November 28, 2018

Things I have learned so far after 6 months full time stealth van living in the San Francisco Bay area 2018.

A one pound propane canister that costs $4.99 - $6.99 depending on where you shop, will last for 8 hours full blast on a Coleman 2 burner stove. Think about how long it takes to boil water or make bacon and eggs - NOT LONG.

I have NEVER had a cop knock on my van door.  It's because I follow the basic stealth van dweller formula. I park someplace public, beautiful or a spot that gets free WiFi between daylight and 9:00pm. Park in a place where you can make noise inside, open your vents and no one cares. Then when it's time for shut eye, I roll into my sleep spot and go to sleep. I never park in suburbs or near homes.  I usually park near apartment complexes and light industrial, retail spots. Parking overnight next to a bar has always been a sure bet as well. No one even notices me. I get up before the sunrise and hit the gym to swim and workout, shower and then off to work etc.

You will never have to commute in traffic to work EVER again. Choose a few places to park overnight close to your office.  No more stress, get more time to yourself in the morning and your gas expense is almost nothing.

Van living makes you feel ALIVE! You may not really feel this way until week 4, but you will feel more alive THAN EVER!  Think about how much you are paying for rent or a mortgage right now. Imagine that going monthly to pay off your debt, saving for a big fun vacation, cosmetic surgery,  or retirement. My van payment and insurance ARE MY RENT payment. It is dope as fuck.

A $3.99 bag of ice will last 4 1/2 days in a Coleman Extreme Cooler, but it's free if you grab it from the freezers at work.

If you have a day job that has a kitchen, you will use the hell out of it and wash anything you need to from your van, if you bring them in a grocery bag or I use a larger fancy zippable carry bag that I bought at a dollar store.

Free coffee from work is so awesome, but making coffee is the easiest with a two burner propane camp stove. I have a Camp Chef oven/2 burner stove in my van that works great as a heater as well. I heat my entire van while making toast at the same time in the morning.

When it rains, make sure to not park under trees because they make it WAY louder when it hits the roof. Normal rainfall in van life is a beautiful sound that will help you have the best sleep of your life.

Gyms with 24-hour memberships have the biggest stoners on earth getting super high in the parking lot every day and night. These people have the best and loudest great music when they roll up to park before and after their workouts. Hearing peeps outside coughing deeply used to bug me, but now it has become home for me, even though I don’t partake in the stuff anymore.  I decided beefcake stoners are rad.  There are many of us full time stealth van peeps that rotate overnight in these fun well shaded and large parking lots. Everyone is super cool here. 

You will find discipline is easier in van life to do a daily work out because you need a hot shower and once you get in there, you decide you might as well sweat your ass off before you wash away all your sins. I find that getting up early and getting into the gym before the rest of the world is awake, gives me the use of the best equipment, my own full lane while swimming and a long super hot shower. It's weird but for a lady that spent a majority of my life as a professional vocalist, and in the bar and restaurant business, it was Casey Neistat and this fulltime vanlife, that has helped me focus on making the most of my time. For me these days, it is the secret and quiet empowerment of the early mornings, ALL TO MYSELF that have been the key to maintaining the long term major changes I have made in my body and life so far.

Using a small trash can inside your van with tall kitchen bags is an easy way to manage waste. You can dump your well tied off bag at any grocery store, gas station or public trash receptacle.

If you are a city van dweller, you can find a regular place to park next to an apartment complex, because anyone who has a second car, that lives in the apartment complex, always parks in the same place almost every night. The neighbors know your van, and it becomes part of the neighborhood.

Having a well organized and well appointed storage unit close by, with an easy roll-up door to access a heavy duty clothing rack, is very helpful.

Your grocery shopping may change because you will find yourself using the freezers, microwave ovens and refrigerators at work to eat much healthier and cost effectively while living in a van.

Don’t park where there are not well-lit places that people are not close by to be there if you need help. Being in a quiet place during day light is awesome, but when the sky gets dark, the “Freaks Do Come Out” at night. Having a car alarm on your van is awesome if you hear someone trying your door handles. Push the button and sound the alarm and then jump in the driver’s seat and drive your sweet booty outta there. This happened to me only once in a darker parking spot in town. I think it's because I have a very nice, clean newer looking commercial van with possibly good tools inside. I have a loud car alarm, and I am glad I do.

The simplicity of being inside of a van full time is way more comforting than anyone may realize. You have EVERYTHING you need in a small space. This is easy on the mind. You feel in control of your world because you simply have a contentment that allows you a freedom from needing anything, except the stuff YOU decide you can’t live without. You will be surprised how little that is once you live this simple life.  The less you have, gives you a sense of freedom that is hard to describe. You have less stuff to worry about. IT FEELS AWESOME.

