notquiteold

Nancy Roman

You Can’t Take It With You

It’s time for my husband and I to go on a little vacation.

Everyone looks forward to vacation. Everyone but us.

My husband and I are not good travelers.

We hate leaving our precious things.

My husband hates to leave his garden.

It’s the angle… it’s just a regular-sized garden.

And his kitties:

Three of our four fur children.

But we do need to get away for a bit. We always have a nice time and enjoy a change of scenery.

So I convinced my husband to take a mini-vacation. Just two days  – only one night away from home.

We’ll go to Newport, Rhode Island. We love walking around that quaint but ritzy town, watching the boats in the harbor, sailing our kite in the sea breeze. Then of course there’s our favorite French restaurant. We’ll stay in a pretty Bed & Breakfast, and then we’ll spend the next day at the beach.

The kitties will be safe with a good friend who will spend the night.

The tomatoes will somehow muddle through without my husband’s loving touch.

So the only worry is for MY precious stuff.

I, too, hate to leave my precious things.

Makeup

Hair Products

I realize I don’t need all of this stuff, and I don’t use more than 20% on a daily basis.  (Okay, maybe 3%)

I can’t possibly know what makeup mood I will be in. Perhaps it will be a sunshiny day, and I will want a nice bronzer. Or the romantic lighting in the French restaurant may call for some Brigitte Bardot eyeliner. And what would happen if I pack the taupey-pink lipstick, when I really wanted the pinky-taupe lipstick?

And then there’s all my hair product. I need root lifter and volumizer and shine enhancer and a touch of super-light super-strong gel. Or maybe hairspray, depending on the weather.

See –  the problem is that I never know EXACTLY what I may want to use.  Even if I pack a volumizer – What if it isn’t the right one?    Maybe I want the volumizer in the blue can. Or the one in the purple bottle. Or the white pump.

You may be thinking...’Wait a sec. They’re volumizers. Don’t they all do exactly the same thing?’

So …

WHAT’S YOUR POINT?

Ready for an overnight stay.

37 Comments

  1. They all do the exact same thing to me – they make me look the opposite of how I wanted to look!

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    • There’s a fine line between just the right amount of product and uh-oh.

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      • I never see the line – that’s the problem. I wish someone would draw it a bit thicker.

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  2. You and your husband sound similar to me and mine. Don’t want to leave the cats. And for us, don’t (but do, but don’t) want to leave the kids. Like you, we REALLY need to get away. I think we’ll do the same – take a day or two. And I’ll be carrying just as much luggage LOL!

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    • We always have a good time – when we aren’t wishing we were home.

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  3. Hilarious and so true!

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  4. That is a lot of kitty love. My last vacation I covered my lack of supplies with large sunglasses and a baseball cap. For the kind of trip it was, it worked perfectly. Have fun!

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    • Oh, I wish. I am just not a hat person. Teeny head.

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  5. I am not one to want to travel either. I love traveling once I’m out there — but I too am a homebody and I dread leaving my beloved house. And I don’t want to leave the kitties in my house either. Kids, eh. I can leave them behind 😉

    Packing-wise, the easiest vacations for me are when we visit my brother’s family — they’re very easy to be around and I never have to pack anything that I know they’ll have on hand.

    Have a great trip!

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    • Maybe I can call ahead and the B&B can stock a few (say a dozen) different hair products.

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  6. Oh, my goodness: Newport is one of my FAVORITE places for a quick getaway! We often go for one or two nights during my spring break. Here’s a tip: If you don’t want to pack your makeup, go to Cosmetics Cosmos on Thames Street. They will take very good care of you, I promise! Have a wonderful time, and thanks for the spouse-and-kitties photo. It made my day.

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    • I haven’t been to Newport for a few years… now I can’t wait to go to Cosmetic Cosmos! What did you have Mr. Frump do while he was waiting?

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      • There’s a nice coffee shop about half a block down (in an old bank), across the street. 🙂

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  7. The beauty of a get-a-way to Newport for you is that you can drive there. Take as much as you want. Hell, take the bathroom sink!

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    • We used to take our SUV, so that was So TRUE. But this year we are taking the little convertible. The trunk is miniscule. I’m so screwed.

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  8. My husband and I are the same about leaving our paranoid dog! I’m fine a few months out at the planning stage, but then when it’s time to go, I feel sad and wish to stay. I also pack in an agony of indecision with the same “might need this and might need that” approach. Aargh! This is a very funny post and oh so true!

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    • I used to travel a lot for business. It never got easier.

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  9. The thing is — none of those products make me look like the beautiful girls in the commercials — what’s up with that ?!!!

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    • I’m ready to file a class action lawsuit. Want to join me?

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      • Yeah, right? Can we include in that a complete, free, do-over (plastic surgery, et al) to make us look like their advertisements? We could include the works! After all, their ads do imply …..

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  10. Michelle Gillies

    I’m in the middle of doing the same thing. One night away and decisions, decisions, decisions. My final decision was to read your blog. Now I have to go finish packing so we can leave in the morning.
    Have fun.

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  11. You are funny, love the pictures most especially of your side of the problem! I can pack my beauty products in my purse but the airline won’t let me take them on the plane, so I throw them in my check bag. Actually I simply keep duplicates in my bag, one set in a drawer at home, one set in a big baggie in my suitcase.

    I carry less than my husband on our vacations!

    Have fun!

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  12. Enjoy your vacation! Maybe you should take along a nice vacation hat? 😀

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  13. You pack the way I do, bring everything. Have a wonderful trip.

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  14. I’m not a big traveler. I pretend that I am saying things like “I would love to go to Italy. I would love to go to Greece” and I would. I would just rather Italy and Greece came to my house.

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  15. Ah, so you’re NOT taking them with you? No wonder you’ll worry about leaving them behind–because you never know what makeup mood you’ll be in. You said it, I’m simply repeating.

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  16. Have lots of fun! The volumizers will survive!

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    • I’m not sure I could enjoy Newport if I had flat hair.

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  17. I love the pictures. I’m a personal hygiene hoarder too. You never know what you might need, right?

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  18. I just came back from a vacation, desperate for my bed and my children’s playroom (so that we wouldn’t all be within five feet of each other all day long).

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  19. I almost snorted when I saw your picture of make-up. I travel with mascara and lipstick, and that’s about it. 🙂

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    • Teresa Cleveland Wendel

      Me too. Only I carry blusher as well.

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      • Yup, that’s all I carry. Mascara, lipstick, and blush. Oh…and concealer, foundation, shadow, liner, highlighter, bronzer, eyebrow pencil. That’s all. Except maybe daytime moisturizer and nighttime moisturizer. And eye serum.

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        • Teresa Cleveland Wendel

          hahahahaha

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