Etsy Monday

We went to Weller's, in Bridgeville, DE, yesterday night to take a look at utility trailers. I love going to car lots on Sunday evenings because they're almost always closed so you can browse around without a salesman lurking over your shoulder. We found tons of 5x10 trailers - our now agreed upon size. Some had slat beds and others had mesh bottoms. It makes sense to me to have a mesh bottom to protect the camper from the wear and tear of driving - but I haven't seen any built on that platform so far, just bare frames. Any opinions on this? I'm open to suggestions.

Changing gears, Etsy is my new favorite spot to look for vintage goodness. Who wants to spend the time and effort bidding on eBay items when you can just buy the stuff flat out? Over the weekend I did a search for vintage camping supplies. I found a few great things for the tear, window shopping of course. Check out the plastic spaghetti tumblers, Tupperware S+P shakers, the like-new camp stove. And who could ignore the greatest, most tacky find of the day? - the dashboard hula girl covered in silver glitter and faux fur!! I feel a trip to Regretsy coming on.


Hopefully we'll have some construction news to share soon!

Gathering Some Thoughts

While Jeremy plans out the design of the teardrop I've been using mood boards to put my decorating thoughts to "paper". Over at OlioBoard I put this together:

Created with OlioBoard

It's pretty good for a first draft. (Notice the very rad Chevy C10 - a magnificent tow vehicle if I do say so myself. If only she were mine. *sigh*) So, at least at this stage, the design is going to be very retro, very DIY. Lots of stitchery, homemade pillows, curtains, table cloths and as many vintage camping impliments as I can find. Remember those hourglass, Tupperware salt and pepper shakers? Yes. That old metal tea kettle? Want. Those enamel plates that have seen way too many family picnics? Perfect. That money tree better start producing this year! :)

Speaking of money, Jeremy and I took our first look at trailers a few days ago. We're still trying to decide on a size, 4x8 ft seems too small. That means that your sleeping quarters are only 4 ft wide. Seems a little tight. A standard queen-sized mattress is 5 ft. But we're looking at around $600+ for a new utility trailer. It's definitely something we'll have to research. Hopefully I'll find a good teardrop forum and ask around.

If you have any suggestions, leave me a comment.

Thanks for reading!

The Inspiration

It all started early last week. I decided to look through my cross stitch stash and reassess my situation. There's something completely wonderful about sitting on the floor, surrounded by a guilty pleasure. As I thumbed through my charts I found an old kit that I bought early on in my x-stitch life but never stitched - Home is Where Ever We Roam...

Of course that got me thinking of traveling and camping, all those things that get pushed aside with your typical 9-5 job. When I drove to work the next day I took an extra long look at the RV dealer's lot that I always pass. They mostly carry these huge monstrosities that are just yachts on wheels; however, they also have a few R-POD trailers - smaller, rounded campers, much better for a couple of D.I.N.Ks like us. Normally we're tent campers but a few years ago we got a French Bulldog who is not tolerant of heat/cold at all - not to mention he's extremely obnoxious :) So tent camping doesn't work so well for us anymore.

When I got to work I looked up the r-pod. They have all the makings of a typical camper - kitchen, bathroom, bed, pop-outs. Still too much for us, not to mention the price! All I really wanted was a bed, simple kitchen area, and an air conditioned enclosure for the pup. My boss saw what I was looking at (oops) and told me that those type of campers were called teardrops. Teardrops? How cute!

Needless to say, I googled teardrop trailers and found Big Woody Campers. My world was changed forever. When I got home from work I showed my boyfriend, Jeremy, the trailers. He was equally as excited and decided that instead of saving up money to buy one, he'd just go ahead and make the darn thing. And I haven't stopped day dreaming since!

Big Woody Photostream