Anne Taintor Holiday Travel Gift Giveaway!

UPDATE: This contest is over.  Lucky comment #16 is the winner. Congratulations Lisa Hardwick-Cillessen!

Lisa’s tip:  If waiting in a long line, talk politics. Somehow it always moves things along a little faster. Helps to talk blue politics in red states, red politics in blue states. If you’re loud enough, the people at the counter even seem to move more quickly.

So…how does a bombshell like me get through security?  I have no idea. What I do know is the oven isn’t the only thing I left turned on – in first class.  I wouldn’t joke about something as serious as that.  Hey, we’ve all got our baggage!  Only  mine is WAAAY better than yours!  It is.  Well at least it is now that I have a couple of Anne Taintor luggage tags hanging off the black plastic handle of my rolling crew bag!  Jeez…what else did you think I was talking about?

Since Anne Taintor and I were in the holiday spirit, we decided to team up and do a fun gift giveaway. I mean what traveler couldn’t use a little more fun in their lives? To enter all you have to do is share your best – or funniest - travel tip by Friday, December 14, 2012 and you’ll be entered to win a travel gift set from Anne Taintor.  Winner will be announced Friday Afternoon.

Set includes:

1.   One (1) Anne Taintor Cosmetic Bag – Caption: “another day in paradise” 

2.  One (1) Anne Taintor Luggage Tag – Caption: “so…how does a bombshell like me get through security?“

3.  One (1) Anne Taintor Floaty Pen – Caption: “born to be wild”

7 celebs & travel experts dish on their go-to travel item

This originally appeared on Huffington Post

Poshbrood caught up with some travel experts, road warriors and celebs to find out their must-have travel items to help make their travels more enjoyable.  Now I have no idea how I got included on this list, but I’m flattered nonetheless.  Here’s what I shared…

“The survivalist in me wants to say a bottle of water and snacks that don’t expire for five years. That’s because I’ve been on too many flights that have been delayed hours because of weather or that have diverted to other airports due to medical emergencies and I know there’s not enough food in coach to feed a full plane full of passengers. That aside, I rarely ever travel without headphones. Only because you never know when you’re going to sit next to someone who likes to talk – a lot. If you’re a flight attendant, or even a frequent flier, you’re often too tired to strike up a lengthy conversation with a stranger. A lot of times I don’t even turn the music on. I’m just sitting there listening to silence.”

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[Photo courtesy of Smays]

 

Travel Shoe Review: Tieks by Gavrieli

Cute. Comfortable. Collapsible. Packable. What more can a traveler ask for in a shoe?

It’s strange how much I adore these shoes, simply because I’ve never been a ballet flat kind of girl. It’s not that I don’t like ballet flats, it’s just I don’t normally like the way they look on me. That is until now! Seriously how cool are these paradise blue snake print flats? Basic black or brown is the color I’d normally go for, but after having just read Patti Smith’s book, Just Kids, I felt like channeling my inner rock star. I’m so glad I did! The wild print adds a little kick when I pair them with jeans.

This is where I could show you a video of how they fold in half and fit inside a little black pouch, and how that little black pouch can be tossed into a cute little tote that can fold up into a tiny ball that fits perfectly inside its own pocket. The pouch and tote come with the shoes. And how the packaging is so cute, you won’t have to have the shoes gift wrapped if you decide to send them to me someone special as a birthday present. But if you’re at all like me, all you care about is how they look and feel. So great, in fact, I’ve worn them three days in a row! They’re made of quality leather and the cushiony blue bottoms provide added  comfort and support so you can go, go, go all day long.

The only downside is they are a bit expensive.  Tieks average about $200 a pair. Honestly if they hadn’t been sent to me as a “gift” after the New York Times quoted me in an article about shoes for travelers, I probably would have never thought to buy them.  Flight attendants are frugal. Only because we have to be! This explains why some of us might get a little too excited to learn there’s a TJ Maxx located within walking distance from our layover hotel, and why we might have to give up a couple of manicures and pedicures to be able to afford them.  But if the old adage is true, you get what you pay for, you won’t have to go to TJ Maxx every two months to buy a new work shoe.

New York Times: Best shoes for Travel? Ask a Flight attendant

Kelly & Katie Whitney Flat (DSW)

A few days ago New York Times writer Stephanie Rosenbloom contacted me to discuss something very important: Flight attendant shoes. I wouldn’t joke about something as serious as this. The following quotes originally appeared in the article Best Shoes for Travel? Ask a flight attendant that came out today. For the record, my Aerosoles really are cute. I swear I get compliments on them all the time. Don’t believe me?  Check out the picture at the bottom of this post.

Heather Poole, who lives in Los Angeles and has been a flight attendant for more than 15 years, acknowledged that many female flight attendants put Dansko clogs on in the plane but described the shoes as “hideous.” Her favorite in-flight pair? Flats with a cushioned insole ($29.95) from Design Shoe Warehouse. In the terminal she wears shoes by Aerosoles.

“I actually get lots of compliments on those,” she said in an e-mail while her flight from New York to San Diego was delayed.

