My Gypsy Wagon: A Tour

I was talking to my sister the other day and it occurred to us that she has never seen pictures of the Tuckerbag. She's heard a lot about it (and remains skeptical) but as a Montana dweller with no need for internet, she knows less about how I live than you readers do. In order to remedy that I took a bunch of pictures. As you know it is always changing and adapting to be better and cozier, especially with winter coming on. So here it goes: another tour.

First we have the mudroom off the front door. Usually I park at night and climb over the emergency brake to go to bed. Taking out that front seat gave me tons of extra room for storage but mainly I keep it open so that the space feels bigger.

You may have noticed that I got new curtains. They're red, so they blend better with the car that their ivory predecessor. They are also thicker, which lets less light in at night, and closer to the ceiling. All these factors gave me an added bonus: They keep the heat in really well. When I push them aside in the morning there is a noticeable temperature difference between the front and back of the car. I've also found that I get less condensation over night.

Next up is the bedroom. Three pillows and lots of blankets to keep extra cozy on those chilly New England nights. I was at Goodwill yesterday and found a great Pottery Barn throw blanket that I'm very excited about. During the day I cram my blankets behind the pillows and get this nice day bed. Prying eyes don't normally suspect that it's a bed back there, just a super funky back seat.

Up top there, above the bed, you'll see a lime green curtain. I still have the black out shades on the rear window (which I just replaced) but now all that storage on the back sill is out of sight. It's kind of turned into my closet: messy and hidden. Let's be honest though: in this tiny space it looks messy if I forget to put away my PJs in the morning.

There are other little things that I've changed or adapted to. Now that I have a mudroom I make sure to stop by the car wash and vacuum the floors every week or so. I found a hanging storage... thing that has worked great for holding last minute jewelry or my phone; all that stuff that you don't know where to stash. You might notice in the picture below that the small back windows are red. Nope, that wasn't a trick of the light. I used red duck tape to cover the windows on the outside and now have the inside glass to attach suction-cup gadgets to. Right now I have a thermometer and a small dish for loose change.

So there you have it; my little slice of heaven. It's bright (yeah, too bright for some) and snug. I had big plans to live and volunteer at a shelter this winter, but I'm kind of interested to see if my hard work and nesting habits have created a year round home. We've already had 20 degree nights and I was surprisingly comfortable, so what if I could go the next four months? That would be a full year of back seat living in New England.