I used to think it was awesome to be an overpacker. No joke, I would be proud of myself for bringing 20 something shoes on a  16 day family cruise ...  yup, they had their own suitcase. What was I thinking? Now, the smaller the bag I can bring and the more efficient I can be with my outfits, the better. Last summer I received the  A22 Raden bag before my summer travels thinking I would bring it to Europe. The bag has great features but I was very wrong in thinking I could take it to Europe; it's truly a carry-on/weekender bag. Andy would even joke that it's only big enough for an overnight trip but I love the challenge of fitting a whole weekend's worth of clothes and toiletries in it. We  left for Catalina on Friday for my birthday weekend and the carry-on bag with only  12 items has been perfect the entire trip.

Hands down the  BEST travel tip:

Keep a travel bag stocked with all your toiletries and beauty products (not makeup). That way whenever you head out on vacation you just have to grab that and your makeup bag and you're done. It's so much more efficient, plus the chances that you forget an essential eye cream (the worst!) at home are pretty much zero.

{ lulus floral dress //  grlfrnd denim skirt //  lulus lbd //  denim jacket //  lulus tie-up sandals //  oversized sweater //  midsommar bikini //  nike tennis shoes // jenni kayne slides //  janessa leone hat}

For a weekend trip to Catalina, I kept my packing to "all-in-one" outfits and separates that could be mixed and matched. Here are my  12 essentials for a weekend in Catalina:

{bottoms}
denim skirt
pair of jeans

{tops}
white cami
white cotton t

{shoes}
tennis shoes
 sandals
slides

{other}
 bathing suit
LBD
floral dress
long sweater
hat

I wore the jeans, white cotton t, long sweater, and slides on our  Catalina Express journey so basically only had 8 pieces to pack along with my toiletries, makeup, and hair tools. Never underestimate the denim x white t combo - remember my  capsule weekend wardrobe post?

Hope you all had a fab weekend! Wishing we could stay just ONE more day  in Catalina but I can't wait to get back and tell you all about  our trip; they literally treated me like a birthday princess!

Off to go parasailing - eek!!