My Patricia Nash collection – all pulled together and ready for my trip overseas on Monday!

On Monday I’ll be taking a trip…an adventure…  Two weeks off of work.  I can’t remember the last time I did that for a vacation.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever taken that long off to take a vacation and actually go somewhere and completely disconnect.

My husband and I are traveling overseas…(more on where later)… so since this is a much longer trip.  I’ve been trying really hard to keep it simple and make sure that everything I take is compact and useful.

The main thing that I have been concerned with is how to take my camera and zoom lens.  I found a smaller camera backpack at Target a few weeks ago and it worked great when we traveled to Austin, Texas last weekend.  I like it because it’s not cumbersome and it’s just the right size for my camera and the zoom lens as well as a few accessories.

I love maps…so how could I NOT love this over the shoulder purse with a map on it?! Perfect for travel!

I also needed something to carry my passport in….something small that also holds my driver’s license and a few credit cards and my immunization records.   I was shopping at Macy’s when I discovered Patricia Nash leather handbags.  What drew me to the wallet was actually a large satchel bag with a map on it.  I considered the satchel but decided instead on the wallet and a cross body bag – both with maps on them.  They worked well on our weekend trip to Austin.

Patricia Nash Italian Leather handbags and accessories…discovered them at Macys and bought my handbag and passport wallet there. I bought my satchel through Amazon. Love this collection! So beautiful!

As I was preparing for the Austin trip though, I realized that I didn’t have a good satchel bag and so I went back to the Patricia Nash collection and chose a solid leather satchel.  I ordered it through Amazon and it arrived while I was in Austin.  It’s beautiful too… I slipped the cross body bag right into it along with my travel journal.  There is also plenty of space for my Nook and a few other things!  I think it’s going to be easy to travel with the satchel and the small camera backpack.  Really…I want to keep the “stuff” I carry to a minimum!

Finally…I was in Macy’s the other day when I walked up on a jewelry display.  Mind you, I don’t typically look at pre-packaged items but for some reason I did that day.  The sterling silver jewelry was deeply discounted that particular day and I became fixated on a necklace.  It’s a layered necklace – the smaller piece is a gold circle with the cardinal points – north, east, south and west.  The larger piece has a saying “life is a journey, enjoy the ride.”

This is my first trip out of the country in a long time so this spoke to me, I guess you could say.  I also don’t believe in accidents…finding this necklace was predestined.  It will be one of the only jewelry items I wear on my trip – again, trying to keep it simple.

My new “travel” necklace…I really love the cardinal point part of the necklace.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru