A Little bit like Alice down the Rabbit Hole ….

My last post said 7 sleeps! It wasn’t quite only 7. Long story short, 10 sleeps and she was in her parking spot.

Sleep had not been easy as it felt like Santa was coming, but day was perfect and sunny. As the morning warmed up, I felt so nervous waiting to hear the word that she was close to her new home. I finally had the call and headed to see her for the final leg.

Feeling like a new Mum, I watched with my heart pounding a little, as she was delivered and lowered onto her own piece of dirt. The skill of these guys who haul the tiny houses and then place them perfectly, is phenomenal.

Once I had the OK and the keys in my hand, I stepped inside Lil’ Pad and just breathed. She is as perfect as I planned and the view from my kitchen is incredible. This has been so long in the making that I almost can’t believe I will be living here soon.

The Rabbit Hole is where I am now, as I await my solar panels to be delivered, last minute water tanks to organise, and I still need to work out how to install the waterless toilet 🤔😳 and grey water system. I just want to live here right now but Alice is still in Wonderland.

I promise I won’t leave the next post too long, and I hope to have some action to report on or at least some tales to tell about how big the rabbit hole is. Speaking of rabbits…. Happy Easter 🐣

7 Sleeps!

One more week and Lil’ Pad will leave her place of construction at Cocoon Tiny Homes and settle into the beautiful glade we have called Ginger Grove.

I visited the factory for the last time today, and as I wandered around, I already felt like this was home. It was such a great feeling to see my colour choices, handle choices, tile choices, all compliment each other. Although I trust my own design, I wondered if it would all come together and it has ❤️

The next time I see her, she will be on the back of a truck, being gently deposited in my chosen spot. See you in a week 😊

So Close to Move in….

Lil’ Pad is almost done. It won’t be long and I will let you in to see the finished product.

I have another few photos for you. That kitchen splashback that I hinted at in the last update?? Blush pink subway tiles. Hey, it’s just me, and the cats, and they don’t mind pink, so I went for it.

I also went for something that the cats will love. A catwalk! The catwalk allows the cats to strut along three sides of the house (inside) at about 2m in the air, AND it doubles as storage for me, for books, keepsakes and photo frames. I love it and hope the cats appreciate my offer of a bit of excitement for them, as they will have to become mostly indoor cats to protect the birds where we are parking. In the works for them is also an outdoor catio, which my very handy Mum and Dad are making, and it is looking flash.

In the bathroom, I have stayed with classic white subway tiles as I have a rather colourful vanity which is the statement piece. In amongst the rather conservative subway tiles are four beautiful tiles that I bought in San Diego, and which to me represent my gorgeous regular travelling companions.

I love the stairs to the loft bedroom. They look so grand, just tiny grand haha.

In the loft bedroom, I have a stunning wallpaper as my headboard. It took a couple of hours at Resene to find just the right one and I love it. I felt a bit like Goldilocks choosing….that’s too dull, that’s got too small flowers, that hasn’t got enough pink, until I found “the one”. Speaking of Resene, the wall colour is Sauvignon.

The cladding is on and it looks amazing, New Denim Blue coloursteel with a contrast of White Palisade on the front wall, so smart, the classic blue and white never misses.

Hope you like the photos 🙂

Am I getting it Right?

Wow! There are so many decisions to make as the build goes along. As I said, I had perused every piece of media I could find. One thing I learn’t quickly though was that your tiny is made for you, at least by my builders it is. Every inch of Lil Pad was designed, decided upon and set out for me! I had to become very aware of how I live, cook, want to clean, sleep, work, relax, interact with my cats, what do we do when my friends come over, who comes to stay.

This was so exciting. I cannot afford to build a dream home as such, but this tiny house is my dream home because I know how I came to make a decision on every nook and cranny.

So….. I love baths. “You can’t have a bath in a tiny house” someone may have said. Well, yep you can and I am. My bath is not huge but its deep, and has a shower over it. This leads me to another story….as I was deciding on fittings, I knew I didn’t want chrome or black, nothing against these, but as I said, you build your tiny for YOU. Anyway I wanted gold bathroom fittings and found quite a few BUT couldn’t find a gold shower curtain rod that didn’t cost half the earth. A fabulous friend, who is a panelbeater popped it through the spray shop and I now have a gold shower curtain rod. Lovely.

