Tips

Traveling this summer? Here are a few tips to take along that won't weigh you down.

1. The cardinal rule: pack a carry-on sized suitcase only; no checked bags! On domestic flights, this will save you money.

Have you ever lost your passport or discovered it had expired days before your trip departure? Don’t panic, I have some good news – you can get a replacement passport easily and painlessly if you live in Dallas or any other city with a Federal Passport Office (see: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_4312.html for a map of locations).

Living with the little black dress for a month stunted my already limited fashion creativity so when I started packing for my holiday trip, I faced the real possibility of a bare Christmas. Without my LBD, no style ideas came to me. After several days of putting lesser garments into and taking them out of my suitcase, I broke down and made the cornerstone of my travel wardrobe the LBD.

It's a Thursday morning - the sky is clear and I have a 7am flight.

Flight leaves on time, arrives on time. That's good. I have to be on an 11am conference call - the plane touches down at 10:38. Off the plane, I find a quiet place to take the call.

What’s the true measure of a happy traveler? Speed and grace. A girl just can’t have fun if she’s weighted down by heavy suitcases bulging with wayward fabrics and uncooperative shoes. The first rule of packing for a trip this season is layering. The second rule is fabric content.