What to Expect

My passion for baking began early; growing up I could often be found helping my mom in the kitchen, or playing with my EasyBake oven. I got my first cookbook—Makin’ Muffins, by Susan Devins—in elementary school and spent every Sunday doing just that to take & share with my Sunday School class. When I got my first Betty Crocker cookbook a year or two later, I decided that Tiramisu would be the first dessert that I baked (though, Mom wisely talked me into buying the lady fingers for that venture).

After starting college for elementary education, I pivoted to a career in pastry and met my husband. We spent several years in a ski town, exploring tastes & textures, before settling down in Ohio to raise our daughter. We fell in love with Newburgh immediately, and I hope that our village and neighbors fall just as in love with us.

I grew up in Stow and tried Akron University and ultimately didn’t want to take on so much debt for a degree I had no plans for. My strong desire to keep affording life kept me working; however, I always tried to find ways to keep work fresh. Many times this search included job changes, including: contractor work, insurance sales, market research, DJ/MC, pest control, driving instructor, and more.

My hunger for novelty also brought big moves by 22—first a failed transplant to Colorado, then to Florida where I met my wife. When we moved to Utah to work in a ski town, we fell more in love with the heart of the industry while at those “heights” (dad joke, get used to them). So, when we were expecting our baby, we chose Newburgh Heights to be well located to my family. Then, life presented this opportunity, and I can’t help feeling that this spot is where I put down deeper roots.