The Macabi Travel Skirt
Now here’s something new and wonderfully exciting: the Macabi Travel Skirt. Don’t even think about not reading about the Macabi, because spending the $76.95 for this baby, might just mean packing a carry-on only. Why? The Macabi skirt is three pieces of clothing in one – and even though it comes in other colors – it also comes in black (perfect for the tourist going to France).
This skirt/pants/short pants get-up is made of a cottony soft nylon fabric that resists wrinkles and dries very fast (very!). So you can conceivably (and we have) wash this skirt (we do think of it as a skirt first) in the bidet, then hang it up and it’ll be dry by, well, midnight.
Is this a gorgeous skirt? Not particularly. It’s a basic skirt. But that’s all you really need for Paris. Take along a basic black skirt, a couple of neutral shirts, and then head straight to Printemps to grab some sweet accessories, such as bright Parisian scarves, that you can wear to bring your look together (and then take home as souvenirs.
And get this: For those of you who can carry off a style (and all you need to do in order to do that is to feel that you can), this skirt comes with little clips that allow you to turn the skirt into a fashionable pair of pants, e.g., think Moroccan! You’ll never be pegged as a loud American tourist wearing a pair of these. With the right accessories, you’ll look so stylish everyone will be envious.
We aren’t all that crazy about the short pants version of the skirt for Paris, but can certainly see how they’d go over well in other destinations. Actually, once you use the buckles to turn the
skirt into shorts, the item basically looks like a skirt that’s been turned into shorts – but when you’re wearing shorts, you don’t really care what you look like anyway, so go for it, is our philosophy.
The photos of the Macabi Skirt don’t do it much justice. The skirt is actually very slimming, something we didn’t see on the site, but definitely saw in the mirror.
Other nice things about the Macabi:
· It seems cool on hot days and warm on cold days.· It has oversized pockets. · It has a zippered security pocket (tote that Passport everywhere you go).· It comes in different sizes, lengths and colors.· It offers an elastic waistband, drawstring and belt loop all in one.
Highly Recommended:
The Macabi Travel Skirt
Exped-Packsacks
So here’s a Swiss made product any respectable traveler to France should think about getting: the Exped Packsack $7-$17. This is the ultimate soft shell pack, because it’s waterproof, shockproof, comes in different sizes and colors, and has an integrated EVA Liner (think energy management).
How is this good for you?
Okay, listen to this… get the larger Exped Packsack and take your laptop to France. We are talking light here. There will be virtually no weight connected to keeping your laptop safe. Once your laptop is safely in the hotel room, either remove the inside EVA Liner and use the sack as a tote sack for shopping, or keep the liner in and stock up on market fromages for an afternoon snack. The EVA liner will keep the cheese fresh enough through a couple of museum tours.
The Exped Packsacks come in so many different sizes that you can protect your video camcorders and digicams, smaller digital cameras, DVD Players, PDA’s, GPS’s, cell phones and more.And for another neat trick… the sack is perfect for toting French wine safely back home… oo-la-la!An added bonus: The top has clips to help you clip the bag together or onto other items that have standard travel clips. Very cool.
Highly Recommend:
The Exped Packsack
The Keen Montreux Boot
While preparing for the cold weather to come, we came across a perfect pair of winter shoes we couldn’t resist. We’ve always wondered if a leather shoe existed that was actually waterproof. Through our experiences with winter weather, we never thought we’d find a shoe that didn’t leave a water line when it got wet. But Keen proved us wrong.
We decided to buy the Keen Montreux black leather boots after we tried them on (thinking they might not be the prettiest boot) and found out they made our feet look very small. How elegant (and if you’re going to Paris, you want to be elegant). We were surprised when we put the shoe on and found that the sole is not flat like most shoes, but is curved to help you walk. It feels great to walk in them, in fact, as the shoe is doing part of the work that usually your ankle has to provide – to gently roll your foot down rather than just putting your feet flat on the ground. What a marvelous way to glide through the Marais!
The Keen Montreux comes with non-marking rubber soles and a waterproof leather that will be hard put to find a competitor. Leather shoes just normally don’t mix with rain or snow. But thanks to Keen, this problem is solved. Finally, there is a way to enjoy the first snow or icy rain without having to ruin your new boots! Each Keen shoe comes with special features that you won’t find in any other shoe. Some of them include anti-odor-lining which is very good to have in a boot. People who have odor problems will find a new friend. We have tested…
The Macabi Travel Skirt
Now here’s something new and wonderfully exciting: the Macabi Travel Skirt. Don’t even think about not reading about the Macabi, because spending the
$76.95 for this baby, might just mean packing a carry-on only. Why? The Macabi skirt is three pieces of clothing in one – and even though it comes in other colors – it also comes in black (perfect for the tourist going to France).
This skirt/pants/short pants get-up is made of a cottony soft nylon fabric that resists wrinkles and dries very fast (very!). So you can conceivably (and we have) wash this skirt (we do think of it as a skirt first) in the bidet, then hang it up and it’ll be dry by, well, midnight.
Is this a gorgeous skirt? Not particularly. It’s a basic skirt. But that’s all you really need for Paris. Take along a basic black skirt, a couple of neutral shirts, and then head straight to Printemps to grab some sweet accessories, such as bright Parisian scarves, that you can wear to bring your look together (and then take home as souvenirs.