You can take short power naps on your lunch break. Just set your alarm and give yourself the rest you need.

If you live in a van you can not stand up in, you will eventually do exactly what you used to do in a house when you get home from work but do it all seated on a comfy spot. I once was able to muti-task while sitting on the toilet peeing, getting undressed, checking my email, while talking to a friend on speaker phone, boiling hot water for soup, all at the same time while sitting inside.  Thankfully, I wasn't chewing gum at the time. You master the art of the cheek game swivel.

If you don’t have a great place to hang clothes, you will find a way to store them somewhere else and pick up what you know you will want to wear for the next work week. Your wardrobe will become like a recipe for your body. You will need to put together 7 outfits and that is easy to store in a van.

You may develop a wet nap fetish.

Little comforts become huge when you live full time in a van. Plush throw blankets, soft memory foam small carpets, and being hella organized will give you peace you may have never appreciated before. Having a place for everything and knowing where it is, in such a small space, is a comfort. You will never lose a thing because its all right there.

In some ways, I feel safer living in a van full time than in a house. They can't case my place because I keep it moving. I have had my share of "Stockers" in the past. They can't keep up with me. I also don't keep any valuables in my van. I have them with me at all times. I mostly just lock them up in my desk drawer at work.

It only costs $25 per month for a physical mailing address at a local UPS Store that receives all of your Amazon packages, snail mail, and if you need to print anything, have anything scanned, need return labels, or any mail room needs, you just email them and pick them up with your packages. Your address looks like an apartment number.

Van life is perfect for hanging out with fun party friends who may find they can't drive home. I have a couple silly girlfriends that now have there own drawer for their stuff, for just these occasions. It's a full size bed, and I bet 3 drunk people could sleep in it in a pinch if needed.  I had 10 people all hang out in here 2 weeks ago.

You will probably not want to take home left overs from restaurants as much in van life. Unless you have a great kitchen set-up inside, you may find yourself eating out more in city life and ordering smaller portions of things, so you don’t need to bring them home.  I love to cook, so friends invite me over and I use their kitchens for get togethers. I really dig cooking outdoors too!

A high-end non-stick pan is your best friend in van life for when it does come to cooking. A simple wipe of the pan, and waa laa, CLEAN.  Also, any water left over in your kettle for morning coffee, becomes the right amount to heat up for washing your face, or when it cools, brushing your teeth.  Van life teaches you how to conserve water and your waste. BONUS!

You will become a glutton for nature and epic views or places to park. Van living allows you to be in the most amazing places imaginable. If you can park close enough to see it all from your own bedroom or open your van doors to breath and enjoy the freshest of air, or park close enough to get outside and hike the best spots, YOU GET TO DO IT ANYWHERE YOU WANT.

Finding good laundromats next to great shopping malls saves you time and makes it way more fun.

Mood lights as well as functional lights inside your van are both important. Even better are having total black-out window covers at night while you have them all on inside at night, is vital to never worrying about stealth van living.

Having a clean soft faux sheepskin rug draped over your portable high capacity toilet, looks and works like a vanity stool or desk chair when pulled up to your desk table inside the van.  You will need to dump the toilet in a public toilet about every two weeks. Park or beach public toilets are the best for this. The best holding tank treatment by far I have used is this one. By some kind of chemical magic, it completely turns what you think would be a foul bit of dirty business, into a delightful one. Seriously, it smells almost good. SUPER WEIRD. Having a toilet in your van gives you the freedom, privacy and dignity for any location when nature calls. A lady NEVER shits in a bag or pees in a bottle. Just sayin.😉

If you are a glamorous person with high standards of personal hygiene, style, like to stay in shape and must always have fabulous hair...YOU CAN STILL HAVE ALL THE GLAM IN VANLIFE. 

Remember when tattoos were for carnies and sailors?  Remember when living in a van "Down by the river" was for bad salesmen, musician's on the road, divorcees paying high priced alimony and that weird uncle in the 1970's ?  Think again. All the sporty, smart geek cool kids are doing it now. Being able to work as a "Digital Nomad," allows you to work anywhere in the world. Living in a van allows your office to be anywhere you want it to be.

Keep your van well maintained and clean outside. You don't want to look like a "Scrub" neither does your van.

Your bedroom view is new every time you want it to be.

If you have Fantastic roof vents with a reverse switch (I have two), they feel like skylights inside during the day. I have no side windows in the van. Only two back windows. You can have live plants inside that are happy because they get enough light to thrive. Also, if you open them both, you only have to turn one on because the suction pulls enough air through to make the other vent spin on it's own. It saves power for the blender for Sunday Brunch frozen cocktails.

