Meagan Rigney

How to pack for a 10+ day trip with only a carry on

Wearing my fave Free People slipdresses (this layered over this) at a family reunion!
Hi there! I took an unintentional-ish break from posting here and I am so happy to be back! I had a huge month of travelling and just enjoying life and I knew that I could step away for a bit and be able to get right back into the swing of things with YOU. I have such pride writing here and sharing my life and style on a pretty regular basis and I have zero plans of NOT doing that, I hope you know that. I have some awesome posts planned (including my #nsale picks!), so YES, let’s do this.
This past month has been nuts, with the Fourth and all the festivities that come with that, as well as a short family trip to Indianapolis with my husband and kids, and then a longer 11 day trip back home with just my kids (my husband had to stay home and work, boo.) I was determined to travel for both of these trips with just weekend bags and carry on suitcases. This ended up being surprisingly easy! Obviously the 3 day weekend getaway was the easiest to pack for, but I found that going home for 11 days with just a couple of bags was not that hard, either. My kids each took a back pack, and I had a carry on suitcase and my Lug weekend bag that served as my personal item on the plane. I learned a thing or two about packing for longer trips with just a small bag and I wanted to share these with you now, yay!
1) Despite the length of time we were traveling, I packed my kids and I 5 outfits each because I knew I could wash them at my mom’s house and re wear them all. When I am back home I tend to wear simpler things, so I brought a pair of jean shorts, my overalls, a pair of jeans I flew in, and then various tops. I did less actual  “outfits” for me, but tried to stay with neutral colors (black, white, and blush.) Often enough, a simple tee and shorts, with a cute choker or kimono thrown over the top is all you need. My denim shorts were the star of the week for me, I wore them over my bathing suit at my dad’s camp in Maine, and with lace up sandals and an off the shoulder top for dinner with my brother and sister in law. I also loved wearing my Free People slip dresses (above), I have them on black and white, and I always feel pretty in those. 
For the kids I did actual matched outfits with one dressier option for them, which worked well. Their clothes fit in their school backpacks, along with pajamas, bathing suits, and some small items they could play with on the plane (luckily they love playing cards together, or in a pinch I could pop a movie on from my Kindle or laptop.) They are old enough to carry their own bags through the airport, so that helped as well. 
2) I tend to over pack shoes, for some reason I think I will actually need the heels or cute wedges when I am home? I packed two pairs of shoes for me, a basic tan sandal (above), and a silver tie up pair of sandals that work well in dressier situations.  My kids each brought one pair of shoes, which they wore, because kids are easy like that;) I need to remember this for future trips, I almost never wear more than 2 pairs of shoes on a trip, ever. I do know it is best to wear your heaviest things on the plane (boots, sweaters, etc), which would work best in colder months. 
3) If I am travelling and need to dress up more, I find that a simpler all black look, with ankle boots (I love my fringe ones!), with statement jewelry of course, works well. I have a cute all black body con dress that translates well dressy or casual, and it rolls up easily in a bag for packing. I save the bags my jewelry comes in from Rocksbox when I buy it, and I travel with those a lot, just tucking jewelry in those. I prefer to pack simpler outifts and add in fun jewelry for a little bit of uniqueness. 
4) When I travel home to my mom I can leave out stuff like shampoo (luckily she buys Monat!) and other bathroom necessities. I do have travel sizes of that stuff, but I left that home this time. I could have easily fit it into my bag, though, in a Ziploc, for easy travelling. I pare down my makeup bag to bare necessities and I brought one neutral colored purse that I rolled in my carry on so that I could call my Lug weekender bag my personal item on the plane. I essentially had two carry on bags, that I used to put toiletries in, my lap top and Kindle, and any extras we acquired on the trip. 
That’s it! It’s taken me quite some time to limit my packing to smaller bags, I am a notorious over packer. All I know is that on the way home, when the line for checking bags and the security line were super long (seriously, it took us an hour and ten minutes to get through security!), I was so glad that we didn’t need to check any bags as we would have missed our flight. 
Tell me, are you able to pack less for trips? (This wasn’t really that possible when my kids were babies, but I maybe could have done it, ha!)
Shop the exact pieces I brought on my trip, below!

