If you follow me on instagram you might have seen I’m getting a little excited as I’m going on holiday this week. The last proper holiday I had was back in January 2017 when I went to Kenya…it’s been a long time since I’ve had a real break and gotten out of the country. I’ve been away for the odd weekend in the U.K and a couple of times to Paris before moving BUT not what I would consider a real holiday. So I’m off to the States for 10 days, Coachella for the first three, then a quick trip to San Diego for one night and up to Venice Beach in Los Angeles for the rest. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I have wanted to go to Coachella FOREVER.
So how does one get ready for a big holiday when you’re living abroad with half your usual wardrobe and pretty much no money to buy new clothes? You get PREPARED in advance. Way in advance. I’ve obviously known I was going on this trip for a while, we’d bought the Coachella tickets last year so it’s been a long time coming. I knew that when I went home at Christmas I’d need to bring back some summer clothes for this trip…there just wasn’t enough room first time around. Normally I’d think about buying new clothes for a trip like this, especially when going to something like Coachella but it wasn’t really an option given I’m on a very low income at the moment and need to be savvy with my money. At the same time I don’t want to be spending all of my savings on shopping etc. SO, I’m working with what I have and hoping that it’ll look alright…if all else fails I’ve bought a s**t tonne of glitter so at least I’ll sparkle. I’m going with my friend and two others and I’ll be flying out on Thursday to meet them. My friend and her sister went last year and have warned me it is ROASTING so you basically want to wear as little as you feel comfortable doing. I’m also super pale naturally so I’m going to top up that suncream on the regs. I laid out all my outfits the other day and tried them on…I had no tan on (I’m a religious fake tanner) and no make up either. Let’s just say it didn’t go that well, I should have known better than to start trying on outfits. I quickly abandoned and just folded everything back up. It’s going to be a real, try it on on the day and hope it works approach. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I booked my flights through kiwi.com who I’ve found to be great. All the information is super clear and easily accessible, they’ve communicated any changes to my flight schedule (both my flights have been moved slightly) quickly and they’ve sent me reminders of everything I need to print and bring with me etc. My friend sorted out our accommodation in Palm Springs for the festival so I literally just handed over money for that, but I booked the hotel for the night in San Diego and the Air B&B for the 4 nights in Venice Beach. I used booking.com to find the San Diego hotel, I found it super easy and it was much cheaper than Air B&B would have been for the one night. We’ve actually ended up with a huge room for 4 people! Our Air B&B is literally 5 mins from Venice Beach and we’re lucky as the place is usually booked. It’s a super cute little bungalow, with a small outdoor terrace for drinks etc. perfect for the two of us. We’re obviously hiring a car whilst our there too and found ours through rentalcars.com. It’s like a price comparison website for car rentals and we’ve booked ours with Enterprise through them, very excited/scared to be driving around on the wrong side of the road!
Something I find really helpful when preparing for holiday, or well anything really are lists. Lists for what I need to buy, lists of what I need to book, lists for what I need to pack. I like to have everything written down so I can cross it off and be sure I’ve got it. It’s systematic and that makes my brain happy. I also lay everything out in piles and double check it before packing in my suitcase. It’s good to see everything all laid out and then you can get rid of anything that’s a bit unnecessary. Then tonight I’ll be printing out all the documents I need; tickets, hotel reservation, ESTA etc. It’s safe to say I could never be accused of being disorganised 😂.
And that’s pretty much it! I just need to get myself there now. Oh and tan before I go, I’m rocking some serious pale girl vibes at the moment (nothing against that I just prefer to have a bit of a tan) Fingers crossed for a smooth journey and then it’s time to enjoy!! It’s going to be about 30-40°C so pray I find some shade.
Hope you all have a great Easter, I’ll be dancing away at Coachella soaking up the sun!
F x
SAVOIR-FAY 