Duchess of york

In honor of our first camping trip of the summer coming up this weekend I thought I would share a little tour of our camper with yall. Last year my husband and I decided we needed a hobby to do as a family. Growing up as a child my weekends were always spent camping with my family. Those weekends will always be some of my fondest memories and that is something I want my children to experience as well. Also an interesting little fact about my husband and I is that for the first two years of dating we lived in a teeny tiny 18 foot camper while my husband was getting his doctorate degree in PT. You learn a whole lot about a person being stuck in that small of a space with no doors and no separate rooms. There was never anywhere to run and hide when things got tough. We had to confront any issues and problems we had with each other right in the moment, because we couldn't lock ourselves away in our own space to cool off. Let me just say though that those two years were so FUN! We were so connected with each other. At the time we were poor, we didn't even have TV, so when we weren't studying we were doing simple things like taking walks or playing board games and cards. We were just together, without distraction, and we were totally content and happy with just having each other as company. And that's what we want for our family. Something we can do together. Something that makes us take the time to disconnect from the rest of the world and just enjoy each other....because really! that's all that matters.

 But back to our camper. When we started looking for campers, I of course dreamed of something vintage that I could renovate and make our own. My husband, on the other hand, wanted something new/reliable and that he didn't have to do any work to. During our search he came across this White Water Retro Camper and I was totally smitten....with the outside that is....for something so cute and authentic looking on the outside.....the interior just did not match.

See! Isn't it just completely opposite of the outside. Not what I envisioned!

We compromised that if my husband could have the new camper he wanted, then I could do whatever I wanted to the inside. So the next weekend my husband drove a few hours away to the nearest dealership and picked her up. As soon as she made it home I gave her a new paint job and all new linens. It's amazing what a few small changes can do. I still have things I would like to update like the floor, the countertops, and add a backsplash, but for now I am completely happy with the way she turned out. And I can't wait for all the fun memories we will make in her together as a family.

 So without further do.....Meet POLLYANNA.

When you enter the camper the bed on the right is where the boys sleep. When that bed is not turned down it is also the dining table and seating. We choose to leave it folded down as a bed because we have a fold out picnic table we use outside of the camper for our dining. The door with (my favorite) hippie sign hanging on it is the water closet with the potty and shower. 

I used chalkboard paint on the front of the fridge so that the boys could have a fun canvas to use aside from their coloring books we take on our camping trips. And yall know how much I love chalkboards anyways!

The other end of the camper is where we sleep. The cabinets built in around the bed offers nice storage for our clothes and the bed actually raises up so that we can store all of our other camping gear, such as our small grill, chairs, table, etc.

And that's it! She's super tiny, but she forces us to be close and together. And I know we will appreciate all the memories we get to share while traveling with her.

XO, Brittany