Packing for Vacay

Haven't done an FBFF post in awhile. This one should be easy since I just got back from a vacation.

January 2009 - Cayman Islands

1. When it comes to packing for vacation what’s your mantra? I guess to plan ahead. I try to pack one outfit for each day and try to predict what I'm going to be doing on that day, what the weather will be like, etc. It's not a very efficient way of packing, though. I'll reuse pants and shorts, but I like to have a different top for each day.
2. What are your must packs? Some form of entertainment that doesn't need to be charged--most often a crossword puzzle book.
   
   I also must get better at packing shoes when I'm going somewhere I'll be walking around a lot. Last weekend, I had one pair of Reebok flip flops, and they rubbed the top of my feet raw. Same exact thing happened when I went to Paris in '05. I had one pair of cute flats because I refused to wear tennis shoes (and that was before you could find cute sneakers wherever you looked). I was in paaaaiiinnn.
3. What are you happy to leave behind? Makeup? I actually do bring makeup with on vacation, but I generally don't wear it except for special events.
4. Any packing secrets that help you get everything into one suitcase? Like I said in #1, plan ahead. Options are nice to have, and I wish I did have more options sometimes, but if you need to condense, pack only what you need.
5. Beach reading...what are you taking with you to read in the sand? A couple people recommended the Stephanie Plum series to me in the past, so I just started reading One for the Money by Janet Evanovich.  I keep reading great things about The Help, so I think I might have to pick that up at some point.  Also, I'm in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the second time, which I want to finish before the last movie comes out next month.