#vanlivin

[jessejunkocreates]

Road trips in Juicy Lucy with Brett Beardslee are my favorite and always instill a deep sense of freedom and peace and joy. I’m Jesse Junko Beardslee and I love van livin! I also love sustainable style and female empowerment and truth seeking and mostly post about that here but one of the (tiny air cooled) engines that moves those passions through me is travel. My husband and I do it different. We do it slow, we go to remote places, we dally, we’re horrible planners, we get lost, sometimes we break down, sometimes we get ourselves into trouble but we do it our way. Juicy Lucy is our best mechanical friend and she was born in 1958! She’s a part of the family and she’s in serious need of serious work. We’ll address it, hopefully we’ll find just the right guy and all the money he needs for the vital rust work, BUT we wanted to take her out on one last spin before the cool winds blow her into a garage. Tiny bouquets, tiny stoves, tiny closets, big hearts, big skies, big dreams. It’s the best. Music by a campfire, tracking our mileage, spreading out and packing up, it’s what my soul needs. There are many more pictures I took of our mini road trip but two of the coolest things you won’t see in any of them are the bio luminescence we saw blinking on the ground in the middle of the night - mirroring the stars above… And the adolescent black bear we paced, unaware, contently coexisting, oblivious to our gentle excited observation. 506 miles roundtrip. Life is magic. ✌🏽 ❤️ 🚐 . . . #vanlife #juicylucy #volkswagen #1958panelvan #splitwindow #camping #roadtrip #travel #adventure #iloveny #vanlivin #gimbledcookstove #campfire #rosendaleny #windsorny #hectorny #poughkeepsieny #peacelovevibes #wereabull #lovemachine #shagginwagen #volkslife #artcar #vivalajuicy #volkswagenrust #makeyourownmagic #universaltruth #artist #designer #dreamer https://www.instagram.com/p/CT18oVkrYOw/?utm_medium=tumblr

[atumant]

Space ship blue prints #vanlivin

[vanlivin]

PERSPECTIVE

Guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It must be because van livin is going so well. 4 months in and things are great!

One of the things I thought was very interesting has to do with perspective. So... I'm in a band that tours. BEFORE livin in the van, it was always kind of a downgrade sleeping-wise when you go on tour. You were usually sleeping on couches or air mattresses or even just the floor some nights. But AFTER livin in the van, this summer we went on tour again and it was almost an upgrade. Getting to sleep inside and sometimes having A/C or a fan or just having electricity was such a welcome change! It felt like I was living large and was being spoiled. It was cool.

Anyway, I suppose you should be careful what you take for granted sometimes. Always be grateful for the things you have.

Hope I don't take as long before the next update. It's getting colder, so I'm sure I'll have more to talk about. Take care. :)

[thecranewives-blog-blog]

First adVANture! #cranewives #vanlivin'

[jessejunkocreates]

Beautiful inside and out 😋 Our best mechanical friend, Juicy Lucy, and some shots of her most recent adventures camping in Rosendale, Windsor and Burdett New York. Juicy’s a 1958 Volkswagen Panel Van and she’s part of the fam! My husband and I camp in her extensively and love having everything we need in her cute lil metal body! Brett has been doing all her work (short of engine block rebuilds) for 25 years and has put about a million miles on her! A lot of my work I need to be in my Sewing Studio for but I schedule my seasons with care and have lots of awesome ways to work remotely like though my Beautycounter and Color Street business components. Could you picture self livin the van life?! ✌🏽 ❤️ 🚐 . . . #vanlife #homeiswhereyouare #freedom #butyouresoclean #juicylucy #brettbeardslee #vanlivin #vaninteriors #vw #vwpanelvan #splitwindowbus #ontheroad #rubbertramp #roadtrip #vancampin #volkswagen #rarevw #millionmilebus #oldgirl #keepontruckin #travel #hittheroad #campervan #campinglife #remotework #BCworks #workfromanywhere #rosendaleny #windsorny #burdettny (at New York State) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUQardZF4f6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[jessejunkocreates]

Camping bare necessities. I’ve been livin the van life the past two weekends and have been super grateful for these gems! A hand sanitizer that is also a moisturizing serum, biodegradable makeup remover wipes that double as a quick face wash and refresh, and safe sunscreen for these gorgeous final days of summer here in New York State. I love @beautycounter’s products because they’re high performing, long lasting, safe for my skin and our environment, made in America, female founded and are the driving force behind the #BetterBeauty Movement advocating for safety regulations within the personal care industry. I don’t love Beautycounter products because I sell them, I sell them because I love them. I also love sharing samples and loaner kits, making recommendations, educating about Better Beauty and sustainability, and mentoring women who want to run their own Beautycounter business because #BCworks anywhere! Even in a van down by the river! Visit my link in bio to request samples, join our email list and learn more about our complete suite of sustainable style offerings! 🤣 🚐 🏕 . . . #vanlife #offgridstylist #juicylucy #barenecessities #ontheroad #camping #campingnecessities #travelnecessities #vanlivin #vanning #vw #beautycounterconsultant #workfromanywhere #workontheroad #lifeontheroad #offroadstylist #vanlifestyle #handserum #handmoisturizer #safesunscreen #biodegradablefacewipes #biodegradablemakeupremover #coralreefsafesunscreen #sustainablestyle #sustainablebeautyproducts (at Hector, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUAcSYGrZdM/?utm_medium=tumblr

[vanlivin]

1ST MONTH IN THE VAN!

