This Christmas was a particularly exciting one for me because I have a new nephew! And it was my first time getting to meet him, plus my first trip to Oregon, where my sister lives. The drive from New Mexico is about 19 hours, which I did over the course of 3 days / 2 nights (one short day and two longer).
My new nephew was also the entry point for my newfound love of quilting, because I took a quilting class to make a baby quilt. Since a few people have asked, the class I took was at OffCenter Arts taught by Eliot Anderberg.
Here’s the quilt I made:
Here’s a little taste of the drive:
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When I travel, instead of feeling limited by the size of my suitcase, I like to think of it as a short-term capsule wardrobe—a fun little exercise in creativity and a chance to think about what I am actually wearing. I previously brought only 20 pieces of clothing on a 55 day trip.
Since I hadn’t been to Oregon before, I wasn’t totally sure what to pack. My sister lives in Bend, which I thought would be more similar to Albuquerque because it’s also called “high desert,” but this time of year it’s actually quite wet! It rained or slushed or sleeted almost every day we were there. I did bring my Blundstones, but if I lived there (or visited more frequently) I’d probably want a pair of waterproof-ish slip-on shoes like these or these. I pretty much live in my Birkenstock slip-ons, but they are no match for the wintry streets of Bend.
Below the paywall you’ll find
What I packed on my trip—the comfiest, coziest things I own
The pieces that I wore the most and the least.
What I’d do differently next time.
The car snacks, audiobooks, and podcasts that got me through almost 20 hours of driving.