Making My Pre-Travel Checklist

I am a list girl through and through. As lots of change is soon to happen in my life (moving in two weeks and beginning our four month adventure in four weeks), the only way for me to keep track of everything I need to take care of is by writing to do lists. Do I write them all in one spot, like in a daily journal or something? No, of course not, duh. How logical would that be to keep all my lists in one central location so I could find them when I need them? 

But lucky for me (and maybe other soon-to-be travellers who are thinking of what they need to organize before taking off on a multi-month backpacking trip), I wrote this blog post to keep all of my to do items in check.

Here’s my pre-travel checklist for what you need to take care of before leaving your apartment, backpacking for a few months, then moving to a new country.

Travel

• Organize itinerary
• Research and purchase travel-related gear
• Make lists of what I intend to pack (clothing, beauty/hygiene essentials, first aid kit) (clearly in that order)
• Test-drive packing and walking with a backpack filled with these items
• Make copies of important docs and register with the government as a Canadian abroad
• Research visa requirements, costs, and restrictions
• Book accommodations for first couple of nights
• Buy travel insurance (World Nomads stood out for us as the best option)
• Learn local language (this is obviously extreme but at least learn the basic phrases)

Medical

• Research which vaccinations are recommended for area(s) of travel (here's what I got for backpacking through Central America)
• Book travel medical consultation (need to relatively know your route for the appointment)
• Buy 6+ month supple of contacts 
• Get prescriptions written out and filled in advance

Moving

• cancel bills and services, give notice on apartment
• update mailing address
• sort through which items to trash, donate, and store
• oh yeah. pack up all our junk

Personal / Misc.

• gather friends’ and family’s addresses so we can send postcards
• order business cards
• sort out bank accounts and where to keep our savings
• finalize online storage and how i’m going to back up my photos/articles

Do you have any other suggestions for soon-to-be-travellers? If you think of anything that’s missing from this list, there’s a good chance I haven’t done it yet so please share in the comments below!

Linking up with Karly Kim / Glossy Blonde / A Compass Rose.

Follow me on Bloglovin / Email / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

What I'm Wearing: At Home

If you were to see me working away at home, or perhaps if you stopped by mi casa for a mug of something warm on this wintery weekend, you'd likely find me with my hair thrown up in a bun wearing one of my husband's oversized shirts with leggings. My standard, go-to, "I'm chillin" outfit.

We'd chat about what's going on in the world today, and I'd confess to only knowing a fraction of what I should about Nelson Mandela. He passed away on Thursday, the same night as the film about his life premiered, "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom". I'd like to see that over the holiday break. Melyssa posted a beautiful roundup of Mandela's most famous quotes, a very inspiring read if you have a couple minutes to spare. My favourite?

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Catching Up & November Links I Love

Last weekend life worked out in the way that it sometimes does where serendipitously everyone's schedules aligned at the last minute and before I knew it we were packed and on our way to Montreal. We want to take advantage of spending time with friends before we leave in a few weeks, so we hopped in the car for an impromptu trip to Montreal (normally about a 2 hour drive) to spend quality time with good friends of ours before beginning our travels to Central America. 

I put away (most) technology, totally turned off blogging, and enjoyed days filled with conversation, laughter, unhealthy-but-way-delicious food (please tell me you know what poutine is), and most importantly, great company. 

All bundled up to explore the city. Once we realized it was -15 C degree weather (5F), we stopped only for food then went back inside

Poutine! Fries, cheese curds, and gravy for those who don't know this delicious French Canadian dish. Way better than it looks, I promise

The weather was beyond frigid and since I've already visited Montreal many times, I wasn't too concerned about touring different sites. These are pretty much all the photos I have because I was legit concerned about losing my fingers to frostbite when we were outdoors. What kind of Canadian am I anyway, you might be asking, but when the wind bites at your face and your eyes are tearing up from the windchill, it's no fun to be exploring around outside (especially without mitts). When I was back indoors though, it was so easy to get caught up in the moment and put my camera aside. While I love having pictures, I don't always enjoy taking pictures and being all up in everyone's faces, know what I mean?

Anyway, after an extended break it usually doesn’t take me too long to jump back into real life obligations but with this trip, enjoying the good old days in general, and thinking about packing up to move I've been truly awful at letting those emails pile up or putting blogging on the back burner. Thankfully today I'm back at it. I've learned that when I'm getting into the blogging grove, there are four things I need:

1. quiet space where I can talk to myself (sometimes I need to read aloud, ok?) 
2. bright lighting 
3. soft music playing, usually something folky or acoustic (current faves include John Mayer and Gareth Bush) 
4. no short time restrictions (like photography, I really enjoy writing when I can do it organically and not have to “pump it out” in 20 minutes. That’s what I used to do with papers in university so writing feels like work for me if I do it like that)

Today I figured why not start off by sharing a few links I love from November. I have article ideas bursting out of my brain and am so excited to sit quietly on this Friday morning and just write. Make sure to check back next week for new posts including some pretty cocktail dresses and my picks for travel makeup.

Now for November’s link love…