Last summer, my family found our “dream-come-true” vintage camper- a 1966 Skyline “Nomad”, that we christened “Gidget” (thanks to dear readers who helped with a name in last year’s blog). We were so happy and worked hard to get ready to debut her at our first “Vintage Camper Rally” last August. We’ve certainly learned a lot since then, and one year later, the decor’s finished! Come take a tour and see the transformation!
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
You all have done a great job! Gidget is adorable!
Hi Ramona, Thank you! It’s been a lot of fun! Glad you enjoyed the tour. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Just love it! Hard work always pays off! ♥️
Awww, thank you, Connie! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
What a great job. The vintage is to perfection. I love all the vintage. Enjoy.
Marilyn
Thanks so much, Marilyn! It was fun to put together, and we did it all on a shoestring budget! My daughter jokes that my “super power” is finding good deals on vintage! Thanks for reading and commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
You have created the camper I am hopeful to get. what an awesome job!
Thanks, Deborah! Good luck on your hunt. It is so much fun. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Now all you need is your little Featherweight. Adorable.
Hi Sylvia, I have actually taken my Featherweight outside and sewed INSIDE the camper. It was sooooo much fun. I have not traveled with a machine, but I could see that if it was a long trip. There is a vintage sewing machine magnet on the fridge, did you notice it? Thanks for reading and commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
LOVE your redo. We had a Nomad about the size of yours. It was very convenient and we really enjoyed it with our two girls. I like your decorations. I even recognize some of them from when I was growing up. Sure is fun to see them again.
Thank you, Becky! I was afraid at times I overdid her, like a frosted cupcake, lol! What year was your Nomad, do you know? Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Nicole,
You did a fantastic job on Gidget! I just love everything.
Hi Diane, Oh thank you! So glad you enjoyed the blog. I love sharing Gidget, and hope she makes everyone smile. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Love seeing what you have done with this camper. My family had a similar one back in the 1970’s, although we didn’t have a bathroom in it. Hope you get to go camping with her, but having her in your backyard is so much fun, you don’t really have to trade anywhere!
Nancy
Hi Nancy, Thank you! I love that you all had a Nomad. I always hear about Shasta’s and Scotties, but with the vintage Nomad, there’s not that much out there on them. We hope to go camping soon! Can’t wait! Thanks for reading and commenting. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I LOVE the vintage camper! You have done an excellent job, and at low prices too!
Thanks so much, Mary. 🙂 Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
What a fabulous glamper! Love all the vintage acoutrements and the vintage green! Hope you make many happy memories in your beautiful place. Congratulations!
Hi D’Wanna, thank you so much. I am glad you liked the blog! Thanks for stopping by the blog! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Love the turquoise ! Everything looks just fabulous! It’s like a step into the past! Great job!
Thank you! I always have “vintage” music playing in there, too, so it’s really a time capsule! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
LOVE,LOVE The glamping blog this month Nicole, can’t wait to see it all again. You and your family have worked so hard to make it a special little vintage retreat in your yard. Linda
Hi Linda! Thank you!! I can’t wait to see your camper when it is all done! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I love it!! She so cute. I have a 63 Scottsman that I am restoring. I still have a ways to go but I’m loving it. You can see my pics on my Facebook page Strange Art & Vintage Finds w/ Mary Jane. I named her Mary Jane after my favorite author and the man I bought it from was a pot head lol. I saved her. Hugs!!
Hi Lisa, thanks! I took a peek at your Scottsman – adorable! LOVE the outside color! Thanks for reading and commenting…Happy Glamping! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I like you camper Nicole, Nice work so vintage just so you❤️ You most have a too.㊙️
Have good camping! Love from farfar an me
Tak, Mor! I can’t wait for you to see it in person. Hugs to all in Denmark. Love, Nicole
Splendid! I drove past a used car lot down the street one day and saw a vintage Shasta on the lot for $3,000. I went back the next day to check it out with the idea of revamping it to it’s original state and the price had gone up to $13,000. It was not meant to be.
