I was gone for a long weekend, and in Texas you can get a range of weather in a very short time. There’s a saying that “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait 15 minutes.”
Well, yeah, it happened.
I stepped out of the airport in San Antonio and started sweating – it was in the 70’s. I shucked off my down jacket and scarf (and pondered if I should have brought shorts in addition to the lightweight yoga pants that do almost as well as shorts.)
Later on that weekend it was in the upper 20’s and they shut down the airport just shortly after I flew out due to ice and freezing rain.
So saying that, I was actually completely comfy just having brought a backpack like this for the whole weekend (but mine cost $14 at Ross. The shoe pockets on the side are very handy since I put a pair of tennies in there and wore my Crocs on the plane).
I really liked this for the plane since the new regulations for the liquids in a ziploc bag rule is making me re-think my packing technique for toiletries. I put the ziploc in the top most zipper pocket so I can hand it to the stern looking security guard and I put my somewhat girly flowered half moon dry goods bag (well, whatever is left that isn’t liquid) in the mesh area previously defined for a basketball. Heh. Fits really well actually.
I also had a Longhorn’s cap in the mesh pocket, but somehow it ended up on Bud’s head instead of mine as I flew back home, so it wasn’t there on the trip back. =)

4 days in the Hill Country:

silk sweater (worn on the plane)

black Mistral pants from REI (worn on the plane)*

white tshirt

black yoga pants

khaki quick dry pants

wool zipper neck long sleeve shirt

long sleeve black t shirt

long sleeve grey shirt

bright orange long sleeve shirt

black button down short with skulls (jammies)

a pair of black long underwear (doubled as jammies)

socks and undies

down jacket

pashmina scarf

I know it seems like a lot, but frankly when I visit my mom (even for a 24 hour stretch) I have to have clothes from anything as dressy as dinner at a really posh restaurant down to running around in the mud with the poopers.
I also managed to fit all of this because all of these items by themselves are rather thin. I layer them for warmth when it is cold and leave them single when its warm. It doesn’t hurt that I tend toward the wool stuff from REI. Yes, its an investment, but I find them and snap them up when they are on sale and I wear them non-stop, so I think I am getting my moola’s worth.
The only thing I thought might have been good was one more of the white tshirts (Hanes vnecks) and my khaki yoga pants as well since I live in them.

*These are great because they have about 12 gazillion pockets to put my plane tickets, ID for security. Then later I can put my Mylo and plane toys in the pockets so I don’t have to get into my bag when I’m trapped in my seat by a sleeping, drooling person.