travel necessities // in my bag

well. i'm on my way to china y'all. let me give you a really condensed version of why the heck i'm traveling around the world. {i used to work at a big corporate company and worked as a developer with factories overseas. when i left, i kept those connections and have been doing a little bit of freelance work with them. the client i've been working with recently wants to go see their product in factory and work out some kinks... so now i'm flying out to china to do so. weeee!} got it?

so no, a fabulous fete is not bringing party goodness to china (yet).

i always want to do a packing posts. and i always pack the night before and am super stressed, not to mention the poor lighting that comes with packing in the dark. so instead i thought i'd share what i must have when i travel. what is in my bag that i carry with me at all times.

comfy headphones because music is not an option (i'm not a talker on flights.. unless its after a few glasses of de-stressifying wine). notebooks because when is a better time to brainstorm than when you are cut off from social networking, email and internet? sweet smelling solid perfume... a great pick me up after a long flight. my camera, i would have a panic attack the entire time it was in my suitcase. and i'm NOT bringing, for the first time ever, my giant dslr. i always take it, but never want to lug it around so we'll see how it goes! i'm sure i'll regret it at some point ;) 

lots and lots of small pouches! this is how you stay organized people. don't throw your gum, mints, pens, chargers, id, etc. at the bottom of your bag. this saves me so much time i'd usually spend searching. passport/phone.. duh. and books. this is a new one for me. i am not a book reader, blame it on my lack of patience and focus. i usually don't read books because i feel like there are a million things i could be getting done. but with 15 1/2 hours on a plane, i think i can spare an hour or two. and yes, i totally judged these books by their covers. i went in to the bookstore blind and skimmed a few landing on these. they seemed entertaining enough. 'wife 22' about a world of social media and how it's affecting her personal relationships. and 'what alice forgot' is a story of a woman forgetting 10 years of her life. i knew i needed to start with a light read to keep me engaged, so hopefully these do the trick!

so what do you guys think, what are you must have travel necessities?