Cleaning, Sorting, Packing

These last two weeks have been emotionally draining, mind-numbing and stressful, and even sickly. Our belated honeymoon couldn't come at a better time. This past weekend I felt ill, and I'm not sure if it came from something I ate, catching a delayed cold from S, or if all of the emotional stress of an event and then the Visa conflict were getting to me. 

Thankfully, in between me catching up on TV shows on the couch and S practicing Spanish, we were able to get packing. I have all of the basics, and even treated myself to a new hat to wear in South America considering it will be a high of 85 and sunny every day. I packed dresses, shorts, tank tops, and sandals, everything made of cotton. I was worried I wouldn't have enough "summery" dresses for dining out in the city, as well as nice lunches and dinners at the winery. However, I found two dresses in my closet that I ordered online way back for a good deal and haven't had an opportunity to wear them. They will be perfect for this trip.

Last week, to settle my emotions, I baked. Baking and cooking always calm me, especially when something delicious comes out. I experimented with a classic shortbread cookie recipe. Instead of vanilla extract, I used lemon extract for lemony and buttery cookies. Then, halfway through the cooking time, I took them out and topped them with lavender sea salt and let it bake another five minutes. The lavender was a lovely floral addition to the citrus flavor, plus the sea salt added a burst of flavor. 

I don't have any posts planned for when we leave, but I plan to update as often as I can when we are there. When we went to Paris, that was the start of me blogging and I was very good about updating every other day with our latest adventures! I think that's how I will remember most of this trip, if I take time in between everything to recollect my thoughts.

It's coming up quick and I've started pulling together all of the newspaper articles that family members collected over the year leading up to this trip. I have also collected all of the items that people forget to list on the "What to Pack" lists on Pinterest. Including, power adapters and converters, pocket maps, and pocket dictionaries. Although, socks packed in the carry-on was a helpful tip as I always get cold on overnight flights.

A tradition I started back for our trip to Paris (which was our first big trip together) was the use of a reporter style moleskine as my travel journal. A penpal friend sent me some luggage stickers years ago, and I saved them for my Paris moleskine. Later, I came upon more which I've used for my trip to Costa Rica, and now our trip to South America. 

I loved reading through my old travel moleskines, especially my Paris one. I would write it in every day, sometimes twice a day, taking advantage of quiet moments in parks and during our morning espresso in cafes. I doodled some things, and S even drew sketches of me in bars, on the plane, and  of other memorable scenes. 

I am looking forward to collecting some wonderful memories of the streets of Buenos Aires, the historic buildings, the winery in Brazil, and my grandparents farm. If you know of any places that are a must see in Buenos Aires, El Tigre, Colonia Uruguay, or the south of Brazil, it's not too late for suggestions!