THE BRAVE // a new dream hatching

 sent a letter out to my VIP list folks last night talking about fear and how I'm learning to rewire my response to fear (sidenote: calling it my "VIP" list feels weird since I consider all of you VIP's, so you guys should come up with a better name for it.  I hate the word newsletter, so boring.  Ideas? The Brave Report?)  I'm excited to lean into fear, rather than recoil.  Well, maybe not excited about the fear part, but I'm excited to see where living into fear takes me.  I need to do a recap of TxSC because I was so inspired to go for some new dreams that I hadn't even considered, but there are various fears attached with going for new dreams, and I'm not going to let those fears keep me from hunting them down.

One of my big fears is failure, or trying something that ends up not working out (which feels like failure, too).  Over the past few years I've hesitated to mention any of my new dreams here on the blog for fear of it not working out or people being disappointed if I don't end up following through.  I've been going back through my archives pulling favorite outfits for my #flashbackfriday posts and I was reminded how recklessly open I was about so many dreams, the Brave in particular.  So here goes nothing: I'm planning another Brave trip (once you say it, you have to do it right?! Ahhh!).  I have weddings to shoot this summer and so I'm tied to Tacoma for the next 6-ish months, but I'm not going to take on any fall/winter weddings after the last one I have booked in October, and I'll have a similar timeline for leaving in the fall like I did 5 years ago.  On my first trip I left on Sept 20th and returned Dec 20th, and I'm not sure what the duration of this one will be, but it's definitely planned to be cross-country again, and since it's in the winter (again) I'll be heading south on a similar-ish route as last time to keep warm, though I would like to make it further up the east coast on this trip (maybe hitting NY if it's not too cold?).

 



Can we all take a moment to appreciate this needle + thread parking job?  I'm standing against the house on the opposite side of the alley from the winne to take this photo.  I'm pretty sure if the Brave was 2 ft longer it wouldn't have made the turn.  There's about 2.5 feet on either side (closer, if you count the eaves/gutters).  This is the Winne's current home.  Kristi lived here for about 6 months and I have another friend moving in for the next couple months.  

Last time my trip was very much an inward journey.  It was a healing journey for me and something I needed to do for myself.  I needed the trip to fill myself back up after going through my breakup, feeling a bit lost after graduating from college, and wanting to fulfill a lifelong dream.  This time, I feel like I want to fill others.  I want this trip to give back to people, so I'll be starting a podcast/vlogcast (or both?!  I haven't decided!) called The Brave (I'm very clever) and on my journeys I'll be visiting rad chicks who are kicking ass and taking names, inviting them into The Brave studio (i.e. the kitchen table) and chatting with them about life, dreams, confidence, feminism, creativity, and more.

The Brave needs some TLC, she hasn't seen a lot of action in the last few years, so I'm wanting to semi-gut her and give her some new life with a renovation, which I really would love to document here on the blog as well!  Last year I ripped out the old brown carpet (it was ugly and not even original) and installed this new flooring, and I also installed a new butcher block countertop, but I'm noticing that it's already warping (anyone else have this problem??), so I might have to re-do that, but hopefully I can salvage it.  The windows in the back are pretty leaky and have completely destroyed the wood veneer walls, so I'll probably be gutting the walls and giving it some kind of new treatment.  It'd be nice (for both time and money reasons) to not have to completely gut her, but we'll see how far I have to go once I see the extent of the damage and what I can work with.  

I'm actually kind of excited about giving her a fresh interior.  When I first went on my search for the perfect Brave I was hot and heavy into vintage surfaces and textures.  I was a dyed in the wool maximalist in my visual preferences and had a pretty strong penchant for faux wood.  I found a winne that was pretty close to original, with a few exceptions, like the carpet and upholstery.  Being forced to give her a new look due to water damage gives me a chance to give her a new look that fits my current personal style and I'm excited to see how she ends up looking by the end of the summer!  As of now, I know I'll be painting her, reupholstering the rear benches, and making new curtains.  The bathroom will probably need new walls, and I definitely need to figure out a way to seal the windows so they don't ruin the walls again.

I don't know if Dan will come with me, I think he was excited about it being another solo journey for me.  I may or may not take Dusty.  She's an amazing car dog, so I think she'd had a blast.  On my original trip I'd wanted to take a dog of my own, but the thought of bringing a puppy on the road seemed like not a great idea, which is why Little Bit came with me as my travel companion.  Those are all details which will be worked out much closer when I leave, though.   One large part of prep will be figuring out the financial aspect.  Needless to say, driving a 1973 Winnebago across the country isn't the cheapest way to travel.  Last time I went on a Winne trip I was living at home in my parents' basement rent free (and eating free too), saving all of my money to pay for my trip.  This time I've got a husband, utilities, insurance, mortgage, etc., which means I'll be hustling a lot more to be able to pull this trip off, but I believe in it and I know I can make it happen.   I'm launching my new photography guide, PHOTOBOMB!, this week, and all of the proceeds from my shop will be going directly into my Brave fund to get that girl both in tip-top shape for the road and also go to gas and lodging, though hopefully this time around I can park in more blog friends' driveways to save on RV parks!  If you want to head over to the shop and snag PHOTOBOMB! for 10% off, use the code "NewDT" at checkout* to get a discount!  It's sort of like a Kickstarter, except you don't have to wait to get your thank-you gift for supporting!  I'm planning on launching a couple more new courses and guides, and so all of those will also be in support of the Brave. *expires 4/6/15 I'm really excited, and a little nervous, to bring this all to life.  Truth be told, I had thought about selling the Winne just over a month ago, to help alleviate financial strain (and to reclaim my backyard).  I couldn't bring myself to do it, though, feeling like the Brave had more to teach me and share with others, I just didn't know what.  The Brave gave to me in so many ways and I want her to give to you guys now.  I'm trusting that in some crazy way I'll be able to facilitate that.  So get ready, ya'll.  The Brave is ready to come cruising on into your life this year, so you'd better make room!  (appx. 22ft x 8ft, so you can plan accordingly.)