Hi Marlene, Oh that is horrible! Keep looking; there is a vintage camper out there for you, I just know it. 🙂 Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Oh Nicole,
I love it all!!!! But my favorite just might be the beautiful stove!
Hugs,
~ Dori ~
Hi Dori! Thanks! Isn’t that stove adorable? It is original, and it works! I don’t think it was ever used much. The sink is original, too, and that pretty turquoise aqua color. It is such a happy color. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Oh my, that was so much fun! Being in my 60’s I saw so many things that were new and exciting when I was a girl! Now they are vintage…or are retro….YIKES!!! When did THAT happen??? Hahaha
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, girlie!
Hugs&Squeezles!
Judy
Hi Judy, Oh thank you for the smile! So glad you liked the blog. I hear ya…I am 46 now and see things I had as a child in vintage and antique stores, too. I love seeing things like that. However, I was born in the wrong generation…should’ve been the 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s for me, instead of the 70’s! Thanks for the fun comment! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Your ‘Gidget’ and cute pipsqueak are Adorbs!
Thank you, Grace! Pip thinks the camper is “his” because he knows the big dogs aren’t allowed inside! 😉 Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Nicole, I really enjoyed reading your post, as always, but summer is almost over, and autumn is just around the corner, and I am still looking for a camper or motor home for our use and to travel to NYS to see my brother and his family there. Would love to go glamping too, but so many obstacles in the way right now. Hopefully there will be one this fall or winter available for sale in our price range. I love Gidget. She is so cute. Back in the day when I was young and my parents would spend all summer at Yosemite camping out in tents. It was a blast too. I love the memories.
Hi Sandi, thank you! Sorry to hear you still haven’t found your camper! Ive seen a few for sale online and they do seem to go fast! It took us a long time. Keepin’ my fingers crossed for you. I love the memory you shared of your parents. I hope someday I can visit Yosemite. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I was thrown back in my mind to happier times when my grandparents were still living and nearby with those vintage hotel chairs in their backyard painted in bright, happy colors that strangely matched Momma’s Fiestaware dishes. Hmmm, Don’t think that was a coincidence!
Hi Dee! Awww…thank you for the sweet comment. I am so glad I brought you back to some happy memories. I love that your Momma’s chairs matched her dishes!!! Awesome. Thanks for commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
You have all outdone yourself! What a fun thing to do together as a family. She’s truly a blast from the past… Being a child of the 60’s I felt like I was stepping back in time… So many memories of everything retro… It’s so great to see you able to enjoy the fruits of your labor of love… Happy Camping!
Deb
Hi Deb! Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the post. If you ever find your way down to my area of New England, let me know! We will have dessert and coffee in Gidget, one of my favorite things to do with my Farmgirl friends! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I absolutely LOVE what you did with your “Home on the road”!
We just purchased a 1983 Prowler, and I’m not sure if that qualifies, but I’m going to give it a shot at making it look as ventage as possible. (Just have to look up what went good for that year).
You have done a great job!
Hi Judy, thank you and CONGRATS! You are in for fun. I say, decorate your camper with what you love. While I have lots of things from 1966, there’s other decor that harkens from the 20’s to 50’s, as well. It’s your camper, do what you love with it! Have fun! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I am just getting started on my 1964 Tear Drop
And you’re an inspiration to me!
Love ❤️ your beautiful trailer!!
Hi Marla, Thank you! How exciting – happy glamping!!! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Such a great job. I just love the camper! Your not to shabby yourself. 🙂
Hi Sherry! Thank you, my sweet, beautiful friend! I love your camper and all of your creativity, too! I wish I took more photos but we all were having so much fun I just forgot! I hope to see you at more camp outs! I’m so glad we met last year. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Thank you for taking me along on my virtual Glamping trip. I still dream of having my own red and white vintage trailer someday. Love the vintage linens too.
Hi Terri, thank you! I am so glad you had fun reading the blog. Keep that dream of your own little red and white trailer – vintage camper dreams do come true! Happy camper hunting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole