Packing for an Easy Hiking Trip

I don't want this post to come across as though I am a hiking expert. Let me make this clear: I am not. I'm one of few kids raised in Maine who rarely went into nature - the most "outdoorsey" things I experienced as a kid was when I would cut through the woods to get to my friends house. My family wasn't very big on the Great Outdoors.

Thats probably one of the reasons I find myself borderline overcompensating now that I am older. It's still certainly a learning process, and I am nowhere close to being someone who hikes for days without stopping, cooking and eating on the trail - but I like to think I'm making some progress!

Today I wanted to do a post on what I pack for an easy day hike. This means no camping overnight, so you're not carrying around a sleeping bag, or much food and hygiene products. Instead, this is what I believe are the absolute basics if you're going for a hike where you plan on hiking higher than around 1,000 feet.

(Photo: Cannon Mountain, White Mountains NH, 4,000 ft)

#1: Backpack: Keep it lightweight. You don't need a large one that's as tall as you, but also probably something better than a Jansport or some basic fabric bag you had in middle school. I currently carry a North Face backpack, although I'm looking to upgrade.

#2: Water Bottle: Hopefully this was obvious, but it's so important to stay hydrated, even if you think it's an easy hike. High altitudes and heat tend to exasperate dehydration. I carry my big pink L.L.Bean Nalgene, and my Lilly Pulitzer S'well bottle. 

#3: Hiking Boots (or sneakers with a good tread). Honestly, unless you're hiking longer than an entire day, I rarely notice that much of a difference between wearing my hiking boots as compared to my sneakers. If you're going on a basic day hike, hiking boobs aren't always worth the investment - unless it's particularly tough terrain (although I did once hike a difficult trail in Bar Harbor Maine in Sperry's - it was actually so embarrassing!). I got my hiking boots on sale at the L.L.Bean outlet.

(Photo: Dorr Mounain, Acadia National Park ME, 1,000ft)

#4: Layers. At least in Maine, the weather can be drastically different on the bottom of a mountain vs. the top. In the hike pictured above, it was a warm beautiful day at the bottom - but at the top it was cold and foggy! Normally I wear leggings, a sports bra, and a workout tank top - but I will pack Nike Shorts, and a lightweight workout jacket if the weather switches one way or another.

#5: Hiking Snacks. I'm a big fan of a day hike with lunch on top of the mountain. In which case you'd pack something that travels well (think lunches your mom would pack you), like PB&J, deli sandwiches - nothing super perishable in case it's hot and humid. If you aren't going to eat at the top, pack easy snacks - like granola, trail mix, gummies, etc.

#6: Mobile Charger. Because I'm new to the whole hiking thing, I still have minor Lost on a Mountain in Maine fears. Also I use my iPhone for photos. So I'll normally pack my portable phone charger if I need a little extra juice to get through the hike.

That is my opinion on what the absolute basic essentials for a day hike are. I'm sure, somewhere in the world, a serious hiker is rolling their eyes at how naive I am - but I've gotten this far!

Do you have any hiking tips or things you absolutely swear by? If so, I'd love to hear (before I go on my first overnight hiking trip next month), comment down below!

Teaming Up with Teami

Happy Friday, y'all!

Today I wanted to stop and talk about a product I've been testing out all week. I was sent two teas from Teami Blends - the Skinny Blend and Focus Blend.

I'll be honest. I was sent these teas and they sat on my work desk for at least two weeks. Not that I wasn't excited to try them! I was excited to see how they made me feel, but I was not excited to see how they tasted. I have friends that have tried colon cleansing and skinny teas, who I would sit next to in class or at work while they painfully tried to finish whatever gross tea mixture they concocted that morning.

Finally, I took out a tea bag of the focus tea. And here's my unexpected hot take - it tastes like tea. Not gross or funky tasting at all! I was particularly interested in the focus tea because every summer I try to drink less coffee. In the winter drinking coffee is warm and comforting, in the summer I just pump iced coffee full of sugar and cream and feel so unhealthy and jittery at the end of the cup. If I could find a way to stay alert and awake throughout the day without coffee, I am all in.

The focus tea did give me a noticeably higher level of alertness. Now - that may be because I still drank some coffee and had just more caffeine in my body than normal - but I am willing to attribute a lot of it to the focus tea. It was a healthier kind of energy, without jitters, which definitely made it way more natural.

Like I said, I've only had a couple cups - but I'm excited to see how and if I can use this to replace coffee this summer.


PS - you can also use the code AbbieMaine10 for 10% off your order if you want to try!

Summer Dresses to Beat the Heat

I think because I'm from Maine, and therefore used to below freezing temperatures, I'm an especially big baby when it comes to warm weather. I thought I hated winter but then as I got older I realized - I would take a super cold day over a super hot one anyday. When it's cold out, you can add as many layers as you need in order to feel warm and cozy. But when it's humid and hot? You can only take off so many clothes before it's just unbearable.

