Good morning everybody and happy freakin Monday!!
Before I get into this post, I want to take a moment to recognize and acknowledge the people who were {and are} personally effected by the helicopter crash that happened yesterday morning. I no joke got a text from one of my best friends {shoutout Tati} only four minutes after TMZ had reported the devastating news. I began digging the moment she mentioned it because we were confused as to why no other news platform had mentioned it.Instagram was going crazy and everybody was commenting on Kobe's last post saying "This is a joke" and "Please respond so we know this is fake news" and so many other comments along those lines.
Yesterday a tragedy happened and the fact that three children were aboard that flight shatters my heart. The fact that parents died with their children rips me to pieces. Parents witnessed their kid's first AND last breaths and that just makes me ill thinking about it. It was a freak accident and we lost a legend {Kobe Bryant} BUT we lost so much more than that. I get the chills every time I read something about the devastating crash and I send nothing but love, hope, and prayers to the families {and friends} whom have been effected.
Please please PUHHH-LEASEEEE remember to hug the ones you love extra tight tonight, today, and every day. Tell the people you love that you love them. Send that text to that one friend you fell a lil out of touch with but want to know how they're holding up. Let go of all those grudges you're holding onto and all those emotions you have been bottling up. Do NOT take ANYTHING for granted!!
Now -- On another note, am I the only one who didn't watch the Grammys last night?! I mean I feel like I kinda did because of everybody posting everything on their insta stories and just seeing some insta posts BUT I'm currently in Texas {like y'all may know if you follow me on insta g} visiting one of my best friends {hey Tori, I know you're reading this lol} and we were too busy watching Netflix and indulging on ice cream. Maybe I'll watch it with my mama when I land back in LA tonight?! Heck who knows with this time change and the lack of sleep if I'll be able to watch it and // or Bachelor tonight.
ANYWAYS, now that I have acknowledged the unfortunate and devastating crash and the Grammys, it is OFFICIALLY time to get to the main purpose of this post...
Again, if you follow me on insta, you'd know {based on a reposted story} that I am actually heading to New York City in a couple of weeks {16 days... but who's counting?!} with two of my girlfriends to have a lil getaway weekend for Valentine's. I mean who wouldn't want to spend it with a couple of their besties in the city?! We literally have a group text and I {especially} have been sending TONS of photos for some inspo for while we are there. With me heading to the east coast though and because I already shared a destination packing list for somewhere sunny and tropical, I wanted to put together one for when you need to bundle up and protect your booty from frostbite cause heck knows I SUCKKKK at packing and I'm honestly going to have to come back to this post to figure out what to pack before I leave.
NUMBER ONE -- Y'all, I obviously listed these in the last destination packing list I did {and I'll be posting them in the next one I do}; however, to make it easier on you and to keep you from switching over to another tab or having to do your own searching I have some luggage linked and ready for y'all to purchase below. All you have to do is click to shop this ENTIRE post and whatever you click on will redirect your browser in another window {so don't worry, you won't lose where you're at on this blog post}. OHHHH also in this luggage I decided to include packing cubes because I used them for my first time {for the trip to TX I'm on now} and they NO JOKE changed my packing game and made packing so much easier. {ps: GoPenguin, which is the company I've been lucky enough to work with a couple of times, messaged me and sold out of the Jelly Blue suitcase I have BUT they just restocked them!!}
OF COURSE -- Skincare!! Y'all freakin KNOW I take my skincare routine EXTREMELY seriously... Ask ANY of my friends or even watch my bedroom and bathroom tour on YouTube to see how gross my obsession is because honestly I could probably open up my own beauty and skincare shop with the amount I have. I don't EVER lie to y'all about anything... I honestly am an open book {for the most part} so if you want to know what works best for my skin and prevents me from breaking out or helps me when I do start to see some blemishes pop up, do NOT hesitate to reach out. ALSO I want you guys to remember that even if you are in or go travel to a super cold place {i.e. the New York and Boston} OR somewhere even snowy {i.e. Mammoth Mountain}, you should ALWAYS protect your skin. COOLA is personally my favorites because it has all natural ingredients and is extremely protective.
NEXT -- You are going to want to bring a jacket or five {lol}. I overpack the majority of times I am going somewhere and heck knows jackets are not the lightest things to carry so please do NOT go overboard... You won't want to be "that person" having to hold up a luggage check line so that you can take out six coats and layer them up on your body to make your luggage the acceptable weight. Do not pull a Joey {from Friends... iykyk}!! My personal favorites this season are obviously a cute bomber {cause they can be sporty chic} and the typical faux fur coat {because who doesn't like some coziness to curl up in?!}.
ANOTHER THING -- I don't know about y'all but I honestly think that a simple accessory can instantly change up an outfit. I no joke think I wear practically the same thing almost every day and then just change it with a cute hat and handbag {and now that I'm heading to the east coast I'll be able to add in some of my scarves}. Not to mention, I bought myself two dang hats while I was here in Texas sooooooo I have more of those to add to my collection and select from for New York {and I have to somehow try to find room for them lol oops}.
FIVE -- I mentioned some books in my last post just because I am trying to read more and be on my phone less and honestly five out of the six of the ones I posted about I have actually read {the sixth is just sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be opened next}. So again, I figured I would share with y'all some books I have enjoyed and that will help pass time whether you are waiting at your terminal, bored on a flight {and not in the mood for a movie}, commuting to your destination in an Uber, etc. Again though, I have read the majority of these listed below and if I haven't read them quite yet, they are in my possession.
OTHER THINGS -- Now, I didn't know what to characterize some things {i.e. blue light glasses cause I don't really wear them as an accessory} so I decided to throw together this lil snippet with other things that you should maybe consider taking with you.
Again, I hope this was another lil helpful destination packing list for y'all to follow and I hope you guys are either able to recognize some things in your closet you wanna take with you OR are able to make some purchases from this post... Heck knows I made purchases in Texas {I'm literally in debt to myself} for my trip coming up and I also will most likely be doing some more damage prior to my departure just because I know I want to be prepared and also have some cute schtuffffff for photos.
Below I also wanted to include my two most recent YouTube videos for y'all JUST IN CASE y'all missed them. I have become grossly obsessed with YouTube and lay in my bed watching some of my favorite vlogger's channels before I go to bed rather than watching Netflix. Although I don' have a bunch of subscribers like most, it is something I enjoy doing and I have appreciated the support from the few people who either comment or personally message me on instagram. If there is something in particular you guys would like to see on my channel please do NOT hesitate to reach out via a YouTube comment, my insta DMs {just no d*ck pics please}, or even my blog's "Let's Connect" page. Hopefully I'll have my vlog from my stay in Texas up by the end of this week so make sure you subscribe to my channel and turn on your notifications!!
I love you all so dang much {especially if you made it this far in my post... again, hi Tori} and make sure you follow along my adventures on the gram because I have some exciting things coming up and I love sharing things with y'all. Again, I am sending lots of love and prayers to those of you who are affected by the tragedy and just know I am always just ears and willing to listen.
xoxo V