Like her colleagues, Ms. Poole, who blogs about her life at hpoole.wordpress.com, advises passengers to wear comfortable shoes because you never know when you will have to run for a plane in an airport, or get off a plane should there be an emergency. (This is also why she advises against wearing flip-flops.)

Her solution for tired feet? Upon arriving home after a long trip she uses a heated foot massager by HoMedics.

Here’s the link to my shoe review of the Kelly and Katie Whitney flat from DSW (pictured above).  And yes, I do know my Aerosoles are probably not “regulation,” even though my airline now allows flight attendant shoes to be adorned with staps and buckles.  Just not sure how many straps and buckles.  What I do know is they’re super cute and comfy, which is not an easy combination to find, so I bought a couple of pairs.

Aerosoles

Photo of the day: Passengers have finally figured out how to keep flight attendants from noticing them on their cell phones

Photo Courtesy of Roxie / caption courtesy of Jonah

 

Travel Gear Review: Scottevest (women’s trench coat and Chloe hoodie)

Scottevest trench coat

I’d like to start by telling you how I swore I’d never – EVER – wear Scottevest.  And how I made fun of those who were wearing what was being marketed as a third piece of wearable luggage in order to get more crap on the plane.  But then you might disappear before getting to the bottom of this post and learning how much I love, love, LOVE Scottevest!  My favorite pieces are the women’s trench coat and the Chloe hoodie. (The Husband feels the same way about his men’s ultimate fleece hoodie.) That’s me in the photo on the beach. Nice, right?

Now let’s back up for a moment.

Months ago when Scott Jordan, CEO of Scottevest, contacted me about sampling his product, I flat out told him no.  For one I don’t do vests.  Nor do I wear luggage.  Or even like people who would actually consider disguising a carry on bag as clothing.  I’m a flight attendant for Christ sakes! The last thing I want to do is endorse something that makes my job more difficult. Like I really want to waste my time arguing with passengers about why I have to check their, umm….”coat.”  Just because that’s what they’re calling it these days.  Puh-lease!

But then I saw something strange on television.  I was at the gym working out on the elliptical machine when I noticed a Today Show host wearing a cute black jacket.  Turned out to be the Scottevest Chloe jacket. Imagine my surprise to see it wasn’t actually vest.  Nor did it resemble anything I’d call luggage.  What it was was something I could actually picture myself wearing on the beach, or packing in my bag to use on a layover in case it got cold.  So I did what anyone else wouldn’t do after publicly making fun of a product multiple times online.  I tweeted that I thought it looked cute.

Honestly I still can’t believe Scott actually offered to send me a free jacket after I acted the way I did.  Which is how I came to eat my words.  Now all I do is go on and on about how great Scottevest is. If the passenger seated beside me on my flight from Orlando to New York doesn’t buy one, I’ll be surprised. I even wore the trench coat during an interview with 20/20 that’s set to air on March 16 (set your DVRs).  While all the pockets are great, what I love is the style. My how things can change…

Chloe jacket

DISCLOSURE: Heather Poole was not paid to write this post

Gifts for flight attendants – and travelers!

A stun gun, Xanax, travel massager that glows in the dark, ten foot pole for not touching things with, these are just a few of the things my flight attendant friends want for Christmas. What, not your gift-giving style? Okay so perhaps one of these will do….

1. PASSPORT COVER - In this day and age you might not want everyone knowing your country of origin. Not to mention it’s kind of fun dressing up the old passport that some of you should be very proud of based on the number of stamps inside. If you’re a passenger, check out the adorable covers at Flushshop.com. If you’re a flight attendant you’ll want to go with Modcloth’s Safety Misinformation Passport Wallet. (pictured)

2. BAG TAGS - All those crew bags lined up against the wall in flight operations look alike. Try making yours stand out and you won’t end up on a layover with clothes you’ve never seen before. One of the the funniest bag tags I’ve ever seen read “Baggage Handlers are Hot.” Ya know that bag made it to its final destination! Flight attendant Bailey loves Anne Taintor’s line of sassy, vintage bag tags. (And he’s going to kill me for sharing this with you.)

3. OVEN MITTS - The oven racks are hot, hot, hot! This is why so many flight attendants no longer have fingerprints. Because I’m always leaving mine behind on the plane, I can never own too many pairs of oven mitts. Flight attendant Eric is a fan of Grips. As for me, I like Fred’s Hot Head dog shaped insulating mitt.

4. MINI TRAVEL ROLLER SET - Looking good is important to flight attendants. Even though it’s not always easy when our layovers are only eight hours long and we’re scheduled to work ten to fourteen hours a day. Somehow flight attendant Joann always manages to look fabulous and I have a feeling it has something to do with her Conair mini roller set.

5. GREEN TRAVEL/REUSABLE TOTES – My friend Melanie can tell  domestic flight attendants from international ones by the bags they carry on their layovers – Harrods vs Trader Joe’s. For just $2.99 you can help them show off their travel style with this fun international tote from World Market. Or how about (sending me) a Loot Bag from Anya Hindmarch, creator of the “I’m not a plastic bag” bag.

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