Meet Mimi McFadden
Growing up in my little beach town of Santa Cruz, California, I was the kid constantly checking out library books about different countries, finding penpals abroad, and daydreaming about going somewhere new. Since I can remember, I’ve always been enamored with the idea of travel and exploring other cultures, long before I ever had the chance to do it.
I didn’t get to travel internationally until I was 18. The summer after high school, I saved up for a trip to Costa Rica with a couple of friends. It was fun, but a lot went wrong, and it didn’t spark the love of travel I expected it to. That came a few years later.
I still remember the exact moment travel clicked for me. It was the first night of my study abroad program in Florence, Italy. I had just turned 21, I had a whole summer in Italy ahead of me, and I was sitting in one of the main piazzas, sipping a glass of chilled white wine. There was an accordion player down the street and an easy, unhurried feeling to everything, and I remember thinking, this is how life is meant to be lived.
It was so different from the American pace I grew up with, where everything is about being efficient and what you do for work. In southern Europe, the point seemed to be to actually enjoy life and the little things that give it meaning. Working to live instead of living to work. That feeling has stayed with me ever since.
After college, I moved to Australia and New Zealand by myself. I didn’t know a single person. I didn’t have a job lined up ahead of time. I found a sublet from a friend of a friend, had enough money in my bank account for about a month of living in Australia, and hoped for the best. I figured I’d be gone maybe six months while I sorted out what I wanted to do with my life, but that time abroad turned into two years.
The Atlas Heart is born
I started The Atlas Heart in 2013, right before I left for Australia. Back then, it was just a place to document my travels and write personal anecdotes about what I was experiencing, mostly for myself and my family to follow along.
This was the early days of blogging, before you could really make money from it, so for a long time it was purely a passion project. But somewhere along the way, something shifted. I realized that if I started writing for other people instead of just myself, all of these experiences I was going through could actually benefit someone else. That’s when it stopped being a travel diary and started becoming what it is today.
Travel has shaped who I’ve become in so many ways and this site has allowed me to keep that love for travel going, even through all of its iterations. Since I hit publish on that first article, I’ve now been to more than 45 countries, with stretches of living abroad in six of them.
Where the Atlas Heart is now
Over time, The Atlas Heart has naturally evolved to focus more on packing lists and travel essentials, and less on destination guides. I still update my destination content, but it’s no longer the main focus.
Becoming a mom in 2025 pushed me to slow down and travel more intentionally. It helped me focus on simplicity, comfort, and preparation, and reminded me that I don’t always need to be on the go to find joy.
These days, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, Suneel, and our son, and I spend my time traveling, getting outside whenever I can, and enjoying my book club and game nights with friends.
So, why packing?
For years, packing was my least favorite part of any trip. I’d get so stressed in the days before leaving, convinced I had to get everything exactly right and worried I’d forget something important.
I was queen of the mantra “just in case”. I’ll pack this “just in case”. I probably won’t need this, but I’ll still pack it “just in case”. You never know what might happen, I’d feel better if I had this “just in case”. You get the idea.
On my first big trip through Europe, I showed up with a suitcase stuffed to the brim, so heavy and unwieldy that I started dreading checking into a new accommodation because I’d have to haul it up multiple flights of narrow stairs again. By the end of the trip, I was ready to burn that bag on a pyre.
Over the next decade of packing and repacking my way around the world, my dislike for packing changed. I stopped fighting my over-planner, perfectionist tendencies and started using them as my superpower.
Packing went from the thing I dreaded to the thing I’m best at, and learning what to bring and what to leave behind is what made travel so much easier and more fun for me. Now it’s what I love helping other women figure out too.
What You’ll Find on the Atlas Heart
✨ Packing Lists – Seasonal guides, carry-on packing strategies, and what to bring to any destination I’ve been to myself.
✨ Travel Essentials – The bags, clothing, shoes, and accessories I actually bring on every trip, including tall-friendly recs for my long-legged girlies (I’m 5’10).
✨ Brand Reviews – Honest reviews of the brands I’ve personally tested, worn, and traveled with. If I didn’t love it, I’ll tell you.
You’ll also still find some destination guides for California, even though packing and gear are what I spend most of my time on these days.
Contact Me
Questions, concerns, or comments about The Atlas Heart? Head over to my contact page or find me through one of my social media channels below.
I’m also on Substack now if you want to join the conversation over there!