My Dream House

rocky mountain Log home

The North Face Mountain Manor 8 $598.95 The bee's knees of family camping tents, this high-quality, eight-person palace is your new home away from home.

Patagonia Men's Phone Home Sweatshirt $85 Patagonia Men's Phone Home Sweatshirt

National Geographic Gunnison / Pitkin Map $11.97 Gunnison is home to some of Colorado's most spectacular scenery

Ruff Wear Mt. Bachelor Pad $59.95 Your dog?ÇÖs home away from home is available in two colors and it gets a green Ursula stamp of approval.

Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Stuff Sack $15 The NeoAir Stuff Sack is the perfect home for your NeoAir mattress.

4br - Slopeside Log Home at Powder Mountain, Utah $331 Welcome to our hand crafted log home at Powder Mountain Resort. Enjoy sweeping views of the ski trails and mountains from our nicely appointed ski in, ski out home. Powder Mountain averages 500 inches of pure Utah powder snow a year in an uncrowded...

JanSport 22 in Expandable Upright $119.9 An expandable rolling bag for the traveler who may need more room on the way home.

JanSport 22 in Expandable Upright (PT) $123 An expandable rolling bag for the traveler who may need more room on the way home.

JanSport Agave $64.9 One of the lightest hiking backpacks with a sternum strap. Equally at home, on campus, or on the trail, the Agave works seven days a week.

prAna Milly Cadet $22.32 The Milly is sweet style for every day close to home or an open jaw trip to Europe.

Columbia River Runner XL Drypack $118.9 Go big or go home. At 55 liters of carrying capacity, this celebrated wet-stopping backpack is officially super-sized.

Kelty Satellite 30 Degree Double Wide $139.95 The Satellite 30??F double-wide rectangular bag is designed for bringing the sleeping comforts of home to the camping couples.

JanSport Rolling Carry on Brief $112.5 The Rolling Carry on Brief Case is an office in a bag for the person that is on the go or needs to take work home with them.

High Sierra Wilder Day Pack $38.9 This is the bag to grab when you want to go out but bring along the comforts of home.

DaKine Network Pack $99.9 If you leave your house at the crack of dawn and don?ÇÖt get home until midnight then you need Dakine?ÇÖs Network Backpack.

DaKine Over Under (Discontinued) $119.92 The Over Under by Dakine is small enough for carrying on most airlines and features an expandable main compartment for trips when you bring home more than you left with.

DaKine Over Under $159.9 The Over Under by Dakine is small enough for carrying on most airlines and features an expandable main compartment for trips when you bring home more than you left with.

Columbia Axle 45 Rolling Duffel $128.9 Equally at home in the carry-on compartment or zip-tied to your roof-rack on the way to an outdoor escapade, this sturdy, tough rolling duffel is a go-to gear hauler for any adventure.

Outdoor Research Women's Rocky Mountain High Gaiters $34.9 Light snow and debris protection for hiking, backpacking, and cross country ski boots.

Outdoor Research Men's Rocky Mountain High Gaiters $34.9 Light snow and debris protection for hiking, backpacking, and cross country ski boots.

Mountain House Beef Stroganoff $6.4 Mountain House Beef Stroganoff

Mountain House Noodles and Chicken $6.4 Mountain House Noodles and Chicken

Mountain House Raspberry Crumble $6.4 Mountain House Raspberry Crumble

Mountain House Rice and Chicken $6.35 Mountain House Rice and Chicken

Mountain Hardwear BMG 105 $339.9 The Mountain Hardwear BMG 105

Leather Furniture: Make Your House a Home

My favorite place in the world is a tiny, old cabin up in the Rocky Mountains, at the end of a skinny dirt road, secluded from everything. From the outside, it looks like any other cabin- worn logs, cracking grout and a chimney. But on the inside, it is the wonder of my childhood and the respite of my adulthood. Old national park posters line the walls, along with Ansel Adams' photographs of California's redwood park. There's a wonderfully large fireplace right in the main room (which is one of two rooms total), and a few well-worn pieces of leather furniture in front of it. I don't think there is anything better than sitting on that old leather sofa listening to the crack and pop of the fire while the first snow of the season falls quietly outside.

So many summers and Christmas breaks have been spent in that cabin, and by spent I mean every second luxuriously enjoyed.

Do you have a place like that? Where everything outside just seems to disappear, and you can completely let go? If you want to explore the woods, you do; if you want to sit in front of the fire and read a book, you do. If you want to experiment with a dutch oven dinner, you do. And the best part is, there's no cell reception up there. There is really nothing to distract you from the simple things everyone always wants to get back to, but doesn't seem quite able to find.

Everything about my cabin quietly whispers, doesn't scream, the word "simple." That word is never screamed. What is simple to you? To me, it's having time to prepare a real meal and then sit down with family to actually enjoy it. A life lived on microwave dinners or burgers eaten in the car is missing so much, in my opinion. I think there is much to be said for thinking about the food we eat and how we eat it. Another element (there can't be too many; remember- simple!) is the act of being with who you're with. This might seem rather obvious- of course if you are in the same room with someone, you are with them- but oftentimes we are actually absent from the present reality, thanks to an urgent email or a call to our cell phone. Turn all of those electronic appendages off for a day and see how you feel. At first, it might seem like you've lost connection with the world, that you're out of the loop. But after a while, you'll realize that you're actually more connected with the world, by nature of being more connected to the people you're actually with.

I suppose I'm fairly biased, but when I envision the perfect home for living the simple life, I see my cabin, with just a few variations. I love the look of natural wood, and I feel like that just grounds everything. It reminds me that no matter how important we try to be, we are still part of the world and it's a part of us. I'll always picture a great fireplace because I think watching the fire burn and feel it giving its warmth is a great reminder of all those who've lived before us and depended on fire for cooking and warmth through the winters. And then, since I'm still a rather modern person, I just have to have leather furniture. Preferably old and broken in, but all of it has to start new sometime, and the earlier you get it, the sooner it will be broken in to your exact specifications. Leather furniture is the key to a simple, modern dwelling, be it a cabin up in the mountains or the living room of your suburban home. It somehow has a sense of age and history, even straight from the factory. From the moment you put it in your home, it will start to really become a part of it. Take  your time when choosing pieces of leather furniture, because they will last a very long time. Think carefully about the color, style, size and shape that you prefer, and choose pieces that fit your home's style.

Your leather furniture will be a purchase you'll never regret. In fact, I've been writing this from the comfort of my own. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go outside and get more wood for the fire.

 

 

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