My husband, Lucas, and I live on his great great grandparents farm in rural Iowa with our two kids. We both grew up on family farms, and cherish the skills we learned growing up. Damaging winds had wreacked havoc on the place, and the previous owners were going to demolish the house. We couldn’t see this piece of family history go so we bought the house with almost three acres of land. In our dreams, we hope to buy more land and have larger livestock on our property. For now, our dog, Muscovy ducks and rooster is about it!
What do I do during the day?
For now I am a stay at home mom, hustling with several side gigs trying to build community through the re-creation of The King’s Kids Preschool in Humboldt, Iowa, as well as a little photography through my business, called 30 Miles from Nowhere, and the creation of homesteading classes with friend and local business owner, Marla Ramaekers of Dibble and Bloom. I am also the Editor and Co-Event Coordinator for the Iowa Honey Producers Association.
I recently resigned as the Seed to Table Manager at an elementary school where I got to teach Preschool-6th graders about everything agriculture related after a budget cut in our district (womp womp). We had grown all of our own plants for our garden from seed in the school greenhouse, tended to our school orchard and pumpkin patch, while we were raising honey bees and chickens, and I also get to share my love of nutrition, cooking and creating dishes from scratch (and more!). In August of 2022 I was named the Humboldt County and Iowa Conservation Education Coalition Teacher of the Year for my efforts throughout the years. You can see what I had created at school here. Be on the lookout for the creation of The Iowa Family Gardening Homestead YouTube Channel that will showcase MANY how to videos from succulents to working with bees!
Our Farmhouse Homestead
At home we enjoy finding solutions that make sense for our space in our old 1900’s family farmhouse (or maybe because we have to), doing things ourselves to save a few bucks, and raising our two kids together.
About me
I have always enjoyed planning events that are for the community, friends, or myself. Whether that is a fundraiser for someone, the school I am working for, a baby shower, a bridal shower/bachelorette party, or our own wedding; I like events to be thoughtful to that person, not cost a lot, and not be too labor intensive.
I’m also a bit of a creative soul. I have always loved to take photos, and am dipping my feet into that with the name of 30 Miles from Nowhere Photography. We started calling ourselves that when I was baking for a local farmers’ market because our place is 30 miles from the next largest towns that have any sort of “civilization.” If you live in the country, you know what I mean (grocery store, convenience store, etc.)!
I also enjoy watching my friends explore their creative side with side businesses or hobbies, and I think they should have a bit of recognition too!