About Chantel Simmons
Our former Editorial Director firmly believes the rule, "if it's not pretty, what's the point?". And while she’s no longer updating on SweetLife, you can still find Chantel being crafty and updating pretty picks over on her SweetHome blog, Make-It Session.
Safari smarts
the cherry on top canada
(Nov.12.09)
I'm back from my real African Lion Safari, and while vacations are often a chance to learn about another country and culture, I learned even more about myself...
Bring your own snacks. Yes, I know that makes me sound like I'm 80 (or at least a grandma), but let me tell you the joy that I felt when the flight attendant offered me a cardboard muffin and orange pekoe tea, and instead, I asked for hot water, then made myself a cup of my own favourite tea -- Twinings Vanilla Black Tea -- which I'd packed into my carry-on, and bit into a pecan Larabar. Yum.
Cake Beauty Satin Sugar. You should never try to break in new shoes on a vacation, but I couldn't resist one new pair of flats for my safari-chic ensemble, and I couldn't have done it without this product. Just when your feet get sweaty and you feel a blister coming on, you sprinkle a bit of this hair powder in your shoes, and voila! Blister free. It's just like using baby powder, but it smells so much better.
- Don't watch cryfest movies on the flight. I started off the trip with My Sister's Keeper. Big mistake. Even though I'd read the book (and so, should've been prepared), I still cried so hard that I couldn't breathe through my nose for more than an hour after the movie ended. Not being able to breathe makes sleeping very difficult even if you take sleeping pills. And you have to keep getting up to go the bathroom for more tissue.
- Hardcover books may seem bulky, but they're perfect for vacation. I not only paid-it-forward by leaving them behind for new guests at the TV-free resort at the end of our trip, but I made oh-so-much space in my suitcase for souvenirs.
- I may not have bought the pink Hey's luggage I was obsessing over before I left, but these My Tagalongs luggage tags are the perfect way to make sure strangers keep their hands off your bags.
If you put it out there, it will come. Guess what arrived in my mail when I got home from my trip? This pink Hey's x-case suitcase! Apparently The Secret does work, and my new pink bag couldn't have arrived at a better time, as I'm packing up to head to New York this weekend to meet my brand new nephew, who was born while I was away!
- Read your camera's manual before you leave. That way you won't discover halfway through your vacation that your digital camera actually takes video (with sound!) too.
- Bring a USB key. That way, if you, say, take 1,124 pictures, you can download them off your camera to make room for the next thousand.
- Everything I needed to know about animals on safari, I learned from The Lion King.
Ed, Mufasa, Rafiki, Zazu, Pumbaa, Simba and Nala.