2013 January » Just 5 More Minutes

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We are going on three years of proudly being Airstreamer’s and I am STILL trying to get the inside organization of our trailer just right. During each trip I find things that I should have organized better in addition to finding things that I haven’t used in a long time. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time in my Airstream, with Oliver (♥) to help get things together in a practical organized way not only for our ski trip coming up, but for all future trips (but the ski trip definitely has me excited – 10 days of glamping in the snow).

I began my organizing (or re-organizing) in the kitchen while Oliver watched my every move . . .

My cutlery drawer now. I was able to add some more knives and spoons as well as our egg cups to this drawer since I moved some other items into the drawer below. The thing that’s great about these drawers is that they are deep so you can actually place some items upright (egg cups and small saucers) and still be able to close the drawer. I also decided it was time for my sushi mat to go since in three years I have never made sushi!

♥

I have found that using containers to hold smaller items in addition to a larger one to hold cooking utensils has really optimized my space in this drawer. I’ve also discovered that my pastry cutter works just as well, if not better than my potato masher so there you go — two uses in one and good bye to the potato masher :)

So this was pretty exciting to find. A collapsible salad spinner I found at the store called Ross for $19.99.

. . . and speaking of Ross I also found these colorful steak knives for only $15.99 from Laguiole.

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How I have organized the top drawer in my pull out cabinet in the kitchen . . .

I can probably say that I feel like I am FINALLY happy with the organization of the cabinet above the pull outs in the kitchen. The storage in these cabinets are long and deep (and dark – which is why I have those LED battery lights from Costco). I thought I had organized it before so well but found during cooking on our trips that if I needed something from way in the back — every item in the front had to come out. Ugh. After a while it became a total mess in there and I knew there just had to be a better way to organize this awkward space.

Thanks to the Container Store, I am pretty happy with these plastic pull out bins. They are sturdy, stay put (with the help of non-skid shelf liner) and the top bin slides over the bottom one allowing me to be able to see, and easily access my pantry staples. I feel pretty confident I can check the organization of this space off my list :)

This bamboo dish dryer fits perfectly in the sink. I am hoping it will function as extra counter space while I am cooking as well as doubling as a strainer of sorts to wash fruits and veggies.

I added this round mirror to the bathroom. I always felt sorry for B having to stand there brushing his teeth or hair and not being able to see himself (even though he insisted he could see his reflection in the aluminum). This mirror solves that problem and since I applied it to the wall with velcro, it can easily double as a hand held mirror if need be.

These two remotes look alike yet are very different. Hubby and I would sit there (especially after a glass of wine – or two) trying to figure out which one was for the DVD and which one was for the TV. By labeling them, life is a little simpler now :)

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Like with our last Airstream on our ski trip, we keep our ski boots under the dinette/lounge area. I can tell you that the furnace on this Airstream is POWERFUL. It blows some serious hot air, especially under the dinette. So hot in fact that my helmet was close enough to the vent that the heat melted the little clip that holds my goggles in place right off. Yikes.

This system of keeping our boots here to dry off works so well. Not only do they dry quickly but nothing feels better than being able to slip on a pair of ski boots that are toasty warm and then stepping out into the cold snow outside.

So there you have it. Three years along and still trying to get everything right but I can honestly say, I truly enjoy it.

The next organization I have to tackle will be the hall closet, then under our bed (which lifts up to quite a bit of storage room) and lastly the overhead cabinets.

If you have any organizational tips I would LOVE to hear from you.

xoxo

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“Mommy, I think we should put some of those snowflakes on the top of the Airstreams.” B tells me as we complete our edible diorama over the weekend.

This was a fun project making Meringue and piping it into letters and other fun shapes to be included in our final project. I should also mention the simple and delicious chocolate pudding we made as the centerpiece with sugar mountain cookies in the background.

Skiing and our “mobile ski lodge” was the theme and while we worked away we talked about all of the places we have skied with our Airstream. And we talked about the places we are going.

“Will I go to ski class on Brundage Mountain” he asks me.

Brundage Mountain Resort in Idaho near the town of McCall is our next big ski trip. 10 days of skiing, cooking, shopping, dining, exploring ~ we are really looking forward to it all. A little over one month away, B is especially looking forward since I was able to give him a “yes” to his question. There is nothing more than skiing and meeting new friends that he loves to do more (except, well — playing with his new puppy Oliver).

Here we were at the Summit of Snoqualmie ~ specifically Alpental in Washington. This is where you can find us most weekends as hubby teaches and B takes classes. This year B becomes an official “Buddy Werner Kid” and we are pretty proud of him.

In addition to skiing and enjoying the beautiful outdoors, cooking is my favorite thing to do in my Airstream. Below are just some of the “B and hubby approved” apres ski meals I have made over the last year while visiting different ski resorts. If you would like, most of these recipes can be found under “Culinary Delights” in J5MM’s navigation bar.

Caramelized Onion and Parmesan Cheese Tarts at Red Mountain Resort in Rossland, British Columbia. The lower left picture is from our visit to Riverside RV Resort in Whistler, British Columbia just this past Thanksgiving.

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When you travel to Canada with your trailer, it’s a good idea to call the border patrol to find out what fruits and veggies are or are not allowed if you want to bring some along. These veggies came with me from my Full Circle CSA Box and luckily everything in it was allowed.

It snowed a lot and skiing was awesome. There is nothing like retreating back into your Airstream while settling in and making an easy dinner all while watching the snow fall outside. Beautiful.

Eric Skiing

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This combination may sound a little strange, but oh my — it is addicting. Be warned ♥

That was a super huge icicle that B pulled off our Airstream one morning. Sadly, it didn’t survive in our freezer. B was hoping to keep it frozen forever.

Chocolate pudding recipe here and the meringue recipe here.

When I wasn’t in the mood to cook on our past ski trips, we enjoyed some fabulous apres ski dining in the ski villages. Below are pictures from Gabriellas and Gypsy at Red both located at the base of Red Mountain. The dining was amazing and we will never forget it.