As the owner of the world's oldest running cozy travel blog (I think!), no one has been more excited than me to welcome this summer's biggest trend: Demure.

What, exactly is demure? It would be easy to dismiss it as simply TikTok's trend of the month. Demure means being modest, mindful, and a little cutesy. Yes, this sounds pretty close to the classical definition of the word but for beauty influencer Jools Lebron, who put it into everyone's lexicon this month, demure is so much more. It's about being respectful but not trying too hard. It's about rejecting the messy world, subtly  protesting crassness and drama by sipping your drink with one perfectly groomed eyebrow arched. And I predict that this is going to be much more than a social media trend. I think it's going to be an ongoing lifestyle movement akin to the Danish hygge (homey coziness) phenomenal, because demure folks have been waiting SO long for their moment to come in a world of excess.

Demure and travel go hand in hand. Staying in your seat until the aircraft has come to a complete stop at the gate? Demure. Kindly greeting your seatmate? Demure. Putting on your headphones, sipping your drink, and ignoring your seatmate? Also demure. Demure travellers are always polite with airport staff, never put their bare feet on someone else's seat, and pack carefully considered snacks without being too fussy about it. 

I wanted to have some fun with the idea of demure travel and talk about the best travel-inspired demure nail polish shades. Now, do I really know all that much about nail polish? Nope. Am I secretly hoping to ascend the ranks of beauty influencer? Definitely not. But your girl knows travel and is demure to the core. 

I chose OPI polish because A.) It has so many wonderful travel-inspired collections and B.) It's basically the only brand I know. Like I said: travel, not beauty, is my wheelhouse. Plus, the brand is so popular I know it will be easy for most readers to find. So mindful of me! Enjoy.

Within my travel-loving soul, there lies a contradiction.

I love packing light. Like, I really, really love it. You know that joke "How do you know if someone travels carryon? They'll tell you!"? It was written about me. I not only love packing light. I equally love being insufferable about it. Oh, you just took one suitcase for your resort vacation? Well I used one backpack for a six week round the world trip and half the space was taken up with camping gear.

Like I said, I'm insufferable.

But I also love, and I mean LOVE, specialty travel gear. The more task and trip specific, the better. I am obsessed with travel supply catalogues and I haven't met a packing cube that I don't love. But the truth of the matter is that much of this stuff is, well, how do I put this? It's garbage. It's poorly constructed mass produced stuff that preys on our fears of being unprepared,  the uncertain nature of the open road, and the shame that comes when you don't keep pace with fast fashion. All of this stuff has weighed down my bag at one point or another and I am here to tell you that you don't need it. Any of it.

In case you haven't heard, I have a bit of an obsession with ultralight packing. The lighter, the smaller, the better! And one of my biggest pet peeves is when travel items described as "lightweight" are anything but. So when I had the chance to test Vargo's ultralight titanium backpacking hexagon wood stove, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical that a stove could even remotely be described as 'light'. Turns out, it's the lightest backpacking stove we've ever tried.

I can't claim to be the most stylish person to ever hit the road. There was that first summer of backpacking in Europe, when I brought along just one pair of trousers. There was also a sarong and clogs combo that I wore to an Easter church service in Birmingham. And the two - count em, TWO - bright orange cotton T-shirts I brought along to Malawi that I am convinced played a role in attracting a higher than normal level of mosquitoes. But I'm slowly growing up and my travels are evolving to include more business and formal occasions -but I still love my bare bones, carry on luggage. So exactly what am I wearing on my feet for special occasions?

At first glance, it may sound a bit silly to take a towel with you when you travel. After all, what kind of hotel wouldn't provide towels?! It turns out that there's actually a wide range of accommodations for whom towels are a luxury, not a standard amenity. People often ask me "Do hostels have towels?" and the answer is: Maybe. Many do. Those that don't usually offer rentals. But I still like having my own. It's not just hostels where the question of towels come up. Campgrounds usually require you to bring your own towel, along with some cottage rentals, university dorm accommodations, couch surfing, and even convent stays.

Even if you are staying in quality hotels with guaranteed clean towels, you still might want something with you to freshen up on overnight trains, buses, and flights. Lightweight travel towels are also helpful for drying your hand-washed laundry. So what's the best solution that balances comfort with practicality? 

Packing obsessed? Who, me? Maybe just a little! I'm constantly in search of the perfect bag and, at one point, I thought I had found it. In a previous post, I wrote that I was thrilled to have discovered the Osprey Porter 46 - but now that I've traveled with it for over a year, how do I feel? ​

The Osprey Porter 46  is the absolute lightest pack I've found. It weighs about 1.2 kilograms, much less than traditional backpacks and significantly less than conventional carry on suitcases. A big travel pet peeve of mine is "ultra light" carry on bags that actually weigh closer to 10 lbs! Carry on weight restrictions are increasingly enforced and this bag's tiny weight is a huge asset.

If I waited until the rain stopped to go traveling, chances are I would never leave the house! It seems like it's drizzling for at least half the year in Canada and some of my favourite travel destinations are notoriously wet - I'm talking about you, Ireland! While I HATE being damp, I'm not going to let the bad weather rain on my travel parade. 

When Ryan and I had the chance to take Tilley Endurable's waterproof jacket with us on our round the world trip, we jumped at the chance to put this product through its paces and we were thrilled we found a raincoat that was compact enough to earn a place in our pack.

On my first trip to Italy, I had booked myself a hostel bed in the village of Finale Ligure. Up, up, up I climbed, hundreds of steps, until I came to the hostel's door at the top of the hill. Of course, it was closed for a mid-day cleaning! So down, down, down I went to kill some time at the beach. A whipping wind coated my sunscreen-clad body in a thick layer of sand. After a few hours, it was time to haul myself back up the hill. That was one well deserved shower! The effort it took to scrub off all the sweat, sunscreen, and embedded sand left me with remarkably smooth skin. Talk about a backpacker's spa treatment!

There's no denying that traveling can leave you gritty, grimy, and in need of a good scrub but I prefer to use something other than sand these day! Alas, not all skin treatments are so cheap and so travel-friendly. And ​I know I'm not the only traveler carting along bath scrubs and bath salts and trying to fit everything into my toiletry bag and 3-1-1 kit.  Now readers want to know if any of these products are carry-on friendly. That's a great question! So let's talk about exfoliating body scrubs and relaxing bath salts. Are they liquids? Can they have a spot in your toiletry kit?