Capitan of the homestead. He was particularly impressed by the tiny travel toothbrush that we used for the occasion.

During intern year, two day weekends are referred to as “golden weekends”. There are few and far between. I was looking forward to my month of GI consults which was daytime hours, and most importantly, Monday through Friday! Those golden weekends mean that in true Alyce fashion, I could fill them full of chaos and activities!

I was longing for the weekends of childhood, where my mom and dad would come home from work on Friday night in a hurry. We rushed into the house after work and school, packed up the car, and started driving north to the cabin for even more space and projects.

I have been learning through the power of minimalism for more than 5 years now. One of my fascinations with limiting the “extra” is living on a small footprint. I am fascinated with tiny homes, their engineering and versatility. It must have been a direct result of all the time my family spent traveling in our motor home? I am not exactly sure why I’m drawn to tiny living, but it continues to be a dream. My husband disagrees with this particular dream, haha!

Morning frost and sunrises through our loft windows. I miss seeing the trees, sun, and nothing more.

Anyway, we again used Air B&B and discovered you could narrow based on Tiny Homes! The price tag didn’t exactly match the square footage, but I am all about investing in experiences. So, we went for it! Luckily we found an adorable tiny home in West Virginia, parked in the back of a family homestead where the Tiny Home was parked behind an old horse barn. Further down the dirt road was a stream, a few ponds and another cabin rental.

We entered the tiny home with our small weekend bags and groceries. The boys explored the loft and we all did our best to get up to the second loft over the couch which took a bit of skill and agility! Of course our au pair graciously volunteered to have her bunk there.

The mornings were full of cereal on the stairs and enjoying as much of the outdoors as weather would allow. It was so sweet to have a pot of coffee brewing over the two burner stove and all waking up together. We explored local towns and had an amazing dinner at a small home covered to a diner. It was fabulous. Like, rethink your dreams and open a restaurant amazing. hah!

We were meant to explore. We were meant for fresh air. We were meant for wide open spaces.

We also went to Cabbalas and looked at all the animals. I splurged on a flannel shirt that I do not regret. Saturday evening we had a campfire and watched the boys run around on their bikes. It was a treat to spare that weekend together. The boys LOVED it, and asked about “the tiny house” often after our return.

If you have the opportunity, look for a Tiny Home on Air B&B (use my referral code for a first time discount), and jump at the opportunity to cozy up with family. If you’re smart, you’ll avoid cooking chili or any other potent stomach elixirs while your bathroom is so close to your kitchen, hah!