Travel itself, for me, is rarely relaxing.
I’ve been traveling a lot over the last three years, and I’ve become very particular about how I leave my home before I go. There is nothing worse than coming back from a busy trip and having laundry to unpack and emails to answer … and walking into a space that’s messy.
So before I leave, I reset.
I wash my sheets and comforter (lately I’ve been adding these laundry beads to blankets, the dog bed… anything that gets musty!), I wipe down surfaces, and I ensure everything feels calm. It’s a small thing, but it makes coming home feel like a reward rather than another task to complete.
On a trip, I am usually on the go — waking up early to do a television interview, then doing an hour-long speaking engagement and signing books. When I have the time, I run to a nearby thrift store to get content for social media (and, of course, shop). It’s fun but it’s exhausting. I am not always staying at luxury hotels and more often than not, am near an airport or convention center. So I’ve started packing a few things that make even a roadside motel feel a little more luxe.
I always bring something that feels vaguely spa-adjacent: a set of depuffing eye masks for mornings when I wake up in a hotel room and look like I slept three hours (because I did), my microcurrent device so I can give myself a mini facial, and lately, these B12 patches that I swear help with that mid-afternoon slump when you’re out all day and still have dinner reservations to make.
None of it this stuff is particularly essential, but all of it makes being on the road feel a little less “in transit” and a little more “self care.” Plus, I like having things to look forward to (even if it’s just wearing the aforementioned eye masks whilst watching Love is Blind in an airport Hampton Inn).
Anyway — on to Charlotte, where I recently spoke at the Home and Landscape Show (and used the opportunity to thrift my way around the city). I am very fortunate that Chevrolet happened to reach out to me just about two weeks prior, asking if they could loan me a car for a thrift trip. It worked out perfectly (and I now want a Chevy Traverse for myself — I really fell in love with it… it’s huge and comfortable and equipped with wi-fi! I literally wrote a Substack in there!)
I was looking for some specific stuff on my trip, but ended up coming across so much more than I expected. Below is everywhere I ate, where I shopped, what I found thrifting, and where I stayed!
