff's family was planing to go to Hawaii for Thanksgiving for literally a year and a half (it got pushed a week earlier to save money on flights), and when we found out we were expecting, Jeff and I decided to turn the trip into our babymoon! The timing was actually perfect, since my doctor told me to cut off all flying after Thanksgiving. We traveled during my 24th-25th weeks of pregnancy (or the sixth month for those of you who aren't pregnant and have no idea what the weeks mean ;) which is really in the sweet spot as I still felt really good for the majority of the trip. Since we've gotten back I dropped into the third trimester and have started getting pretty uncomfortable! 

When we first started researching the trip, I was initially discouraged because so many of the outdoor activities you can do in Hawaii were either off-limits for pregnant women, or were off limits for me specifically since I was suffering from pregnancy-related motion sickness. But it turned out there was still tons for me to do, this was really one of the more active trips we've taken!

As far as an itinerary goes, we spent 6 nights on Oahu in a rental house on the southeast side of the island, and then 3 nights on Kauai at the Grand Hyatt on Poipu Beach. If I were planning the trip completely myself, I would definitely have spent more time on Kauai and less on Oahu. Kauai was beautiful and felt more like Hawaii, if that makes sense. We were staying with Jeff's family in Oahu so we didn't have as much control over that part of the trip.

I'm going to split my recommendations up into Oahu and Kauai to make this a little easier for you!

Things to Do on Oahu: 

Hiking: 

I wasn't really sure on hiking, as being pregnant throws off your center of gravity and makes your heart beat twice as hard. I did some research on easy hikes, and ended up being able to do all of these no problem! 



The first day we woke up super early because of jet lag, and headed out to the Diamond Head Trail at 6:30am. The trail opens at 6am, and it was already crowded! I'd heard that the trail gets extremely crowded to the point where it's not even fun by mid-day, so definitely plan to do this one early. There is a lot of elevation and a lot of stairs, but just take breaks if you get out of breath and you should be fine. The view from the top is beautiful from all sides, with the beach and mountains on one side and Honolulu / Waikiki on the other. It was $5 per car to get in, and the fresh pineapple stand at the bottom actually served up the best fresh smoothie I had in Hawaii. 


We also went to Waimea Falls to do the "hike" there - really, it's mostly a walk through some botanical gardens with a waterfall you can swim in at the end. Unfortunately, the waterfall was closed due to a mudslide the whole time we were there (nooooooo!!) so I didn't think the hike was worth the cost of admission (I think $17 per person) without getting to swim in a waterfall at the end. I would recommend calling before driving over to make sure the waterfall is open for the day! 


And then another cool and easy-ish hike was Manoa Falls. This one also ends in a waterfall, albeit a much taller and cooler waterfall than Waimea, but one that you cannot swim in. The beginning of the hike is the coolest part, you walk through a little valley that looks like something straight out of a movie (and they actually were filming a movie while we were there - Godzilla vs Kong!). The hike itself is mostly through jungle and is muddy / slippery and uphill to the waterfall, but not a huge incline. Jeff did have to give me a hand for a lot of the downhill bits. I recommend taking this one on early too. We got there around 7:45 am and only met a few people on the trail on the way up, but there were tons on their way up while we were hiking down. I can imagine if it gets much more crowded it's actually hard to make your way through the narrower and slippery parts of the trail. There is a parking lot at the bottom with a confusing sign telling you to go somewhere to pay for parking, but we didn't pay since we were there so early - no ticket for  us! 

Visit the beaches:  

I mean, you're in Hawaii, you have to go to the beach! I was a little unsure of what Waikiki Beach would be like since it's the main tourist hub on the island, but it was surprisingly uncrowded, even on the weekend! We stayed near the eastern end of the beach, where there's a giant sea wall that makes basically an ocean swimming pool. I always get a little nervous in open water, and loved that I could float in there without worrying about sharks or currents. We parked at the zoo both times we visited, and it was only $1/hour! We stopped into Tiki's for drinks and lunch one day while we were there, and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. There's a beautiful view of the beach from their balcony, and I had a surprisingly good chicken papaya salad. Plus, if you couldn't tell by the name, this is a great place to grab all of your tropical cocktails (they had a bunch of virgin options for me too). 