With this heat wave in Maine, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my favorite warm weather dresses. I look for some requirements when shopping for "hot day" dresses:

1. They have to be relatively cheap. I don't want to spend a ton of money on a dress that I will probably just be sweating in. If I spend more money on a dress, I will never even wear it when it's hot out because I will likely be too worried about ruining it. 

2. The material has to breathe. I can't wear anything with any polyester or synthetic mixes. Only cotton or linen for my summer dresses.

Speaking of soft cotton - my first suggestion is the American Eagle Soft & Sexy dresses. I've linked the exact one I'm wearing - but they have a whole line of dresses made out of the same cotton material. I don't know what they do in their facilities to make these products, but their T-shirts and dresses that are "Soft & Sexy" are so unbelievably soft! And they are reasonably priced enough that I often find myself grabbing for these dresses on a hot day.

Another favorite type of summer dress comes from the Sun & Shadow collection at Nordstrom. This line has done a great job of being trendy, good quality, and still affordable. The dress I have on in this photo recently sold out during the Nordstrom Semi-Annual sale, but I recently just bought this dress as well when I was down in Massachusetts last weekend.

And last but certainly not least - any and all off-the-shoulder tops! First, repeat after me: no tan lines. This is so important! One of the best benefits of wearing an OTS dress has to be that I can walk around in the sun without being worried that I'm acquiring a farmers tan or some weird tan line that will look weird later on. Plus, these dresses are so breathable. The dress above is from abercrombie and is a simple cotton dress - but I've bought so many this season that I am ready to suggest that you just buy any and all affordable OTS dresses that you see. 

Memorial Day Weekend in NYC (with a vlog!)

Hey guys! I posted a lot on Instagram during my trip to New York City, but wanted to do a complete guide/travel diary/whatever you want to call it about what I did in the city over Memorial Day Weekend! Let me start with saying: my first goal was to be outside as much as possible. The only other time (I can't believe I hadn't gone to NYC before last summer) I was in NYC, it was over one hundred degrees out all weekend! I'm not being dramatic when I say, it was absolutely unbearable. It was my first time ever in NYC, and I sat inside with my friend all day to avoid the heat - that's how bad it was! I didn't even care that we weren't doing anything!

I arrived in NYC the first this Saturday morning, and despite the fact I had been up since 4am to catch my flight - I immediately hit the city! Me and my friend, Emily, got a quick brunch and then walked around Central Park. After a walk around Central Park, we had to make a quick and urgent stop one street over.. to the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM.

You may notice a theme in my post: I go wherever Instagram tells me to. And after years of seeing people post adorable photos from Sprinkles, I just had to stop there. Once that was out of my system though, we continued walking right to Times Square. Now, I didn't particularly have a desire to go to Times Square. From everything I heard, it was insanely busy at all times of the year, and mostly just overrated. But nestled underneath Times Square was something important: the TKTS Booth which sells discounted Broadway tickets that are unsold the day-of. We waited in line for about an hour, but because of the holiday weekend, we weren't able to get any tickets to shows either of us wanted to see.

After that it was just about dinnertime, and I was tired from my early-morning trip. So Emily and I went to get dinner and then retreated back to her apartment to watching Riverdale and relax - no regrets!

The next morning we were up bright and early to go to brunch again. I highly recommend Maison Harlem if you are in the Harlem/Upper Manhattan area - such delicious french breakfast! After eating up, we took the subway down to MOMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art) to see some art. While I don't particularly have an intense passion for modern art like some do, It was so cool and surreal to see art pieces I had read and learned about in school.

After getting some culture for the day, I had to stop at another Instagram essential: Cha Cha Matcha. I am absolutely obsessed with this place and wish we had somewhere like it in Maine! I have loved matcha and have made homemade matcha lattes at home, but maybe it's a blessing - because I know I would spend so much money having a matcha bar around me all the time!

From there, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for two reasons. First, I wanted to see my best childhood friend who lives in Brookyln - check! Second, I wanted to see DUMBO Brooklyn, a very popular spot on Instagram with beautiful views of the NYC skyline - check!

After that I kind of slacked - video and photo wise. I met up with my high school friend Maddie for dinner, along with Emily, and we had so much fun eating tacos and talking and catching up. After that, I called up two more friends in the NYC area, and we met for drinks in lower Manhattan. I love having friends all spread out, but it makes it hard to keep in touch with them - so when I see them, I try to focus on spending quality time with them.

I woke up the next morning, Monday morning of Memorial Day weekend, and got a quick breakfast with Emily and then began my trek from Harlem to JFK for my early afternoon flight. Now... if you hate reading, here's a vlog that basically says everything I just wrote above! I'm already planning on heading back to NYC (some flight problems on the way home secured me a JetBlue gift certificate!), hopefully in the Fall, if anyone has any suggestions of places that I didn't go on this trip!