Things to Pack That You'll Appreciate

Keeping in mind the One Bag Vacation Policy, I wouldn't go on an overseas trip without a pair of tweezers. Not for personal grooming reasons, but because they're indispensable when you've inserted your ATM card into the machine slot and it gets stuck there.

This actually happened to me a few months ago in Venice, except that it was a credit card in a water taxi ticket machine. I was so relieved to have my tweezers on me, I just pulled that sucker out. Otherwise, I would have been up a creek without a paddle.

Sometimes your card will get stuck because the machine is old and crusty, other times it's because thieves put a sticky substance or a plastic insert into the slot, intentionally to trap your card -- then after you've thrown your hands up and given your card up for lost, they come back later with their own pair of tweezers to empty their traps. Bottom line, it's small and totally worth it to put in your bag!

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How" - Part II

Now that you're sold on why The One Bag Vacation Policy rocks and have transcended the mental addiction to packing for every possible contingency, here are some practical applications to travelling light:

1. Make a wish list of everything you would like to bring if you had unlimited space. For those of you who have undergone wedding planning, this is akin to the first cut of your guest list. Most likely, 3/4 of these items will not make it to the final cut.
2. For each item on your list, figure out if, at the end of the trip, you'll still think that it was really worth it lugging that item around the entire time. If it's something you might only use once or never at all, it's probably not worth bringing.
3. Exceptions to #2 above are things that might either save your life or get you out of a serious jam. For example, if you have a severe allergy, obviously bring your EpiPen even if you might never use it. Likewise, I highly recommend bringing a tweezer, not for personal grooming purposes, but in case your ATM or credit card gets stuck in a machine and you need to forcibly remove it (this actually happened to me in Venice and I am so grateful I had that tweezer in my bag).
4. Trust in yourself that you will be able to figure out a workaround for any situations that may arise, rather using overpacking as an insurance policy. As Rick Steves writes, "Pack for the best scenario and simply buy yourself out of any jams." By the way, I highly recommend his website as a great source of information on both this topic and travelling in general (especially in Europe).

So, those are the basics. The hardest part is to mentally divorce yourself from the need to pack everything you could possibly need on your trip. Once you get over that hurdle, you're golden. The practicalities of packing lightly are comparatively simple.

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How" - Part I

If you read my last post advocating the One Bag Vacation Policy, then you've probably started envisioning how absolutely amazing it would be to sprint off the plane with your one backpack - liberated from luggage hell at last - and be one of the first people on the immigration line to get a jump on your vacation. Here's how you do it:

The first part is mental. Get comfortable with the idea of wearing the same clothes multiple times on a trip. Overpacking is reassuring - it's your own personal insurance policy against anything going wrong on your trip. At least that's how is feels. In reality, it's a ball bearing chained around your neck. The fact is, things will probably go wrong on your trip and this is okay. You can handle it!

I once packed about 9 outfits for a weekend trip to Chicago and wound up wearing 2. Meanwhile, I had to lug a giant backpack and a duffle bag around the airport and train into the city. It was absolutely miserable and so unnecessary.

Why did I do this? Because I didn't want to risk wanting any particular item and not having it. I wanted to make sure everything went perfectly and wound up screwing myself over instead. If you are an overpacker, I'm sure this has happened to you at least once, if not regularly. How many times have you returned from a trip, unpacked, and stared at the pile of belts, dresses and lotions that you never even glanced at on your trip?

(Sorry, that last line was woman-specific. Men - feel free to substitute in jock straps, porno mags... whatever items you tend to overpack.)

This is the hardest part. Once you can mentally acclimate to the idea and embrace the prospect of luggage freedom, then you're ready for the next step.

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "Why"

I would like to take a moment (or two) here and advocate something that has recently become very near and dear to my heart:

The One Bag Vacation Policy.

It also goes by the name "Packing Light".

I just returned to New York from a 10-day trip to London, Rome, Florence and Venice and the whole trip was done - comfortably - with one regulation size backpack. This would be the same size backpack as the Jansports or monogrammed L.L. Beans that you used to sling ever-so-jauntily (or maybe ever-not-so-jauntily) over your shoulder in middle school.

Assuming you grew up in 90's East Coast Suburbia.

This minimalist approach to packing was the one decision that had the biggest impact on my mental well-being during the trip. If, like me, you prefer to hoof it rather than take cabs, then you will face an endless barrage of planes, trains, buses and subways. You may also, over the course of your trip, net several hours walking from Train Station A to Hotel B - and not necessarily via the most direct route.

