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Packing for 4 DAYS in a backpack || Pack With Me + TIPS

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey! I recently did a 4 day trip with a backpack and here’s how I packed it. I challenged myself to pack everything I needed for the long weekend in my backpack because the airline I flew (JetBlue) changed their basic fare policy to not include carry-ons anymore.

A few years ago, I could never do this. I went to Minneapolis for 2 days, 1 night and could barely fit my stuff into my North Face Borealis Backpack at the time! (I did have to bring a bath towel + shower flip flops.)

00:00 Intro & Backpack Tour

00:39 What I’m Packing

02:29 Packing My Backpack

——EXTRA TIPS——

  • If you don’t need a lot of a liquid like skincare, put it in a clean contacts lens case that you don’t need!
  • Roll your clothes to be able to pack more. Play around with roll sizes and see what works best. Keep the most wrinkle-able items on the outside.

——CLOTHING/SHOES——

-1 Sweatshirt*

-1 Black sneakers*

-1 Sandals

-1 Dress

-1 Tank top*

-1 Hiking top/crop top

-3 T Shirts

-3 Workout or Lounging Shorts

-1 Jean Shorts

-1 Leggings*

-8 underwear + 2.5 bras

*items worn on the plane

——OUTFITS——

  • Day 1: Airplane outfit (Sneakers, Sweatshirt, tank top, leggings—change to jean shorts)
  • Day 2: Hiking outfit (workout top, workout bottoms + maybe jean shorts)
  • Day 3: Dress
  • Day 4: Sweatshirt, T Shirt, leggings, sneakers

Luckily I have a backpack with a lot of compartments plus a bottle holder and zipper pocket on the sides which helps a lot!

I understand this was more doable because I was traveling to a warmer area but I might do a 3-day Fall in New York City backpack version where I also flew Jetblue.

My company gave me this backpack when I started my career but I believe this is the model if you are interested as well: https://amzn.to/3BH15TU

Pop Century Resort ROOM TOUR + Resort Tour! || Walt Disney World Resorts

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey there! Here’s a quick Pop Century Resort room and resort tour at Walt Disney World!

https://youtu.be/iNXzPKXE-Tk

We booked a standard room and requested an upper floor. It’s a great option if you want to stay on-site and on a budget! Our section options at the time were only the 50s or 70s buildings—I’m not sure if it’s bc of covid restrictions or the fact that we booked it a month before. We decided on 70s for the Bowling Pool area.

——OVERVIEW & RECOMMENDATIONS——

  • Use a grocery delivery service before arriving—we did it for liquid hand soap, paper towels, snacks, sunscreen, and etc. It gets dropped off at the bell services area in front of Pop Century where they are able to store your orders with your name.
  • Transportation was sooo convenient at Pop! Just walk up to the bus area for where you want to go and one will show up shortly. You can always check the app for current times. If you want to go to Epcot or Hollywood Studios, you will need to take the Skyliner (if it’s thunderstorming they will have buses running instead).
  • The beds are comfortable for a good night’s rest. It’s cool how they had a murphy bed that could be put back up for more space during the day. For the most part, the rooms are pretty quiet, keep in mind that we were on the highest floor (4th). I only heard something loud at night on our first night, which was the sound of a toilet somewhere flushing which sounded sharp and loud. After that, I never heard it again. I slept through this but Ricky said he heard people moving into their room really late at night one night around 3am because he woke up to use the bathroom.
  • On your checkout day, use the baggage hold! It is in a covered outdoor area behind the main building, behind where the bell services area is. If you’re coming from your room you’ll see this part. It’s where they also hold strollers/scooters.

Check out the other Disney World vlogs and stay tuned for weekly uploads!

Thanks for watching! Feel free to smash the like button and subscribe for the algorithm xx Sami

MAGIC KINGDOM || Disney World Vlog 2021 – Be Our Guest Dinner, Fireworks, Rope Drop, & MORE

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey there! This my Walt Disney World Vlog series EP2 where we go to Magic Kingdom! We rope-dropped for rides, had dinner at Be Our Guest in the Beast’s Castle, and watched the fireworks show (Happily Ever After). Disney’s 50th Anniversary is coming soon so there’s the decorated castle!

Check out the other Disney World vlogs and stay tuned for weekly uploads of the other Disney parks!

