55 Easy Ideas for Happy Travels!
packing secrets, jet lag cures, and the most flattering (and comfortable!) jeans
Welcome to the March edition of Happy on Purpose, and an extra special hello to this month’s 1,097 new readers: I’m so glad you’ve joined our wise, warm, and joyful crew!
It’s been a big month: Happy on Purpose turned four, and I had a great time chatting with Meredith Farley about the newsletter’s origin story (aka my midlife crisis!) on the Content People podcast.
I’m writing from Japan, on our family spring break sightseeing and ski trip. We started in Tokyo, where we were wowed by exquisite food (ramen! sushi! hot pot!) and elegantly attired, extremely polite people. Efficiency, cleanliness, and care for others are woven into daily life: from the English signs in the subway and thoughtful sidewalk markings for blind pedestrians, to the iconic toilets!
We’re now in Hokkaido, the renowned ski area of northern Japan. I don’t ski, so I’ve created a one-woman writer’s retreat: with a stunning view of snow-capped mountains, endless cups of green tea, and regular visits to the Onsen (traditional Japanese public baths), I am in absolute heaven!
Fittingly, this month’s issue is travel-themed: read on for 35 genius travel hacks on everything from planning family trips to packing and managing jetlag; 5 travel essentials, including the jeans that are the stylish MVP of this trip, and lots of good things to read, watch, and click on. I’m an avid reader of print magazines and hope this issue feels like a satisfying glossy filled with exciting and inspiring ideas for travels near and far.
Oh, and scroll all the way to the end to vote on the topic of next month’s issue…
One of the most happiness-inducing things about traveling is anticipating a trip. India is top of my list, while my husband can’t wait to go on safari in Africa. What’s your dream destination? Leave a comment below!
During three decades of international travel, I’ve worn an abaya to conduct business in Riyadh, tracked gorillas in Africa, tasted thousand-year-old eggs in China, slept under the stars in Wadi Rum, watched bears dance on the street in St. Petersburg, been to an opera in Havana, and kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland!
The people I’ve met and the sights I’ve seen have exponentially expanded my capacity for empathy, wonder, and humility.
But traveling, no matter how much you love it, can feel like a grueling endurance sport: from the complex geometry of packing, to the emotional roller coaster of traveling with kids, tummy troubles, jet lag, and the dreaded post-vacation blues.
Click here for my hard-won tips…
1. For neck support on long flights, these pillows work miracles.
2. The tinted moisturizer with SPF45 I swear by: it’s a 3-in-one product that means you can pack less, plus it magically matches your skin tone!
3. My trusty cashmere throw is a comforting blanket on chilly planes, and a chic wrap for nice dinners.
4. These ultra-stretch straight-leg jeans are the stylish MVP of my current trip! I have them in Meteor, and am considering another pair in Ease.
5. An essential when sharing bathrooms…
📺WHAT TO WATCH
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette: while there has been controversy about how factual this drama is, the 90s NYC fashion, culture, and music are incredibly evocative, and even though we know how their story ends, it’s an addictive watch.
Season 2 of Paradise, the post-apocalyptic thriller, is a nail-biter and stars Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and Shailene Woodley. It was one of my favorite shows of 2025.
I’m looking forward to watching Rooster, Steve Carell’s new show set on a college campus, and Imperfect Women, starring Elisabeth Moss, Kate Mara, and Kerry Washington, when I’m back in the US.
For the long plane ride home, I’ve downloaded Scarpetta, the new detective series starring Nicole Kidman, based on the beloved Kay Scarpetta books, and Dynasty: The Murdochs, a documentary on the family who inspired Succession.
Worth noting: How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is by the same writers as Derry Girls. Season 50 of Survivor is underway. More shows based on books: H Is for Hawk, a movie starring Claire Foy, and Vladimir, a limited series with Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall.
📚WHAT TO READ
Family-Vacation Breakdown. We have this hilarious New Yorker satire of family trips framed in our powder room!
Lady Tremaine is a clever retelling of Cinderella from the perspective of her stepmother. The prose is delightfully cinematic: I could imagine the movie version of this book about women, motherhood, and love.
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage is the book I can’t stop talking about this year, for its understated, yet shocking, details of the unraveling of a seemingly happy marriage.
This Is Not About Us is an immersive novel that reads as a family saga told in short stories. It’s about everything from familial love, heartbreak, misunderstandings, plus a controversial apple cake!
This Story Might Save Your Life has been my bedtime reading this week: it’s a suspenseful thriller about the sudden disappearance of a famous podcaster, with a Harry-Met-Sally friends-to-lovers theme! Here’s an interview with the author, Tiffany Crum.
I’m excited to read Lake Effect: a Novel, a “midlife awakening” story by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, who wrote The Nest, which I really enjoyed.
Happy on Purpose readers chimed in with many, many excellent book recommendations in the comments of this newsletter: it’s a treasure trove of wonderful ideas!
🎁Lori H. was the lucky winner of February’s giveaway prize (all paid subscribers are automatically entered), which was a bundle of three buzzy new books: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, This Is Not About Us, and Some Bright Nowhere.
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Readers had many sweet comments and added their own good advice to 20 Things I’ve Learned from 20 Years of Marriage, this year’s most popular post. Here are two:
Bob said, “My wife and I have been married for 65 yrs and were friends for 3 yrs before we dated. She is still my best friend. That’s the foundation. Never stop talking about everything is the entertainment and learning to “let go” is a must. It’s the glue. Hanging on to expectations causes more suffering. Just be kind and let life happen. It’s going to anyway!”
Woody said, “Always be on the same team. When you argue, you should be arguing for the mutual benefit of the team, not to win the argument. When you have doubts, remember your partner has the best interests of the team in mind. If you truly doubt that, what the heck are you doing together?! Teams win because the sum of their parts is greater than their individual value. Be a team that demonstrates this as often as possible.”
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Coming up for paid subscribers: the March giveaway, how to beat procrastination, and a surprising way to achieve big goals.
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Catching up here and love this, Amelia — especially noting the neck pillow with a difference, and can't get Love Story over here - gahhh! - so need to look into how to watch this side of the pond. Happy new week!!! 💕 XX
You perfectly described my feeling in Japan. Can’t wait to go back! My third trip.