15 May 2009

camping it up








Moving within the spirit of the times, respecting the current economic climate, we have discarded the usual frills, pomp and circumstance in favour of a more natural and simple (don't you LOVE those two words?) summer holiday. Yes, we are going to brave the campsite and get down and dirty, right back to basics and finally use those 2 massive (brand) new tents that have never seen the light of the moon let alone a mosquito and go camping. Not for a weekend, not for a week - heck, no! We're totally insane and going it for three...whole...weeks. I'm playing it cool at the moment. So overwhelmed by the mere fact that very soon we'll be back in lovely Sardinia, I won't allow my joy to be overrun by dark thoughts regarding the impossibility of sandfree clothes storage, dirty feet (I have a bit of a thing about those), having to wash dishes by hand and then of course not having en-suite facilities.... Like I said, I will not let myself be overcome by all that negativity.
Instead I choose to open my mind to the possibility that this really could be a pleasurable adventure beyond compare and that with a little bit of organisation and a huge pinch of the 'chill' factor, we can all enjoy an unforgettable, uncomplicated time together. My husband will make me sign a contract in which I swear not to become 'unreasonable' about grains of sand in the tent and that if I utter the words 'I have nothing to wear!' he has perfectly good grounds for divorce. I have promised to take a leaf out of all of my friends' books who have been camping practically every year of their lives, and focus on the essentials of campsite living but make those essentials as beautiful as they can possibly be. So, I just need a few accessories to 'brighten up' our pitch and personalise it by giving it a bit of a style injection. I will start by looking a bit more closely at the Cath Kidston website and I have already noticed with great pleasure, that Swiss retailers take their camping sections very seriously indeed and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I found the bulk of my camping 'style fodder' on my doorstep at either Migros or Coop. And another thing: all that stuff we get fed by women's magazines about 'how to pack the bare essentials' or 'how to make one single garment work a 100 ways' would be fantastic for my camping dilemma IF IT WERE TRUE! It's total nonsense of course and unless you were born around 1941 and therefore frugality is an indelible part of your genetic make-up, you will know that packing the 'bare essentials' means stuffing at least 48 to 54 garments into your suitcase. So in order to make this experience work for me I'm going to:
  • plan out my pitch meticulously, logically and stylishly (I will allow husband to help with this)
  • buy an inordinate amount of tealights and little glasses that will contain them
  • inject a dose of glamour even into campsite life by never looking anything less than effortlessly chic (see pictures above)
  • not get hysterical at the sight of dust-covered sons, in fact I will learn to embrace them in their new, natural state (I use the word embrace not in its physical, but spiritual sense)
  • last but not least, I absolutely promise that I will chillax

    Should be great!

Whilst I do realise that this post contains a ridiculous amount of pictures compared to my usual select few, I really wanted to bring TOAST to your attention once again. Their style and their photography lends itself incredibly well to my camping fantasy! Do browse their current catalogue here and especially here...

All of the above photographs are taken from the current S/S 09 TOAST catalogues (DAYWEAR and HOUSE & HOME)

7 comments:

dani said...

With your physique, style, creativity, social skills and talent, I'm sure you will give a whole new meaning to the word *camping*. I imagine that Chia will never be the same again after you've been there. And I'm being serious here. If someone can make camping glamorous, that's YOU!

style inside said...

oh plllleeeeeaaaase! I will be running round like a headless chicken most of the time. mark my words. but you are so kind with your words of encouragement and your faith....! xxxxx

kittycakes said...

i have to agree with dan. you personify 'effortlessly stylish', my dear and always have! and i have the photos to prove it!!! don't make me post them. ;-)
xxx

style inside said...

hey Kittycakes, now you've got me. I will pay good money to make those pictures "dissappear".... ;)

Erin said...

uh. I can only wish I was this cool.

Erin said...

haha. the "uh" was like a rueful sigh of never being able to be that coool. You know like a "pffffffffft" or a "umph" or any other sound that doesn't convey emotion well across the internet! Mostly an 'uh' of envy :)

Anonymous said...

you manage to make camping a stylish experience...only the style inside could do that...you have that steffi! have a marvelous time! cindy

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