Eek, sliding into this upcoming week with a little trepidation combined with some excitement, too.
My to-do list is kind of bursting right now. We leave for Austin, TX super early on Thursday, and there’s just a lot happening before then.
On the docket:
- haircut- Monday over lunch hour
- hot tub service appt- Tuesday
- work farewell “coffee hour” for our student help who is graduating…. in person, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, downtown….😫
- Drive Ethan to a 3:30 p.m. Spanish Placement Exam for high school next year on Tuesday (drive each way + wait time= probably busy from 3-5 at least)
- Ethan also has in-person DRIVER’S ED classes every night this week, from 6:30-8:30, and it’s a 30 minute drive away.
- The usual soccer practice/ VB/ swim stuff for Asher
- Finishing touches on volunteer coordination for the swim meet next weekend (which I won’t be at, but need to help my co-chair finalize stuff).
- Work
I also need to….
- do something with my nails! (Will use Impress Press-on nails, as I always do! They are amazing and easy. But still, I need to put them on before Thursday)
- Was hoping to get a pedicure, but not sure when this is going to fit in.
- get a few grocery items for the kids/ my parents who will be staying with them
- Also wanted to maybe get a little spray tan because any hint of Costa Rica tan is GONE, and I will be wearing some dresses, etc in Texas and I just feel better if I’m not quite as pasty white…. (and I still have a few spray tans left from a package Ivan bought me at our gym for Valentine’s Day a year or two ago. They have a spray tan booth at the gym, yes. It’s very quick and easy, but does require that I have showered/ shaved my legs right before and also then can’t shower for several hours after…. so it can be tricky to time it just right.)
- Pack! Which shouldn’t take that long as it’s a short trip, but, still, need to be ready to go to airport super early on Thursday a.m.
Work trip with a dress code….
This trip has proved to be slightly more complicated than just a “normal” trip for me to pack for. Normally I do not have to worry about any kind of dress code or certain outfits on vacation really, and we don’t generally frequent fancy restaurants.
But this is a “celebratory/ high performer’s trip” for Ivan, and it’s at a nice hotel and will include several cocktail hours and brunch and a formal dinner where suit jackets are required for men, etc.
Fortunately, they did send an itinerary with “dress codes” listed for each event. Most things, like the first evening cocktail hour and the breakfasts, are listed as “casual/ “business casual/or even “shorts okay but no ripped jeans”, etc. So it’s not like super fancy or anything. But still. I don’t actually wear “business casual” outfits that often, in my line of work…. lol. And we’ll be mingling with higher ups and whatnot so I want to look presentable/ classy, but also not overdressed if people do keep it pretty casual (which being a warm place + Texas, I think people will probably do…? Right?)
It also feels like I’m probably going to have to change my clothes 3x per day. Ha. Because…..:
Breakfast/brunch = business casual/ look kind of nice-ish for company breakfast at the hotel.
Then daytime= we will go out to do things (it’s HOT in Texas, y’all…), and Texas is likely very casual, so I probably will want to change into something else for touristing around. (On Friday we are doing a land/water tour of Austin as our “activity choice” from the employer’s list of options, not sure on Saturday yet.)
Evening= company dinners….. Friday is a “Texas casual themed” night out with everyone at a local brewery where it said “cowboy boots and hats encouraged”. Ummm…… (checks closet, definitely no cowboy boots or hats in there….) I ended up buying a casual dress from the Miranda Lambert line (she’s country!) and will wear some little ankle booties I already own that are “country-ish” + a jean jacket if the a/c is chilly. Good enough.
Saturday is the fancy awards night, so I have that covered with a nice dress. Thursday is the welcome cocktail hour, but then after we’re free to go out on our own….so I think I might wear one thing to the cocktail hour and then just change into jeans to go out in Austin.
Anyway! I spent some time on Friday afternoon sorting out what I’ll take, and I think I have some options figured out that I like a lot!