In van life, you are home everywhere you go.

Having your own solar or battery power system with a pure sine wave inverter and an encased deep cycle battery, are the key of happiness if you love to geek out or are really into gadgets and playing lots of kick ass music or games in your van. I run hot rollers, a Bose speaker, charge my iPhone 7 Plus, Laptop, LED lights and and other little gadgets and never have come close to running out of power yet.

These power strips are hella useful with USB ports and the uses for carpet tape are endless.

If you are a bit of a thrill seeker and need a break from your life, this is a great way to let go of your shit and take some time off to make a total life change. Sometimes it's good to disconnect from the world and reboot your system. Van life makes it easy.

If you are on a Keto or any special diet that requires you to cook for yourself, you have everything you need to stay on track in the privacy of your own home.

An unlimited data plan with your hotspot on your iPhone doesn’t work as fast as WiFi, but it’s kinda awesome when you just want to be tangled in the interwebs while you are right on the beach or want to be alone. It streams your Netflix, YouTube and porn just fine.

Make sure to anchor your shit down inside your van. When you drive, shit moves around, even stuff you thought was too heavy to move. You will find yourself clearing the “No fall and break my stuff’ runway before take-off, more often inside your van than you think.

If you do it right, you can have ROCK STAR PARKING at any event or party because you can get there the night before and score the sweetest parking ahead of time.  Your house will be the excellent PARTY PAD for fluffing cocktails.

You will begin to roll or fold your clothes in a way that they will not look wrinkled when you wear them in van living to save space.

You will spend a bunch of time alone as well as visit friends and explore places you never thought you would. Van life will turn you ON in ways you can’t imagine. You will begin to crave new experiences and hunger for new adventures with new people.

You will notice other van dwelling people like yourself and you may never see one another in city life. It’s weird but, there are many of us out here that just keep to ourselves but have never met one another. I met a hard-working great kid that lives in his car. He works in the pizza bar nearby that has free WiFi and no table service I like to frequent. He is cool. We kinda watch over one another when we park near each other.

Free range living gives you more time, money and makes you realize what is serving you and what is not in your life. It gives you more time, to serve others.

Driving an extended body cargo van takes way bigger turns than you expect. You will also learn to park a big ass van LIKE A BOSS in city life.

There is more room than you think in here. It’s bigger inside than it looks on the outside. You would be surprised how comfortable it is inside a van. I have a full-size bed with 13-inch memory foam. It’s sweet.

Comfortable over the ear high end headphones are your friend.

You can feel like a Million Bucks after a bowl full of hot soapy water and a fresh wash cloth, vanilla bubble bath and then rinsing off with a fresh clean hot water/coconut oil-soaked hand towel. Sometimes creative quickie baths are Da Bomb for a fresh soft luscious preparation before bed.

Never leave shit in the cab. Keep your front cab area plain, clean and unsuspecting.

An almost empty strong paper towel roll makes a perfect window wiper for inside your front windows if any condensation is there. I keep mine down under the dashboard and it works great every morning.

Van life is simplifying and uncluttering your life. Nomad life is never lonely when you are in the city.

In front of most every major grocery store is a Primo Glacier Water self service refill station. It is 45 cents a gallon. I have this nice 7 gallon container I refill once every 2 weeks. Having fresh filtered water runs me around $6.30 per month, but it's FREE when you bring your 1 gallon easy to carry empty water containers into work and refill them there. SCORE!

There is something exciting about putting on a formal power suit inside of a stealth van and leaving for a corporate business meeting at your day job. You feel like you are a fancy hobo diva and like you are getting away with something. The contradiction is delicious.

If you feel a weird icky feeling in your gut at any time while parked, trust it and high tail it outta there. Go find a new spot. Trust Me. Trust your intuition. Sometimes things change, and you need to listen to your inner and higher protective self for direction. Don’t question it, just go and find a new spot. It’s way easier to roll into a spot at bedtime and leave before sunrise. No one will know you were there.

You can clean your entire house in 15 minutes.

Even if you don't want to live in a van full time, it is fun to have a comfy stealth camper to do longer road trips and vacations.  The money you save on hotels, you can spend on fine dining, spa packages or just stay longer and take the time to enjoy your life exploring this amazing world.

Having your own bug out van is always a great idea if you find you and your family are suddenly faced with a tsunami warning or other disaster situation, (The wild fires out here in California have been devastating to many good people) or if the country goes to war. Having your own fully ready stealth van allows you to take you and your family to a safe place immediately, if the moment ever happens. Being prepared is wise.