Now imagine the free and unimpeded travel that would be possible if you could just throw your backpack on and breeze by all the poor, mournful souls on the trains, hopelessly wondering where to stow their cursed luggage for the 3-hour journey from Rome to Florence. Or the faceless, dejected parade of tourists with their standard issue suitcases bump-bumping behind them on the cobblestone-lined streets, hands numb from the unforgiving vibrations.

Don't let that be you.

Tune in next time for my post on The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How".

Save on Crate and Barrel Shipping Charges

If you're looking to buy something from Crate & Barrel, but they don't have the item in stock at the store, ask them to order it for you instead of ordering it yourself online. This way, you can avoid the shipping charge.

In the case of curtains, Crate & Barrel has the various styles they carry on display, but not necessary available for sale in the store. They ordered my curtains for me and had them delivered to my apartment free of charge. It was really convenient!

Just note that on your invoice, you may see a charge for shipping, but this amount is not actually charged to your credit card. I can't guarantee all the types of products that Crate & Barrel will do this for - furniture, for instance, is probably an exception - but it's worth a shot.

Red Velvet Cupcake @ Crumbs

My red velvet odyssey continues - this time in the form of a cupcake at the Crumbs in Union Square. The store is small, but the perfect size. Facing you as you walk in is a display case of all their cupcake offerings... small ones in your traditional chocolate and vanilla varieties... and regular-sized ones (read: HUGE) in all sorts of creative and tantalizing flavors. 

The cupcakes are topped with a mound of fluffy frosting and sometimes sprinkles or crumbled candies. One example that sticks out particularly in my mind was "The Elvis", which was something along the lines of a vanilla cupcake filled with banana custard and topped with peanut butter frosting and tiny peanut butter chips. It was just decadent.

As for the red velvet cupcake, it was also HUGE. And a dark, dark red. So dark it almost looked brown. The appearance was much more appealing to me than the one from Kitchenette because the look conveyed the taste of it. And it just - well, I wouldn't say shouted - but it definitely announced in a clear, ringing voice that it was red velvet.

When you bite into it, the flavor of cocoa hits you straight in the tastebuds. It could almost pass for a chocolate cupcake. The cupcake itself is closer to light and fluffy than dense and sugary, which is also true 0f the frosting. I don't like it so much as a cupcake, not to mention a red velvet cupcake. But that's just because I'm a fan of the dense and sugary variety.

The search continues...

IKEA HEMNES Bedroom Series

I would just like to take a moment and say that I am absolutely blown away by the level of quality and the look of the HEMNES furniture line. The pieces are made of solid pine and the style is completely what I wanted with clean lines and a dark wood finish. By the way, the furniture is really big when it is assembled. I couldn't believe how huge it was - good thing we measured! It really doesn't look that big in the store.

On top of all this, the combined cost of the wardrobe, dresser and 6-drawer chest came out to less than the cost of just one dresser from Crate & Barrel. So although you will probably spend the better part of a day assembling each piece of furniture, some of which may be missing parts, and IKEA doesn't offer the same coverage as some other retailers when it comes to customer service, remember that this is because you are getting an incredible deal on furniture!

Mis-Manufactured IKEA Part Return Experience

In a prior post, I mentioned that IKEA will replace mis-manufactured and/or missing parts from their furniture kits. This was my experience actually doing it:

I brought the mis-manufactured drawer front along with another connecting part of the drawer too, to be able to demonstrate the problem visually. This was a good move because at first, they didn't believe that there was any problem and tried to fool us into taking the same part back with us. The customer service rep went to the back where they keep the extra parts - incidentally, this is also where the IKEA engineer/expert extraordinaire lives - and came back out being like, oh how about this part... will this work for you? But it was the same part!!!

Anyway, we sent it back and the engineer guy came out to compare the two parts and didn't get it until he tried putting in the drawer side we brought and noticed that it was blocking the groove where the drawer bottom was supposed to rest. The preceding passage will probably be complete nonsense to you unless you have assembled an IKEA drawer before (they are all designed the same way).

At this point, the light bulb went off in his head and he finally gave us the correct part. My takeaway from IKEA is, you have to go in expecting some bumps and minimal customer service (that's how they keep their costs low). That way you will be pleasantly surprised when things don't completely fall to sh!t.

