Luggage? Check.
Cocktail hat? Double check.

I'm about ready to embark on my overseas adventures The luggage bulges, the healthy sign of More Than Enough Stuff, don't you think? Even my chapeau of choice, a cocktail hat I made, travels well. I'll wrap it in plastic, and park it next to the Lancome UV Expert 20 Sunscreen (also covered with cellophane) inside the suitcase. No hatbox, at least not this time. But I love to daydream about seeing a hatbox spin on the airport luggage carousel. I'm most certain no one would steal that. It wouldn't even need distinctive tags. But what a way to travel. I'd stack my case full of different hats for each day.
In any event, I wanted to wear at least one dressy hat because I'll be staying at the G Hotel designed by milliner Philip Treacy! I cannot wait to see what distinctive couture details he's lavished on this most exquisite hotel. I'll post some pictures, hopefully while I'm there. I've got the little digi camera, and with a little Irish luck, I'll be uploading photograph after photograph of Mr. Treacy's whimsical designs.
I'm waiting for my brother to arrive shortly. He will whisk my mother and I off to the subway which we'll take to O'Hare. I've done all my usual pre-trip preparations: my visit to Vogue went well, but I didn't pick up the eyelet, which to my dissapointment is partially polyester. I cannot dye what Father Nature hasn't made. But I did manage to pet some super-soft microfiber knits in the Silk Room before I left...which oddly enough was the fabric of choice for some designer tops at Brasilian Soul, a nearby boutique. I already have some of this lux fabric in my possession, but I plan to purchase upon my return.
I feel somewhat anxious leaving my stuff. Do you feel like that when you go out of town? Here I am, not just leaving Chicago, but the country! I'm hoping that I'll get tremendous insights about my life, my hopes and dreams, even my hobbies while I'm away from abode. I'm most certain I'll be getting sewing/knitting/crochet ideas while I'm on the road. This is something I cannot turn off ever. Even when I'm standing in line at the grocery store, I'll be admiring the blouse on the woman in front of me, thinking about how I recreate it on my Viking Husqvarna 730. What's more, it's simply impossible for me to buy a piece of apparel from Marshalls or Nordstroms! I usually talk myself out of buying anything. I reason, "I can make that for a lot less than a million dollars!" (Clothes don't usually cost that much, but you get the idea. ) How much more creative are you when you're away from home?