Category: Double duty

Travel stressing you out? Tired of TSA taking away your shoes and diet cola? Are baggage fees causing you to squint in frustration? Well you can virtually wish those lines away with Easamine.  What is it you ask?  It’s a wrinkle cream created by Teresian Camelites and sold to fund their philanthropic efforts.  So you not only get to look good, you feel good about something you’re buying.  And these days, how often can we say that?

I found this great new product by accident and totally had to share it. The Guyot Firefly water bottle doubles as a lantern at night. It puts out enough light to find your way or even read a book in your tent. Crazy I know, but still kind of brilliant.  You can pick one up for just $20 over on REI.com.

Voluntourism has become a big topic this year.  With many people laid off of work and free to travel for the first time in years it makes sense.  Many want to do more than just see a place, they want to have an impact.  The perfect way to do that is to volunteer while you’re on vacation.  You can interact more intimately with the locals and hopefully leave something good behind when you go.  Conde Nast republished a list of 8 Great Trips that Give Back.  Maybe one of them is right for you.

Love that wine you had with dinner last night, but can’t remember the name?  Snap a shot of the label with your cell phone.  You can call it up for reference once you’re in the wine store and snatch up a few bottles for home.  I did this myself recently and it worked like a charm.

I’m saving this one up for the next time I’m bored on a plane or stuck in a long business meeting.  I found these cute origami sticky notes over at ThinkGeek.com.  You can write on them and then entertain yourself by folding them into little shapes.  At just $3.99 a pack they are a Recessionista’s dream.  Goofy I know, but it’s the little pleasures that really make life better, right?

We’ve all heard the Apple iPhone commercials saying, “There’s an app for that”.  Well there really is an app for everything.  I came across this one recently which helps you to lose weight while traveling.  It not only helps you calculate your daily caloric intake, it can also recommend the least caloric menu item in a restaurant if you’re out a client dinner.  Pretty smart.

One of the toughest things to do on the road is stay in shape.  Now it’s effortless with Fit Flops.  They look like Birkenstocks, but contain a Micro-wobbleboard™ technology gives a workout while you walk.  Just think you’ll be ambling down the beach in style and getting your workout in without even breaking a sweat.  What a great idea!

This one is a bit Terminator for my taste, but still it has serious inner geek appeal.  Sunglasses that are bluetooth enabled.  That means there are microphones and earbuds tucked into the temples which allow you to take calls or listen to music without getting your regular bluetooth headset or iPod earphones all tangled up in your shades.  Kinda cool huh?  Still at around $200 they’re a bit pricey.

One thing I’ve noted about travel is how elusive it is trying to keep that relaxed feeling that you get on vacation once you’re back home.  Then I found Destination Dinners and thought, what a fun way to recreate the great food from your last trip.  The dinners come as small kits.  They are all based on ethnic cuisines that would encounter in your travels.  You just add the meat, and soon you’re enjoying a dinner from South Korea, Israel, even New Orleans.  I think they’d make a great gift for a friends heading out to a new destination.

Okay this doesn’t really serve a double purpose, but it’s just so cool I had to include it.  My husband sent me a link last week to this CNet.com post on keychain devices. Most of us carry these convenient little flash drives when we travel these days.  The trouble is how to disguise them from people looking to steal your data.  Why not camouflage them as actual keys and put them on your key ring?  They look more professional, less conspicuous and it sure beats the sushi flash drive!