Mother/daughter 4th of July style

On Meagan: Old Navy top (in stores) and jeans; Converse sneakers; Baublebar necklace.
On Molly: Old Navy top, wearing her Dad’s old hat from Disney, cicra 1985;)

The kids and I popped into Old Navy last week and had a little fun getting prepped for the upcoming holiday. I LOVE theming Molly and I (the boys tend to to do their own thing with tees and cargo shorts;), and when we saw these star tees/tanks, I knew I had to buy them. My daughter is funny, she tends to be more sporty in how she dresses, and then sometimes she is all about a certain look. I bought her this tee and a similar striped one and she has not taken them off. I adore watching her develop her own sense of style and really try to step back and let her do so (even if I cringe a bit at some of her ideas, ha!)
As for myself, I truly envision  wearing this tank on the 4th with a pair of cutoff denim shorts and simple sandals. I’ll bring a lace kimono to throw on in case it gets chilly. (And red lips, too, most likely!) We go to a friends house for the day/night to watch the airshow and the fireworks, and it is really casual and awesome. Think sparklers and yummy food, and the best view in the town. It’s been a great tradition that I look forward to each year. I’ll most likely wear this tank again over a bathing suit for a day at the beach on Friday to watch my husband fly in the air show practice. Maybe knotted at the waist with a denim skirt? 
We are an extra Patriotic family and we will dress accordingly for about a week straight. I can’t wait!

3 things on my mind right now

1) We are in full on beach season, which is my FAVORITE, and I’ve discovered 99.9% of my bathing suits are black. Which is fine, obviously, but maybe I need to get out of my comfort zone? I’ve been looking for a couple of fun bikini tops that I can mix and match with my black bottoms. First on my list? A ruffled off the shoulder top that I just CANNOT LOCATE. I found a similar style HERE that is cute, but I want ruffles! Anyone see one out there you can point me to? 
2) You know how those Facebook ads that pop up on the side of your feed seem to KNOW the inside of your soul and point you to what you didn’t even know you need? (Through browsing history, but whatever.) I discovered Pure Vida that way and their fun bracelets and this cute pineapple pouch are ridiculously fun for Summer. Love this Friendship bracelet pack and this Pacific Daze pack. I find myself stalking the site daily lately. Who doesn’t want a fun stack of bracelets on their arm that are this cute? 
3) Continuing on the Summer theme and all things beachy, I just got this watermelon case for my iPhone from Caseify! #obsessed
Also, this pineapple one and this ‘Good Vibes Only’ palm print one are AMAZING. 

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Something old, something new (something borrowed, something blue…)

Target top and sandals; Baublebar choker.
This outfit is a very simple “mom” look of mine. It’s a mix of comfortable and trendy, with the pretty crochet details on the top and the funky feather/moon icons on this (old) skirt I own. I love Target’s maxi skirts that they do each summer. The patterns are always fresh and fun, and you can’t beat the comfort and wearability of a maxi skirt. I also think they are killing it in the top department right now! They have so many pretty tops with off the shoulder, crochet, and 70’s patterns. I’ve bought 3 or 4 over the last month or so and I love them all. You can’t go wrong with a handful of new tops that are $22 or less. 
In other news, my daughter decided that she wanted to plan her own wedding the other day. She made invitations, we came up with a menu (strawberry shortcake and Coconut La Croix spritzers!), did a photo shoot in her bridal look, and set up a ceremony site in our backyard. I just love her imagination! It’s amazing what happens when you let kids run with something and give them a little time to amuse themselves. I’ve said this before, I’m a big proponent of limiting activities in the summer and just letting my kids do their thing. We go to the beach a ton, run through the sprinkler every night, our routine gets really easy and a lot less scheduled, and life is just plain AWESOME. 
Shop this post:

