The Packing List: Staci's Quebec Bag

Aug 23

In general, I pretty much hate packing. I've gotten pretty good at figuring out how to pack light and go 10 days in Europe with only two carry-ons, but I am still terrible about procrastinating on packing, and this year before Jen and I head to Quebec City and Montreal, I'm faced with two challenges.

The first one came to light as Jen and I were both walking outside yesterday evening.

I think this is a problem most East Coast residents from New York down through the mid-Atlantic have. We live in a world of extremes. Summer is a balls-hot swamp, and winter is an endless polar vortex. And in between, we get about six days of spring and fall each.

The end result is we forget what in-between weather actually feels like, and thusly do not know how to dress ourselves for it. We know we'll be in a climate with highs of 60s to low 70s, but what does that even feel like? And what shoes should we pack? A long and futile discussion of appropriate footwear ultimately led me to my next problem.

Yes, since I started working remotely in December, I've completely forgotten how to dress myself. It's sad, really. I love clothes. I love shopping. Some have even called me stylish. But these days? I literally only know how to get dressed for the gym. Or bed. My daily life is a blissful blur of stretchy pants and sports bras.

So not only do I not know what clothes Quebec's temps call for, I'm faced with the task of dressing like a functional citizen of the world for an entire WEEK. Something I've not done in eight months.

So...HALP. What do I pack?

I've got my running shoes because duh. Lots of black because...well...that's what I own, and it's easy to "mix and match" (if you can call black on black mixing and matching). D'Orsay flats (I'm on my second pair now and they already look like garbage because I wear them so much). My ever-present lightweight fake leather jacket. Skinny jeans. WHAT ELSE?! I'm basically fucked, aren't I?

-Staci