New Design, New Mission… My Travel Blogging Manifesto

12 Sep New Design, New Mission… My Travel Blogging Manifesto

After nearly 4 years, it’s time to shake things up around here!

Today I’m unveiling a brand new site design, created by the talented team at Hop and Jaunt. We’ve been working together tirelessly over the last few weeks to develop a look that embodied the fun, bold and whimsical emotions that I feel about travel. And, honestly, who could have designed it better than 2 fellow travel bloggers?!

Also, a big shout out to Michael Tieso from the Art of Travel Blogging for helping me transfer everything from Blogger to WordPress. With 4 year’s worth of content, it would have been impossible for me to do it alone, but he made it all seem easy.

It’s been a long road, but I absolutely love the end result and I hope you do, too.

And the changes don’t stop there. They extend far beneath the surface.

Stepping back just a moment, let me just reflect and say that Packed Suitcase originally started as a simple blog with the sole purpose of sharing my occasional travels with my closest friends and family.

Over the years, it’s all changed drastically. I went backpacking in New Zealand for a month after losing my job, and found new inspiration. Then, after being published on some notable websites, I began expanding my posts to write about every possible travel topic. At the same time, I became active in the travel blogging community in my hometown of Washington, DC and around the world through Twitter.

With all this, I noticed a huge change a-brewin‘. All of a sudden, my small little blog became a destination for many internet strangers who stumbled upon my site searching for itineraries, bucket list ideas, packing lists and more.

With the sudden attention, I became afraid that people didn’t want to hear my thoughts. And perhaps even more than that, I was terrified of offending anyone . The internet can be a cruel and scary place, sheltered by the veil of anonymity. So, in order to stay professional and unbiased (and to avoid any potential criticism), I veered so far over the line of neutrality that, over time, I lost my voice.

With the new design, it’s the perfect time to announce that I am no longer afraid. I’ve found my voice.

Moving forward, I’ll be infusing my personality and opinions into every post. I happen to think I have a fun and positive outlook on life, and frankly I’m liberated to be able to better share it with you.

I’ll still be doing my share of practical, helpful travel-planning posts, because that’s just the sort of girl I am, but I won’t hesitate to let you know what I really think. Additionally, I’ll start sharing some of my most treasured travel stories, both the good alongside the bad (like the one where I ended up in a Venice canal… now that’s a story!) I’ll be producing (and starring in?) more travel videos, too.

The final change is that Packed Suitcase will now have a newly defined focus. My overarching creative filter. A tagline! “Dream. Pack. Go.”

• DREAM: I’ll help you satisfy your thirst for travel with wanderlust-y content such as bucket lists, gorgeous photos, travel quizzes, riddles and more.
• PACK: Think of this section as all the essentials. Practical stuff like packing lists, playlists, itineraries and tips to help you get the most out of your travels.
• GO: Here, you’ll read all about my own adventures and travel hijinks. Whether I’m skydiving from 15,000 feet, eating a 10 course tasting menu or hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, hilarity and good stories abound.

So, whether you are first-time visitors, other travel bloggers, faithful readers or real-life friends, I hope you can all find something of value here and can all happily co-mingle. Thank you for stopping by- I hope to see a lot more of you around here!

And while you’re at it- why not stay in the loop by following me on Twitter and Facebook! Subscribe to get updates of my latest posts here.

Enjoy the new Packed Suitcase and let me know what you think of the new look in the comments!