We also loved Hunakai Beach for watching the sun rise. It was an easy walk from our rental and had spectacular views on the mornings it wasn't too overcast. You can swim here too, but it is a really small and narrow beach - definitely not for laying out! Wai'alae Beach Park was also near our rental, and we're told it's where the locals go to the beach. It was pretty, big, and nice and quiet, with easy parking. 

Drive up the North Shore: 

The North Shore was beautiful! We did this as a huge group but ended up splitting up since we had different vehicles. Jeff and I decided to shoot over the middle of the island and head straight for Haleiwa since I had my eye on some shrimp scampi from Giovanni's Food Truck. This truck is famous and was the most amazing thing that we ate in Hawaii. Beware that it is surrounded by copycat food trucks, don't get lured in by the wrong one!! We got there around 11am and it was already packed, so definitely get there early or plan to wait. If you go, be sure to bring wet wipes or similar because it was messy - luckily the family we sat next to shared with us.

We headed in to the main part of Haleiwa after our shrimps, but I found the town itself a little disappointing - the main drag felt too touristy / manufactured to me. If you're into shave ice, get it from Matsumoto in town - supposedly the best place!


From Haleiwa, we drove west around the island, stopping at beaches and shops and other food trucks along the way. Laniakea Beach is supposed to be a good place to see sea turtles sunbathing, although there were none while we were there. You can also stop at Sunset Beach to see the huge waves at the Banzai Pipeline, one of the huge surfing sites. Sunset Beach is also, in case you couldn't tell, supposed to be a great place to watch the sun set ;) You can also stop in at Kualoa Ranch, which is where they've filmed a bunch of movies including Jurassic Park. There were a ton of activities and tours you could do here too, but we just wandered in (and probably went further than you're supposed to without a guide!) to take in the views and of course get some pictures pretending to be dinosaurs.

The drive on this part of the island is gorgeous so definitely pick a pretty day to do it. You're right on the ocean for most of it with great views!!

Polynesian Cultural Center + Luau: 

This was the part of the trip that got mixed reviews between me and Jeff haha - he loved it, I did not. The Polynesian Cultural Center is basically like the Epcot for Hawaii, with educational workshops and presentations spread across six different islands representing the six Polynesian cultures. We were with Jeff's whole family for this, which meant 14 people including 3 six-year-olds, and so decided to hire a guide. If you're in a big group like ours, definitely hire a guide, as they make sure you get to see everything! I can only imagine what trying to wrangle a group of 14 would have been like without a guide. 

That being said, I did not enjoy the experience because of the guide. What I didn't realize until about halfway through was that it was the guide's job to get us to a show at every island, not to let us see the exhibits or participate in the workshops like basketweaving, learning to play the ukelele, etc. And sure, some of the shows are fun (who doesn't like to watch someone spin around with fire or pull a coconut off a tree?!) but most of them somehow had a distinctly Disney feel. So, if you choose to go, I recommend going in a smaller group sans guide so you can do what you want, and not watch other tourists get pulled on stage to play the drums. 

The coolest part of the experience by far though was the Luau and evening show. The luau is recommended by everyone who lives on the island as the most authentic one you can visit. It is a buffet dinner with a show, but the buffet was actually really good, way better than we expected! Amusingly, eating from a buffet was literally one of the only things my doctor told me not to do on the trip (because germs! and food safety!), but we just got to the dinner early and went through the buffet line first so I felt safe eating everything. During dinner there were fire dancers, hula dancers, singers, and more. If you want to get some pictures in, this is the time to do it, as the evening show does not allow for cameras! 

After dinner we went to the show, which I was also apprehensive about but it ended up being really cool. It was basically a story of Polynesia told mainly through dance and was really well done. The coolest part though was the fire dancing show at the end, where they were literally chucking flaming torches across the huge stage and used big skirts to be able to dance over flames. 

Check out the KCC Farmer's Market: 

The KCC Farmer's Market is open on Saturday mornings and was packed! I'm told that locals don't go to it anymore because it's so crowded. It opened at 7:30am when an air horn blew, and people literally lined up ahead of time and ran in!! While it was really crowded, it was still fun to see all of the fresh produce and flowers and interesting food being prepared. And of course, I got my smoothie fix taken care of too ;) We grabbed a few small souvenirs here plus fresh fruit to eat during the week and some snacks. 

