In 2009, when my sister and I went to Paris, I started planning months before we went. I made lists of things I needed to do, things I needed to buy, etc. And then I slowly bought the necessary items (like plug adaptors, new luggage, phrasebooks, etc.) in the months prior to our trip. I accumulated everything slowly because didn’t want to be spending loads of money the week before we left. I was living in a 1 bedroom apartment at the time and didn’t have much space to store these things, so I cleared out a shelf in my hall closet. And that became my ‘Paris’ shelf.
I am now proud to say that I have a Belgium shelf in our bedroom closet. I haven’t bought tons of stuff, but a few things. Things that I won’t use until we go. And I want these things to stay together until I start packing.
Here’s what I have so far:
My new Kelly Moore bag. Oh, Kelly Moore. I have been an admirer of her bags for years, just through websites (blogs like The Pioneer Woman and A Beautiful Mess). Basically, they are camera bags that double as purses. The only problem is you can’t buy them in person at many places. And if you’re like me, and paying good money for a bag, you probably want to see it, feel it, look inside of it, etc.. Unfortunately, there are NO places here in New Mexico that sell them. But I found a store in Nebraska that sold them, so when we were there for my nephews wedding, we made a stop at Rockbrook Camera in Omaha. The Kelly Moore display was RIGHT in the entryway practically. There were maybe 15 different bags, in a variety of colors and styles (each style of her bag usually comes in 2-3 colors). I was initially interested in the Libby bag, and I was hoping that it wasn’t as large as it looked online.
It was. I was soooooo disappointed to see that it actually looked BIGGER in person than it did online. Seriously, this bag was huge. It looked like an overnight bag almost.
So I quickly browsed the other selections that were on display, and my eye was immediately drawn to this one:
The ‘Esther’.
Now, I have no clue why I didn’t really notice the Esther online. I think I was just way too focused on the Libby bag. The Esther bag is PERFECT. It had everything I was looking for: a zippered top closure (WAY important as a tourist in Europe, where pickpocketing is extremely common), brown or black, large enough to hold my camera, extra lens, etc. PLUS all of my purse contents. But it actually had to still LOOK like a handbag and not a camera bag, and not be completely ginormous or look like a piece of luggage. Check. It had everything.
AND…..it was on sale! Not only was it cheaper than the list price on the Kelly Moore website (AND cheaper than the Libby bag), but Rockbrook was having a sale JUST THAT DAY on all of their camera bags. Score! It was meant to be!! Ha ha.
Here’s a peak at the inside:
The divided insert is removable, in case you aren’t going to be hauling your camera around 24/7. For our trip, I will definitely be leaving it in. The whole reason I bought this bag was to safely transport my camera on the go.
There is also another pocket to hold a 13” laptop. I am bringing my laptop to Europe so that I can download pictures every night from my phone AND my DSLR. I have heard too many horror stories of people who took loads of pictures on a major vacation only to find out that their camera card was defective at the end of their trip and their pictures were gone. Or, their camera card was filled up after day 2. Stuff like that. If I plug in my camera and phone each night and download the pictures to my laptop, it will put my mind at ease a bit.
The rest of the bag is large enough to hold my purse contents. There are also two side outer pockets, which will be nice for water bottles.
And then there’s this pocket, which is designed for credit cards/etc.
I won't use this pocket in Europe....I feel better just sticking my wallet inside of the main zippered part.
Here are the other contents of my Belgium shelf:
An IKEA backpack, which I will probably use as my second carry-on item. I plan to put a change of undergarments, my contacts, and a few other items that I would like to have just in case there are issues with our luggage.
When we were in California in November, I also stocked up on some travel bottles, (IKEA has the BEST travel section!), some pouches, and I picked up some inflatable neck pillows and a compact umbrella.
I also bought a storage pouch for my laptop and a smaller one for my iPad.
The case that it is currently in works great for home, but it is way too big and bulky to travel with. So this should give it a little extra protection. Everything in the IKEA travel section is either pink or navy, which is why most of this stuff is pink. I did get a couple more navy travel pouches for my husband, although he doesn’t need nearly the amount of small bags that I do.
So far, there are only a couple more things on my list (besides some new clothes), so my Belgium shelf shouldn’t be expanding too much before we leave. It's nice to keep it all in one place!