Target is killing it right now

Let’s be honest, Target is always killing it in my opinion, but what I REALLY mean is that Target is killing it in the clothing and shoes department. Maybe because it’s finally warm out and all the off the shoulder tops and dresses can be worn now, or maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for all things boho and pretty? I just know I can’t stop buying all the pretty things there, and it never matters because 90% of it is under $22 and that’s the best price for clothes, in my opinion;) 
I wore this outfit above to Target last week and got stopped by a lady there telling me how pretty she thhought my top was. I directed her about four aisles away and showed her right where it was, right there in the front. She was so happy to find it, ha! I LOVE this shirt, it is flowy and just the prettiest peach/blush color.
I also bought this off the shoulder top that was sitting beside the one above, and last worn with my overalls HERE. 
And continuing on the peach/blush of the shoulder trend, this dress is great! Last worn here and here!
I think Target always kills it in the summer sandal department. From the simple ones I’m wearing above, to my metallic tie up ones, to these super cute tassel sandals. I never buy expensive sandals, because Target has the same ones for much less. 
The best simple tee (with a cute flare shape and tie back!), that I have in 3 colors. 
Love this mesh one piece bathing suit (it looks super cute with cutoff shorts at the beach!)
I use this tassel pouch every single day, I keep my wallet in it and use it to transfer my stuff from one bag to another easily, or I just grab it and go if I want to not carry a bag at all. 
Happy Friday, friends! Any good weekend plans? We are heading to the beach all weekend and I am so excited. The beach is my happy place. 

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Take the Monat hair challenge

It felt like I had been searching my whole life for hair products that did what they said they would. I tried EVERYTHING, from the cheapest of the cheap (remember Suave Coconut shampoo, I still die over the smell…it brings me back), to the expensive (Aveda, Wen, and all that kind.) I never found one line that did what I wanted, and never found a mix of products that did what I needed. I have thin, very dry hair, that has steadily fallen out for the last decade or so. I constantly bought new products to see if it would be the miracle I was looking for. Spoiler alert: I never found it.)
Until Monat. 
My friend Jenny asked me to try it out a year ago and I first said no. I had been using Wen and I thought I loved it. Yet my hair needed a lot of product and styling to make it look passable, and it really wasn’t making my hair nicer (it actually fell out more.) The ends were dry and my scalp was oily. Not a good combo. Finally last November I was ready, and the first time I tried Monat I almost died. You first thing you notice is the softness, because MAN, does Monat deliver on that. Then you notice how quickly it styles, and how little products you need. 

Monat works as a treatment system, so as it balances your hair and scalp and strips your hair of silicone’s and other yucky bi-products of most hair products, your hair just gets better and better. 
The shine also came back, something I haven’t seen in a long time! I’ve noticed tons of new growth around my hairline, too (Monat is clinically proven to regrow hair!) It is also botanically based, with no parabens, gluten, GMOs, harmful fragrances and colors, harsh salt systems, sulfates, animal byproducts, and phthalates. I use this stuff on myself and my kids, so no yucky chemicals for us;)
I loved Monat so much I immediately signed up to sell it, despite side eyeing direct sales people for years. (I’m sorry! I get it now. It is the new age of work life. I’ve drank the Kool-Aid, I’m hooked!) 
I can go three or four days between washes. I use four products only, blow dry and style less, and my hair looks and feels better than it ever has. When I say how happy I am with Monat, I actually find it is hard to express, because having hair we feel happy with seems so trivial, yet it is not. I love shampooing my hair, I love how my hair looks and feels, and to be 35 and be able to say this finally is pretty amazing. 
Here’s my challenge to you: comment below and tell me what you have the most trouble with when it comes to your hair. I’d love to start a conversation and get you a sample of Monat to try. Your hair needs a summer Monat vacation! I KNOW you will love it, as I do. 
If you’d like to chat about the Monat oppotunity (it’s crazy awesome!), email me at becauseofjackie(at)yahoo(dot)com, subject line MONAT OPPORTUNITY, and we can chat!

3 things I’ve splurged on and never regretted (and two things I did)

