the packing post, sort of: the usual nonsense and a message from beyond

I have been looking at the long-range weather reports for London, Paris, Munich, and the closer we get to departure (tomorrow tonight), the more it looks like we'll be going to a different part of the world than the one I started following on weather apps when I began mentally organizing the suitcase.
The black lace skirt is taking along the following friends: Ralph Lauren Collection black leather blazer with pick-stitched lapels (a find from the outlet a couple of years ago), black silk double-layer cami, and black cashmere "drape" cardigan. I may wind up going barefoot if I bring the whole group, but it does give me the switch ability I was seeking. last minute change - a beaded black silk tee will be left home, too heavy to carry when every possible ounce must be spared for shoes. 

2 pairs of lightweight black silk twill pants will be travelling with their pals, the Missoni black-&-white tank & cardigan and tank. In hunting around among the folded "goes with black" tops, I found the black J.Crew "lion-rampant-in-sequins" tee, which is old but like new, and the J.Crew black silk top with the beaded bow, also about that old. These pieces have requested a few nights out and I'm considering it. See, ya buy good, it lasts.

So much for swanning around restaurants. I had thought about bringing a pair of cords to Munich, but it looks like the daytime temperatures are going to require a hat and lightweight cotton cargo pants and tanks. --last minute change, jeans & vest. And another last minute update, rain hat and sweater !
We were trying to remember when we last spent a day, or at least an afternoon, snuggled up to a keg. update: still a blur. Prosit!

And for roaming around London and Paris - some pants and skirts of different weights and some blouses. Right now, the charts aren't showing me sweater weather, although I have that nagging feeling that I should err on the "just in case" side. last minute change, long sleeve tees and a few lightweight twinsets. And a lightweight wool coat.

Now this when it gets weird. Really weird. About 5 years ago, I dreamed that my (late) grandmother was telling me to hurry up and get to the store. She didn't say what store or why, but since she was notorious for running out of ingredients in the middle of baking something, I thought she might have been thinking about cinnamon or vanilla. After I got up and had coffee I checked, I had plenty of each. Also butter. So I made me some cinnamon toast, and while I was munching, my best shopping buddy ever phoned, and it turned out that neither of us had to go near the office that day. Off to Woodbury Common, and you can figure out the rest. Clarification: Woodbury Common is not the little mall near Flintstone Manor, it's north of NYC, almost in ski country, and it's a long long ride. When we got there, we noticed little arrows leading to a parking area we'd never used before, and trucks were being unloaded. Mm-hmm. We followed the men from the trucks into, I guess it was a service building of some kind. A cash desk was set up by the door. One of the things I came home with was a camel-y taupe-y wool trench coat, Ralph Lauren Black Label, silk lined, and there was truly a building full of them. A delivery must have shipped too late and missed the season. The price tags were blank, a hand-written sign on the rack said $25. You read that right, I did not drop any zeros. The coats were very long, but -- well, BSB took 2 and I took one. I put mine away, meaning to deal with the length later, and last week in the mad search for little black tops… The coat has been hemmed to respectable midi length, it's benefited from a good cleaning, and I plan to take it along. I think that the original problem with the coats was that they're fall/winter coat style and color, but spring coat weight. However, what with global warming and all, mine will work fine.

Good for Nana, the problem with messages from beyond is that the time zones are different wherever she might be, sometimes by years. But she does think of me, my fuchsia suede Chie Mihara sandals that I thought I'd left in Hawaii last winter turned up in a secret pocket of the suitcase. I didn't know there was a secret pocket -- obviously, it was a secret -- and after all the agony of hunting for shoes I knew I'd packed, I glued it shut so it won't be able to fool me again. And the shoes have "unsquashed" after spending a day and a night stuffed with tissue.

After all of that nonsense, I feel I have exhausted the topic of packing. Next post will be from London.

Afterthought: of course I don't spend all my time running to malls, the long ride back and forth was a great time to catch up with BSB and reminisce about our grandmothers. We decided that all they would have had in common was a strong fashion sense and an almost superstitious fear of sharing recipes.

20 comments:

  1. You live near Woodbury common?? I'm so jealous! I always wanted to go there when we were in New York for a month 6 years ago for my husband's work. I couldn't get there as I had a 20 month old at the time. He was dreadful to go shopping with (tolerance of about 10 minutes in a store), and having to take a bus made it all too hard with a stroller on my own. Sniff sniff. Your grandmother story has made that an even bigger scar! I remember going to the Barney's warehouse sale and I spent 10 minutes in there. I got one pair of shoes and had to pass all the clothing racks as he had had it by then. The RL coat sounds lovely.

