Pack your bags, jack wagons, we’re going on VACATION. Yep, tis the season. Bust out that mermaid floatie and last year’s beach bag, we’re going to the beach! Really though, one of our absolute favorite things about Dallas is how easy it is to take a simple (or extravagant – treat yo self) weekend trip. Legit, we’re a short drive to some slammin’ spots around Texas (we see you Austin) and a similarly short flight to some spectacular destinations in the US of A and beyond (hey Mexico, heeeyyyy). Accordingly, we are taking full advantage of not one, but two of Dallas’ airports (and a great number of the freeways as well) to do as much exploring as we can this stunning travel season.
First things first though, prepping to travel ain’t no joke. We’ve got a whole routine. This is your little glimpse into how we make it happen. The journey of journey-preppin takes about a week and we’ve got each day down to a science. Here’s the week schedule:
7 days out:
This is when we start talking about how we really should have worked out more/ate less/ordered new clothes earlier so there would be enough time for them to arrive. At the 7-day point it is now real that we’re going on a trip and probably should have done anything to prepare. In other words, it’s the first important milestone in the preparation process as it reminds us that *hey* it’s time to start the preparation process.
6 days out:
We go to Target in hopes of finding something we want to wear, bring, or do on the trip. We get distracted at the Starbucks when we walk in, order some almond milk chia’s and end up in the Chip and Joanna section talking about how maybe we need to get new throw pillows or a basket to put blankets in. Eventually we get back on task and move on. Katie grabs some random kitchen item because she *really* needs another serving platter or whisk or whatever. Strong move. Kristin gets distracted on Match. Another strong move. We both walk out of Target with 15-20 items each, none of which are even remotely vacation related. Not a strong move.
5 days out:
This is when we start our hard-core last-ditch skin-care regimen. We’re talking face masks, glow pros, high-frequency, etc. If they sell it at Sephora, we’re putting it on our face and praying for a clear dewy complexion. There has to be some product-combo out there strong enough to combat all our horrible diet and skin care decisions we’ve made over the last few months. There just has to be.
4 days out:
We like to spend this day thinking about doing laundry, but then not doing laundry because what if we wear something between now and packing day and then we have to do laundry again? It’s not so much the washing and drying part that we want to avoid, but the folding and hanging part is wretched. We can’t risk having to do that twice in one week.
3 days out:
Being the planners that we are, this day is dedicated to several attempts to find our passports interrupted only for brief moments of panic where we convince ourselves we’ve lost them forever and we will never travel again and why can’t we find out passports whyyyy?! Oh, there it is. Moving on.
2 days out:
Bikini wax. Nails. Spray tan. In that order. We’ve mixed that up once or twice (learning from your mistakes takes time) and 10/10 do not recommend straying from the formula.
Day before:
We like to wait until about 30 minutes before we absolutely have to be asleep to handle the last few items on our list. This includes: laundry; swim suit try-on sesh to decide which one or six to bring; drinking a glass or six of two-buck chuck; checking in for our flights; remembering which hotel we booked; deciding what mode of transportation to take from the airport to the hotel; thinking of creative ways to pack our own beach towels; deciding we need two suitcases each – one for clothes and one for floaties; hair masks; more face masks; writing out the 30-point check list for our house/dog sitters; setting several alarms; and hydrating.
Day of:
Throw on stretchy pants. Grab suitcases. Call Uber. Go.
The D-List of Dallas. 
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