VAN LIFE IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I EXPECTED IT TO BE. I can't even begin to tell you how healing, fun, rewarding, and beautiful it is. I started out just doing this for the summer of 2018, but I am digging this lifestyle so much, not paying a dime for rent, and saving money, it's giving me a chance to change the course my life direction for the better. I'm gonna give this a year. I have enough friends that need pet and house sitters, that I do get a break every once in a while. It is a nice balance.

I initially bought the van for my new business venture as an event planner and production company. I just sold my 1973 T2 VW Bus Camper this year that I restored for 15 years.  I plan "Glamping Events", so I knew I was turning it into a glamorous camper.  It's easy for me. I'm single. I have no kids or pets. I was very inspired by the "Tiny House" movement. So, I JUST DID IT!

I am building the interior out into a work of modern art car art called, "STUDIO 3". I will debut the van in 2019 with a full video tour and kick-ass music party!  STAY TUNED!

Van life has given me the break I needed from the insane cost of living here in this amazing place I live,

SAN FRANCISCO, There is NO PLACE LIKE IT in the world.
I am working on my side hustle small business, doing something I LOVE. I'm a late bloomer.  I can't wait to share all of the fun stuff I'm cooking up with you!

I am a city girl at heart that is completely infatuated with nature and the beauty of the great outdoors. I LOVE urban art and dining and all of the fun nightlife of the big city too. There is no place on earth like San Francisco and the bay area. It's my home and I love it here, but I want to explore all of this country and visit my pals in Canada too. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL IN VAN LIFE!

If you have ever wanted to try this, JUST DO IT. 

You were born to be ALIVE!

If you have any questions or want to learn more, I'd be happy to answer any you may have. 
CONTACT ME HERE VIA EMAIL:
 tretaylor7@gmail.com

November 13, 2018

Never enough...


This year has been an amazing one.  I had the chance to get off the hamster wheel of life and rearrange myself inside. I’m like a rubik's cube with a soundtrack going on at all times inside me. I’m sort of like the kooky board game “Cards Against Humanity”, that wins at every hand, and never gets bored with laughing at myself.  If you follow me on Facebook, I don’t spend much time in there. I do post a daily theme song from my Spotify when I'm cruising in my van, that describes what I'm grooving on most every day.

MUSIC IS EVERYTHING. It’s the one language I think everyone understands.

It must be weird to read this. What person describes themselves in metaphors as much as I do? Answer: Someone who spent a shit ton of time alone unplugged from the world, on the beach of the Pacific Ocean to change themselves and their life direction. 

I was headed in a secure yet dull direction. It got stale and no amount of security could contain me or hold me in one place for too long. I need to explore everything life has to offer and then push that beyond even it's  limits to insure history doesn't repeat itself, unless I want it to. 

I love the Creators of the world. I can't get enough of their beauty, excitement and passion for creating. 

It takes one to know one. I see the world in ways that are WAY outside the box, the current state of society and this Matrix reality.  Creators are Culture Influencers.  This is how we subtly change the world for the better.  I'm called to be out front to boldly go where others don't dare to and come back to share my experience with you.  I like to have a landing pad to rest in and learn things in deeper ways. Then I get that itch to go explore. 

Yet, I have now found a way to be "Home" everywhere I go. This has given me the freedom and wind I needed to sail. I have hovered around California for way too long, I want to see all of this country and the best of the rest of the world. I want to meet, perform and spend time with cool people in other countries.  I needed to be sure of what I really wanted and why I was going there. I need to find a way to live successfully ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD as a "Digital Nomad", which is what I am creating right now.  

Having all of my old and the new music charts in my own key digitally, will allow me to higher the musicians anywhere I land and tour to deliver my performances. I'll record some things before I take off, but there is no guarantee that what I choose to become will give me the things my heart desires. I'm okay with that. I’m happy enough with enjoying the journey to push myself beyond my perceived limits, and see the view from the next level I get too. "Besides, the goal isn't always the trophy" a quote by my beloved heroine, Superwoman Lilly Singh. Check out her book here. I  f**ing love Canadians dammit! 

As a singer and story teller, I’m auditory in this creative expressive part of myself. I create from my heart, voice and words. It’s a powerful hypnotic magnetic force. My subliminal studies have a place in my music. I draw a person into a beautiful place inside of themselves with my voice, and it replenishes them and renews them.

