My very favorite thing to buy when I travel is EARRINGS! It is completely possible to have too many coffee mugs and magnets, but I don't think it is possible to have too many earrings, especially when each one has a story. However, packing earrings when traveling can be a nightmare. I usually put them in a small pouch and they end up in a tangled mess.  Knowing we will be on the road for roughly 7 months of 2017, I knew I needed a better solution. I scoured the house for something I could repurpose, and I ended up with this great solution without buying anything new!

Find a pouch that is the perfect size for your earring collection. If you travel a lot, you will probably have something like this lying around. Otherwise you could sew something with scrap fabric, or pick up an inexpensive one at the store. 

Cut a piece of extra-thick card stock to fit easily inside your pouch. I cut out the side of a cereal box and it was the perfect thickness. 

Lay out all of the earrings you want to bring on your trip. You'll want to organize them by length on your diy earring rack, so its good to be able to see everything you are working with.

When organizing your earrings, you will inevitably find that one who's match has completely disappeared. I used this to punch my holes. It will work best if it is a straight, thick stud. It will probably end up bent in the end, so don't use a good earring. You could also poke your holes with a thick sewing needle. After punching each pair of holes, go ahead and put the earrings in the holes, so that you can get accurate spacing for the next pair. 

Continue until your card is completely full.

Slide the card easily into your pouch and you are ready to go!

Add a mini-binder clip and hang up your earrings at home or on-the-go for easy access anywhere.

It seems like just yesterday we celebrated New Year's, but we are already winding up the first destination of the 2017 Travel by the Book Challenge!  This month took me to Cameroon, a small country on the western coast of Africa. When I began the challenge, I didn't realize how difficult it might be to find books and movies without a proper library and without Netflix... so I took whatever I could find.
​Here's my Cameroon Travel Log :

MUSIC
I listened to some Cameroonian radio stations online, which mostly resembled R 'n B music that you hear in the United States. 

CURRENT EVENTS
The current situation in Cameroon is fragile. There is a huge division between the French speakers and the English speakers. Late last year, the predominately French-speaking government passed laws that were seen as discriminatory to the English-speakers. While protests have been largely peaceful, the government has taken measures against them including blocking the internet in the English-speaking regions and jailing some activists who have been blamed for stirring up the protests. 

FOOD
One of Cameroon's signatures dishes is Ndole Soup. More than a soup, it is similar to an Indian curry, with a thick gravy and meat. I had fun cooking it and it tasted good enough for us to finish all in one sitting! Traditionally it would be eaten with a fermented tapioca dumpling called fufu. We ate it with rice. I made a variation of the recipe here, using shrimp for the meat and leaving out the dried crayfish since I had no idea where to find it.

LANGUAGE
Along with French and English over 200 other tribal languages are also spoken in Cameroon! In Pidgin English, Dis chop too sweet means This food is delicious!

Since it will take me another month to finish Fortunes of Africa, I'll be changing up my schedule and camping in Africa for the next two months. So for February, I'll be visiting Botswana. Happy Traveling!