The "I"s Have It (7.15-7.16-17)

This past weekend the "I"s took over my life-that is my love for D-I-Y (do it yourself) and Ikea.

It started with my first ever trip to Ikea.  The store was huge and full of mostly inexpensive housewares and furnishings. I saw so many things that I'd love to have, but I kept my composure and my pocket tight.  Pam and Makayla journeyed with us for their first visit as well.

I don't think I've ever been in a store that has to give you shopping directions.  :)

After touring the second floor, we decided to try out their cafeteria.  I tried the stuffed chicken, potatoes, and beans.  Everyone else tried the chicken tenders and fries.  It was decent, nothing to brag about, but filling.

Now it was time to hit the first floor.  We spend about 4 hours in the place.  It reminds me of Wal-Mart (because of the wide variety of stuff) mixed with Hills (because of the cafeteria, at least I think Hills had a caf), mixed with Costco (because it's warehouse styled, and you don't get bags for your purchased items).

I walked away with a few goodies, and I do plan on going back to help Dee pick out some things for her upcoming apartment.

I will say that the store definitely sparked my DIY flame.  I'll be needing a new tv stand soon.  And although I know you can get one reasonably priced, I decided to reduce, reuse, and recycle an old Stanley Furniture dresser that's been hibernating in the garage.  When i first purchased it from Craigslist years ago, it was crisp white.  Due to Maya's youthful and creative spirit, it underwent a redesign of crayon, marker, candy, and God only knows what else makeover.  Enter interior black paint and the hope of having a clean look.  Well, the black paint did refrain from turning into an art canvas, but it didn't resist getting chipped and flaked.  It was now time for another makeover.  I went to work removing eh knobs sanding it down, and washing it up.  I decided to use some left hammered bronze spray paint for the knobs and a burgundy red spray paint for the body.   And voila.....

Before....

After...

I absolutely love it.  The color looks brighter in the picture than it actually is.  In the pic you can't see where I left some areas black and left some other imperfections to give it a weathered look.  Maybe I'll see how many times I can repurpose this thing, but for now, this DIY job was totally worth it.

Now I couldn't stop with the dresser turned tv/storage stand.  Friday night I had purchased some foam board and contact paper to make shelf covers.  I got the idea from a video I saw on Youtube.  It's the perfect way to turn drab wire shelving into something with a little more personality and support for the items on the shelves.

Here's a pic from the video that provided inspiration... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7gE4eK-jMc&t=113s)

And here's my version...

I will use the pattern in the video for my master closet and bathroom, but I picked this more neutral color for the pantry to blend better with the wall and counter top colors.  I think my first try was pretty successful, even without having a box cutter.  But of course, I had to get one for the next covers that I make.

I love DIYing, especially with furniture.  It reminds me of how God takes my used up, damaged self, and continues to try to make me new and shiny every day.  Somehow He always seems to find purpose and value in me despite my flaws and imperfections.

Three Stripes Tour (7.1.17)

Three Birds, One Van??? (7.7.17-7.9.17)

"Let’s talk for a moment about what kills dreams.

Fear kills dreams. “I worry that this won’t work out, it’s safer not to try.”

Practicality kills dreams. “This seems like an unrealistic goal, I better scale it down to something easier.”

Uncertainty kills dreams. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this, I’ll just wait until I have all the answers.”

Overwhelm kills dreams. “I was going to do this, but I don’t even know where to start.”

Conformity kills dreams. “What would other people say about me if I decided to do this.”

Busyness kills dreams. “I want to do this, but I don’t have time.”

Doubt kills dreams. “What if I’m not good enough to pull this off?”

Rationalization kills dreams. “Well, what I’m doing now isn’t SO bad, maybe I don’t need to do this after all.”

Routine kills dreams. “I think about doing this, someday I’ll look into it.”

Now let’s talk about what’s more important: what SAVES dreams.

It’s believing in yourself. Which sounds corny, it’s a phrase that’s been overused. But I’m not just talking about some new age mind-over-matter ‘if you believe in yourself you can do anything’ fluff. When I say belief in yourself, I mean belief that you have the fortitude to overcome the obstacles listed above.

It’s believing that the fear, doubt, overwhelm, and uncertainty surrounding big dreams won’t be insurmountable. That the end result will justify both the effort you’ll have to put in, and the ridicule you’ll get from others who are too afraid to think for themselves. That your dream isn’t impractical or too expensive. That you have what it takes. Because living your dreams isn’t a privilege reserved for just a lucky or talented few, it’s obtainable by everyone, no matter your past or current circumstances.