I’m weird, what can I say. Half of me is a soft, ultra-feminine, sweet romantic jazz singing woman, whose mission is to help the world fall in love with life, themselves and one another. The other half is a wild woman who is a silly philosophical comedian that quietly stands out in a crowd and teaches the rookies how to party without getting too fucked up. I am just the unusual free spirited timeless babe to demonstrate how to do this with my own style, art, music and taste-fully yummy ways – LITERALLY.  I get rowdy baby and I am in full stage entrepreneurial hustle mode.  

I am visual in this creative expression. I see and try and capture the world in little films and stories that I tell and share them all with you, in kooky funny ‘TRES WAYS.’ This part of me will make you laugh, challenge you, give you a boner, and maybe even fire you up to do something NEW that will inspire you to think and live in ways you never had before.

I need to express both parts of myself to remain in balance.  I’m working very hard behind the scenes to express each of these parts of myself.  All of my life, my music, art and creative expression were never monetized in away before that could sustain me because I thought it would cheapen it or lessen it in its beauty in some way. I no longer believe this.

I am worth it. I am a creator that is alive to remind us all why it's good to be ALIVE!  I bring joy, love, security and inspiration and that is not only worth something to every soul on the planet, it is PRICELESS, but coming up with an actual number has been really weird.

I'm back from my soul searching sabbatical with a new EVERYTHING and my feet are on the ground.

I'm tough where the scars have healed. I'm determined to no longer sit in a cube of death and work for other people. I am more alive and happier than ever in my life designing, writing and cooking up some recipes for FUN to share with you all, and enjoying the process.  The secrets of my heart and my mind are finding there way into artistic mediums that I think you will enjoy. You will find out exactly what I mean soon.

The year ahead is sounding, looking and feeling delicious on so many levels, I no longer can be so selfish. 

It's never enough for me unless 
I can share it all with you.


November 2, 2018

Commit To Get


This showed up in my email this morning…

If I could share 500 words to inspire, this is the important wisdom I'd want to pass along to others...


We are more powerful than we can imagine. This message has come to us from many sources, but most of us don’t believe this to be true. The difficulty has to do with the simplicity of the plan. For many lifetimes we have bought into a belief in struggle. Even today, fitness gurus teach “no pain/no gain”.

Everything is energy. That’s all. You are energy. The reason you incarnate on Planet Earth is to remember that and to learn how to manage what you are. In plainer words – to learn how to manipulate energy in order to create matter.

All that you are can be expressed in this way – Divine Thought. When you can remember this one concept, you will hold the ultimate key to manifestation.

All the power of the Universes are contained within your heart and your mind – or more precisely within the mind of your heart. 

Therefore, with your thoughts, you can do anything, create anything, and transform anything. Everything that you see or perceive in your own particular reality is the product of your thoughts. And if you want to maximize your ability to create what you want in your life, you have to understand this. You have to BELIEVE this.

The energy frequency of creation is love, so according to the natural law of attraction, in order to attune yourself with your creative power, you must align with the frequency of love. You must love yourself at every level and in every way. This has been a hurdle for many because dogmas have told you that this was inappropriate – that focusing your attention on loving yourself was wrong, selfish.

You have been taught that you were supposed to love others first – to place them in a greater place of importance than your hold yourself. Well guess what that did for you? When you began to believe that dictum is the point where you gave away your power to create. It was this shift in your energy away from your inherent power of love that has been documented in so many cultures as the fall from grace.

Everything you desire to change in your reality is possible through the energy of love. 

Rather than disliking the things you don’t want to see anymore—your irritating boss, your debt, your flabby thighs or any aspect of your body you deem to be in ill health—you must first love them. Fall deeply in love with them. Expand your heart center and allow it to communicate your love to your body, your bills and your boss. Love them totally and then decide what you would like to create. Would that be a completely new job, enough money to erase your debts, a younger or healthier body?

Decide—commit fully to your decision and then love it.

In the past, where we have fallen short in efforts of manifest what we wanted was due to lack of commitment. When commitment wasn’t there, we didn’t really believe it was possible to have “it” (whatever it was). This was because we didn’t truly love ourselves enough to blow through old beliefs around deserving. If there is any doubt, you will not be able to materialize the energy of creation into the density of your dimension of reality. In plain English – you won’t be able to make it dense enough to be able to see it, even though you will have created it energetically.

Therefore, if you catch yourself questioning whether or not something is going to happen for you, you can know for sure that you have fallen away from your commitment.



THIS IS A GREAT DESCRIPTION OF HOW I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE REAL LONG LASTING CHANGE IN MY HEART, CAREER, BODY AND MY EVERYTHING. Being true to yourself and being fully committed to following your heart into the new creation of your creative expression is how we hands on manifest and design the recipes for a DELICIOUS LIFE.