RV Life – RV Decor…

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In 2018 we traded our 2014 Forest River Rockwood Signature Ultra Light 5th wheel for a 2018 Jayco Eagle HT 27.5. It was a big decision; getting a new RV would cost more than keeping our old RV, but there were features we wanted in our RV that we couldn’t get without upgrading our RV.

The floor plan we agreed upon.

Click picture for larger view.

Comparing manufacturer brands can be challenging when you go shopping for an RV. If you’re out looking, one of the first thing you might notice is that most brands seem to use the same floor plans. That’s because after one manufacturer comes up with a layout that sells, most manufacturers follow the lead. The real differences are in the manufacturering process, the features, the packages, the standards, the options, and the factory decor options.

How Did We Decide?

We knew how much we wanted to spend, and that we wanted to keep the cost of towing the RV down. We set our weight and length limit. We knew we wanted an RV with a big back window view, 8 CF refrigerator, 50 AMPs with 2 AC units, all weather insulation package, and the ability to tow behind the RV. Ample storage was important. We were interested in solar (or solar ready), and the potential to add a generator so we could dry camp. Rear camera ready would be a plus.

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Stay Curious, Be Blessed

As we shopped, we would find an RV we liked, but we couldn’t tow anything behind it. We’d find another, but it wasn’t well insulated. One was too heavy. Another would meet my interior expectations, but the exterior storage didn’t meet my husband’s expectations. If we got everything we wanted, the price and weight went up! We finally agreed on a 2018 Jayco Eagle 27.5, after we narrowed down our dream RV list. It is spacious; however, it doesn’t provide maximum interior storage. Fortunately, I can be creative in that area! Just need to think tiny living and be organized. I can use every nook and cranny to make things work for us.

Factory RV Decor…

2018 Jayco Eagle HT 27.5 factory decor:

  • The fireplace doubles as an electric heater.
  • Storage under the table & chairs; 2 folding chairs stored under the bed.
  • Swivel Rocker/Recliners
  • Couch makes into a bed.
  • 8 CF Refrigerator
  • Comes with a countertop extension.
  • Storage under the bed.

Click a picture for a carousel view.

RV Decor After (so far)…

I love personalizing the factory decor in our RV. As soon as we moved our stuff in the RV, I started adding my personal touches. It is an ongoing process:

  • Added some cabin decor. I bought a moose rug to put in front of the fireplace.
  • I’m thinking of taking the factory “curtains” down in the back to open it up more. LOVE the view!
  • Factory Pillows
  • I added pillow covers. This area is a work in process color wise. Our Yeti cooler doubles as a coffee table.
  • Organizational skills are a necessity in an RV! Added a small kitchen cart with baskets.
  • I upgraded the shower head.
  • Beach Theme
  • Note the factory pillow to the left.
  • I covered up the factory pillows with beach themed covers.

Click a picture for a carousel view.

Additional items I bought to put in our RV:

  • I bought this rug to put in our RV kitchen.
  • I bought this rug to put in front of our RV fireplace.
  • I bought this rug for our RV bathroom.

I’ll post more pictures of this ongoing RV decor process in the future. Until then…

Inspiring Home Life,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR


Decorating on a Budget

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

I gotta confess, I’m an HGTV junkie. Several of the shows inspire me to want to redecorate my home over and over again. I can watch the same show again and again, and see something I never noticed before.

Let’s face it, we live in an immediate world, and most of us want what we want now.

There are so many times I’ve wanted a new look in my home, but my budget wouldn’t allow much. That’s when I start looking at what I already have and thinking about what I can do to change it for a fraction of the cost of buying something new.

Simply putting a new pillow cover on an old pillow can add a new splash of color, and with the advent of online shopping, the sky’s the limit on selection!

I was tired of these old, throw pillows. Instead of buying new ones, I bought new pillow covers at a fraction of the cost of new pillows.
Our living room has a cabin theme, so the new pillow covers fit right in. Even my husband likes them.

My next pillow upgrade? Our RV! I love to add my own touches to the RV’s factory decor.

Inspiring Home Life,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

Meal Time Update…

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

WOW! It was a busy, eventful summer! Time flew by. As things wind down, I now have time to share more about our meal time experiences.