Visit Pearl Harbor: 

This was the one thing Jeff and I really wanted to cross off our list, and we just managed to sneak it in on our last morning. I had a hard time finding information about Pearl Harbor ahead of time - when you google it, all that comes up are tours you can sign up for. You do not need to sign up for a tour! Visiting Pearl Harbor is actually free, all the tour gets you is a ride to Pearl Harbor. We went around 9am, and were able to basically walk right up to the ticket counter, where they give you a free ticket for the next available tour of the Arizona. Ours was only half an hour after we got there - I was expecting to have to wait a lot longer. The tour was an hour long, and included a video with footage from the actual attacks and then a boat tour of the harbor. The actual Arizona monument was still closed for construction while we were there, but the boat took us up and around it so you could still see. There's more to do at Pearl Harbor, but we were a little tired / shell shocked afterwards (seeing everything in person is really powerful) so we headed out after that. Just a note if you go - they do not allow any bags in larger than a wallet, so leave everything at home! 

Things to do on Kauai: 

Check out the hotel pool: 

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, and the pool was basically the reason we booked the resort. It is spectacular - very lush and natural feeling with lots of hidden coves. My favorite part was floating down the lazy river with a virgin frozen drink in hand, of course, but there was also a beautiful saltwater pool that I loved, as well as an adults only pool and a big kid-friendly pool (and a waterslide!). We really just needed to relax by this point in the trip, and spent the majority of our time on the island at the pool. 

Visit Waimea Canyon: 

I hadn't researched what exactly this was ahead of time, I just knew that a friend had recommended we drive up. It's a huge canyon that takes up a big chunk of the island, and the views are breathtaking. Jeff described it as, "like the Grand Canyon, but green." There are some beautiful hikes you can do up here too, but literally two minutes after we got to the lookout on the top I got stung by a bee, so we opted to leave pretty quickly after that. Our friend had recommended skipping all of the scenic overlooks on the drive up and just going to the main lookout, and I agree - the view from the top is the best! The only reason to stop would be if you're feeling carsick - it's a wind-y, scary drive up!! 

Eat and drink and eat and drink: 

What Jeff and I do best on trips! We didn't check out many restaurants on Oahu since we were with Jeff's family and cooking in our rental for most of the trip, so I was excited to go out when we got to Kauai. We loved Little Fish Coffee for breakfast - the acai bowls and bagel sandwiches were really good, plus I loved their hibiscus tea! We also went to Beach House Restaurant for dinner one night which was beautiful - it's right on the ocean so you can watch the sun set from your table! We booked a table for half an hour before sunset which was perfect. We also had one dinner at the resort at Tidepools, which has a pretty view of the ocean as well and really good desserts. Like, the fish was good, but definitely save room for those Portuguese donuts!!!

Other recommendations: 

Ha, we really didn't get down to much in Kauai! We were only there for two and a half days, and really we just wanted to relax! Some of the other things that were recommended to us but we didn't get a chance to try were to drive up to the Princeville area to see the rain forest-y part of the island (or even stay the night there if we were staying longer), to take a helicopter tour or a boat tour of the Na Poli coast, and to hike the Ho’opi Falls Trail (easy) or the beginning of the Kalalau Trail (beautiful but gets really hard).


Want to see more from our trip? Check out my photo diary or my guide on packing for Hawaii in a carry-on. Aloha!!


Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

November Budget

Every month I post about my clothing budget. My budget per month is $350, which may seem like a lot to some and a little to others, but feels just right for me. You can read my thoughts on my 2017 budget here.


I feel like I say this every time I write a budget post, but how on earth is November almost over?! Between Thanksgiving and our trip to Hawaii, the month just flew by. As per the usual with months when we have a big trip, I didn't do a ton of shopping, mainly because I was checked out for so long! The scarves and cardigans I actually ordered back in October but they hadn't arrived in time for that month's post.

My favorite purchase for the month is also the least practical - that pretty sequined handbag! Ever since seeing a friend carry a pretty beaded and sequined handbag to a wedding a few years ago, I've been on the hunt for something similar. It's such a fun and easy way to dress up a basic black dress (or just jeans and a tee)! I haven't brought it out to play yet, but I know it's something I'll have and use for years to come.