Well, I've got one month under my belt now of living in my van. To be honest, it's been pretty awesome! Here are some of the highlights so far:

I've been spending a lot more time outside. The sun gives me strength and energy.

Having a membership at the gym, so I can have 24/7 shower access, has actually led to me working out several times a week too. Helping me get in shape.

Been saving money. With a two week tour coming up next week, this couldn't have worked out better. I'll also not be paying rent for a place I won't be at.

There is something special about going to sleep and waking up outside.

I'd like to expand on that last dot point. From day one, I had planned on putting up curtains. Mainly for privacy, but I've also normally treated my living area like a cave. One of the things I've grown to like most so far is waking up outside. I'm in an area surrounded by trees and bushes. My entire view is green. I wake up to the sounds of birds and I can lay there in the morning and watch the squirrels play in the trees. It's pretty special to feel part of the land, the outside like that. I don't know, it's just something I might not have gotten to experience if I had blocked it all out.

Here's to another good month! Thanks for following my blog! :)

[vanlivin]

I just watched this documentary on Netflix. It's freakin great. It obviously deals with a lot of things I've been thinking about lately. Give it a chance if you can. http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70273279

[vanlivin]

It is done. I'm officially a van dweller. I am a nomad. It didn't take long to unpack... cause I don't have much stuff now, which is pretty cool. Everything has fit in the van nicely so far. I'll post some pics of the inside when I get a little more settled. So for now I'm just sitting in the shade outside soaking it all in.

[vanlivin]

MY NEW HOUSE

I've always been a van guy. I've had a van ever since I was maybe 17 or 18 and pretty much always had one. Mostly because I'm a musician and I wanted to be able to tour. Some pretty crazy circumstances lead me to owning this one. Short story: I was on tour in my dream van, the nicest greatest van I've ever had. In Houston, a band mate wrecked it on the interstate and totaled it. After a couple days stuck in Houston, the insurance money cleared and we bought this pretty crappy van just so we could get back on the road and finish the tour. After we got home, knowing we had a terrible van, we traded it for this guy.

A 1993 Ford Econoline 150. I've had it for many years now. Not nearly as awesome as the wrecked van I had, but it's been treating me well. It's just a regular old conversion van. Probably not the best starter kit for a home after seeing camper type vans that were built for storage and sleeping, but that's okay. I don't need much. Like I said, after getting all the seats out of the back, there is a 5 foot by 10 foot space left for livin.

More pics to come once I get moved inside. :)

[vanlivin]

ONE WEEK TO GO!

Almost there. Only one more week until I move out into my van. It feels like I talked about it way too early... cause it seems like it's taking forever to get here. But I know I should be savoring these last moments of.... this kinda life.

I've got most of my things packed up and in the storage unit. It only proves to me how little I really need to survive. I also have found a place to park my van. My best friend is donating a tiny portion of his yard. What a sweet person! Another bonus, it's walking distance from work, so even less gas I have to consume.

Kind of excited to contact my electric company and internet provider this coming week to tell them I'll be canceling their services. Even more money I'll be saving now. Yippee! :)

[vanlivin]

Imagine

Mom always knew I had some hippie-like tendencies in me. Even when I first heard John Lennon's "Imagine" as a little kid, it impacted me. "Imagine no possessions." Those and all the song's lyrics always make me think. Well I'm definitely going to get a chance to put that to the test. This week I realized that I'll be going from roughly a 500 sq. ft. apartment to a 50 sq. ft. van. It's definitely time to remove the clutter from my life. It's time to simplify to only the essentials. I have this feeling that it's going to be quite freeing. :)

[vanlivin]

Support

I'll admit, I was a little nervous posting about this to FB yesterday. But I've been so overwhelmed with the support I have received. It's really amazing. So many people have messaged me with their ideas and supportive words, it's really been wonderful. So thank you to all of you, it helps so much. :)

[vanlivin]

It's Really Happening

Had a pretty productive day. Maybe got a third of my stuff packed and moved to the storage unit. Also was able to get the seat brackets removed from the floor. That'll help things sit more flat. Been thinking of different ways to store my clothes. Either in a tote with with homemade dividers or get some of those stackable drawers. Idk, thoughts?

[vanlivin]

Rent No More

I just paid rent for the last time. I know it won't fully hit me until next month, but I know it felt really good!

[vanlivin]

Hiccup

Ran into a little hiccup. When I initially talked to my landlord about moving out, he was really cool and understanding about it and living in my van. I was surprised. And so I had this feeling that he might let me park in our huge parking lot up where I live. I got excited because it would be an awesome spot. It's quiet and near woods. But when I finally got to mention it to him... it didn't go as I hoped. It's a little disheartening. I've been doing lots of visualizing in this spot. Ahh well... I'll figure something out.