Coffee Cup Entertainment

Last January, I shared one of my Coffee Cup projects with you.  I found a vintage, non-working radio in Williamsburg, VA that I eventually gutted and refinished.  My plan was to repurpose it in The Cup for playing tunes from my iPod.  If you'd like to go back to that post, you can read about The Retro Radio Project HERE.  

When Tony and I were discussing the design and purpose of the tall floor-to-ceiling cabinet, I requested that he open up a portion of that cabinet so my retro radio would slide right in.  On my to-do list last week was to wiggle it in.  I say "wiggle", because it's a very snug fit!

Inside the opening is an outlet so I can plug the speaker in.  It's in the back corner, mounted up high, so it's not visible.  I'll just reach around behind the radio and put the iPod and speaker inside of it, so it will appear and sound like the music is actually coming from the radio. 

If you look closely on the right side of the cabinet, you'll see something metal mounted to the outside wall.  That mount will hold a small flat-screen TV that will tuck neatly against the wall and will swivel out when in use.  I don't get all crazy about watching TV when I camp, but I do like to see news, get weather reports, or watch something if the weather is bad.

Once again, this was an item on my wish list and Tony did a great job of positioning it perfectly for me.  The swivel arm will allow me to watch it in bed or while sitting at the dinette.  Just below the TV is an electrical and cable outlet.  The TV slides off the mount so I can put it in the car while traveling.  And I love the fact that you really don't know it's there unless you peek around the corner of the cabinet.

I gave my Coffee Cup entertainment a lot of thought and I love the way it turned out!  Now if camping season will hurry up and get here!

Have a good weekend everyone and remember...

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

In The Kitchen

Hey everyone!  I hope you had a fine Thanksgiving with lots of the important things . . . family, friends, and of course, food!  We traveled to Landis to spend the day with Rob and Trisha.  Then on Saturday, they drove over here to see The Coffee Cup in person.  Rob even made a post over on R & T's Podding Blog about their visit.  If you'd like to read it, just go HERE.

Little by little I'm getting her decorated with the items I've collected over the past year.  My main focus has been on the "kitchen".  I made the decision early on not to put in a sink or stove.  Based on my experience camping in SplashT@B for the last six seasons, I knew that I wouldn't be doing any actual cooking inside.  So I opted for counter space instead and will continue doing my cooking outside.

Three of my vintage-style tin coffee signs are in place.  The smaller square ones fit perfectly on the upper cabinet doors.  I attached them with industrial Velcro, so they aren't going anywhere!  The reason I know this is that the ones I attached to SplashT@B's walls are still in place after the coldest days in winter and the hottest days in summer.  The third sign that is sitting on top of the backsplash, leaning against the wall, was given to me by my Sister in Tennessee, Sharon Lambert.

I love the little black Emerson microwave and it fits nicely on the counter.  This is the same one that many T@Bbers have and The Coffee Cup will share it with SplashT@B when the 2013 camping season rolls around.  The same goes for my black Keurig.

I'll use the little brown tin that Sandi gave me to put sugar packets and creamers into.  It's just the right size and it's a good fit for the area between the Keurig and K-cups in the basket.  I still need to find my coffee cookbooks, but for right now, the Bobbsey Twins, Rebecca's guest book, and Book One of the Coffee Cup Trilogy will occupy the space beside the microwave.

The long wooden box that you see on top of the microwave is from my Grandmother Ritchie's sewing machine.  She had the Singer treadle model with four pull-out drawers.  I've always kept art supplies in the boxes, but I re-purposed this one for holding three of my favorite coffee cups.

I haven't actively collected menus and brochures from coffee houses, but I do have these three that I've gathered.  The vintage one on top is from Bright Angel Lodge Coffee Shop in Grand Canyon National Park.  It's way cool isn't it?  This photo also gives you a good look at my countertop laminate . . . it's a retro boomerang pattern in blacks and grays.

I appreciate you coming by today.  Have a great week as we move into the Christmas season and remember . . .

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

Happy Thanksgiving

As this Thanksgiving day winds down and I've enjoyed food and fellowship with family and friends, I wanted to take a minute and give thanks for all of you who have traveled this Java Journey with me for the past year.  I hope you had an equally wonderful day with your loved ones.  

The Coffee Cup and I send you love and well-wishes on this day and for the Christmas season that we can now look forward to.  Happy Thanksgiving!

"Camping, Coffee, Family & Friends...Life Is Good!"

A Perfect Fit

One of the biggest question marks hanging over my Java Journey from the very beginning was this:  Will The Coffee Cup fit into my carport?  I measured side to side and top to bottom dozens of times.  I measured the Scotty on my first trip to Michigan in June of 2011.  If my calculations and measurements were correct, the answer would be yes . . . just barely, but yes.

The big unknown factor was the height of the Fantastic Fan's dome on the roof.  Tony told me it was about four inches, so I knew it would be tight.  This morning, my friend George-who-can-do-everything, came over to lend a hand.  First order of business was to remove the corner braces from the right side of the carport.

A Sawzall made quick work of it.  Then we unhitched from the Pilot, slid the trailer dolly under The Cup, and moved her around in order to back into the carport.  It was the moment of truth!  Inch by inch we pushed her back, stopping to check the Fantastic Fan dome, and then pushing a bit more.  My numbers were correct . . . whoohoo!  We had a whopping 1 1/2 inches to spare!!

Tom's Gorilla safety lock is on, the stabilizers down, and chocks in place.  It's time for her long winter nap and time for me to start playing house.  Over the next days and weeks as weather permits, I'll be pulling out all my coffee goodies so the decorating can begin!

For a long time I've dreamed about looking out my window and seeing her parked in the carport.  Here's that view:

Thanks for stopping by today and have a lovely Tuesday everyone!

She's Home!

The Coffee Cup is home!  Yep, she is actually sitting out in the driveway and all I have to do is turn my head to the left to look out the window to see her.  

This past week in Ohio and Michigan was a true adventure and if you'd like to read about it in detail, you can scoot over to POSTCARDS to get caught up on what happened.  Over here, I'll spend the next few weeks going into detail about her.

But for now, take a look at my sweet Coffee Cup!!

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"