Debrief: 5 Boro Bike Tour (Part II)

To continue Part I of the 5 Boro Bike Tour debrief, other hazards encountered during the day were people's water bottles that fell out of their cages. Your regular water bottle will not stay in your cage!!! You have to get one that is made of harder plastic that is an appropriate size.

There were a lot of potholes and grates that felt exceedingly bumpy as the day went on. Let's just say unless you bike more often than me, your @$$ will really hurt by the end of the day (it will be bruised) and so will your hands from leaning on the handlebars. It was so cold that a couple of my friends lost feeling in their hands at the end of the day.

All in all though, it was a really worthwhile experience and I can't wait to do it again next year (hopefully in better weather!)!

Debrief: 5 Boro Bike Tour (Part I)

As you may know already, it was raining on the day of the 5 Boro Bike Tour. All day!!! The tour was held on Sunday, May 3rd. We lined up at 7am... it drizzled while we waited... the tour started at 8am. The nice thing about lining up so early is that you are pretty near the front and get started within 15-30min or so. My friends who showed up later (closer to 8am) had to wait for a couple of hours.

The ride was much longer and harder than I had anticipated. I am not in great shape, don't do much at the gym and I thought it would be a breeze. Going out drinking until 2am the night before and being hungover and dehydrated probably didn't help! But let's just say there were quite a few uphills (for those of us not in shape) when you were approaching the bridges. The approach to the Verrazano Bridge at the end is the worst because there's a hill that you think is for the bridge... it's not. Then there's a bigger one and that's not it either. Finally, when you are good and tuckered out, there's the final one and it's a doozie. Just to give you some perspective, my boyfriend who works out much more consistently had no problems.

So yes, it was consistently raining all day. The roads were pretty slippery and we saw quite a few people wipe out. They have a ton of bike marshalls though, so as soon as someone went down, there was a person there to help them. If it was sunnier, we could have gone way faster... in this case, they made us slow down at every downhill because it was so slippery, so we couldn't really use that momentum. There was a lot of riding your brakes.

This post is getting pretty long, so I'll continue it in Debrief: 5 Boro Bike Tour (Part II).

Debrief: Metro Bicycles Rental Experience

Here's the lowdown on my bike rental experience with Metro Bicycles: it was painless, for the most part. The staff was pretty harried when we got to the store this past Saturday around 2pm... the best way to describe the scene was organized chaos. No one was directing you as to what to do or where to go. 

There appeared to be two lines - one for regular customers and one for rentals. We made our way up to the rental line and grabbed someone's attention. There wasn't really any recognition that they understood what we had just said to them or that they were helping us. We were second in line to be helped, but it still took about 15-20 minutes to get our bikes and helmets. We gave them a credit card to pay for the rentals and were sent on our way.

I had expected that they would spend some time with you adjusting the bikes for your height and comfort, but no, it was really just hand over the bikes and out the door you went. Not to say that they wouldn't help you if you asked, but it definitely wasn't part of the process.

Returning was really easy, just brought the bikes back and turned them in. This time (5pm on Sunday after the 5 Boro Bike Tour) there was no one in the store, but the guy was still really confused and took a while to find our information and accept the returns. The receipts and documents for all rentals were clipped to a clipboard willy nilly... I guess they're still working on paper rather than on a computer.

Overall, it was an okay experience, nothing went horribly wrong, but they didn't blow me out of the water either. I would use them again, but would much prefer to use Bike and Roll, if they had rentals available.

Missing or Mis-Manufactured IKEA Parts

90% of the way through assembling my IKEA HEMNES 6-drawer chest, I noticed that one of the parts was manufactured incorrectly. The entire thing was put together except for one drawer and it turned out that a hole was drilled in the wrong place in the drawer front.

It is pretty common for parts to be missing or incorrectly manufactured in IKEA furniture kits. Fortunately, it is an easy problem to solve, albeit potentially annoying. All you need to do is bring your receipt, the assembly instructions and (if applicable) the incorrect part back to IKEA and go to their Returns desk. 

The bottom line is, they will totally give you the replacement part and any missing parts from their inventory. If they don't have it in their ready inventory, they will rip open a box for you and give you the part from there (so I've been told). 

One final word: You should try to bring it in within the refund timeline (I think 30 days). They will probably not hold you to that timeline, but it's better to play it safe than sorry.

