Suitcase living | 36 days and counting

As you've probably heard by now (since I certainly haven't accepted this fact quietly), I've been living out of my road trip suitcase for 36 days, since July 13. This was not the original plan.

The original plan was to be as comfortable and cool as possible for 17 days through a heat wave, and work in a few cute pieces for the blogger meet-ups. We planned one laundry stop along the way (at my brother's place in Houston), although we could always pop into a laundromat if needed. Aside from a day trip to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, the rest of the trip would mostly involved strolling around and eating, so nothing too strenuous.

3 graphic tees (1 not shown), 4 solid tees, 8 tanks/camis (mostly undershirts, not to be seen alone), 1 silky tee, 1 tube top

3 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts

2 dresses, 1 smocked tube dress, 1 skirt

1 hoodie, 1 drapey cardi, 1 knit blazer, 1 vest, 2 scarves (1 not shown)

2 pairs of flip flops, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of glittery flats, 1 pair of TOMS

 Total count: 37 tops, undershirts, coverups, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and scarves

(also packed but not really part of the daily count: plenty of undergarments, a half slip, 2 swimsuits, 1 pair of sneakers for hiking the Carlsbad Caverns, 1 pair of socks--to wear with the sneakers--and all my jewelry)

What went wrong:

• It was too hot to wear any sleeves (even short ones) for most of the trip.
• Forget about closed toed shoes (my feet need to breathe even when it's cold out).
• Tube tops/dresses only work when you also pack a strapless bra.
• The lighter colored shorts were way too small. I'm not sure why I even still have these (but these are the only two pairs of shorts I own).
• Oh, and the rest of our stuff is 16 days late and counting (they technically have until the 25th, a date I'm keeping a close eye on).

All of this resulted in 10 of the items above never even being touched during the trip. What a waste of space! All of those tanks and camis were pretty redundant, too.

How I'm coping:

• Luckily, the climate here is pretty mild (I'm pretty used to it already), so many of the items that didn't get worn due to the heat are back in the rotation now.
• I've purchased a few pieces from Goodwill or on sale to spice up the mix: a sequined top ($15), a striped sweater ($13), a pleated skirt ($6), a green belt ($1), a new pair of earrings ($6), a new necklace ($8), a brown purse ($25), and an ombre dress ($15). Since I have a whole closet full of stuff coming, I don't want to shop too much (especially since we just took--and paid for--an almost three-week-long vacation...wallet says ouch!). I'm on the lookout now for a pair of wedge sandals to round out my tiny shoe selection, but other than that I'm done with shopping for a while.
• I've pulled out all of my jewelry to help accessorize (during the trip I only had a few essential pieces in my luggage, the rest was stashed in the car. I can tell you that now that it's all out of the car. :)

 Have you ever had to limit your wardrobe for an extended amount of time (by choice or involuntarily)? What was the situation and how did you get through it?