Madewell overalls; Target top; Old Navy sandals; Urban Outfitters choker.
I was chatting with a friend the other day about items I will splurge on and what I’m super cheap with, and the real truth is, I have no rule about what I splurge or save on! I buy what I like, and if I buy something expensive it is often after months and months of comparison shopping and knowing what I will wear over and over again, and what I won’t. I have a few really nice things that I love, and a ton of really inexpensive things that I equally adore. 
Here are 3 things I splurge on that I’ve never regretted:
1) Something that took me awhile to discover, but I’m so glad I did, is that nice sunglasses are worth it. I used to always buy the cheap ones from Target, but once I put on a nice pair and saw how much more sun they blocked (ha!), I never went back. I currently have three pairs of RayBan’s that I rotate through and I love them. I used to worry that I would lose them or break them like I would my cheaper pairs, but I find I take care of them better because I KNOW how expensive they were. Who knew?
2) I really enjoy a beautiful handbag. I used to have a million cheap ones and just rotate through those (Target does have some off the best cheap ones, though!), but now I like to have a handful of neutral/quality bags that I switch between. My larger totes are still inexpensive, but my everyday handbags and cross body bags, are something I cherish. I tend to get one for my birthday and at Christmas, it is a gift that I pick out and purchase, and it makes me so happy! They were worth every penny. My faves are this Rebecca Minkoff crossbody, this Rebecca Minkoff Satchel, and this Kate Spade bag (in pink.) 
3) I rarely buy expensive clothing items, but these overalls above were a huge splurge for me. The price is ridiculous, I get it (ha), but I wear these all the time and they are amazing. They are a huge staple in my closet and when I wear them I feel instantly fun and stylish. 
And 2 things I splurged on that I DID regret:

I rarely have a lot of regret over expensive purchases because I think more about them before buying. I do regret cheaper purchases a lot more (maybe because I grab them quickly while out and about?) I try to be really mindful about what I am buying and that has gotten better for me over the years. 
1) I bought a pair of fringe heels (similar) last year after seeing them on a ton of blogs and DYING over them. I got them on major sale, but they were still a TON of money. I’ve worn them once, mostly because my life doesn’t call for fringe heels that often. Now Target has the same style for much, much less and I die every time I see them. So no, expensive novelty shoes are not worth it for me. 
Though these fringe boots were a spurge and worth every penny!
2) Staying on the shoe train here, last Summer I got a pair of black Birkenstock’s, and barely wore them. I have a tan pair as well that I do wear often and love, so the black just don’t really work. Now that I think about it, they were trending in the blog world last year and that is why I bought them, so OBVIOUSLY that backfires on me;)
Tell me, what is the best thing you’ve splurged on? The worst?

Wild and Free (the summer version of me)

In a couple of days my kids will be done with school for the year, and I can’t help but look forward to the days ahead. Don’t get me wrong, I love having time to myself during the school year (as I write this from an uber hipster coffee shop downtown!), but I also love having less of a schedule. Other than the end of baseball and softball season, I purposefully don’t schedule anyhting for them all summer long. I think most of the year is full of school and activities and racing from here to there, so I LOVE taking the summer months to just be. 
We go to the beach, a lot. Three days a week we get up at our normal time (about 7:15), and have breakfast like we usually do, with Mumford and Sons Pandora station playing in the background. YET, we don’t hurry. There’s no rushing to be anywhere, and I love that. They have summer workbooks they do, some chores they do, we go to the gym and they hang, but it is just CHILL. The other days they can get up at 7 and watch tv downstairs, and I sleep in (or drink coffee quietly upstairs;) We stay in pajamas as long as we can, or hop right into bathing suits. The doors are always open and the scent of freshly mowed grass wafts in. 
What I love about the summer version of myself is that it is free. The kids are at an amazing age where hanging out with them is pretty fun. They make me laugh (and drive me crazy!), and spending 8 hours wth them at the lake is an easy thing to do. The days are long and filled with a sand filled car and kids with dirty feet, and taking a “sprinkler shower” at the end of the day, and an ice cold Summer Shandy on the back deck. My companions and I do what makes us happy, and the weight of the school year sheds off us like a second skin and we become Summer people. Happy. Free. And a lot happy.
Tell me, what do you do over the Summer? Is it different than the rest of the year for you?

Feeling like a French girl + June goals!

