Neck Support

Thank you, Ikea, for carrying super cheap, super functional travel pillows! I bought a bunch of neck pillows from Ikea last week at $3.99 a piece (normally $4.99, but $1 off with the Ikea family card - free to sign up). The UPPTÄCKA travel series has a bunch of fun stuff - rolling backpacks, totes, and neck pillows. For some reason, the U.S. Ikea site doesn't have the neck pillows but I did manage to find them at the Baltimore Ikea (which is conveniently located right across from my hotel).

The pillow comes in a nice little mesh drawstring pouch and it's pretty tiny. I'd compare it to a little 1 pt water bottle.

Inside there's a little inflatable cushion (which I tested out and you have to squeeze the mouthpiece to let the air out, makes for easy inflating) and a soft, quilted cover. You have to put the cover on before you blow it up, otherwise it's difficult to put inside.

Here's a better shot of the quilted cover. It's really soft and looks pretty durable.

My sister and I are starting to stress a bit about being on a plane for 10+ hours and I think these pillows are offering a bit of relief. We're also packing anti-nausea medication in our tiny first aid kit.

And here's just a little look into my weird packing habits. I like to make a pile of everything I might want to bring and then a few days before departure, I'll try it all on and do a bit of fine tuning. It's always a bit of a treat to pack for warm/tropical destinations because everything is so tiny and light and thin so I don't have to worry so much about space. I can pack a few more things, guilt-free.

13 days! :):)