Some of the rides featured in this video: Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World.

We tried food and snacks from: Peco Bill’s, Aloha Isle, Be Our Guest

Thanks for watching! Feel free to smash the like button and subscribe for the algorithm xx Sami

Disney Springs || Disney World 2021

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, I explored Disney Springs during my first trip to Disney World this month ft. Ricky! We tried food from Morimoto Asia, The Polite Pig, and of course Dole Whip from a marketplace stand! We came back to Disney Springs another day mid-trip but I’ll include that in a future vlog.

We also checked out World of Disney (store), Uniqlo, the Disney Marketplace, and just wandered around Disney Springs in general.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyxeGX2tVSE&t=76s

Thanks for watching and don’t forget to like & subscribe, I appreciate your support! xx Sami

Level99 @ Natick Mall MA || Taiyaki NYC x Rilakkuma

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Can you resist a challenge? I can’t!

Take your friends and family along to tackle rooms and more at Level99 in Natick Mall (Massachusetts). It’s like an escape room but it exploded into a huge space and has not-so-mini challenge rooms. If you’ve been to Boda Borg in Boston (Malden), you’ll like this! I haven’t been to BB myself but my friends who have been told me it’s similar.

Our advice for a good time:

  • go with a group of 3-4 or more people (we had 6 and split up into 3&3 at times) it’s still fun even if you just go as 2 people though! 
  • use your “coins” to buy hints (pops up after scanning players in) or else you might be super confused when you enter some rooms. (the “coins” are already included with your ticket/wristband when you scan)
  • if a room you’re waiting for is occupied by another group, scan your wristbands for it to have you/your group queued up and ready to hit start shortly after the other group leaves
  • dress in clothes you can move around easily in, there are lots of physical challenges. I’d say sneakers are a must! There’s a bunch of fast-paced/grip-dependent stuff
Also who can resist this CUTE rilakkuma in dessert form!! There’s currently a collab at Taiyaki NYC (Boston) x Rilakkuma and of course we had to go! The line was about 30mins but still much better than their grand opening line, which I saw and passed on.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Glazy Susan Mochi Donuts, and NOLA Cajun Kitchen! || Things to do in MA

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

This week’s vlog ft. Theresia! We went to Glazy Susan to get donuts for breakfast, wandered Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and ate yummy Cajun food at NOLA Cajun Kitchen. Hehe it was a very wholesome reunion if you watch until the end *__*

Glazy Susan’s donut menu for June included a few kinds of strawberry donuts so I basically had to order them all hehe. Unfortunately, if you want any of these flavors, it may not be available because the menu changes monthly but stay tuned for July!

If you stop by NOLA Cajun Kitchen for a meal, I recommend their seafood garlic noodles–medium spicy with your preferred choice of seafood! And their calamari basket (the cajun fries that come with it are so good too).

If you liked this post or vlog, please give it a thumbs up and stay tuned for more! 🙂

xx Sami

Scrapbook Flip-Through & Ideas for Memories & Traveling

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys, my goal is to document more memories by scrapbooking or memory journaling so here is how my scrapbook looks! Hope you enjoy this scrapbook flip-through and maybe gets some ideas and inspiration to document your year on paper 🙂

Most of my supplies are from Michael’s or other craft stores!

Honestly I don’t recommend the scrapbook I used because the wire is starting to be wonky but I LOVE the markers I used.

Metallic markers: https://amzn.to/3pRwzky

(as of 2021, I am now an amazon affiliate and if you use my link at no extra cost to you, I might earn from qualifying purchases)

VLOGMAS DAY 1 || Wrapping Presents & Christmas Tree Decor (my first!)

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

After enjoying watching Vlogmas from other people for years, I decided to do my own! This year has been tough in one way or another for everyone and I’m going to try my best to push myself to create some wholesome content.

VLOGMAS 2020 here we come! I show you my cute gift wrap paper + Christmas tree decor while wrapping presents and watching a holiday movie on netflix.

This video wasn’t really planned but my next ones will be 🙂

Feel free to subscribe to come along for the adventure!

Mini xmas trees video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb3ALuv-myc

This is my first time doing vlogmas so even with everything going on this year I’m trying my best to find fun and safe holiday things to do. 

xx Sam