Let me tell you about my favorite coat.

I have this coat that I LOVE. It is a little crazy how much I love this coat, but it is my favorite coat in life. It has a huge fluffy hood, is black with cute buckles and goes mid-thigh (love long coats) and has a sheepskin lining on the inside.

And I got it from Ecuador.

I’m kind of over the souvenier stage because I don’t really want much stuff (it weighs you down if you want to travel and move all the time) and I’m definitely over the trinket stage (I have all those from my childhood travels, which I will never throw away and always cherish but don’t want to add to the collection.)

So I’ve found a new way of remembering trips.

I buy stuff I actually need from really cool places.

I buy coats, blankets, normal clothes, backpacks, things that I use. I like it when they don’t even look touristy, just the stuff everyday people wear or use. Normal black dishes from the equivalent of a Walmart, a scarf, sunglasses.

But it reminds me where it is from, and fits into my style instead of having to look like some of the cheesy souvenirs out there (which if you like that that’s great, it’s just not me!)

It’s fun when someone says, “Hey, where did you get that coat?” thinking maybe the mall or Target. And you’re like, “Oh, Ecuador actually!”

(I also think this helps educate people a little bit that the world is a very normal place and that people live very normal lives all over. Sometimes we help perpetuate the stereotypes of other countries by only bringing home the super traditional crazy stuff that no one from that country actually uses.)

(Side note – I LOVE art. My all-time favorite thing to buy is hand-painted art from a local artist. So if that’s considered touristy, then that’s one area my taste is all in for! More on that later.)

Just another idea in case you’ve never considered that either!

What are your favorite ways to remember travels? (Besides pictures…)