Target dress and sandals; Stella and Dot “mama” necklace.
This dress caught my eye in Target a couple of months ago and I knew I had to have it. I’m a sucker for striped ANYTHING, and the off the shoulder aspect of it all made it even better. There’s something so romantic and whimsical about a full skirted dress or skirt, it makes me feel very feminine and French (if you will), with the graphic stripes and red lips (I finally broke down and bought Nars’ ‘Heat Wave’, it’s such a great orange-y/red.) I don’t always go for the full on girly looks these days, I tend to gravitate for an edgier look (think lots of back, band tees, and ankle boots!), but this dress! I mean, I had to. 
On to June, and some goals! June for my family is full of end of school celebrations, lots of baseball and softball games, and the beginning of my husband’s busiest work season (he flies helicopters for the Coast Guard.) We go between having lots of fun family time together, to lots of times where he is gone and it is just the kids and I. Here are some goals of mine for the upcoming month:
1) I have been enjoying learning more about flexible dieting and eating a controlled amount of protein, carbs, and fat. I find that when I eat what I should in the right amounts (macro counting), I am full for a really long time. I eat a lot of chicken and avocado, I drink a protein shake each morning, and each day I either get a nice big glass of wine, or a handful of yummy chocolate. I have lost a couple of pounds, but the true goal is to lose fat and replace it with muscle, so the weight loss is a side benefit. My goal is to further refine my macro ratios (I’m still not sure my numbers are right), and stick to one cheat meal a week (which is HARD in the summer!)
2) There is a drive in movie theater near us and we have been meaning to go for three years! The problem? The sun doesn’t set until about 10-10:30, so bringing the whole family means a really LATE night.
3) Continue to coach my Monat team to reaching THEIR goals, and working on reaching my own. I’ve written before about the Monat opportunity, but I can’t stress enough how life changing it has been for me. I wake up each day excited to wash my hair, thrilled to share this shampoo with others, and so giddy about the future and the dreams I have for my family and I. (You can see my dream board HERE.)
4) Usually I make a statement each month on whether I will shop or not (shopping hiatuses are good every once in awhile!), but this month I am not doing that. Obviously I have more clothes than I need, but I really enjoy shopping and having new things, and I have never shopped in a way that damages our financial life. Sometimes I save up for one expensive pair of jeans and that is all I get, and sometimes I buy five cheap shirts from Target and a couple of pairs of cheap sandals. Balance is key! 
It’s easy to look at people from the outside and feel that they shop too much or too little, or judge their purchases and spending habits, but for every person that has an issue and shops with money they don’t have, there are lots of people who do so responsibly. I wrote a post a long time ago about how our family deals with finances, and the same stands today. We do not have credit cards, we pay for everything in our home in cash (except for our  new car, which we will pay off early!), and there is never a moment that money is not going into savings, our children’s college accounts, or our retirement. Money that is left over is for fun. Dinner’s out, vacations, shopping, etc. Sometimes it is more, sometimes it is less, but money spent on clothes, makeup, and other fun things is never something spent to the detriment of our real goals. 
5) Lastly, I want to go with the flow this month. I want to go to the beach with my kids, grill out on the back deck with my family, hang out with friends, just basically do what we feel like. After baseball and softball is over we take the Summer off from activities. Life gets so busy and planned during the school year that I want us to be as free as possible in the next couple of months. Freedom and laziness come to mind for June, and I plan to fully embrace that.
Tell me, what are some of your goals for June? 

What I’ll be wearing all summer long

Free People top; Madewell shorts, similar; Target sandals and bag; Baublebar choker; Old Navy sunglasses.
Hi guys! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend! We went to the beach on Saturday, and had an amazing cookout for our Coast Guard family yesterday. I love weekends spent with friends and as a family, and having some time to enjoy the beach is a personal fave of mine, too. The weather was also AMAZING. Summer has arrived here and I couldn’t be happier. 
I’ve worn this top a ton of times since I bought it early this Spring. (It’s now on sale, too!) I wear it under my overalls a lot, I love how the off the shoulder ruffles look with the denim and straps of the overalls, for some reason. I also love it tucked into a pair of high waisted black jeans for a date night. Now that it is warmer I just throw it on with a pair of cutoff shorts and these amazing sandals from Target. I have worn these shoes constantly! They are really comfortable and the straps don’t dig into your legs. (Though they leave interesting marks when you take them off at the end of the day!) I like how the neutral color goes with everything, and how simple they are. Simple sandals from Target are always a summer staple of mine.
Also, I’m never taking this choker off. I’m obsessed. Be prepared to be sick of it;)

Tell me, what do you like to throw on this time of year?

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