The kitchen is a tough decision. I had already decided on a kind of modern take on shaker style for the cupboard fronts and I had a gorgeous retro style fridge in the wings, so what to do for the splashback and bench top? Wait for it …actually no, I will save that for another update. Today you can see the lounge with lovely high windows as well as a low opening window, the bath, kitchen fronts, upstairs and back door.

Going Tiny

What did COVID lockdowns mean to you? and did they change you in any way?

I decided I wanted to live more simply, so I started to talk to an amazing couple who build Tiny Houses. This was all done online to start with. I had watched every You Tube video, every HGTV episode, with tiny houses, every Tiny House Nation episode, every Living BIg in a Tiny House video, and I knew I wanted to “go tiny”.

After my chat with the owners of Cocoon Tiny Homes in 2021 during a lockdown, I started doodling, planning, measuring, collected pics, collected colours, until I had a bit of a plan on paper. This plan was just the start. Many times it changed, it evolved and I evolved too. I had already started to decide on what was coming with me, belongings wise and what wasn’t. Did you know that we really can do with a lot less than we usually hold onto?

I put the deposit down and I was on my way to “going tiny”. There were some hiccups along the way with selling the townhouse and financing a tiny. This is the boring bit so on we go to the first time I saw my tiny in the factory with my name stamped on the metal frame. I was in love with “Lil Pad”

Catch Up

I cant believe its nearly three years since I sat here to share. Where to start? ……

We did keep flying around the parts of the world that my airline flies to, but we didn’t see too much for nearly two years. We were unable to get out in the cities we visited until early 2022. It was quite a change to arrive in another city and see only a hotel room and maybe a hotel restaurant if we were allowed to. The interactions with people on the aircraft were minimal also, giving us all a new perspective on relationships.

One of my first trips being able to leave the hotel was to LAX, and it was such an amazing feeling. This is a city I know pretty well but felt completely different from 2019 LA.

That first Taco and Margarita were phenomenal AT MANHATTAN BEACH.

2020!

Hi everyone, hope you are staying safe and staying positive. The year has been a challenge for us all, and globally we are fighting the same enemy. Our lives have changed in small, and in some big, ways. We travellers are getting itchy feet and are having to scratch them in our own country. Here in New Zealand, that has not been too hard and I will update you on some great spots very soon. The other thing I have been doing is working on a completely unrelated thing. I have a wee online shop, accessible to Kiwis by Shopify and a couple of items have made their way to Amazon for our fellow American Jacinda fans.

If you love our Prime Minister and want to celebrate her ……..https://www.amazon.com/Jacinda-Ardern-Leaders-Kiwiana-Flowers/dp/B088DKSMXK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=jacinda+ardern+puzzle&qid=1598561832&sr=8-1

Talk travel with you again soon. Take Care xx

I don’t even know

So on Monday, I thought we’d been a week in lockdown 😂 Turns out we hadn’t. I returned from bringing kiwis 🥝 home. The airport was deserted, the car park empty and the roads dead. Made me think of that 70s British show ….. Survivor. No not the recent “reality” one. This one was a drama about a virus 🦠, and it was brilliant, and here we are !!!

So we do what we have to do. We also need to do what we have to do, to keep sane. I am attempting a run every day because I miss the rise to the heart rate that Body Attack brings, along with the red face, panting and then the treat of coffee after. If I don’t exercise, the extra eating will certainly show when I finally put on nice clothes again.

Today there was a bit in the “news” from our neighbours (Oz) saying that runners could spread the virus, if their “fluids” dropped on someone else. 😮 well, people don’t be worried if you see me, there will not be enough fluids to drop on others. I’m not that good at running that I will soak myself and others in body fluid !!!! Hilarious news I thought from Oz, bloody stop haircuts etc 😂

Anyway, we are finally a week down and doing what we can to stop this thing from stealing our people.

Good work Kiwis x