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It’s official! Our camper van is officially camp-able — albeit a bit incomplete. Phase One of our van build is nearly finished, so this past weekend we decided to take our Ford Transit campervan out for a test camping trip! With just a few days remaining before our scheduled return to Chicago, we drove the van to both the beach and the desert for a brief but relaxing first trip

Exploring a new place through travel is an exciting way to do that, but getting lost in a good book can be equally beneficial. I’ve put a lot of thought into my goals for this year, and my 2019 reading list reflects my main goal of getting focused and staying true to me. Travel, organization, entrepreneurship, creativity, and embracing individuality are some key themes on my reading list this year. View my reading list on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2U6CdPx Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind

Painting our bedroom and bathroom, reconfiguring and installing new shelving throughout our small kitchen, completing our entryway, and finally settling on and purchasing a bed frame were all quick and easy projects that made our condo feel ‘finished’ so we could refocus our time on travel, trying new things, and starting new projects. Not quite as warm as Texas, but still warmer than Chicago, in San Francisco we enjoyed spending time with my family, getting to know Liz’s family, and seeing more friends that we hadn’t seen for some time — plus a few people I hadn’t seen since high school! We got inspired to start trying some more daytime long exposures, learned some fun light painting techniques that we put to use several times later in the year, and I got addicted to the telephoto lens we had on loan for the trip. Having gear that’s designated as mine has had a huge positive impact on my motivation and creativity in photography, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed shooting wildlife and landscapes both in Chicago and on our travels.

We’ve designed our layout with a few priorities in mind: * all the basic amenities you’d find in a home Squeezing a bed, kitchen, toilet, and shower inside a van may sound difficult, but we’re up for the challenge! Natural ash (TORHAMN from Ikea) doors and drawer fronts, gray quartz countertops, and bronze/black pulls and faucet will give our kitchen a modern outdoorsy feel, and we’ll have plenty of space for a sink, food prep, espresso machine, portable gas burner, compost container, and storage for things like water containers and cooking utensils. We’re considering completing our kitchen with a small low-power fridge, but this is pretty low-priority and we’ll come back to it later if at all. To start, we’ll install a small fan in the roof for ventilation, which we’ll later replace with a much larger one, when we’re more comfortable with the idea of cutting holes in our van.