Bypass Official E-Tailers' Sites for Online Discounts

A few months ago, I wanted to buy a pair of earrings and a necklace from Adina Reyter... but they were pretty pricey and I was hoping to find a coupon code of some sort. Not unreasonable, yes? Sadly, a discount could not be procured with any amount of searching.

After more pondering and surfing, I found a website (Blondette) that sold the same pieces I wanted. This time, googling "Blondette" and "coupon code" yielded results! So by finding another site that sold the exact items and also had coupon codes available online, I was able to save 20% off my purchase!

It was pretty awesome.

Actually, it was freaking awesome. And you can do the same thing with some simple elbow grease!

The Kitchenette Red Velvet Cupcake Experience

When you walk into Kitchenette in Tribeca, you will be greeted with a glass display of Willy Wonka inspired cakes, cookies and other desserts - such as - homemade Hostess cakes! 

All the colors are exaggerated and temptation lurks on every shelf. The red velvet cupcake is no exception. It has a hot pink slash reddish interior that is dense - almost chewy - with an assertive cocoa overtone. 

The frosting is sugary with a cream cheese tang and sprinkled with pink confetti on top. It looks almost translucent and as if it may have been sitting around for a while, but it definitely doesn't taste that way! 

Although it is pretty delicious and better than Amy's Bread, it still doesn't quite measure up to the wedding red velvet cake that first launched this hunt. Although... I had had a few drinks by the time wedding cake came around, so it might be possible that no red velvet cake can or will ever live up to my recollection of that first taste =D

* This picture was taken with my cell phone, so the colors aren't that great, but you get the gist.

The Hunt for Red Velvet Cake

In February, I went to a friend's wedding on Long Island and tasted, for the first time, that seductive indulgence they call red velvet cake. After that, I was hooked and had red velvet cake on the brain pretty much 18/7. The fever has since subsided somewhat, but I will now recount my mini-quest to find a comparable red velvet cake in NYC.

I solicited suggestions from friends and co-workers at every opportunity... the first hit I got was Amy's Bread. A week after the wedding, I made the pilgrimage to their outpost in Chelsea Market, where you can buy their red velvet cake by the slice. I seem to recall it was around the $4.50 mark for a slice and this thing was MASSIVE.

Sadly, it was not the red velvet cake I was envisioning (hoping for) when I first began my hunt. I am no red velvet cake connoisseur -- the following is simply my impression of the product using my personal preference as a guide. 

The Amy's Bread version was really disappointing.

It looked like red velvet cake, but the similarities ended there. It was a fluffy cake, not very cocoa-y with a buttercream frosting (I prefer a dense, sugary cream cheese frosting that sits in your gut like a boulder). Even the color was kind of wimpy... not a deep, dark red signalling the use of food coloring with abandon. It was more on the pinker side of the red spectrum.

I would like to add that this is not a knock on Amy's Bread in general. I love the breads and cookies I have sampled there... but for me, their red velvet cake is red velvet in name only. Next up: Kitchenette.

Getting a Bike for the 5 Boro Bike Tour - Part II (for Slackers)

Now, if you're like me and didn't snag a bike through Bike and Roll in time, or you want to pay less and are willing to do more leg work (i.e pick up and return your bike to a store), one place you can check out is Metro Bicycles. I called a few places before this one and was getting pretty desperate. One place wouldn't start taking reservations until April 2nd, at which point you would need to call early in the morning in hopes of (possibly) snagging a rental bike. Other places flat out do not take reservations, so your only option would be to rent the bike a few days in advance to (hopefully) ensure you will get one... this could run you well over $100 depending on what how many days early you get your bike.

Back to Metro Bicycles... I was so relieved when I stumbled (called) upon them and they were were like, no problem and directed me to their website to make a reservation. A regular rental will run you $55. You pick up your bike the day before the race (after 12pm) and drop it off the day of the race (before 6pm) at one of their pick up locations -- Canal Street, 6th Avenue or midtown.

On their website, you can order up to 4 bikes using one order form and select a pick up location. After I submitted the online form, I immediately received an e-mail recounting the details of my reservation request and a day later, I received the reservation confirmation. It was really easy and I'll let you know how the bike tour and rental experience goes!

