1966 Williams Craft Camper (Before Photos!)

As promised here are the before photos of our vintage camper. My affectionate name for her is camperrrr and my cousins called her little camper. I've fussed over names and I'm pretty sure her name is Libby. That's her formal name anyway. Camperrrr will always be #1.

So our camper is a 1966 Williams Craft, built in Arlington, Texas. This camper has such a great layout and so many windows. A lot of people have asked me if we will paint the outside, and I would like to. However I also really like the classic white and silver color scheme. So who knows? Maybe I'll pick a color for the exterior door. I think the silver rocks.

We will be painting the inside. The curtains that my cousins couldn't stand are gone and we've installed white roller blinds. Now that we're staying at my parents, my dad and I will start the process of fixing some dry rot, adding new insulation, wiring etc. B will help us when he can but he's got a lot going on with full-time work and college.

The layout is pretty much awesome for a camper this size. When you step in, to the left is the sitting area / beds and to the right is the kitchen. It's tall so if you're 6' you don't even have to duck which rocks. Very bright and airy with all the windows!

Here's a ceiling view and you can see the top bunk.  The bunk folds down to make a bed.

Just another view of the seating area. Quite a few people can hang out in here without it feeling too crowded. This also pulls out to make the main sleeping area. There's extra storage under the two left and right benches.

The upper bunk pulled out...

Full size bed. We may turn this into a queen size bed, it's an idea at the moment anyway.

There's a little table that sets up, you can put it on the left or the right. It's a great table for 2. I love to sit here, eating breakfast while looking out the windows. It will be a great place for B to have a cup coffee.

The dinette table top has the same material as the kitchen counter - a vintage confetti pattern.

And here's the kitchen!!  AKA the front of the camper. We also have a cute screen door.

All the cabinetry and paneling will be painted.

We'll be replacing the air conditioner. Also note the original kitchen lights and the vintage sconce on the wall. Very cool. There's a small closet on the left and then what we call the potty closet which is where the port-a-potty was.

There's that original starburst pattern backsplash! I die. It's the coolest.

A view of the counter tops (and the same pattern on the dinette table) and yes, this will stay.

Words can't describe how awesome the propane oven is. Not only is it super cool, but it works great.

Well kids, that's the "before" photo tour of our new camper. Stay tuned.

Our Crazy New Adventure

So we bought a vintage camper and I really wanted to focus on fixing her up. Then I got the crazy idea to live out of our camper, even though there wasn't a bathroom. At the time it seemed feasible - we could spend the money we saved on rent to renovate the camper while living at my parents. Our lease was up in a month, so why sign another lease if we really wanted to do this?

Oh, my husband was going back to college for the first time in years. There was no way we could sell everything and move in two weeks. Well we did, and it was great to downsize. Who's great idea was this? Oh you know, this girl.

If we were just moving, that would be one thing. But we needed to get rid of all our stuff. Oh and we had to tell people. So we made them guess what was going on! HAHA

All that photo gear we hoarded (and didn't use?) needed to sell it! Clothes we never wore? Time to donate! Who needed cabinets of kitchen gadgets when the basics would do? Yes, our house looked like a store. We kept our books, cameras, guitars, globes, the fur babies and just a handful of furniture that would fit in our new tiny space. We had two garage sales, several private sales and plenty of donations. You'd think that saying goodbye to all of your stuff would be sad, but it was actually invigorating and freeing.

We have since sold 90% of our stuff and moved into a private suite at my parents. We've lived with my parents twice before: once while we built our first home and again when I launched my photography business full-time. The four of us get a long so well that the living situation just works. It helps that we have our own space and thermostat. The best part is being out in the country where we can see the stars at night, have a garden, and of course have access to plenty of tools and the ability to renovate our camper.

Austin Camping Trip - Part 3

While in Austin we discovered and became obsessed with Torchy's Tacos. I wish we had a Torchy's in Fort Worth. But hey kids, they have a few Torchy's in Dallas, so look it up. Update: Torchy's is in Fort Worth now! If you go, get the Trailer Park taco - trashy style. So so good. Another must was trying out The Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas. We heard about this place on the Food Network once and just had to go. We finally made it and wow, the BBQ was amazing! I was a total little piggy and ordered The Rancher plate. And I pretty much ate it all.

Not gonna lie, we loved Torchy's so much we ate there twice. Brandon is also now obsessed with the fountain drink Doppleganger, which he claims is just like and even better than Dublin Dr Peppers.  They have it on tap at Torchy's so mainly we had to go again so B could get the Doppleganger. We also tried out Home Slice Pizza in Austin for some yummy New York style pizza.

The highlight of our trip to Austin was our day trying out SUP, or Stand Up Paddleboarding. B had wanted to try this for a few years, so we finally did it. You can rent SUP ATX (only the best boards, made in Austin) at the Texas Rowing Center on Lady Bird Lake. This place was great - we rented boards for the whole day and could come and go as we pleased. So we went out, came back to have our picnic lunch and then went back out again. I have to say SUP was the most fun. I loved it more than canoeing or kayaking. Now I'm obsessed with it, and I want to buy SUP boards. This makes B happy.

Yep, SUP is like a mega surfboard. You balance on them and though it looks difficult, it's so easy. I'm not kidding, pretty much anyone can do it. My favorite part is the different ways you can SUP. You can stand and paddle, sit and paddle, or lay down and pretend you're the Big Kahuna. If you want to break for lunch, you can take a small cooler on it and then just float and eat on the lake. You can lay down and relax, get off and swim and get back on easily. You can even take your favorite pup with you. Oh, and you can go into really really shallow water too.

Can't believe summer is almost over! Hope you're having a great end of summer. We sure are.

Austin Camping Trip - Part 2

More photos from our recent trip to Austin! One thing we were excited about was spending a day hunting for treasures @ Austin's super cool vintage stores. My absolute favorite was Room Service Vintage. Wow, it was the coolest place. I ended up finding a couple of treasures for the camper. It was ridiculously too hot to be hitting the pavement on South Congress late afternoon (note to self, go back in fall) and it was kinda hard to eat a Hey Cupcake cuppie in 100+ heat. But I squealed when I saw that giant cupcake on top of the airstream and of course, I had to have one.

So, um... that's what happens when sock monkeys hit puberty. B at Room Service Vintage (holding camperrrrr's new blowfish print, actual blowfish not hootie)

So yeah, we look cool.  Don't be fooled, Texas summer.

On another day we hit up Barton Springs pool (love!) and other shenanigans. I'll share more soon.