Welcome to my Monthly Updates—your go-to space for travel tips, packing guides, and curated finds. This is designed to simplify your trips, help you pack smarter, and share the products I genuinely use and love along the way.
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July 2026
ICYMI (In case you missed it) we moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for the long, humid Texas summer.
🌧️I hosted some friends on July 3, and we were fixing to walk downtown as soon as they got to our place. The sky looked really dark and so we hung back. Five minutes later the rain was pouring in sheets and twisting and we were kind of ooh-ing and aah-ing at it all. But it was kind of scary looking.
🌪️Little did we know a straight line wind front of 80+ mph (basically a tornado) came, and we had power lines 2 driveways down from us blocking the street, trees were uprooted all across this area, and boats capsized, including losing the lives of 3 precious children in one boat. The waves were going over the front of boats. It came from out of nowhere!
Tragic and over in maybe 8 minutes.
🇺🇲All that to say, I am grateful for delays that could save our lives, and I am so grateful for the freedoms we have in this great country. Happy late 4th to my American viewers.
But I have completely had to take a break. We have hosted and I have not been able to edit so I just let it all go.
If you’ve also been hosting, these are some videos you missed:
👡Pack ONLY one dressy low heel for vacation! Here are 13 of the best choices.
🧳Learn my ultimate travel hacks
✈️ And DO NOT MISS the newest video that will be live on Sunday morning.
*** Go to YouTube and type in Travel Tips by Laurie 7 Pre-Flight Routines in 2026.
It’s a great video for everyone.
June 2026
We are swapping the humidity and heat of Houston to Wisconsin this summer. And 4 days before we leave, the cat sitter is set up. She left some tees so our sweet but choosy cat, Nathan, would get used to her scent, blah blah blah.
Then Nathan started demanding water all the time, and my $700 litter box app told me he had been in it TWELVE TIMES in one day!
So off to the vet we went.
ICYMI (In case you missed it), he spent Labor Day weekend in a vet hospital ($12,000) while we were cruising around Greece because of last minute pancreatitis!!!
It’s like he knows we want to go on a beautiful vacation without him.
💉 His blood sugar was 395, so now he’s diabetic. He also has to be given orally a new insulin alternative daily and the worst part? Wet, smelly cat food.
So that means we need to take him with us.
🚘 And the $700 new litter box is not going to make the trek lol. So by the time you read this, we will have made the 16 hour road trip with two animals and used a disposable litter box in some random hotel. Ugh ugh ugh!
Oh, and the oral med is $300/month!
But if you do need updated tips, here is what you may have missed.
🧳TSA Update for Bringing Meds in Luggage:
💄 Toiletry Tips on How to Minimize
👗 Ditch the Shorts (alternative outfits)
May 2026
Let’s get to the bad news first:
We’ve all heard about the long lines because of the Entry / Exit System (EES) when going to any of the 29 countries in the Schengen area of Europe.
My Tips:
📌 You cannot do anything in advance.
📌 So add 2 hours for when you land, the first trip only, before you can catch a ride to your destination.
The Good News:
❗You will be on vacation this year; yes you do have to prepare, but be less stressed because YOU stressed less by doing a few things in preparation.
📽️These videos will also help if you are flying and packing for a European trip:
1. Turn yourself into a “hard target” that pickpockets will simply avoid.
2. You can arrive at your destination feeling refreshed rather than depleted. Learn what to do before you fly.
3. The secret to exploring Europe pain-free is choosing versatile, supportive footwear like waterproof sneakers or cushioned sandals that are supportive and stable for cobblestone streets.
4. Do these 7 things before any long trip this summer to give you peace of mind and help your long flight be less stressful for you.
5. And for EVERY TRAVELER, you will love this video full of vacation outfit ideas that do not include shorts.
❓What is worrying you about travel? Your topic you need help with may be the same travel tips that many people need.
April 2026
If you are finally thinking about sandal weather, here are my newest Summer shoes.
