up in the air.

i realize i'm no george clooney, but i fly more than most people i know. consider me one of those business travelers who spends my day in conference rooms in cities other than my own, sandwiched by flights to and from my home base on either end.

it has its perks. like parking in short term parking... and charging it on the corporate amex. accruing frequent flier miles... and charging it to the corporate amex. taking clients to lunch... and charging it to the corporate amex. it's especially sweet to walk right up to the tsa line with nothing more than a file folder in my hand. same day flights mean no luggage to, well, lug around. hallelujah.

but, regardless... wrestling through tsa will never cease to be a hassle. the shoe thing, the metals thing, the liquids thing {darn the 25 very necessary lip glosses in my purse right now}, the separate bucket for your laptop thing... all of it, difficult.

but after months and months of this, i've learned to simplify. i zip through the line without feeling like i just undid everything i "did" while i getting ready in the morning, without the full body cavity search, and without being that person who holds up the line because i forgot to strip myself of even the smallest tsa no-no. best of all, i learned that i can do all this while maintaining my stellar style {ha.}

sharing my wisdom:

1. accessorize without metals. i've got glass rings, wood rings, plastic rings... the possibilities are endless. thank goodness i've got cheap taste, eh? plastic bangles work great. and headbands are totally doable, too... like the ones robin sends me... or the vinylicious one i got from frosty darling - perfection.

2. wear flats. or sandals. nothing that requires lacing, tying, untying, zipping, unzipping, or wiggling on or off. {boots are the WORST. so embarrassing to see all these well dressed women standing in line at security, wiggling with their might to get their boots off... only to discover white tube socks hiding in there.}

3. no belts. that usually means i wear my classic "dress with pants" ensemble or i layer... anything but a straight up button down and dress pants sitch. it's so easy to get untucked and disheveled while climbing in and out of the window seat on the plane, anyway. there are certainly outfits/pants that require belts... wear those on another day.

all these things - totally doable... and all the while, people think you're just living another day in style... no one has to know you're working it sans metal.