And get this: For those of you who can carry off a style (and all you need to do in order to do that is to feel that you can), this skirt comes with little clips that allow you to turn the skirt into a fashionable pair of pants, e.g., think Moroccan! You’ll never be pegged as a loud American tourist wearing a pair of these. With the right accessories, you’ll look so stylish everyone will be envious.
We aren’t all that crazy about the short pants version of the skirt for Paris, but can certainly see how they’d go over well in other destinations. Actually, once you use the buckles to turn the 
skirt into shorts, the item basically looks like a skirt that’s been turned into shorts – but when you’re wearing shorts, you don’t really care what you look like anyway, so go for it, is our philosophy.
The photos of the Macabi Skirt don’t do it much justice. The skirt is actually very slimming, something we didn’t see on the site, but definitely saw in the mirror.
Other nice things about the Macabi:
· It seems cool on hot days and warm on cold days.
· It has oversized pockets.
· It has a zippered security pocket (tote that Passport everywhere you go).
· It comes in different sizes, lengths and colors.
· It offers an elastic waistband, drawstring and belt loop all in one.
Highly Recommended: The Macabi Travel Skirt
Exped-Packsacks
So here’s a Swiss made product any respectable traveler to France should think about getting: the Exped Packsack
$7-$17. This is the ultimate soft shell pack, because it’s waterproof, shockproof, comes in different sizes and colors, and has an integrated EVA Liner (think energy management).
How is this good for you?
Okay, listen to this… get the larger Exped Packsack and take your laptop to France. We are talking light here. There will be virtually no weight connected to keeping your laptop safe. Once your laptop is safely in the hotel room, either remove the inside EVA Liner and use the sack as a tote sack for shopping, or keep the liner in and stock up on market fromages for an afternoon snack. The EVA liner will keep the cheese fresh enough through a couple of museum tours.
The Exped Packsacks come in so many different sizes that you can protect your video camcorders and digicams, smaller digital cameras, DVD Players, PDA’s, GPS’s, cell phones and more.
And for another neat trick… the sack is perfect for toting French wine safely back home… oo-la-la!
An added bonus: The top has clips to help you clip the bag together or onto other items that have standard travel clips. Very cool.
Highly Recommend: The Exped Packsack
The Keen Montreux Boot
While preparing for the cold weather to come, we came across a perfect pair of winter shoes we couldn’t resist. We’ve always wondered if a leather shoe existed that was actually waterproof. Through our experiences with winter weather, we never thought we’d find a shoe that didn’t leave a water line when it got wet. But Keen proved us wrong.
We decided to buy the Keen Montreux black leather boots after we tried them on (thinking they might not be the prettiest boot) and found out they made our feet look very small. How elegant (and if you’re going to Paris, you want to be elegant). We were surprised when we put the shoe on and found that the sole is not flat like most shoes, but is curved to help you walk. It feels great to walk in them, in fact, as the shoe is doing part of the work that usually your ankle has to provide – to gently roll your foot down rather than just putting your feet flat on the ground. What a marvelous way to glide through the Marais!
The Keen Montreux comes with non-marking rubber soles and a waterproof leather that will be hard put to find a competitor. Leather shoes just normally don’t mix with rain or snow. But thanks to Keen, this problem is solved. Finally, there is a way to enjoy the first snow or icy rain without having to ruin your new boots! Each Keen shoe comes with special features that you won’t find in any other shoe. Some of them include anti-odor-lining which is very good to have in a boot. People who have odor problems will find a new friend. We have tested these shoes on someone with chronic foot odor and we have to say that, although their feet didn’t smell as inviting as a patisserie, the feet did come out of the boot odor-free.
As an added plus… just yesterday we read a story about Keen Footware and how they have given almost 1 million dollars to AmeriCares for the tsunami relief efforts in 2005. Keen Footware doesn’t care only for the interest of the company, but they also help others in times of great need. So as we happily walk down the Champs with our small, elegantly donned feet, we can know that any bucks applied to our new boots also went to help people in need.
Highly Recommended: The Keen Montreaux Boot
Marina Laptop Toting Pocketbook
So if you feel you really need a full fledged laptop case, but are sick of the same old same old, Timbuk2 offers something unique and fashionable with the
$80 Marina Laptop Toting Pocketbook. Yep, this is a gorgeously designed two in one system that will hold your Apple 15 inch PowerBook or your standard-sized PC laptop (or smaller), and look as if you’re actually toting a stylish pocketbook. Plus, there will be a some extra room left over for paper work, keys and then some.
The color choices are Olive, Silver Red or Black, and the fabric is a durable, waterproof nylon. For a secret spoil just for you, inside is lined with a padded flower pattern. Also inside is an inner zippered pocket with a red ribbon key holder, and another inner flap on the other side.
Outside find three very exceptional pluses:
- A zippered pocket (which house some extra open pockets that can hold lipstick, pens, a cell phone, etc.)
- No-slip shoulder handles
- A waterproof, no-slip bottom (if this were in a boat that had turned over on its side, this would probably still be found propped bolt upright on the table)
Go to Paris, be prepared and be stylish.
Highly Recommended: The Marina Laptop Toting Pocketbook
