meet Betsy Ross (a work-in-progress)

You know what takes a lot more time than you think it will?

Remodeling a camper.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it still feels so far away too.

Here was my original to-do list:
-remove wallpaper & border
-paint cabinets
-new cabinet hardware
-paint walls
-remove blinds, window coverings, etc.
-make new curtains
-paint doors
-new door hardware
-deep clean the whole thing (it was really clean when we bought it, but still…)
-redo flooring
-chalkboard paint the fridge/freezer
-kill four million ladybugs
-re-upholster the couch
-tile kitchen backsplash
-“headboard” in bedroom (I use the term “bedroom verrrry loosely)
-replace table
-get rid of swivel chair

And a million other little things. My mind just swirled with possibilities for Betsy Ross. Here’s where we’re at right now:

Finally in the past week, we’ve been putting her back together. My mom came by on Sunday and spent over six hours making curtains for me. We still need to get some ties to hold them back and let in as much light as possible, but just having them up makes me giddy. We also planned to re-upholster the couch Sunday; I thought we could just wrap it in some new fabric and call it a day, but that project is taking a lot longer than we anticipated (doesn’t it always??), so my mom has the couch cushions at her house right now working her magic.

I finished painting the cabinet doors, and Chris hung them just last night. White cabinets and new hardware make her so much brighter and airy–I love it. The doors are still drying and then they’ll go up next.

Originally, I planned on getting the flooring done before we use it this summer (which is why I didn’t cover it when I painted…oops), but unless I stop spending all our money on redoing it and start preparing for actually traveling in it, we won’t have any summer adventures. I have the tendency to want everything done as soon as possible, so bringing my dreams and plans back down to earth means some things will just have to be done in the future. We plan on years of fun with Betsy Ross so leaving some things for the future is okay…I guess.

To come: new flooring, updating the faucets, replacing the table, and more things I’m sure I’ll dream up once we start using it. We removed that ugly swivel chair and are going to be using two white folding chairs (like the ones you’d sit on at an outdoor wedding) in place of it. Of course, we won’t do most of our eating indoors, but we still need a place to sit when it rains or in the late evenings.

I can’t wait to have everything moved back in. So this is just a snapshot to tease you, really. Once she’s all put back together, I’ll make the bed, bring in all my decorations, and show her off for real.

Like most things in my life, she’s a work-in-progress, but she’s gonna shine soon.

(Side note: the books in the hanging basket are some classics I plan to read to the girls on our trip out west this summer. While I’m good with watching some movies on a 15-hour car ride, we’re also going to introduce our daughters to classics like Charlotte’s Web, James and the Giant Peach, and Beverly Cleary books.)