Travel Apps :: PackPoint

[trip style = any]

It was only in Seattle, on the morning of my flight to Sweden, that I realized I'd failed to pack a single pair of socks for two weeks in Scandinavia. This is how I ended up with a pair of $10 socks from the airport newsstand and several more styles from the Gothenburg supermarket. #travelfail

Even when I write out lists and pack and repack my bags, it seems like I always forget something—socks, pajamas, toothpaste, charger—which is why I was so excited to find an app that takes the guesswork out of packing.

PackPoint helps you organize what you need to pack based on destination, date and length of trip, weather, type of trip {business or leisure}, activities and gender. It even asks you whether you'll have laundry facilities. In seconds it creates a packing list that even a veteran traveler can appreciate.

It would be nice if the app had an option to select mode of travel {plane, car, ship, etc.} and size of luggage {carry-on, checked bag}, and I noticed a few flaws in the list {no footwear other than sandals and hiking shoes for Palm Springs}, but you can add and subtract from your list and even save it for later. The best part? It's free. If you want to add custom activities, you can upgrade in-app for 99 cents.

Sample trip #1: Long weekend in Palm Springs

What to pack: swimsuit, coverup, sandals, hiking clothes & shoes, dress, skirt, casual pants, 2 casual shirts, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of underwear, pajamas, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, water bottle, camera, cell phone & charger, boarding pass & itinerary, ear plugs, book, assorted toiletries, makeup, hand sanitizer, lip balm

Sample trip #2: 10 days in Barcelona

What to pack: passport, medical insurance card, foreign currency, power adapter, swimsuit, coverup, sandals, towel, dress, dress shoes, jewelry, light jacket, cardigan, sweater, 9 pairs of socks, 9 pairs of underwear, 5 casual shirts, 3 casual pants, skirt, pajamas, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, water bottle, camera, cell phone & charger, boarding pass & itinerary, ear plugs, book, assorted toiletries, hair products, makeup, hand sanitizer, lip balm, umbrella

Sample trip #3: 5 days in Whistler

What to pack: snow jacket, snow pants, toque, sunglasses, gloves, long underwear, heavy jacket, dress, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of underwear, 2 casual shirts, casual pants, pajamas, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, water bottle, camera, cell phone & charger, boarding pass & itinerary, ear plugs, book, assorted toiletries, makeup, hand sanitizer, lip balm

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Related
Packing 3.0 - List It!
Fitting 50 Garments into 1 Carry-On
Packing Pointers with Shaun

[photos via @heatherlovesit & packpoint except whistler by mitch wonton/coastphoto.com]

Whistler's Cornucopia 2014

[trip style = food + wine + weekend getaway] 

Editor's Note: Have you checked out the online Trip Styler Store? Shop for handpicked finds from around the globe. 

Dear food, wine and wilderness lovers: 
I've written about Cornucopia, Whistler's celebration of food + wine, before and I'll write about it again. Because everything—especially fine wine and haute cuisine—tastes better when paired with fresh British Columbia air and mountaintop vistas.

Currently in its 18th year, Cornucopia 2014 kicked off last weekend and I was there to brush up on my 90+-point wine knowledge and my culinary curiosity for the second year in a row. To give you an idea of how much I love this highfalutin food fest, I only had Baby Styler four weeks ago, but didn't want to miss it, so Mr. Trip Styler was on daddy patrol while I jumped in and out of events. 

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The Tasty Bits 
- Cornucopia runs November 6 - 16, 2014.
- If you live nearby, there's still time to attend this coming weekend. I stayed at The {all-suite} Westin Resort & Spa due to its proximity to the events and free pet 'claws' for Dog Styler.
- Hotel rates start at $89. Stay and sip packages start at $77 per person, per night. 
- Tickets range from $15 to $250 per event. 
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If you wonder why you should head to Whistler for a trip style = food-and-wine-weekend in November, it's this: Cornucopia is a confluence of learning and letting loose, wine and wellness, nourishment and nibbling, craft beer and cocktails and—more than anything—it brings the best of BC and the world to your plate {and glass}.

While last year I sampled some of epicurean event's grand tastings, chef luncheons, food and wellness seminars and sizzling after parties, this year my weekend focused on wine tasting, a six-course dinner and culinary demos {see photos + details below}.

Over the course of my bon vivant adventures, I was reminded why the 11-day gastro-celebration is such a mountaintop experience. Expertise and access. Whether it's a chef passing on their restaurant's iconic recipes or where they source their ingredients, or winemakers hand picking the wines you should bring to special events, Cornucopia-goers get a peek behind the apron {or barrel} with direct access to the tastemakers who are normally working on menu development, judging wine competitions or traveling to Mendoza in search of the next big Malbec.      

And so I came home with book full of notes, recipes for holiday cooking, a list of wines that will turn me into my circle's resident "som" and chef email addresses in case I want to follow up after my lunch 'n learn with, for example, chef Eric Pateman of Edible Canada about a recipe {which I did}. That's Cornucopia. And that's why 6,500 people put it on their fall travel menu every year. 