I think Ivan has spent 0 minutes so far thinking about what he will wear, so, there’s always that approach. LOL!!!
Do you ever travel where there’s a certain “dress code”? I assume people who travel for work probably do this all the time. But I’m a work-from-home recluse who normally doesn’t need to look nice. 😂😂
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for parents who can come stay with the boys while we’re away!
GRATEFUL KAE 
Hope y’all have fun in Austin! You’re right that it is refined casual down here. I feel like when I have work trips like this, I try to do a color palette so I can mix, match and layer easily. my description of Austin fashion would be if Texan and Californian styles had a baby… lol.
Don’t forget your sunscreen!
LikeLike
Thanks! And, I just realized that I spelled “y’all” wrong when I attempted to use it in a sentence above. hahahaha. We northerners really do not say y’all, as I have just demonstrated. I thought it was “ya’ll”. 😂 I’ve edited my post…. hehe!
Love your description of Austin fashion! That’s kind of what I was thinking. I feel like if we were just going on our own it would be totally easy, but just trying to have the more business appropriate stuff along as well tripped me up a little. But it will be fine- it’s not a big deal anyway, and I’m sure people will be wearing all different types of things. We went to one last year in San Diego and there was definitely a spectrum of more dressy people/ less dressy people, etc.
LikeLike
I think business casual is such a broad category that much of what you own would count. I feel it’s a company’s way of saying ‘no jeans’. I went to one rewards trip like this and it was also in Texas, but the Dallas area. I’d way rather go to Austin! If I was going I would mostly pack dresses and layer with a cardigan at breakfast so I wouldn’t freeze. I am always cold in hotels regardless of the season. My work trips have a dress code since I am doing client meetings but I wear the same outfits trip after trip and for a 3 day trip I will often wear the same dress 2 out of 3 days! I do need to get more work dresses. I prefer dresses to pants/tops since it’s so much easier to pack one thing versus 2 pieces/outfit.
Good luck getting through everything before you fly out!!
LikeLike
Yes, I’m generally a fan of dresses, too! I find them to be easier and more comfortable, overall. I was trying to figure out things I could wear and just keep wearing all day or just with change of bottoms to minimize so much clothes changing, but ultimately, I’m not going to worry about it. It’s such a short trip that space shouldn’t be an issue, so I’ll just take a few extra outfits and be done with it! I definitely have a cardigan packed for the fancy dinner too because I know it will be in one of those ballrooms and I’m afraid it will be cold. At last year’s the breakfast was outside on the hotel terrace, so that was nice, but I don’t know what the set up will be here. If it’s inside, I’ll likely also be chilly with the a/c!!! I’m always freezing, year round. lol!!!
LikeLike
usually I go with business casual.. few outfits that are relaxed business (skirt, t-shirt/blouse), 1-2 dresses that are light and simple, a jacket, and jean with t-shirt for truly casual. I don’t sweat too much about it as nobody really cares what I wear.. 🙂 I like Ivan’s approach.
LikeLike
Yeah, I know it really doesn’t matter! It will be fine. 🙂 We don’t do many solo trips though or definitely not many “dressy” type situations, so I was trying to find a few outfits that would make me feel a little more put together than normal, just to sort of embrace going away on this little adults only getaway!
LikeLike
This trip sounds so fun! And the outfit planning sounds equal parts fun and stressful. I hope you have a wonderful time!
LikeLike
Packing for trips always sets the “minimalist wannabe” me against the “But I like cute clothes” me.
I had a boss once who always wore a suit – to every day at the office or board meetings or even the opening night party, she always showed up in a suit. (Well maybe once in a while for a fancy gala she would wear a gown.) Not literally the same suit, but all variations on the same thing. I was really fascinated by how she never seemed overdressed or underdressed.
LikeLike
Oh boy, that sounds like a long to-do list (and talk about the mental load of it all).
I travel for work ,as you know, but I go into the field and don’t need any fancy clothes and there is definitely no dress code LOL
LikeLike