Reminiscing... Camping trips

For as long as I can remember my family has gone camping. When I was really little, probably about 3, we all camped in tents and I thought that was just the greatest. I can remember being put in the tent for my afternoon nap wearing a big t-shirt of Pop's (my grandpa) and I would curl up on the air mattress with my "curly" blanket my grandmother made me. The tent windows would be zipped open and I could feel the breeze coming in and hear the ladies discussing dinner plans.

When I was about 5, I remember dragging out my purple suitcase of Barbies on a big outdoor rug and playing for hours. I especially liked to use Barbie's heels to kill the ants that approached Barbie and Skipper's living room. And I remember wearing my teal Minnie Mouse raincoat and rubber boots while running around to "help" everyone cover up their stack of wood before they got too wet.

Then we got a camper; the pop-up kind with beds on either side that extended over the sides of the camper. Now that thing was cool. The table turned into a bed. There was a "sofa" that was really like a bench, with all our pots and pans below. I loved to draw and color and "make art"; I would lay in my bed with the entire window zipped open and it felt like I was sitting in a hayloft.

By the time I was in middle school my suitcase was filled with books, cd's and my DiscMan. I would pull out a lawn chair in the sun with three or four books and read the entire day. My unruly curls hated camping so my hair was always piled in a bundle on top of my head. The only time I moved was to take a bike ride to the bathroom or to go out on the boat, but even then my book went with me. Then at night, after the campfire was out, I would go into the camper- which was a typical camper now with several sofa's-turned-beds and a regular bathroom; except we didn't use it for anything but storage. I'm still not sure why but I digress. I would put NSYNC or Mariah Carey in my DiscMan, turn it way down low and drift off to sleep. I went through a lot of AA batteries in those days.

Through high school I camped less because I wanted to be with my friends. But I would always spend at least one day out on the boat and at least one night sitting around the campfire. I was prissy in those days though- I didn't want to get dirty and I didn't want to get wet so camping was less appealing to me.

It wasn't until sophomore year of college that I really started to miss camping trips. So I started planning my own with whatever friends I could convince to go. The first one was miserable because I had never planned a camping trip before and I had no idea all the things we would need. We must have driven into town ten times that weekend. And camping in a tent was nothing like I remembered. For one thing, tents just aren't made the way they used to be. Secondly, I had an eye for bugs and that tended to keep me awake for hours. And of course I still am not a fan of mud and it's really hard to keep things clean when it's muddy and rainy.

But I've been pretty smart since I've started my own camping trip; every time I've made a list of the things that we needed that I didn't pack. And I'm not talking luxuries here, I'm talking about necessities like can openers and starting wood. It only took one time of opening a can of baked beans to realize a knife is not the best tool. And it really only took one time of scouting the trail for dry sticks and twigs to get our fire started to know that I need to bundle some up before we leave.

Today I'm posting over on designology my tips for true outdoor living: the necessity's on a camping trip. Make sure to check it out before you plan your next nature adventure.

Fun Finds

While on spring break, I went to this cute little shop called Geez Louise Gifts. They had all kinds of things from cute sandals, to fun kitchen items, to jewelry. I immediately fell in love with each item in the store. Everything was girly, personalized, and fun. After spending an hour I ended up purchasing a couple of items thinking that I would be able to get online and order more things if I wanted to. That was a big mistake as I've since discovered they do not have a website. However, a couple of the things I was able to go directly to the "manufacturers" website and can purchase from there if I decide. I want to share a couple of the things because I love them and am excited about.

First is a bracelet that I got for my mom. It is made by Alexa's Angels and it's called the Attribute bracelet and it's sterling silver. The words say truth, grace, faith, courage, and wisdom. I think this bracelet is so pretty and perfect to show how special some is to you. : )

Next is the Circle Word Bracelet that spells Faith. They offer many different words, including joy, love, bliss, and others. It is plated in Rhodium which makes it super shiny. One thing I really love about this bracelet is the spring hook closure. I've never had a bracelet with this type of clasp but it's fun because it almost looks like a bangle.

There were several other Alexa's Angels things that I wanted but didn't get (like the posi+ivi+y TM bracelets). I highly recommend everyone check out her website.

Next, they had some products from Room It Up, which I had heard of before but, never investigated any of the products. A lot of the products Geez Louise sold were items for the beach, like the chaise lounge cover and the towel sets. I actually didn't even give these things a second glance in the shop because they were tied up in bags like the first photo below. I couldn't see what they looked like or the sizes or anything and I wasn't going to try to open it, look at it, and fit it back into the bag.

One thing that I did pick up was this spa wrap. The prints name is Botanical Flower. I haven't used it yet because it's been too cold in the mornings when I shower. But I've decided that I have to start showering at night, even if I feel too tired, and then I will use the wrap more.

Anyway, they are made of cotton and close with strips of Velcro. They are really inexpensive compared to other spa wraps I've found. I got mine for about $20.

The main thing I like about Room It Up is that they have so many pretty prints to choose from. Nearly everything they make is available in at least three prints. You can shop their website by category, print, or season. I played around on this site for a while adding things to my wish list and then deciding I liked a different print better so I changed everything in my cart to the other print, etc. I can foresee Christmas presents from here :)

Okay, this is getting long so I'm going to end it with one more thing they had that I LOVE. I've

loved this for awhile now and when I saw it in the store, it made me so happy. It was the Minimergency Kit by Ms. & Mrs. You can purchase them directly from Ms. & Mrs. but lots of other places (for less at some places). I'm not going to say everything it comes with because it's more fun to g

o to the website and read the blurb on it and discover for yourself how cool it is. Ms. & Mrs. have other emergency type kits that are pretty cool as well.

I may write about some of the other things later but these were the coolest things so at least I've mentioned them. Sleepy time!