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Transcript: This small space goes a long way
[Muffled inspirational music with female vocals. Phone ringing. A hand holds a smart phone, scrolling through an Instagram feed that features a picture of a trailer in the desert at night, then a picture of a sketchbook held up in front of a waterfall, then a picture of Amanda and Elyse sitting on a couch with a cat. The finger double-taps on the picture of couple sitting on a couch with a cat, creating a like-heart. The heart becomes bigger. The picture turns into a video of the scene on the couch. The inspirational music playing becomes more clear. Simplii Financial logo. Close-up of the cat with Amanda and Elyse baby-talking it. Amanda and Elyse preparing coffee in their small kitchen]
>> Elyse (voiceover): Amanda and I both dreamed of taking our life and our work on the road.
[Amanda pouring hot water into a coffee filter. Amanda standing in front of a sink and hands Elyse a cup of coffee]
She came home one day from work, and —
[Elyse sitting at a kitchen table, speaking directly to the camera]
>> Elyse: — she was like, “I have some bad news —
[Amanda climbs into the trailer from outside]
>> Elyse (voiceover): — I might lose my job.”
[Low, suspenseful sound. Elyse sitting at a kitchen table, speaking directly to the camera]
>> Elyse: And it was kind-of a wake-up call for both of us.
[Catfood poured into a bowl. Amanda and Elyse sitting on the couch]
>> Amanda: We just had the conversation, like, “Do we really want to settle in one place?”
[Panoramic shot of a dam]
>> Amanda (voiceover): The answer was no.
[Truck pulling a trailer on a long winding road by a lake, across country roads lined with fields and into a forested area]
We packed it all up and downsized, and have been exploring in the West ever since.
[00:35][Light music. Amanda washing and chopping carrots at the trailer sink]
>> Elyse (voiceover): We bought this vintage camper, we refurbished it and we hit the road with our 2 cats, Pig and Poe.
[Amanda pulling out a ladle from under the sink. Amanda stirring the pot with a ladle. Elyse sitting at the table and chatting with Amanda as Amanda stirs the pot]
The second we decided to, our finances kind of got reevaluated —
[Elyse sitting at a kitchen table, speaking directly to the camera]
>> Elyse: — and we cut back on extra spending —
[Amanda stirring the pot with a ladle. Amanda opening a cupboard overhead]
>> Elyse (voiceover): — so we could put it into renovating this and making it more livable.
[Amanda taking patterned bowls down from the cupboard and placing them on the counter. Amanda pouring soup into a bowl with the ladle]
Between the 2 of us, we were able to do most of the labour ourselves.
[Amanda placing the 2 bowls of soup on the kitchen table]
We definitely learned as we went, because there are always unexpected —
[Elyse sitting at a kitchen table, speaking to the camera]
>> Elyse: — expenses with something like this.
[Elyse and Amanda eating their soup together at the kitchen table. Amanda and Elyse sitting on the couch]
>> Amanda: I love this space, I love coming home every day.
[Elyse and Amanda eating their soup together at the kitchen table. Elyse sitting at a kitchen table, speaking directly to camera]
>> Elyse: I’m a freelance artist and Amanda is a travel physical therapist.
[Elyse walking through the trailer. Elyse opening up the storage compartments under the couch. Elyse showing storage within the kitchen bench seating. Elyse putting towels away in the drawer. A hand lingers on a wood surface in the trailer and the shot changes to show the hand on a mossy rock outdoors]
>> Elyse (voiceover): This lifestyle has allowed us to focus on the things that we love —
[Elyse standing in a forest, looking around]
— just experience the great outdoors.
[1:13][Elyse taking a breath. The music stops momentarily. Elyse hiking in a stony area, walking towards a waterfall]
>> Elyse (voiceover): I always have a sketchbook on me.
[Elyse walking on a log beside the waterfall]
I'll sit in nature —
[Elyse sketching the waterfall]
— and draw for however much time that I have that day, and a lot of those moments will get turned to prints.
[Elyse holding her sketch up to the waterfall. Elyse sketching the waterfall]
I create best when I'm fully immersed in nature.
[Close-up of the waterfall]
Usually in a place that I've never seen before.
[Amanda and Elyse sitting on a couch with the cat]
>> Amanda: The cool part for me is I get to see the entire process.
[Close-up of an engraving tool being used on a print block. Elyse clearing shavings from the print block. Elyse opening an overhead cupboard. Elyse placing a piece of paper on the table]
>> Amanda (voiceover): Watch her sketch, and then see her make it into something her own.
[Elyse squirting print ink on a print roller. Elyse rolling a new print. Elyse using a glass-globe printing tool to smooth the paper. Elyse pulling up a freshly printed print and showing it]
I get the frustrations, the success and the beauty of the art.
[A pink and blue sunset arcing over some dark hills. Amanda and Elyse walking out of the trailer to a campfire beside the trailer. Amanda and Elyse sitting at a picnic table and drinking out of mugs, laughing and talking]
>> Elyse (voiceover): I think you can have abundance in a lot of different kinds of ways. Whether it's material possessions or time outside.
[The trailer is lit up against the dark sky. One person sitting at the picnic table. The other person stoking the campfire. Simplii Financial logo. The music stops. Sounds of a fire burning]