Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: #lifestyle

Showing posts with label #lifestyle. Show all posts

As you guys know, Kevin (hubby) and I are moving towards living a minimalist lifestyle, and we’re loving it.

Did you know, Kevin is an artist?

I don’t remember if I’ve told you that or not.

. . . Well, he is, and the other day he created some cool ass steampunk/futuristic designs with only two things.

Can you guess what they were?

It was totally organic/natural . . .

. . . He created the following designs with only a flippin’ ink pen and pad of paper.

Here’s what they look like on paper.

Wouldn’t they look good on a T-shirt and sweatshirt hoodie?

Hell ya, they would!

The steampunk gangsta car would look sweet on a sweatshirt hoodie.

-So, I decided to take his hand drawn designs another step forward and did just that.

They are now in our Etsy store (DARETOLIVESHOP), because those designs are too cool not to share them with the world and give the
people who appreciate organic/hand drawn art, the opportunity to wear it.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/651402984/unisex-steampunk-hooded-sweatshirt?ref=shop_home_active_4

There will be more hand drawn by pen designs by Kevin in the future, and I’m excited to find out what he comes up with next. I’m trying to talk him into creating a steampunk-type cat that is writing for a T-shirt design, but being an author, I understand you can’t force creativity, so if he’s feeling inspired to draw it, he will, if not, something else kickass will come into fruition.

-Anyway, this is another step towards the life we’re creating.

Baby steps, remember?

Our Etsy store is a side hustle that I haven’t had time to focus on to grow because I’ve been working on other projects that’ll eventually come into play with the life we’re creating.

This shit takes time, and sometimes it seems like it’s taking forever and nothing is working. That’s where patience comes in and me giving myself a pep talk on not to give up, keep going.

Eventually, everything will come together and all our hard work will pay off.

We recently did an overview on everything we’ve done this year. We’re proud of ourselves for all that we’ve accomplished, and we’re happy where we’re at and the path we’re on.

Here’s a little reminder.

#art, #etsy, #goals, #hustle, #lifestyle, #minimalist, #patience, #projects, #shirts, #tshirts, 0 Comments

A month ago we purchased this wood flooring, and I told Kevin to be prepared for it to be a pain in the ass to install.

I’m generally a positive person, however, when he had decided to replace the front seats, he thought it would be a piece of cake to install.

It wasn't.

It was a freaking nightmare!

-So, I didn’t want him to get his hopes up because it seems like every time we think something is going to be easy with the RV it never is.

. . . Well, guess what. I was wrong, and I’m glad I was.

We were totally surprised.

The flooring is easy to install, but he’s not finished yet. Almost.

Hopefully, next weekend he’ll be done. All that is left to do is the bathroom and cutting pieces to fit in awkward places.
(This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you use it, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I love.)

Here’s a before and after picture.

We’re loving it, and last night I ordered a couple of throw rugs to make our home on wheels even more homey. Here’s what I ordered if you wanna check it out.

https://amzn.to/2OPWS8k

https://amzn.to/2xAUqvw

Yesterday, we took a trip to South Dakota and went to Menards. I wanted a backsplash for behind the stove. I saw this retro style one and grabbed it.

What do you think?

I’m not sure what to think about it yet. I mean, I totally love the copper look, but the thing is it’s not real copper.

Will the heat from the stove melt it?

Kevin thinks it's going to be fine.

. . . Anyway, last night, Kevin and I had a couple of drinks in the RV. We hung out and listened to some 80s rock—powered by our solar.

I'm so excited! Solar rocks!

We had fun and are looking forward to living a nomadic lifestyle.

Our home on wheels is already feeling like home. The more we make it our own, the more we want to take off and live in it full-time.

. . . But we have to wait until everything falls into place and the time is right.

We know this, so in the meantime, we’ll continue with this renovation, minimizing our lives, getting our house ready to sell, and me working on my books and freelance writing.

In the end . . . it’s all good.

#floor, #homeonwheels, #lifestyle, #nightmare #rugs, #nomads, #RV, #RV #renovation #installation, #RVrenovation, #solar, #surprise, 0 Comments

We made a lot of progress today on our RV renovation. I’ll write a post on it soon.

Right now, it’s late, and I don’t have time to write the post.

-So, I thought I’d share my own personal quotes that I live by.

Feel free to share them.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

#happiness, #happy, #life, #lifestyle, #post, #quotes, #RV, #RVrenovation, #society, #write, #writing, 0 Comments

We’re all about simplicity and being as self-sufficient as we can.

When the concept to be digital nomads and travel the U.S. came into fruition in our minds, I discovered the composting toilet. I mentioned it to Kevin, but he wasn’t onboard with the idea right away.

(This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you use them, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I love.)

During the months of watching Youtube videos of other full-time RVers living the lifestyle we were working towards adopting, Kevin warmed up to the idea.

At first, he thought about building one for us.

Thankfully, I talked him into getting the Nature’s Head composting toilet. https://amzn.to/2PIxC4v

It’s all about embracing the minimalist’s mindset.

With a regular toilet in an RV, we’d have to deal with the black water tank, putting chemicals in it, attaching a hose to dump, and finding a dumping station. Not to mention, the possibility of having something go wrong while dumping our waste and having it spill all over us.

Nasty.

That happened to a fellow Rver, and he was not a happy camper. No pun intended.

With the composting toilet there are no chemicals, and it’s good for the environment.

Here's what ours look like and an explanation of the simple mechanics behind it.

We're still in the process of renovating our RV (Aesop), and we haven't worked on the bathroom yet, except for tearing out the carpet.

We bought this CoCo Coir to put in our composting toilet.

It’s all-natural.

Your poo turns to compost, and instead of your toilet smelling like shit, it smells like damp earth.

-So, with a composting toilet, we won't be reliant on the sewer system, and it's good for the environment.

It is costly, but worth it in the long run. If down the road (again, no pun intended) we decide to get a new rig, van, or a cabin, we can take the composting toilet with us.

The next thing we had to think about was our refrigerator.

I briefly talked about it before in another post I wrote:

-It's not a 3-way fridge

-3-way refrigerators are expensive. They cost between $1,500-$2,000.00.

We pondered over this situation for a while, and then one day it hit us.

We were thinking from a sticks and bricks mindset, not a minimalist one.

We don't need a big fridge.

All we need is a week's worth of food.

. . . Let's be real here. Most people buy too much food and waste it.

I'm guilty of that, and I hate wasting food.

-So, yeah, at the beginning we weren't thinking correctly. Our thoughts weren't aligned with the minimalist lifestyle we were embracing.

One night, Kevin came across this little badass refrigerator.

The Dobinsons 4X4

https://amzn.to/2odoJmQ

When it arrived at our house, at first I was like: I don't know about this. It's small.

. . . But, after examining it and putting some food in it, I realized it's perfect for our needs.

It'll totally hold a weeks worth of food.

No problem.

-And it runs on solar power as well as 110, and it's portable.

Here's what Kevin did with the space that the original refrigerator was in. He's not done yet, but this is what it looks like at the present moment.