So here's the damage for November: 




J.Crew Factory Plaid Scarves - originally $29.50, on sale $20.65 x2. Yes, I now own six of these scarves, but they really are the best! Inexpensive but they don't look it, and they're nice and warm! I wear them both as a part of an outfit and with my coats as a warm layer. I get compliments every time I wear one. How fun is the red and green one for the holidays?!
LOFT Cape - originally $79.50, on sale $39.75. I shared this cape yesterday, and it is so soft and so cute! Definitely a good buy for the holidays, and when reversed to the navy side, the rest of winter!
Old Navy Cardigans - originally $39.99, on sale $27.99 x2. I ordered these when I was getting ready for a party back in October and realized I didn't own a black cardigan - what?! These are great dupes for the Madewell cardigans that are so popular right now (I have one in green) and feel surprisingly high quality for the price! I still might return the purple/gray color though - I feel like it isn't the most flattering color on my skin tone.
Sole Society Boots - originally $149.95, on sale $127.46. I had these on my wishlist for a long time and was unsure on ordering them - mainly because I already had a couple pairs of riding boots, and since booties are more in style right now. But I ended up snagging them because I can't stand having cold winter ankles with booties all winter (Chicago problems!) and the day after they came my other favorite pair of tall boots bit the dust! I literally pulled the zipper right off of them!! So I'm very glad to have these now. They definitely won't work for you if you have a wider calf, they fit very close on me. I would also say they run slightly narrow, but wearing them around one day was enough to loosen them up for me.
Sole Society Bag - originally $59.95, on sale $50.95. Like I said above, this is so cute in person and I'll be using it for years to come! It's a good size, big enough to fit both of my phones plus my other party essentials, and it has a chain that you can use to wear crossbody or on the shoulder, or you can tuck the chain inside and wear it as a clutch.

Total Spent: $315.44
Total Saved: $112.94

So for December, I don't have a ton on my wishlist since I'm sticking to my maternity uniform (leggings, a tee shirt, plus another layer) through the end of February. I'll probably just be looking for a pair of winter shoes or boots that are easy to slip on for when it gets really hard to bend over, and another pair of maternity leggings!

So tell me, did you budget in November? Get any good steals?



Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Another Cape


Cape (50% off with free shipping!) - LOFT / Maternity Tee (or my fav non-maternity) - Old Navy / Maternity Leggings (or my fav non-maternity) - Blanqi / Booties - TOMS / Bag - Tory Burch / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Hair Bow - J.Crew


And the pregnancy uniform continues!! I was telling Jeff the other day, having my pregnancy uniform - leggings, a tee shirt, and a layer on top - makes getting dressed both easier and harder. Easier because I basically don't have to think at all when I'm getting dressed, but harder because it's really easy to get outfit fatigue. Outfit fatigue, is that a thing, or did I just make it up? Either way, I'm going with it! 

I was starting to get very bored with all of my cardigans, so I was happy to snag this pretty red cape on sale last week. It looks like every retailer in existence extended their Cyber Monday sales through today, so it actually is still on sale for 50% off with free shipping!

I love this particular cape because it's so soft. Usually capes like these are more on the scratchy side, but not this one! I could curl up in it and take a nap. Just a note though - because it's so soft it also sheds a bit, which I discovered wearing it out last week - I ended up with fuzzies all over my white tee! So it's maybe not best with white ;) 

I also love that it's reversible, because the red is so fun for the holiday season but I'll still be able to get a lot of the use out of the navy side during the rest of the year. How cute would the navy be paired with jeans and booties?! Definitely keeping this in heavy rotation for the rest of the arctic tundra winter that has already descended on Chicago. 







Cape (50% off with free shipping!) - LOFT / Maternity Tee (or my fav non-maternity) - Old Navy / Maternity Leggings (or my fav non-maternity) - Blanqi / Booties - TOMS / Bag - Tory Burch / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Hair Bow - J.Crew





Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Monday, November 26, 2018

This Weekend...


Whew, and we're back after a nice long weekend! I told Jeff that waking up on Saturday was so nice because it felt like we'd just had a weekend, and then there were still a full two days left!! Besides the requisite turkey eating, here's what we got down to.

This weekend I...

