my story

my roots

So I grew up in rural Carroll County, Maryland with my younger brother Jesse, our parents, and our dog Tacie. We lived up on a big tall hill in the middle of the woods with a steep windy driveway. I miss living there, especially in the winter… It’s so beautiful and cozy, and there’s such a pretty view of the countryside once you got to the very top. Dad worked hard each day to provide for us, and Mom made our lunches, drove us to school, and helped with our homework. We had dinner together around the table every night, pizza on Fridays, and church on Sundays. My parents taught us the importance of planning for the future while also following in the pursuit of our wildest dreams… And instilled in us the values of faith, family, and tradition. And to this day, my faith’s given me hope, my family has keeps me grounded, and our traditions give me joy.

They always made birthdays and holidays special too. Mom would always decorate the dining room table with a banner, balloons, streamers, and tons of confetti… And the special family “birthday plate” would be placed at our seat. We always got to pick what we wanted for dinner that night, even if it was the most ridiculous combination. And after dinner, Mom would turn all the lights out Dad would appear from the kitchen with a candlelit cake and everyone would sing happy birthday before opening gifts.

Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around the holidays, like they do for so many of us. Jesse and I had to wait at the top of the steps until everything was ready, and we’d come down to an abundant display of gifts and incredible scents of warm maple syrup, melted butter, bacon, and fresh oranges. Dad would greet us for a special Christmas hug with a tea towel over his shoulder, while making his famous French toast breakfast… And Mom would welcome us downstairs in her festive holiday jammies and cozy slippers, cheeks pink from bring wood in for the fireplace.

I could go on and on, reminiscing, telling stories, and expressing how much the foundation they set for us has been an anchor for me throughout my life. It wasn’t always easy, but we always got through it, whatever it was. Even though life wasn’t perfect, there were and will always be, so many reasons to celebrate, appreciate, show gratitude, and have hope. Mom taught us to be good stewards of what we had, to look for the spiritual parallel in everything we see, and that there’s always an excuse to add just a little more sparkle to make things extra special. And Dad taught us how to make pancakes, to always pay tribute to our loved ones and memories, especially at Christmas, and to peacefully appreciate nature, from the tallest trees to the smallest little bird.

Blessed + grateful.

the BRANCHES

Tyler and I met at church when we were just kids. We spent a lot of time together through middle school and got closer over the years, grew up within two miles of each other, rode the same bus, and had mutual friends. A couple years after high school, we started hanging out a lot more and quickly became inseparable… After about 4 years together, we decided to get married one summer while in the car crossing the Bay Bride on the way to the ocean. The conversation went something like, “let’s get married this weekend…” “ok, awesome…” And we did, with our closest family and friends in our best friend’s backyard.

The same weekend we got married, we moved into our first apartment together and spent our first few years working hard, finishing up school, and just figuring it all out. After a few years, we settled on our house, our Hobbit House as we call it, also known as The Pink House, and love to be home more than anywhere else in the world.

We love to spend time in the woods or at the beach, nesting and housekeep our little home, browsing local boutique shops and markets, and making brunch together on Saturday mornings. I cook at home most of the time, but sometimes we go out to eat somewhere bougie and critique our experience. We get super into it and rate the restaurant in different categories we’ve created, lol. We drink tea, eat in bed, and sleep in on Sundays. We love going to reggae shows in the summer and catching up on good books in the winter.

Tyler’s a regional property manager for a music company and plays the ukulele and a little guitar in his free time. He shoots macro nature photography using an olloclip, and I think his work is magical... Each photo is of a piece of the world we rarely ever see. He loves to learn and share detailed information about things like science or music history, bugs, weather patterns, and the makin of movies. Tyler can hear a song once or twice and pretty much have the whole thing memorized. He listens to audio books a lot while driving, and sits down to read whenever he can. His favorite books of all time are Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and The Stand by Stephen King. He loves to listen to Yes, Steely Dan, Alan Parsons Project, Steel Pulse, and of course, the Beatles. He drinks English breakfast tea and is most often found wearing his dark green hoodie and cozy moccasins.

And then there’s Bax… He’s our 7 year old feist terrier pup who loves naps, eating whatever we’re having, chasing squirrels, and window-watching. We call him our Head of Security here at home… He’s super inquisitive and curious, always interested in what that sound was or who’s outside. His signature “head tilt” never ceases to make crack me up and make me melt. He loves broccoli, salad, popcorn, and fish, and does not like fruit, swimming, cats, or the mailman. He comes with me everywhere and is definitely our little best buddy…

+ the BLOSSOMS

So much has changed since I was a kid, and even since Tyler and I got married. When I look back, I see us as two completely different people than we were at that time, even though the foundation of who we are is the same. We’ve grown so much, individually and together, have been through many challenges, but have always come out stronger than we were before. We have accomplished a lot but continue to dream big, hoping to one day start a family of our own, have a place at the beach, and maybe even take a trip to New Zealand or Australia. I’d also love to visit the countries where our grandparents traveled here from, Scandinavia (my side) and Germany (his).

We’ll see what God’s got in store for us. For now, we are just appreciating the dawn of each new day as a gift and making the most of whatever it brings. We’ve learned that it’s not about having it all together, it’s truly about the adventure, and that’s something I now embrace. And even though I know I will continue to grow and change in different ways over the course of time, I can honestly say that I’m openly along for the ride. Because deep in life’s imperfections is where the wisdom’s hidden… And it’s through life’s lessons that I’ve learned that I am better able to understand and appreciate the purpose I have, even down to the images I create, so I’m trying to dive on in. :)

Lots has changed for our family over the years too. We are grateful to have our health, jobs, our blessings, and each other.

My brother Jesse is a singer-songwriter, coffee enthusiast and reviewer, husband to our sweet sister-in-law Karlie, and father to our adorable niece, Madelyn. He’s so talented, can play multiple instruments, and I could listen to his music for hours. He went to school for audio production and mixes his own music, as well as others’. He’s hardworking, gentle-hearted, fun-spirited, loves a good pun, and makes a killer Old Fashioned.

Karlie is super creative and talented with her many forms of artistic expression, loving, thoughtful, and an incredible mama! She is the creative director for their church and a dedicated homemaker. We love to talk about all the holistic health-related things and natural living ideas together and I love how we are so likeminded in those ways. I’m excited to spend many years with her and Jess as we cultivate our own traditions and memories to carry on the special values our families have taught us… I know there will be many!

And my parents are still the same in all of the best ways… They still make our birthdays and holidays extra special, work very hard to provide for themselves and are even still so generous to us with homemade meals, special visits, and thoughtful surprises from time to time. They both work hard and stay busy, while also making time to work on things they enjoy. Mom loves a good jigsaw puzzle, a little shopping to find some good deals, and as a social butterfly, spending time with her friends, or her “peeps” as she calls them… She loves to organize drawers and is really good at anything systematic and secretarial. Dad loves spending quiet time reading, woodworking, or birdwatching, and enjoys cooking for others.

As someone who documents the stories of others, I wanted to share a peek into my own. I’m proud of my family and wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for them. So thank you for taking the time to get to know me… us… a bit. :)