Did you know that as a teacher 25 years ago, I wore my Asics daily?
I even wore them to an interview because I wanted the principal to know that I was active, but really I was a shoe snob and had to have comfortable shoes even back then!
Okay, I have bought so many Spring and Summer travel things since we have been having such glorious weather here in Houston!
I show tummy-skimming, NO-TUCK tops that you can wear with denim shorts every day if you want to…because they do not cling! Watch it here!
Have you ever been to Sedona? I have been, but not as a travel person. Can’t wait to show you Sedona sometime soon!
In case you missed it (ICYMI – cool lingo that you can text your family), the updated Long Flight video is a very thorough travel tip video full of tricks but also routines and methods you can follow.
I got to be on a Saturday TV show in the Northeast! Here is my interview – the lag time is awful, but I am sharing for due diligence.
MARCH AMAZON BIG SPRING SALE!
I am sharing the last of the Amazon Big Spring Sale deals that pertain to travel.
**Sale ends March 31.
I was skeptical that travel deals would be on this one, but there are many good ones that I actually use again and again.
For a free trial of Amazon Prime so you can get the deals: TAP HERE
And here is one list of all the travel deals for flights, fashion and function: TAP HERE TO SHOP
If you want to watch the video where I show each item and how I love it, TAP HERE TO WATCH.
March 2026
💐Spring has sprung in Houston, Texas!
💺As a standby flying family until 2020, we never used to fly around Spring Break because there would be zero empty seats. FYI standby is a list that we add ourselves to. It only looks at when your employee was hired.
Then you are put in an order on the standby list. So the more senior pilot or crew families will get on first…if the employee is with them.
If it was just my son and me flying standby we would be after all the employees with their families on the list in order.
🌇So I spent so many hours in airports around this country! Some have made really great improvements. I remember years ago you could ice skate at Denver’s airport. San Francisco has a yoga space and a museum. IAH in Houston has a vintage (literally) coal mine type car way in the basement.
🎫Nowadays we have to buy tickets since so many passengers are filling up airplanes again.
Anywho, just wanted to explain standby.
🛍️Here are my most shopped Quince finds just for traveling.
If you are flying during March, do not forget 2 tips:
- This is when the casual (hardly ever fly) passenger will be going through security screening.
- This is when lines in airport security will be longer and because of number one, it could take much longer to get through these long lines.
Here are some videos you may have missed from this past month:
🧳Popular Quince Bags vs My Best Bags (all sizes)
✅Organization 4 Step System for Your Personal Item Bags
🇬🇷Things from Amazon that I Used in Greece
February 2026
♥️I want to take just a sec to say thank you for the time you invest and give to my videos and my viewing community!
I truly appreciate every second, every comment, every purchase, every tip you share.
❓What can I help you with in video form?
Here are some you may have missed:
🚢 Cruise Ship Trip Essentials in 2026
🧳What Carry-On Bags are THE Best in 2026 (luggage and personal items):
✈️5 Things I Do Before a Flight
Whatever you are loving now, know that you are loved. You are loved just the way you are!
January 2026
🎉Happy New Year to all of you. So what is up for your year? How can I help you?
📽️First off, I want to catch you up on the latest updates for traveling in 2026 with this video.
One thing that I did NOT mention in that video is that my brother got pulled out of line for tamales that were wrapped in foil when he left Houston.
Tips we can share:
- Know that you may get pulled out of line for a myriad of reasons, but it does not mean YOU did something wrong.
- The screening machine cannot see through some things.
- So we just know that it may take a few extra minutes for the TSA officers to re-screen an item.
But you have gotten to the airport early so that you are not stressed if that happens to you!
✈️TSA has made some great changes, along with some offers if you want to take a look at their site here.
Some travel tip videos you may have missed:
🧥Maximum Warmth but Minimum Bulk for Winter Travel
🏖️Flying to a beach vacation in the winter? Here are my carry-on tricks.