Life’s too short not to spend it doing something you love."  (From Becky Schade's Interstellar Orchid blog)

This blog post just so happened to hit my email on 7/8/17.  It was absolutely perfect timing, as many of these thoughts have crossed my mind in planning this trip and other areas of life.

I still believe in the saying "killing 2 birds with 1 stone".   But this weekend, I killed 3 birds using a van.

Bird 1:  Stealth Urban Glamping (glamorized camping in a vehicle in public without being seen) for the 1st time

Bird 2:  Visiting the Outer Banks, NC for the first time

Bird 3:  Seeing wild horses for the first time

I accomplished all three of these things by renting a Dodge Grand Caravan, turning it into a makeshift minivan camper, and heading out East.

I tried a few options to black out the windows for privacy.  My first attempts at using a tension rod and black curtain was a bust.  The vehicle just has too many curves.  But I figured it out later that night.   I also attempted to cover the side and back windows with black poster board, black duck tape, and pins.  That proved to be very difficult, but somehow I made it work the first night.

I arrived at the Super Wal-Mart in Kitty Hawk late Friday night around 9:30pm.  In exchange for them unknowingly housing me for the night, I went inside to purchase something.  I'm no stranger to leaving with paper bags, but that was many years ago.  I found out from the store associate that it's illegal for the stores to use plastic bags.  All the stores I ventured into used paper bags, and kudos to them for trying to protect the environment.

My first night sleeping in the van went pretty smoothly.  I felt safe, and I did have Dee's taser with me for extra protection.  

As I woke that morning, I took a wash up using my bowl system, gallon jug of water, soap (of course), and micro fiber washcloths/towel (for fast drying).   I headed to Corolla to check out the beach and the wild horses.  The traffic was horrendous.  It was only about 20 miles from Kitty Hawk to Corolla, but with the traffic it took almost 2 hours to get there.  I was so glad I decided to head out there early.  The speed limit was mainly 15 mph to 45 mph the entire time.

My first stop was to check out the beach in Corolla.  I can definitely say that NC beaches are a very different contrast from VA & SC beaches.

Next stop, the wild horse tour.  I must admit that for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was such a thing.  I've only known about domesticated horses.  When the Disney movie Spirit (one of my fave Disney movies about a horse that refused to be tamed by English settlers) came out several years ago, it opened my eyes and level of knowledge that of course they were wild at one point.  Then a few years ago, a former high school classmate posted pics on FB of him at the Assateague Island with wild horses in Maryland.  From that point on, my quest began to see them for myself.  It was such a  humbling experience to see them in their natural habitat, legally protected by man as opposed to harmed.

In order to get to the section of the beach where the wild horses live, you have to have a 4x4 vehicle to travel on the sand.  None of the roads between the beach houses are paved and they are extremely bumpy.  The horses room free with no restriction.

No need for a lawn mower

An Osprey bird nest

I had intended to visit Jockey Ridge, but I wanted to leave in time to actually see the bridge that connects the mainland to the actual Outer Banks area.  Since I arrived so late Friday night, it was dark, and I missed it.  I attempted to take pics of the bridge while driving, but of course that wasn't the safest idea so the pics aren't the best.

I headed back halfway home for my next glamping spot for the night-a Hampton Inn Parking lot near Williamston, NC.  I definitely wanted to reach my destination and do my van set up with some daylight.  My little lantern was somewhat sufficient, but I wanted more light to make the night time set up smoother.  I had purchased additional black curtains from the Wal-Mart in Kitty Hawk.  This time I used safety pins to install them a little neater.  There was some overlap, but it looked much neater than the poster boards.

Video tour of my set up (Sorry, I think my voice was too low)
click here: Minivan Glamping Setup

What did I learn?  I will definitely be doing this again!!!  Part of the purpose of this whole trip was to see if I could handle staying in a minivan camper.  My love of tiny houses led me to traveling with an RV to now the more affordable option of turning a minivan or conversion van into a camper.  I needed to see if I could handle it prior to purchasing my own and doing all of this process to only end up hating it.  There are many things that I will tweak upon owning my own ride, like having a better curtain set up, purchasing a Simmons guest cot, purchasing a Stansford camping toilet, and making a spraying water bottle system to start.  

Until then, the only questions are where to next and when???