Getting a Bike for the 5 Boro Bike Tour - Part I (for Early Birds)

To give some background (and take a break from all the IKEA talk), the 5 Boro Bike Tour is an annual event in New York City where approximately 30,000 cyclists ride 42 miles in a route that is blocked off to car traffic. Make sure you register early as it may be sold out if you take your sweet time. This year, registration was full on March 14th. You can get more information on the event at the Bike New York website.

Your easiest, hassle-free-est option for renting a bike is to reserve through Bike and Roll because they deliver your rental bike to the start line and you can drop it off at the finish line in Staten Island. Basic packages for adults are $69 and go up from there depending on what type of bike you want. These packages sell out early so book yours asap! Unfortunately, I was not able to get a bike package through Bike and Roll this year, but there is a waiting list you can try -- check out the Bike and Roll website for more information.

The IKEA Delivery Experience

I had a great delivery experience with IKEA. You arrange for delivery at the store after you've made your purchases. They will delivery any day that you request (including same day) and agree upon a 4 hour window (akin to the cable guy) with you, during which they will deliver your purchase. We asked for the 2-6pm slot and our furniture showed up at 4pm.

From what I could gather, the delivery service is contracted out to various moving/courier agencies. These two guys showed up in a van and very efficiently and quickly brought our stuff - six heavy boxes - all the way up to our apartment (this was great because some places only deliver to the curb). It was a really easy process and reasonably priced at $99!

Shopping @ IKEA

To continue the IKEA tutorial, here's what to expect when making a purchase and some tips on how to make the process easier:

First of all, if you know which items you want before you go to the store, check on the IKEA website to see if the item is in stock. IKEA rates the likelihood of the item being in stock using a green, yellow and red indicator. Although the green indicator is not a 100% guarantee, it's pretty darn close. This will save you time rather than going all the way to the store and then finding out that they are out of an item you wanted when you get there.

At the store, you can either walk through all their room displays or go straight to the warehouse. If you choose to look at all the room displays, the store signs direct you in a manner that ensures you see all the displays, but there are shortcuts available if you want to cut out early. Once you find an item you like, make note of where you can find it in the warehouse -the item tag should tell you the aisle and bin in which the item can be found. You can also get aisle and bin location information on the store website.

Once you are in the warehouse area, get a trolley and load up your items. For easier check out, make sure the barcodes all face forward. When picking up your items, check that you have all the boxes for the item. For instance, the HEMNES wardrobe comes in two separate boxes... you want to make sure you get both. 

At the check out line, the cashier will ask you if you want delivery and if you do, you will pay for it right then and there (it's uber convenient). Take your receipt and make your way to the delivery desk to arrange for delivery of your furniture (see previous post for information on delivery costs and look for a future post on the delivery experience itself). After that, it's easy peasy. They'll deliver the same day, give you a 4 hour window during which they will come, and that's it! Now to tackle furniture assembly and getting all those boxes out of your apartment...

Delivery costs @ IKEA

IKEA is an elusive entity. You know the truth is out there somewhere, but it's certainly not on their website. And you begin to wonder if they're hiding a deep, dark secret about exorbitant delivery costs...

So here's the bottom line: delivery from the IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn to Manhattan is $99 (flat) up to 1,500 lbs of furniture. You have to actually go to the store yourself. What I mean is, if you order your furniture online, shipping and handling will be MUCH more expensive. As an example, I bought the HEMNES wardrobe, 6-drawer chest and chest with 8 drawers from the Red Hook IKEA and had it delivered for $99. Shipping and handling online, on the other hand, would have run me close to $300!!!

Why are these delivery rates not anywhere on their website??? All they tell you is that it starts at $89.... but what is the outside end of that range? $200? $1,000? Not helpful. Don't get me wrong, I love IKEA! But I don't love their website (ok, maybe just a little).

Stuff I Couldn't Find Online

I couldn't believe it. There was stuff (information) that I could not find online. No matter how trivial the matter, how specific, I had always been able to get enough information on any topic I was looking for online. 

Until a month ago. 

In quick succession, bam! bam! bam! There were three things that I was looking for information on - online - and couldn't find! So that sums up the purpose of this blog. I want to share with you what I've discovered through traditional leg work so hopefully you won't have to do what I had to do (go outside and interact with people - gasp! horrors!).

Disclaimer: Sometimes information is available online, but it is disparate and spread out on many different websites. In these cases, I will synthesize what I have found.

Second disclaimer: I will probably also post on topics that I could find out about online, but just wanted to write about =D