Category: Coffee Break

Coffee Break, travel

Harlow Haven, Juliette, Camera Bag

India

I did a thing. I bought another camera bag by Harlow Haven, the Juliette. Probably my last camera bag for a little bit, but I bought it. I was able to catch this bag on sale for less than $100, which made it a steal for me to grab it. I had been eyeing this bag for awhile because it looks like a purse, obviously how I love all of my bags to look like, but instead of  a casual purse it’s a more “formal” purse of sorts. The Juliette comes in both tan and black and of course I bought it in tan because I don’t know how to buy a bag in any other color.

 

Harlow Haven, Juliette in Tan

 

As I opened the box I immediately fell in love with the size of the bag. It is big enough without being one of those “dump bag purses” where you lose all of your stuff in them. The color is a nice soft tan and the material is feels like more of a synthetic material even though they classify it as a vegan leather.

The outside has pockets that can easily fit your small camera gear or travel things ranging from external hard drives to kindles and everything that you can think of. It has a flap pocket on the front and two magnetic closure pockets on the back. The pockets on the back easily fit my iPad pro 9.7″ with a bulky case and pencil with no problems.

 

On the inside there are more pockets and even places to put cards, so you can travel walletless if you’re looking for a little less bulk. There are clear divider pockets, so you can slide batteries, extra memory cards, and my favorite chapstick in the pockets. There’s also a back zippered pocket, so you can store things like cash, your passport, or any small items that you want to keep track of. It is actually a pretty large pocket and fits my phone, iPhone X, with ease.

Lots of card inserts, so you can go walletless!

This bag does come with a removable insert, and this is the part that I don’t like. The bag is so big, but this insert is so small. It doesn’t fill up the space in the bag, and so you would have to put things around it to try and keep it still, so your gear doesn’t move around too much when you’re walking or running around your location.

The insert is too small for the bag

 

This bag is definitely big enough to fit your DSLR camera with a couple of extra lenses. Maybe a DSLR camera with a lens and an external flash. It is definitely a bag that can fit a lot of things. If you have a smaller set up like a mirrorless camera then you can fit a lot of your gear into it no problems.

I have an unboxing video up on my Youtube Channel now where you can see even more details! I hope you enjoy. Tell me about your camera set up and what you carry your equipment in. Until next time,

Keep turning the Pages,

India

 

 

Some of the things I can fit in my bag! So much more can fit in there
Coffee Break, travel

Travel Tuesday | Favorite Suitcase Organization Items!!

India

Another Tuesday another travel video! Today we are talking about something that I have used on every single one of my trips. Whether I’m going for a night or for a weekend, they just help to keep everything organized. If I decided to pack last minute in a duffle bag without them, I instantly regretted it.

What is this magical item you speak of India? 

Well I’m glad you asked. This item would be PACKING CUBES!!!!!!! I know those things that pop up that seem like they would add so much bulk to your suitcase, so you don’t buy them. Those things. They have kept me sane on my trips. Now let’s talk about them.

I have always used packing cubes from E-Bags, which you can see here, or just search for them on the website here. They make so many different colors, sizes, and shapes for all of your packing needs. I have mainly used the slim packing cubes and the small square ones, which have gotten me through all of my trips with ease. They have great zippers that snag on the cubes and stay really strong no matter how much stuff I pack in the cubes. They also have “water resistant” material, so that your liquids won’t seep through them, buttttttttt they do have a mesh opening on the top, so that all the gross smells from your sweaty clothes won’t be trapped in and cause your clothes to become mildewy. E-bags has multiple versions of their bags, and if I were to get more I would probably try the light version of the packing cubes.

I can stuff so much stuff in my packing cubes, and it makes my luggage so much more organize, but remember this. MORE ROOM DOES NOT MEAN LESS HEAVY! The thing with the packing cubes are that they compress all of your clothes and make your luggage easy to dig through, but you still have the same amount of weight in your luggage, so make sure to still be mindful of how much stuff your bringing all of you fellow over packers.

The other version of packing cubes I got are actually compression packing cubes, which means one zipper side opens up to put your clothes in, while the other zipper is there to squeeze out the extra air out of the bag and make it extra small. I got these on amazon here. I haven’t used them yet, so I don’t have much to say about them. All I know is that they make my Away Luggage so easy to go through and keeps everything extra squishy in my hardshell luggage. I have other videos on my youtube channel about the luggage. If you made it to the bottom of this post, thank you! You’re the real MVP. If you just want to listen/watch you can find it on my youtube channel, which I have posted down below. Do you have any travel plans coming up?!?! I want to know where you’re going! I’m going to Booknet Fest next weekend in Orlando and I couldn’t be happier! Until next time,

Keep turning the Pages

India

Coffee Break, travel

Travel Tuesday | Bali and Gratitude

India

If you follow me on social media and on my youtube channel then you know that I had the most amazing experience in Bali with my mother and Craftours. We did so many amazing things from being with the elephants to learning how to make a type of fabric called Batiks, but most importantly we learned about these offering baskets that they do every morning to express gratitude and other feelings.

