We had an unplanned work-related opportunity to travel as a family to Barcelona coinciding with my husband's 50th birthday and grabbed the chance! This was my third off-season trip to urban Europe in two years, and my first attempt to pack light for carry-on only! For reference, I am not a light packer, preferring to have options, and usually as a family we pay to check at least one larger bag to share and have room for souvenirs on the way back. But this was to be a short trip of only 5 full days, in sunny and dry transitional weather of 5-15 C, so I decided carry-on would have to suffice (I did pack my large Le Pliage tote for souvenirs).

Learnings from past trips that I leveraged:
1) Third piece toppers are mostly wasted unless I can use them as a coat on milder days. We are constantly walking and in and out of shops and attractions - "outfits" just aren't as relevant as are outerwear, comfort and practicality. I did bring one blazer and wore it as my coat on a warmer day, but it wasn't really necessary.
2) Similarly, stylish sneakers are good enough for footwear. I chose to forgo boots and bring two pairs: adidas, which were ubiquitous there, and my old leather converse, which I have made slip on with xpand laces and have the benefit of working in rain and even snow when transiting to and from the airport here.
3) Remembered last minute to pack a hat, warm scarf and gloves! These accessories keep me warm when walking all day in variable temperatures and conditions, and are so easy to pop on and off. I'm very sick of my light weight puffer and really wanted to wear the Brooks Brothers mac, the accessories made that doable.
4) Silk scarf to add a bit of dressy style when I do want it, perhaps at dinner.
5) Threw in my Lululemon belt bag for when I am sick of carrying a loaded leather day bag, and also for pickpocket security.
6) Cashmere sweater for layering warmth at night, or just in case. Sometimes I just want something cozy when come back to our rental after a long day and the heat hasn't kicked in yet. I would have chosen my green one instead for this capsule but it wasn't clean.

Overall I was very happy with this minimal capsule. I chose to base it on wide leg jeans since the weather was dry, which turned out to match the prevailing street style we saw (granted on mostly younger women teens to 30s, but I didn't feel out of place). The denim joggers worked well for the plane. I threw in the Marimekko tee shirt because I felt the organic, colourful pattern echos Gaudi a bit, and was happy I did so for the brief moments the weather cooperated - my kids agreed and took this picture of me at Park Guell.

Thanks for reading along - I am hoping that by making a Finds capsule and writing all this out, I will remember I can indeed pack light quite happily!

I'll come back later to add some comments with more details from the trip itself