...met up with a bunch of friends for pizza at Pizzeria Serio and ordered way too much haha, but it was all really good - I loved the pesto margherita! Since Jeff and I were the only ones not hitting the bars afterwards (you know, because of baby) we took all of the leftovers home and feasted for days ;)
...went downtown with my extended family for our extended "Christmas Walk" which is really just a long lunch with lots of booze at Rock Bottom Brewery. I thought maybe Jeff and I wouldn't stay so long this year, you know, because of my lack of alcohol consumption, but no, we were still there for four hours!
...did an excellent job of shopping for Christmas gifts during all of the sales and got just a few pregnancy essentials for me - you know, instead of the usual buying tons of stuff for myself! I also wandered down to Lincoln Park for Small Business Saturday to pick up a few things in person (and of course stopped at Sweet Mandy B's for a cupcake too!). My favorite places to pick up little gifts in Lincoln Park are All She Wrote and Art Effect - both have such cute stuff! Jeff and I are actually almost done with Christmas shopping now which is amazing since Christmas is still a month off!
...saw we were supposed to get a big winter storm on Sunday, and planned to stay in all day to decorate for Christmas with hot cocoa and Christmas music and a movie. I also got all of the stuff for chili and made a huge pot. Not a bad way to spend the day!

Here's hoping you had a good one!



Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Friday, November 23, 2018

50% Off at J.Crew!

J.Crew is currently running a 50% off sale on just about everything with code TGIF, which is incredible - usually they only go to 40% off! Now is the perfect time to snag something that's been sitting on your wish list for a while, like a new coat, sweaters, shoes, or cashmere. Or, if you're like me, just stock up on velvet hair bows and bracelets on the cheap ;) Here are all of my picks from the sale:





Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Black Friday Shopping Guide

Oh hey there, happy Black Friday!! Did you have a great Thanksgiving yesterday? Ours was exhausting but so so fun - it was great getting to see a ton of family and having not one but two Thanksgiving dinners!

On Black Friday, my mom's family always goes into downtown Chicago for our traditional "Christmas Walk." I'm told back in the day it involved actually walking around, looking at decorations, and shopping, but ever since I can remember we've just picked a restaurant and parked it for a few hours ;) A slightly lazier "walk" haha. So I usually don't hit the stores, but I do plan on doing a bit of online shopping today to get some of my Christmas shopping out of the way. Here are a few ideas I put together in case you're shopping online too: 

For the homebody: blanket / fleece / joggersslippers 

For the selfie-obsessed: iPhone ring light

For the kiddos: tea set / unicorn snow sled 

For the concert & sports lover: clear stadium bag

For the guy who "doesn't need anything": scarf / mug / sneakers / slippers / raincoat

For the person you don't really know: poncho / herbivore body set 






Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Three Cozy Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas + Our Thanksgiving Traditions

Happy Thanksgiving!! This year we're giving thanks for a healthy little baby girl growing inside of me, and thanks for the other two new baby girls in our family!

For Thanksgiving, Jeff and I typically have two big dinners in one day! Jeff's dad's family always celebrates Thanksgiving in the morning with the big meal around 11, so we're headed out to the suburbs bright and early this morning. Some of the unique things they do is always eating shrimp cocktail as an app with the biggest shrimp they can find (yes, it's a competition!) at, yes, 9am, and then his uncle always carves the steaming hot turkey with his hands. Yes. It's quite a feat to see. After we eat, the family always dives right into Christmas with a name draw for their Secret Santa. Everyone over the age of 21 and at least engaged to someone in the family participates, and they separate by men and women. For the first couple of years, I drew the same name every year for Jeff's cousin's wife who I didn't actually meet until our wedding - always fun to get a present for someone you don't know haha. Actually, this will be the sixth time I've participated and I think I've drawn her name four times!!

After seeing Jeff's family, we're headed up to my grandma's house for a giant dinner. I'm pretty sure she said 30 people would be there this year! It's always fun to hit my grandma's because she'll have completely decked out her house for Christmas already, and she goes all out. I'm talking giant life-size nutcrackers, a tree in just about every room, and a fleet of Santa Clauses out in the backyard. Be sure to check my InstaStories today, I'll try to share a bit!

So, if you don't have quite as busy of a day as us and are still thinking about what you'll wear today for all of that food, I have three cozy outfit ideas for you:

1. A Poncho 

I mean, they're cozy, they're festive, and they basically hide your entire body so that food baby stays under wraps! Plus, when it's time for the inevitable post-dinner nap, you're already wearing a blanket ;) Pair it with a tee and jeans for a more casual look, or a sweater and faux leather leggings to at least look like you're a little dressed up!





