Essentially

I’ve racked up some award-winning “necessities” for this trip, like irresistibly adorable, travel-sized bottles of St. Ives Apricot Scrub, a new memory card and a bounty of plush scarves.

But these paperback Moleskines hold comfortable 1st Place in the unofficial competition for Indispensable Stuff. They’re flexible, discreet and simple, and they hide effortlessly, off-duty, inside my back pockets. The tiny ones (aw) fill up pretty quickly when I’m jotting down notes in sprawling reporter hieroglyphics, but whatever. There’s always another one sitting around somewhere.

In fact, as of now, they’re  crammed into every conceivable corner of my backpack. I also stuck a couple in my suitcase.

You never know.