travel: how to look like a million bucks {& only pack a carry on}

Do you remember my sweet friend Jill from our post on closet tips by a professional stylist? I asked her advice the other day as I began trying to figure out what to pack for Africa.

{Ethiopia here we come!}

We have 6 {SIX!!!} full sized suitcases bursting at the seams with donations for our orphanage.

That is for SURE our priority...but there will be SO many photos taken with our new son & daughter that to be quite honest, I wanted to look cuter than simply wearing jeans & a t-shirt every day.

How do I look like a million bucks and still pack super light??

{pardon our yet-to-be remodeled bathroom}

Sweet little Imani, Jill & I set out to work together on creating a wardrobe that would be simple enough to coordinate for our 2 week stay

{a 2 week stay that could turn into 4+ depending on the American Embassy}

The biggest thing is making sure that every piece can somehow be worn with another outfit. No "one-off's" ...meaning don't bring anything that can only be coordinated with one outfit.

I happen to like lots of color & love playing with putting patterns together so this was really fun for me.

If you're not quite so adventurous in your wardrobe, look to your closet and see what seems to be the color you most gravitate to and let that be the basis for what you pack.

Do you love green? Bring those out 1st and grab coordinating or neutral pieces as you go.

I didn't completely follow those rules for this trip, but I came close.

One challenge I had was thinking about the Ethiopian culture.

For example, shorts are not acceptable for women. And women shouldn't show their shoulders.

Those are both a bit hard to work around when you're going to a warm climate...but I made do with lots of cardigans & shirts that I can use to layer.

And scarves are huge there.

I also needed to think about things that would be easy to wash by hand.

We'll be staying at a Guest House {not a hotel} and the ladies who work there will wash my clothes if I need them to {no dryers though, clothes hang on a line}.

We're also planning to travel to some rural areas such as Lalibela & Axum as well as spending time in Addis Ababa...so we truly may be washing our clothes in a sink.

For our flight, I'm wearing the same lululemon travel pants I lived in when traveling for our other adoptions, as well as a cozy sweatshirt, & running shoes {since we have several flights...one being 14 hours long and I want to be as comfortable as possible!}.

It seems sort of random showing you some of the combinations I'll be wearing on our trip...I wish I had someone long ago to help me pack smarter...and lighter!!

I hope it was helpful!

|| shoes: steve madden | cardigans, striped skirt: j crew | pants, coral top, denim top: american eagle | yellow peplum top: banana republic | striped maxi dress: nordstrom | scarves: stella & dot ||