wishlist wednesday: travel essentials.

Life has dealt us a crap hand and we don't have a private jet. It's just plain nonsensical and we don't want to talk about it.

via

In order to deal with this unfair advantage, our commercial flights have to be as comfortable as possible. We have each put together a list of must-haves (that we already have) that you should probably be adding to your own wish list, because if you're anything like us, you need the good stuff to get through the nightmare. Things to consider: arctic temperatures, recycled/dry/germ-ridden air, blinding sunlight, screaming babies, extreme boredom, and debilitating anxiety. In the case of flying, it's all about the destination, and absolutely not the journey.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Imagine, if you will, the airplane scene from Bridesmaids - I'm just a less drunk version of Kristen Wiig. No one expects much of me on days of travel, but the following items make me semi-functional. Things of note include Elderberry for a more hopped up immune system, a scarf-wrap-blanket hybrid, the PS1 that holds everything I need and nothing I don't, my iPad to pass the time, a hard-sided wheelie bag for when I'm carrying on (because the things that I pack tend to expand any other bag to be too large for the overheard bin), an unsweetened green tea latte for a cool four bucks, life-saving Xanax, and a pair of Apfel-esque sunnies that make me look ridiculous enough that people know not to talk to me while I'm half asleep in my secluded Economy Plus window seat. (Holy run-on sentence!)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

The centerpiece of my travel reality is a Longchamp weekender that allows me to haphazardly throw in all of my essentials (and if you had a fab friend like B then yours too would be monogrammed). An eye mask and pillow are must-haves, since I develop narcolepsy on any flight longer than two hours, and often sleep face-planted on my tray table for as long as they will allow. And, while I hate to admit it, the more "economy" the seats, the larger my collection of mini bottles by the end of the flight. To counter the effects of dehydration and puffy eyes caused by the aforementioned in-flight cocktail(s), I use these genius eye gels that I first discovered via The Zoe Report. Capped off with a cup of tea (I bring my own Tazo) and a swipe of lip balm before we land, and I'm as good as new!