2. A Shift Dress

Thank goodness shift dresses are in style right now, am I right?! I mean, they're so comfortable - and if you're pregnant like me, super bump friendly! If you aren't pregnant, super food baby friendly haha. I would just add tights to either of these and skip the sandals since it's been so cold, and you're good to go!





3. A Plaid Scarf 
Just adding a hint of plaid to your outfit just makes it feel so fall, and makes it that much more cozy! I love adding them on top of a sweater to make it just a little more festive and visually interesting.





I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!!



Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

How I Packed for Hawaii in a Carry On Suitcase

We were just in Hawaii for 10 days, and I was particularly motivated to have Jeff and I just pack carry-on bags. This was partially because I'm pregnant and didn't want to buy a bunch of new stuff for the trip that I would get to wear once and never again, and partially because I was nervous about getting a checked bag home from our flights from Kauai to Honolulu and then Honolulu home on different airlines on the same day. Jeff and I are already nervous travelers, so removing any source of worry is great for us.

I've never previously tried to pack for such a long trip in a carry on, but when we went to Asia last year I only had a slightly larger bag and had room to spare with all of my warm weather clothes, so I knew it was possible.

Just a few notes - we did have a washing machine in our house in Oahu, where we stayed for six nights, so I was able to wash some of our stuff halfway through the trip which really helped. I also knew that our time in Oahu with Jeff's family was going to be fairly casual, as we ate most meals at the house and spent the majority of our time either hiking, swimming, or lounging. As far as toiletries, I tried to go as minimal as possible, and planned to pick up larger items like sunscreen once we got to Hawaii.

Since it's currently the depths of winter and since I didn't buy anything new for the trip, I had a hard time finding exact matches for the items I brought, so just know that a lot of these are approximations.

So here's what I packed!


My carry on suitcase: This bag is amazing (the 21 inch is perfect for a carry on), and the two different packing spaces really help me maximize my packing ability and stay organized. If it ever gets dirty, I just give it a quick wipe with a magic eraser and it's back to looking brand new. I did also bring a not cute backpack on the plane, and used it for hiking too.

Neutral sandals: I did pack two pairs of neutral sandals but I really could have gotten away with one. These are padded so they're comfy for all day walking, and the nude color works on the beach, during the day, and paired with my pretty dresses at night. Hawaii is really casual, I was never in a situation where I wished I had fancier shoes.

For the beach: I packed two swimsuits as well as two rashers from Land's End (they make the best ones!) because I can't stand putting on a wet swimsuit. Bringing two didn't take too much space, but let me rotate every day. I also included a beach bag that could lay flat in my carry-on, as well as one cover-up that would let me go out to lunch or run around the resort in my swimsuit.

For hiking: I brought one regular tee shirt, not true athletic wear, with the thought that I could wear it hiking and during the day. I just never ended up wearing it during the day because it got a little smelly ;) I also brought running shorts, which could double as loungewear, and wore sneakers on the plane that would work for hikes too. We only did really easy hikes since I was 24-25 weeks pregnant during the trip, if you're planning on doing more hiking you may want to bring more stuff.

For the plane: I wore a sweatshirt over one of my basic tees as well as a pair of maternity leggings (here are my favorite non-maternity) and some super sexy compression socks on the plane, and used the sweatshirt for cool nights in Hawaii too.

For daytime: I brought two basic tees as well as a fun scarf and earrings to mix things up. I also had my favorite maternity denim shorts from this summer (this pair is my favorite non-maternity) and a lightweight cardigan since the mornings could be a little chilly, as well as a basic dress that could work for day or night.

For dinners out: We only went out to dinner four nights on the whole trip (and one was just at a brewery) so I rotated through my three dresses. The patterned dress is really fun to wear, but I also liked that the white and black dresses could be mixed with my patterned scarf, earrings, and cardigan to make different looks. And of course I brought my favorite little woven bag from the summer, it made it into my suitcase with underwear and socks stuffed inside!


And then obviously not pictured were also things like pajamas and undergarments. All of this fit into my carry-on with room to spare, which was helpful for a couple of things that we added in during the trip like a few souvenirs, matching Hawaiian shirts that Jeff's cousin bought for the whole family, and the cutest tasseled clutch I couldn't resist at the resort spa ;)

Do you think you could ever pack for a long trip in just a carry on bag? Have I motivated you to try??



Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!