The pandemic forced creatives Catherine Bailey and husband Robin Petravic to find a new place to work after their company, Heath Ceramics, closed its factory during the lockdown. The couple moved to an old fisherman's camp at Tomales Bay in Northern California on a slice of property they had purchased by luck a year earlier. They added a vintage travel trailer in 2019 then a second trailer in early March 2020. The Spartanette trailers-one built in 1948 and the other in 1951 by an aircraft company that manufactured planes during WWII then moved into making campers after the war-provided a makeshift office for Catherine and what would become a studio apartment for their son, who had to move home during that time. Three years later, the trailers delight as a place to connect with nature and entertain. "We make fires on the beach. We built a pizza oven outside and invite people out for casual gatherings. It's janky, but we're all about keeping it real," Catherine says. "Nothing is perfect here, but I like what we've created."
HAPPY TRAILERS
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Better Homes & Gardens US.
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This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Better Homes & Gardens US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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A Toast to Relish - Food writer Emily Teel celebrates her family's relish tray tradition and adds a tiny tipple inspired by the briny appetizer.
Some families put out a full spread of appetizers on Thanksgiving, pregaming the feast of the year with snacks, but my family has always taken a simpler approach. The meal is the main event; why should the opening act steal the spotlight? There's a delicate balance to it, however, because a slow start to the feasting can leave people hangry by dinnertime.
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