All the electronics that I'll either need on board or can't pack because of pilferage risk: Bose QC-3s, iPod, small digital camera, laptop, Blackberry, cables/chargers, electrical converters if needed. Paperbacks, including a compact atlas for tracking where we are. Enough vitamins/supplements for the trip. That all goes into the computer backpack which is my "personal item" and fits under the seat.

Moderate-sized rollaboard (fits into most overheads pointing straight in, not the long way): this is typically my only other piece of luggage. For one thing, I don't want to lose my custom suits and be reimbursed a fraction of what they cost (and have to wear my grungy travel clothes into the Zurich office). On vacation, my husband and I have gotten tired of lugging larger bags around in and out of public transportation so we travel with 2 Eagle Creek rollaboards. We check only if we have purchased alcohol or something else we can't take on board. Carry-on only is also good "insurance" against being stranded overnight. Sometimes they give you your bag, sometimes they don't. I still remember one glamorous moment in a hotel in Boone, County, KY near CVG, blow-drying my only underwear which I'd rinsed out the night before.

I no longer bring a purse if I'm traveling light; I have a wallet-sized thing on a leather thong that holds the essentials and goes into my computer backpack when I'm in the office. On vacation I use my grungy but serviceable Sportsac- a large zippered cloth pouch with carrying strap that takes up very little space when flattened and packed.

And I always have a swimsuit and workout clothes.