After 4 weeks, we decided to let Home Chef go (pause/cancel the service) and try another meal kit service. My goal was to supplement our Sun Basket dinners with some quick lunch and snack items, not replace them.

I will say this about Home Chef…

Home Chef is affordable, and their main dinners taste like average, home cooked meals. Home Chef offers quick salads and smoothies – which initially intrigued me. During the 4th week with the service, we started to notice that the salads pretty much tasted the same for the most part. The smoothies were good, and easy to make.

I didn’t like the amount of extra shipping trash that came with Home Chef. (We haul our own trash to the dump/transfer station bi-weekly.) While the shipping material was biodegradable for the most part, it took up a lot of space in our trash compared to Sun Basket. On top of all that, the food flavor just didn’t compare to Sun Basket. (We are still enjoying Sun Basket.)

UPDATE: Since this post was written, TK is no longer in business, but I’m keeping the post because I liked their delivery method.

Next Meal Kit Experience: Terra’s Kitchen…

We tried Terra’s Kitchen (TK) for a few weeks.

Love the shipping vessel.

TK ships meals in a reusable, climate controlled, delivery vessel that is return shipped (pre-paid) back to Terra’s Kitchen the following day. Shipping is free with orders of $100 or more or $6.99 (at the time of this writing) for orders under $100.

Everything fits inside neatly.
The vessel is empty and ready for pickup the next day.

The reusable vessel intrigued me, because I don’t like all the extra shipping trash that comes with other of meal kit services.

Ready to eat salads, perfect for lunch.

TK’s ingredients are “pre-prepped” which is supposed to shorten cooking time. The food is prewashed and individually packaged in recyclable containers. They offer meals, snacks, deserts, beverages, salads, meat, etc. They offer a variety of dietary options: Mediterranean, Paleo, gluten free, low cal, and vegetarian. Most products are antibiotic and hormone free, non-GMO and organic when possible. Pricing varies depending on what you order.

TK’s Vegetable and Chicken Couscous Bowl

I sent an email to TK’s customer serviced to find out if they delivered to my area, and they responded quickly with a friendly, yes! I downloaded their app and scheduled our first order.

We didn’t stick with TK very long. We quickly grew bored with their flavors and food selection to choose from. Absolutely loved the shipping vessel because I had minimal trash from the meal kit service; however, the pre-prepped items had a shorter, freshness life expectancy.

Sun Basket is Still Our Favorite…

We’ve been with Sun Basket since January, 2018. We never grow tired of their flavorful recipes. We’ve cooked meals inspired by countries we’ve never visited. They save me shopping time, and are healthier and more affordable than going out for dinner at a restaurant. Plus, my husband and I enjoy preparing the meals together.

Inspiring Home Life,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

Cooking at Home…

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

We’ve been enjoying Sun Basket for awhile now.

In fact, the featured picture on this post was one of our Sun Basket meals we recently cooked at home, Sesame-crusted Salmon with Orange and Roasted Carrot Salad. It tasted AMAZING!

We were ready to add another company to supplement our Sun Basket meals. I did some searching and decided to give Home Chef a try. They ship for free if you order over $45, so I ordered the following meals for 2: a meal to cook, a “no cooking required” salad meal and 2 smoothies = free shipping!

Here’s what’s on our 1st Home Chef menu this week:
  1. Mojito Pork Chops
  2. Sesame Chicken Salad
  3. Strawberry Colada Smoothie(s)
The Home Chef menu will be added to our Sun Basket menu for this week:
  1. Shrimp tacos diablo with pickled cabbage & lime.
  2. Sicilian chicken breasts with salmoriglio sauce and broccoli.
  3. Piri-piri shrimp with curried sweet potato-coconut mash.

Home Chef will be our 4th meal kit company we’ve tried. Our first experience was Blue Apron, the second, Sun Basket (our favorite), and third was Green Chef. You can read about our experiences by clicking the preceding links.

Our first Home Chef shipment arrives this week, so be sure to check back to find out how our  meal kit experience with them goes.

Until next time….

We aren’t just a market, we are Rustic Country Market Living.

Inspiring Home Life ♥️,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR