Decorating a Camper

Camper or not, it's still my home and therefore it's completely necessary for me to feel cozy and be surrounded by beautiful things I've collected throughout my travels.

I chose lime green for the kitchen because it's so happy and so 70's.

My "bedroom"  was custom built by my Dad (thanks, Dad!) so that it's more like a bunk... I sleep on top and the multilayer level beneath is a cozy little kennel for my dog Rocko.

The "closet" was a challenge. Full of rotted wood, a leaky ceiling, and hornets, it took us a long time transform this mess into a place for my clothes!

Some final touches to make it feel like home....

Downsizing to a 20 Foot Vintage Trailer

Last summer I found this beaut on Craigslist.

She was in pretty good shape with full functioning light fixtures and a relatively new AC unit. She's been around since 1974, so I knew right away we were going to practically gut her and start over, but I soon learned that wood rot and wasp infestation would make that an interesting journey.

The plan from the beginning was to find a camper to live in post graduation so I could get a handle on my student debt and nurture my gypsy soul. I grew up camping a ton with my family and I have never been a fan of leases and landlords, so it all just made sense. I'm a big fan of the tiny house movement and I am a believer that material possessions can take over a person's life... so my goal is to live simply and within my means.

Home ownership minus the mortgage? Sign me up!

Peppermint Tea

Warning: This post is about poop.

It's natural, y'all! Everybody poops.

I get so annoyed by people who refuse to acknowledge it/pretend it doesn't happen. Pooping is an important part of wellness, after all. I have to ask patients all the time about their poop. When did you last poop? What color was your poop? Was it hard, soft, formed, etc etc etc... I often even get to inspect it myself. Patients save it for me per my request and I get to document all sorts of things about it.

I live in the city and by law I have to pick up my dogs' poo every single time they go. I clean the cat litter box daily. I know the bowel habits of my furbabies and sometimes I even get a surprise like a foreign object or parasite.... important things to know, wouldn't you say?

So anyway my point is, pooping is normal and talking about it shouldn't be taboo. I know a married couple who've been together 6 years and don't even fart in front of each other. They never speak about poop and go to great lengths to hide their bowel habits from one another. I can't think of anything more pointless and exhausting! I'm not saying you should be disgusting on purpose, but come on. Be real.

 I recently discovered that peppermint tea is a wonderful way to get things moving. I've always enjoyed a cup here and there and never really noticed a correlation between it and digestive health, but lately I've been trying to cut back on coffee (which really doesn't seem to make me go like people say it does). So without really realizing it I was drinking at least 3 cups a day... and WOOOOOOW I felt like singing. I mean, there's nothing like eliminating toxins to make you feel brilliant, and peppermint tea is my go-to!

So if you are looking for a daily dose of detox, have a few cups of peppermint tea. I promise you will feel .... regular.

Tea Tree Oil Zit Zapper

As great as coconut oil is for oh so many things, it's not perfect. For people with oil/acne prone skin, it can mean a nasty break out. After I used coconut oil to remove my eye makeup (and carelessly getting some on my cheek) I woke up to this bad boy:

Yikes! I used to be uber self-conscious about my enormous pores, but I don't even think about them anymore. I wouldn't mind finding a natural way to shrink them a bit... but that's another post for another day.

Forget the big pores. This angry zit is all I can see when I look in the mirror! So I applied a few drops of tea tree oil via Q-tip and this evil monster healed pretty quickly with no squeezing/picking/drying out/flaking. Day two was hard only because I REALLY wanted to pop this guy, but I refrained.

And today, day 3, I'm much more comfortable with this... and thrilled I didn't follow the same pattern of destroying my skin with drying agents and picking and squeezing.

Kinda just looks like one of my freckles! I can't believe how well tea tree oil worked to hasten the healing of this enormous zit!!

Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner: A Review

Man I love Trader Joe's.

This conditioner is 3 bucks. It smells fabulous, it is organic, cruelty free, and it makes my hair soft. My scalp loves it.

The "tingle" is very mild, so don't expect to feel like you're washing your hair with Listerine. The peppermint, tea tree, and eucalyptus ingredients make for a really pleasant fresh fragrance that guys won't think is too girly and girls won't find too masculine.

I use it as part of my curly girl method routine in conjunction with Shea Moisture Restorartive conditioner (as a leave in). The one thing I learned about adopting this no poo/ curly girl lifestyle is that you really have to experiment to figure out what works for you. Be patient and talk to your girlfriends. If you can find a hair twin, use her wisdom!!

I feel like Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle is one of those products that will work great for a variety of hair types... and the price is right.

TWO THUMBS UP!!