A Trip Styler Taste of Cornucopia

Araxi Big Guns. This sell-out, seven-course event is one of Cornucopia's most sought-after tickets attracting good-time gourmets to taste the wines sommelier Samantha Rahn will pair with Executive Chef James Walt's fall harvest menu.

Araxi Big Guns. The setting.

Araxi Big Guns. Sunshine Coast-based Northern Divine certified organic black caviar with buckwheat blini and wild smoked salmon.

Araxi Big Guns. House-smoked Haida Gwaii sablefish sitting atop ruby streak and baby spinach in a ginger-orange juice sauce.

Culinary Stage Series: Edible Canada - Coast to Coast. Ingredients for the first course: Roasted carrot and beet salad.

Culinary Stage Series: Edible Canada - Coast to Coast. Roasted carrot and beet salad paired with local greens, Charlevoix cheese, Okanagan pear and maple-hazelnut vinaigrette. {I'm going to publish the recipe to this salad in our That Travel Meal series soon because it's hearty, heavenly and ideal for holiday entertaining. Stay tuned.}

Culinary Stage Series: Edible Canada - Coast to Coast. Eggplant torte topped in salted caramel, brandied cherries and fresh cream. Because it was so decadent {you don't really taste the eggplant, it appears more in the texture}, I only needed a few bites, and felt healthy as I ate it because of veggie-factor. 

More WOW Wines. A wine tasting featuring 12 wines hand picked for special occasions by a panel of four experts. Some of my standout sips:
 - Moon Curser Vineyards Contraband Syrah {BC}, $28.90 buy at the winery or private wine stores
 - Signorello Estate Padrone {Napa}, $169 buy at BC Liquor Stores
 - Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Les Boucherottes {France}, $75 buy at private wine stores
 - Beringer Luminus Oak Knoll Chardonnay {Napa}, $50 buy at private wine stores
 - Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs {Napa}, $39.99 buy at BC Liquor Stores
 - Nk'Mip Cellars Mer'r'iym {BC}, $50 at winery or private wine stores

CRUSH gala, Cornucopia's flagship tasting event {think: Having the ability to taste a wine bar's entire wine list in one night}. 

Moi Cornucopia-ing.

Culinary Stage Series: Café Medina. A lunch 'n learn from the gents who run the restaurant and kitchen in my go-to and gratifying Vancouver brunch hangout.

Culinary Stage Series: Café Medina. Moroccan mimosa. Cava and reduced orange juice infused with fig, fennel, coriander, pink peppercorn, saffron, anise and cinnamon {read: I could drink this every AM}. 

Culinary Stage Series: Café Medina. Seared sockeye salmon marinated in homemade bitters, salt, pepper, mint and North African spices complemented by hummus, yogurt and local greens.

Culinary Stage Series: Café Medina. Ending the session with Medina's cult-following Liège waffles accompanied by a peach-bourbon-butterscotch sauce. 

[photos by @tripstyler, taken as a guest of Cornucopia]

Jetset Style :: Ode to Boyfriend Jeans

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: In observance of Remembrance Day {Tuesday, Nov 11th} in Canada, we will only be posting on Thursday.

The ultimate weekend look, boyfriend jeans have evolved from trendy to timeless since Katie Holmes pranced around New York in a pair of baggy, pegged jeans six years ago and we all noticed. The look arguably goes back another decade; before we borrowed from our boyfriends, we poached from our dads. The height of 90s high school style was oversized jeans, belted and paired with a tank top, a flannel shirt and MAC Spice lip liner {set to a soundtrack of The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cranberries}.

Whether you call them boyfriend jeans, mom jeans or normcore, this modern classic is a relaxed fit alternative to skinny jeans. The new boyfriend jean is slim and slouchy with endless styling possibilities.

Trip Styler Tip: Feel the breeze in warmer climates by choosing boyfriend jeans over skinny jeans. They don’t cling, they don’t need to be peeled off and they’ll keep you cool especially when they’re ripped and cropped.

Styling tips

• Show a little skin with heels, sneakers or ankle boots for a feminine touch. Avoid stuffing your jeans into tall boots or rain boots.
• Perfect the cuff. For a classic look, fold 1” two times. For a casual look, fold 2” two times and then tug down. For a pegged look, pinch at the seam and roll 1-2” two times.
• Cut your hems 1” above your ankles and toss your jeans in the washer/dryer for some DIY. While you’re at it, slice a couple holes at your knees.
• A belt, a slight crop top, a tucked-in tee and an oversized blazer or jacket will highlight your waistline.
• For a laid-back look I saw in Sweden, wear a white tee, bomber jacket or leather moto jacket and low-profile sneakers.
• For a French look, wear with a crisp button-up shirt and loafers or heels.
• For fall and winter, wear with an untucked button-up and top with an oversized sweater.

GUYS :: Calling all dads, Seinfeld fans and Obama-on-the-weekend copycats, the boyfriend jean equivalent for men is a lighter wash, relaxed fit denim. For an elevated approach to this style, avoid the clothing section at Costco and opt for a light-to-medium wash, soft, slim cut jean instead of the dark raw denim you’re already sporting.