    Good luck with the packing and the flying. Sounds like a wonderful trip ahead xx

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    1. Hi, Heidi, I live in Manhattan and Woodbury is an expedition that I make maybe once a year, twice if I'm lucky. I've never taken the bus, and I've often thought that if I didn't have a car I'd get a ZipCar or some other short term rental with a friend or two. The drive is an uncomplicated straight line, and doesn't feel long if you're with a pal.

      A threat heard in my house a long time ago: "If you don't stop that right now we are going shopping."

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  2. Love this - you have perfectly captured the essence of packing for a period of time and finding that the weather is going to change dramatically every day! I can't wait to hear how much gets worn - I am notorious for bringing things with me, only to bring them back home again afterwards. It is quite humbling, hauling clothing around so that they get to see the Paris hotel room....

    Can't wait to hear how it goes! And munich especially intrigues me - have never been!

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    1. hi, Wendy, as I think about North America and how our history has been shaped by migrations, forced, voluntary, adventure-seeking, hope-seeking, the daring and the desperate, I say to myself, HOW DID THEY KNOW WHAT TO PACK?

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  3. Fred this has cheered me no end, the Ralph Lauren coat your Grandmother spotted for you! It sounds absolutely gorgeous and I bet it will be just the thing. I think your packing up sounds perfect, it's pretty much impossible to know what you'll be dealing with weather-wise. I am very much looking forward to your posts from across the pond. Travel safely!

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    1. Hi, Dani, thanks! It seems to me that the more practice I have in packing and predicting, the worse I get. The only time I've ever set off anywhere in complete confidence that I had made good choices was for Moscow and St.Petersburg. I got great advice for a colleague: Heavy and opulent, she said. Heavy and opulent. She was soooo right… I would add Minerals. Lots and lots of Minerals.

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  4. You have very fashionable guardian angels! :) London is being very tempermental at present...very! Layering will be key. Safe travels.

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    1. Hi, coulda shoulda woulda! Oh how I wish I were better at layering, I'm always either peeling off things that I then have to carry, or carrying things that I wind up not having to put on. I'm thinking there ought to be a travel service where someone meets you when you leave a building and hands you a sweater/jacket/raincoat/fur/ski mask… and at your next stop they've beat you there so you can give it back… wouldn't people pay for that?

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  5. Safe travels to you!
    Munich is a great city and it is in the region where I was born:)
    Weather in Germany is unpredictable and it is very fall-ish there already.
    Have fun!

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  6. Woodbury Commons - shopping mecca ... ;o)

    Safe travels to you!

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  7. ahh fred I'm so jealous.. we celebrated our honeymoon in Munch and Italy last year.
    Take lots and lots of photos. Eat the handel and spatel in the tents (the best rotisserie chicken I've ever had in my life!). Bring layers and if I recall correctly all the tents are cash only. We went during the afternoon on a weekday on our first day around 2PM and had no problem getting a seat in the Lowenbrau tent.
    Have a fantastic time! :)

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    1. thanks, Laura, that is great news about the tents, I was not looking forward to beer for breakfast (that's when it's most fattening, I've been told). Cash only - also good to know.

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  8. Google ate my comments yesterday.

    I'm no Buddhist, but clearly Nana is manifesting.

    How many shoes are going this time? I'm already obsessing over a big trip with lots of hiking and water in November.

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  9. Have a great trip! It is generally 60ish and rainy cool, alternating with bursts of sun here in the western part of Germany. After you have some beer it might not matter anymore :)

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  10. Have a great trip. Oh, and feel free to let me know the next time there is an amazing event at Woodbury Commons!

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  11. I do that all the time and its almost worth losing something to find it again. So good that your lace skirt has made friends with other things before they hit the suitcase, in the past I've relied on mine to mix and mingle and sometimes they don't get around to it!

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    1. We're headed off to Washington DC next week, could be 70 degrees could be nearly snowing...what to do? I need to replicate your packing.

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  12. Don't you wish you didn't have to think about "what if" when you're packing?

    LOL about your fuchsia sandals. I recently found the nice leather zippered covers for my travel slippers that I thought I left at some hotel when I had to pack up in a hurry about seven trips ago.

    Hope you're having a fabulous time, can't wait to hear all about it!

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