The beginnings of our offering baskets

I think that it is so important to remember to be grateful for the things that we have. Whether it be having a job, having supportive family, being able to travel to amazing places, or just being grateful for waking up in the morning. Taking a few moments to reflect on all of the things that you do have instead of focusing on the things that you don’t have can be mind altering.

The finished project of the offering basket!

During this trip I felt more spiritual and awakened by all the amazing people in this country. They are all kind, genuine, and their happiness spreads into you. Also being with a group of creative people helps to bring happiness as well. I know every day I’m grateful for my mother and the amazing woman that she is and what a role model she is to me. Without her I would not have been able to partake in the journey. In the video, I don’t do a good job expressing all of the things that I’m grateful for, but I would love to hear about some of the things that you’re grateful for in the comments. How do you keep track of the things that you’re grateful for? If you’re grateful for someone have you told them recently? Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

India

Coffee Break, travel

Kelly Moore | The Scout Review

India

Hi,

I’m India and I am addicted to bags, camera bags, and more importantly Kelly Moore’s bags. To say that I love her bags is an understatement. I have been buying Kelly Moore bags for years! Ever since the b-hobo bag, which she doesn’t even sell anymore! Even though that’s my ride or die bag right there and I will never get rid of it.

The Kelly Moore Scout holding up my Kindle like a champ

I wanted a bag that could replace my daily purse, but also looked like it because I love my daily purse. I’m trying super hard to carry my camera around more, so that I can get more practice in. Of course that means that I have to have a bag that I’m willing to carry around as well. Well enter The Scout!

I’ve got my Olympus in tow and I’m ready to shoot!

The Scout is a part of their heritage line of bags and features an all leather bag. This one being a messenger style bag. I had to wait for a long time for this bag because it was sold out, but it was well worth the wait. This bag is the perfect size for my mirrorless camera set up with extra lenses. I can also put my wallet in there as well as other things necessary for my day to day activities. I.e. snacks, kindle, gum, extra lipstick, and my kindle of course!

Everything is packaged neatly inside, including this mason jar mug I got from an Owlcrate Box

In normal Kelly Moore fashion the inside bucket that holds your camera gear is removable, so when you don’t want to carry your photo stuff you can take it out and just use it as a regular awesome purse.  Some of the reviews on the bag say that it’s a little stiff, but I enjoy that of the bag, and know that it will ease up a little bit with use. Also because it is real leather the bag will patina beautifully. It’s got enough pockets to keep your extra batteries, lens caps, and memory cards organized and your snacks away from things where you don’t want crumbs. I of course made a whole unboxing video of me fangirling over this bag, so you can watch it down below if you so choose, or you can click here to go straight to youtube!

I’m pretty sure that I did manage to spill ice cream on my bag

I took this beautiful baby out for a spin on National Ice Cream day and have since been using it regularly as my purse. The only thing I truly wish that it had was a top handle, so that I could easily pick it up.

If you’re looking for a compact leather camera bag this is a great bag for you! It looks great on both men and women, and has some awesome features that I think make it a better bag than its ONA equivalent. To truly look into the bag you can check it out below! Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

India

 

Coffee Break, travel

My New Favorite Luggage!

India

Okay, I have a problem, I love to buy bags, and in this case I love to buy luggage. I buy travel gear all of the time and through that I found Away Luggage. Away is a 2 year old luggage company that has already made such a huge impact through out the world. Just go check out their instagram feed and you can see all of the amazing places they’ve been and products they’ve launched. I’ve managed to get my hands on two sets of their special edition luggage colors and I am in love. So far I’ve only traveled with the medium and their carry-on and they held up well in the airport.

It’s summer time, which means it’s travel time! For some…. not for me …. someone should take me somewhere!! So, I felt like it was a good time to share my favorite luggage on the blog. Considering I’ve had these videos up on my youtube channel for awhile I didn’t want to make it a travel Tuesday post, but it will probably end up being one in the future anyway as I travel with the other sizes. I’m definitely going to put up more thoughts, ideas, and comparisons of the sizes later. You can check out my unboxing videos down below, which give a general overview of what makes this luggage so special! If you’re looking to buy the luggage you can click here to get $20 off your order! Let me know if you have any questions or comments down below! Until next time,

Keep turning the Pages

India