Left to right: Acne Studios pop it vintage jean, Hope stay patch jean, River Island mid wash ashley boyfriend jean, Madewell slim boyjean, Mother drop out tequila jeans

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Related
Jetset Style :: Right as Rainwear
Top 10 Travel Essentials :: Fall Weekend Edition
Jetset Style :: Scandinavia-Inspired Jackets
Fashion Friday :: Mad for Hats

[images via imaxtree, pinterest, pacific coast news, sincerely jules, song of style, alessia gammarota, victoria tornegren]

Preggy Styler

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: Have you checked out the online Trip Styler Store? Stop by for handpicked finds from around the globe. 

In case you missed last week's surprise there's-a-new-Styler-in-town-post, I've added a new member to the TS flight crew: Baby Styler.

To say that Baby Styler is well traveled is an understatement. Logging almost as many miles as an airline captain, he jet-set and road-tripped to more destinations in my womb than I visited in my first 20 years on planet Earth {too bad he couldn't start collecting frequent flyer miles nine months ago...}.

While I was a little {read: a lot} nervous to travel with him in my belly when it came to common considerations such as turbulence, adverse reactions to foreign foods or constant mountain-to-tropic climate changes, I got the go-ahead from my doctor for every trip, so I went. Since I travel frequently and am acclimatized to the lifestyle, I was fortunate enough {and very careful} to avoid any major issues on the road {unless you count the time I came within one meter of a boa constrictor in West Bali} though I always made sure I had access to medical care in case I suddenly needed it.

Doing every trip style—active/adventure, beach/sun, weekend away, food-focused, glamping, urban, steals, luxe, spa—over the course of my journey into babydom, I learned that traveling while pregnant is not about what you can't do {i.e. food restrictions, drink restrictions, spa restrictions, exercise restrictions, etc.} but tweaking the trip styles you love to fit your preg 'n' traveling comfort level. 

Here's how I made each trip style work during my womberlust:

• In Tokyo at one of the best sushi restaurants in the world, I chose the vegetarian omakase menu over the raw fish menu. 
• In Northern Thailand, I had a facial instead of a massage at the spa. 
• In Bali, I lounged under a palm tree versus in the direct sun. 
• Also in Bali, I consumed fresh-pressed fruit juices over poolside cocktails.
• In Mexico, I stayed in a shorefront glamping hut with air conditioning instead of one naturally cooled by the beach breeze {because midday temps reached 41 degrees C}.
• In Kuala Lumpur, where temperatures hovered in the 43-degree-C range, I stopped into malls and restaurants every 30 minutes to cool down, rest, re-hydrate and nibble while exploring the city on foot.
• On a road-trip from Vancouver to San Francisco, I became well acquainted with Washington, Oregon and California's highway-side rest stops.

Preggy Styler Photo Gallery

One month. Mexico.

One month. Lake Tahoe. 

Two months. Palm Springs.

Three months. Hong Kong. 

Three months. Thailand.

Three months. Thailand.

Four months. Kuala Lumpur.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali. 

Five months. Tokyo.

Five months. Tokyo.

Six months. Seattle. 

Six months. San Francisco. 

Seven months. Mexico. 

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon. 

[photos by @tripstyler]

Baby Styler

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: Have you checked out the online Trip Styler Store? Stop by for handpicked finds from around the globe. 

A few weeks ago, the stork delivered Baby Styler to my doorstep. Instead of arriving for his flight on time, he was wooed by the airport's duty-free boutique, stopped in for a virgin cocktail in the lounge and THEN sauntered to his gate {he's pretty small, he can't crawl that fast}. Needless to say, he didn't catch his plane on the day he was due to arrive, and the only flight headed to his final destination left 11 days later. He was fashionably late. 

A lot of people have asked me if Trip Styler will change now that Baby Styler's in the picture. Mostly, things will stay the same. I'm not going to add trip style = family to the above list of trip types because besides {not yet} taking Baby Styler to the spa—the wonders of which he'll soak in one day—I want him to experience the joys of glamping, the energy of urban travel, the warmth of beach breaks and the thrill of adventure. 

We'll stay at the same styled hotels, most of which allow kids, anyway. Case in point: As I plan a trip to California for our newly minted family of three {four with Dog Styler, but, sadly, he doesn't fly well}, I'm eyeing the Ace Hotel Los Angeles and the Parker Palm Springs, which both have a cool scene and such destination-worthy restaurants and lounges you don't need to go offsite to find good food, cocktails and conversation. {Sounds like my kind of "family-friendly."}

Baby Styler will come on many TS trips, and, once in a while, I may talk about this, but Trip Styler will maintain its MO as a travel lifestyle publication delivering trip style tips to aspiring jetsetters {of all ages}.

 PS. Since I chose not to broadcast being pregnant on Trip Styler, most of the photos posted on TS over the past nine months were taken from strategic angles as my belly grew. Next week I'll follow up with a few of the less strategic snaps from the Oregon Coast to Kuala Lumpur. 

[photo by @tripstyler]