All About Valerie & Valise

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Hi! Welcome! Nice to meet ya!

Thank you so much for reading Valerie & Valise. Your support – just by showing up to read and learn more about us – means the world to us! 

Valerie & Valise is a travel blog for smart travelers who want to make the most of their time on the road –including saving time where possible (aka no baggage claims, please!). You’ll find super in-depth guides to certain destinations, and helpful itineraries and packing lists wherever possible. In short, we travel like normal people – but we’ve learned a few things over the years to make your travels easier too.

Valerie & Valise is not a couple’s travel blog – but there is a couple of people who make it possible. On this page, you’ll learn more about the team behind V&V. We have also included ways to follow us and reach us if you want to.

Meet Valerie

Valerie started Valerie & Valise in October 2013. It was originally a personal travel blog to share tips with family and friends… but over the past nine years it has grown to become an award-winning travel blog that readers trust for in-depth advice and savvy travel tips. 

Valerie has lived all over: Alaska, London, Seattle, California, Ohio… and everywhere in between! She has been traveling since early childhood, and made her first international trip in 2011. Her favorite destinations are Alaska (obviously!), London, and Jordan. 

Most of the travel stories focus on Valerie because she did/does most of the travel we cover and Mr. V is usually behind the camera when he is traveling with her. However, sometimes you’ll see Mr. V in front of the camera and he even wrote a few posts!

Meet Mr. V

Sometimes referred to as “Mr. Valise” or his name (Jacob), Mr. V is the better 9/10ths of the team. He came ‘into the picture’ (as they say) in the summer of 2014 – but you won’t find any actual pictures of him on the blog until 2016. Since then he’s been the primary cheerleader, top consultant, and best Instagram husband imaginable. He also shoots a number of photos here on V&V, especially where you see Valerie in the picture.

We were engaged in 2018, and married in Seattle (another favorite destination) in 2020. If you want to get to know Mr. V and more about how he and Valerie met, check out this story.

What’s the ‘Valise?’

So wait… Where does the ‘valise’ in Valerie & Valise come from?

va·lise (noun): a small traveling bag or suitcase.

The term valise is French – it means suitcase – but the word gained popularity with English speakers in the early 20th Century. During that time, valise usually referred to a weekender bag or duffel.

When Valerie launched V&V, she thought this was the perfect word – most of the early posts were all about weekend travel, smart packing, and carry-on-only traveling. This is still one of our primary travel styles, so we often suggest packing lists that are for people who only travel with a carry-on. 

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We’re active on social media if you like to follow us there. Here’s the scoop:

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If you want to contact us, click here.
If you’re interested in working with one or both of us, click here.