Clever Travel Idea

If you or your boss is feeling lazy about pouring the products you like into bottles the right size to take on a plane, check out this site that takes the guess work out of it for you. Every product they sell (and there are various lines) is that size or smaller and you can just pack and go!

How To Charge Your Gadgets & Stay Warm At The Same Time

Okay, seriously - this jacket I just read about is genius. It's a must have item if your boss travels to the cold or if you do. The jacket provides continuous heat and allows you to charge your gadgets. If I ever get the chance to go to Sundance, I'm for sure buying this jacket to take with me. If it interests you check out the video review of it below.

Custom Cookies On The Spot

How awesome would it be if you could go into a little shop, pick out the dough and mix in ingredients for a cookie and have it baked on the spot? Believe it or not, such a place exists, but unfortunately it isn't in the US (one can only hope it will come here soon). If you are visiting Toronto or perhaps your boss is going there for business, make sure to tell him to stop by Sweet Flour Bake Shop and create his own cookie that will be ready in only 2 minutes!

Travel With A Side Of Maps

If you or your boss is going on a trip soon, you might want to check out these A La Carte maps that have a local touch. They include little notes and tips that only a insider in the area would know. Currently they only have six locations to choose from, but I imagine as they become more popular there will be more to pick from.

Tips For Stress Free Travel For Your Or Your Boss

A few tips how on to make an itinerary and travel for your boss or yourself go from good to great:

1)On the itinerary, BOLD and if there is space, put in ALL CAPS (use this sparingly) key pieces of information that need to be accessed quickly.

2) If you or your boss is picky about seating, use a site like Seat Guru to see what seats are good on various airplanes and which ones you should avoid like the plague. This site is free and it's awesome.

3) Even if you are using a travel agent, call and reconfirm the hotel, car, etc. It can't hurt and it will give you piece of mind and your boss a smooth experience.

4) Even if your boss uses an online calendar or a calendar on a iPhone or Blackberry, give them one paper copy for their trip to take with them, so that if all technology fails they have something. Having something just in case never hurt anyone and often helps.

5) Put all confirmation #'s and Frequent Flyer #'s on to the itinerary. This is CRUCIAL. It makes it easier for your boss if they have an issue and it's proof that you did your job. It takes just a minute or two to add and is useful for resolving problems that arise.

6) Put the itinerary and all other trip related docs in a simple folder with the location and date of the trip. If it's a trip your boss is taking, give him/her one and keep a copy for yourself.

7) Before the person who is traveling leaves (you or your boss) make sure you have gone over the packing/prep list (umm, if you didn't do this you should have) and make sure that whatever needs to be with you or them -- is indeed actually packed.

8) Stay Up-To-Date on whatever online resources can help you. Lots of people use Trip It to do itineraries. It's free and you just e-mail all your reservations to it and it does an itinerary. It might not work for you, but it's always good to investigate stuff like this to see if it can make things more efficient.

If you want to see how I come up with ideas for restaurants and hotels that I recommend to bosses or find for myself, check out this post I wrote in April that has tons of resources in it.

This Stuff Is For Cleaning Your Teeth, But It Sounds More Like It Will Rot Them

In theory this Sweet Toothpaste Kit sounds good, but then I really think about brushing my teeth with something that tastes like Cola or Pumpkin Pudding and I want to gag a little. Even if I can get past the taste thing I feel that I will end up with rooting teeth if I use it because it all sounds sugary. If I were to buy one individual tube it would be the vanilla, as it seems the most palatable. Maybe I should try the Sweet Mouthwash Kit that comes with flavors like Sweet Almond and Raspberry Sorbet. Ummm, maybe not.

Truth be told this is a unique and kind of fun little gift to give someone going on a trip or maybe as a hostess gift. I think you just have to embrace the quirkiness about it and have a laugh while you brush. Who knows, it might all taste great.

Blankets For the Friendly Skies

Your boss or clients are probably flying first class or maybe business in this economy, but one great item you can buy anyone who travels to make them more comfortable is a travel blanket. This is a great gift to give to a girl or a guy that is traveling for business or for pleasure. It's also a gift that you can give at a very reasonable price point or go fancy in a material like cashmere and spend more. Here are a few that I've given before on my own or for bosses that I really like:

Nap Sac Travel Blanket- This is actually a pillow and blanket set and it's under $30. It's super comfy and you can't beat the price.

Brookstone Travel Blanket - This blanket is incredibly soft and costs under $50. They sell a travel pillow, but it isn't included with the blanket like the item above.

If you don't have any budget restrictions my favorite travel set is this cashmere one by White and Warren. It's not cheap, but it comes in beautiful colors, is ultra luxurious and is loved by any recipient that gets it.

Just a few cozy ideas for anyone that will be flying the friendly skies. The people who get these items will be lulled into sleep from all the comfort and you will be responsible!

Austin Restaurant Ideas

If you or your boss is traveling to Austin anytime soon, you might want to check out this Austin restaurant list from Tasting Table (a daily e-mail about restaurants). Austin is a popular vacation destination these days, but also quite a few filmmakers live and make films there (Robert Rodriguez, etc.) and many tech and Hollywood types now attend the various parts of the SXSW festival because it includes movies and tech oriented events. Tasting Table also has daily e-mails for New York and Los Angeles, so you might want to check it out.

Quick Tip for Monday

I keep hearing people saying how they love Luxe City travel guides, so if you or your boss is traveling for work or play, check them out.

Bon Voyage

I often get asked for recommendations of all sorts in my work life and outside of it. I think when you are a personal assistant (and until my writing pays the bills that's what I am) you end up being the de facto personal assistant for everyone you know. I don't mind it most of the time because I enjoy sharing info and being helpful. One of the things I get asked for often is travel suggestions. Here's a few things I do to keep myself up-to-date and where I go if I have no info on the place already.

New York Times Travel Section - I always start here because the paper in general does great reporting and if there are any current articles about your destination they are bound to be helpful. It's all totally free and they have a huge backlog of destinations.

I save any best of list about hotels and restaurants into Evernote and constantly look for them online. This 2009 Hotel Gold List from Conde Nast Traveler that is picked by readers is a good one and this 2009 Hotel Hot List from the same mag via a sister site called Concierge is also worth reading. Speaking of that, the Concierge site is another good place that I always check out. I try to keep less paper files these days, but I do buy speciality issues of magazines like CNT that do best of lists.

I will often go to the Fodors and Frommers websites because they have tons of the info from their guides on their sites for free. That being said, if I am doing in depth research for a boss or going on a trip I will always buy at least one book, so that I can go nuts with a highlighter and post-its (speaking of that, this highlighter post-it combo is the best thing ever).

Hipguide - I also like this site that has updates on hotels, restaurants, etc. in variety of cities.

Even though this isn't original I will always check out Daily Candy and save various ones I get via email that pertain to travel and restaurants.

Tasting Table - I'm really liking this site that I got into recently. It has info on bars and restaurants in a few different cities.

This site is good for restaurants in Los Angeles.

Chowhound is always a good resource for restaurants.

I also love the books and online database from Not For Tourists that covers a variety of cities.

Truth be told, this probably isn't all of what I use, but it's a nice little bit to get you started.

Quick Tip Tuesday

I'm trying to really focus extra hard on the job search and writing today, so this will be short. If you are an assistant in New York or if your boss goes there often this list New York Magazine puts out is a helpful resource about what is good in NYC . One other useful New York resource I like is Not For Tourists. If you like the info on Not For Tourists, check out the other cities they have and also the books they do for various cities. It's a unique guidebook to get because it isn't as much of the typical tourist stuff, but a bit more of what actual New Yorkers like.