Starting a New Travel Journal

On my most recent trip (to the UK and Greece) I finished my travel journal. It took me six years, but I did it. I already had another Moleskine lined up (I buy them if I see them on sale) so I set it up as the successor. I made a little title page, set up a table of contents page, and added my credit card and bank emergency numbers to the back, the same as my original journal. Something different I did was to add in a generic packing list to use as a reference and make it a little easier when I'm planning.

My new journal is the same as the old except it's a soft cover. I'm a little apprehensive to see how it holds up - the edges are getting scraped up already - but I appreciate how much lighter it is.

And even though I'll do my best to keep it tidy and well organized, I have a feeling I'll get kind of complacent here and there and get messier and messier with time. But you know, I actually kind of like that; it's more organic and real.

Making the cover page wasn't really a priority with my last journal. But this time around, I was inspired to jazz it up a bit more. I guess I was in a creative, coloring mood. For the main cover page, I drew Kreacher (who is one of my favorite characters from the Harry Potter series; I love him so much) and wrote in the phrase that activates the Marauder's Map because it's so cheeky and suits an adventurous spirit.

Like I said, I made a v. generic packing list so I can refer back to it as I make my trip-specific packing lists. There are certainly some categories that will get copied down exactly (like the Essentials and the Toiletries) but for some trips, I'll nix the beauty items and for others I might not necessarily need the full lineup of electronics. And obviously when it comes to clothes and shoes and accessories, I'll write down exactly what I'm bringing instead of being so generic.

That's it. That's the simple set up. Since I've already started planning my next trip, I thought I'd throw in a little sneak peek. (I blurred out the hotel info for safety reasons. You never know what kind of weirdos are lurking around on the web.)

I'm also experimenting with a new way of outfit planning, inspired by Gwen on Flickr, for this first trip. Since it's a cold weather trip where I plan on doing lots of layering, I'm only bringing a few pieces that I'll mix and match for my nine days abroad; it's almost like a capsule wardrobe. Everything gets added to a little chart and that's where I'll look to figure out what to wear each day. I'm also really excited to see how this all packs into my tiny carry on bag.

A post shared by ra¢h 💋 (@racheerachh) on Nov 3, 2016 at 7:02pm PDT

I love my little journal already! I'm hoping to do a little more sketching in this one, though, I'm not sure how that ambition will work out. I had similar hopes for the last one, but it just wasn't that practical to bring colored pencils and markers with me everywhere.

xoxo.