A Short Biography

I was born and raised in West Valley, Utah. I married my soul mate Dave in January of 1984. We started our family, bought and remodeled our first home, and fixed up and staged countless repo homes on the side within during the first few years of our life together . In 1992 we made a move to the small town of Eureka, Utah to be near Dave's grandparents and raise our boys in a small town. I was fortunate to be able to quit my job with the State Retirement Office and to stay home with our boys.

During our time in Eureka, we bought and remodeled four homes, two of which we lived in and two of which we flipped. They were fantastic homes built in the early 1900's and we had so much fun fixing them up and decorating them. At this point, the redesign bug had a firm hold on my heart!

We loved small town life and threw ourselves in to the community with both feet! However, it sometimes you just need a change and on Thanksgiving day in 1998 our family set out on a grand European adventure! Dave had built a successful career with Citibank and was offered a position in Belgium. We jumped on the chance to go! With our three little boys in tow, we boarded the plane and took off on what was supposed to be a two year posting. I remember being terrified and crying most of the flight, while choking down the airline turkey dinner as Utah slipped away beneath us. As it turned out, the tears were for naught as the move was really good for us. We stayed in Europe for nearly 13 years and I don't regret a single moment. We have friends all over the world and have had the chance to travel extensively to places most people only dream of going. I'm grateful to have had the chance every day! The icing on the cake was the birth of our fourth son who was born while we lived in Belgium.

During our expat experience we called Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and finally Poland (again) home. I wouldn't trade those years for anything. It wasn't always easy, and moving every two years was challenging, but it was truly an important and life changing time for all of us. The frequent moves enabled me to hone my redesign skills as I had to be able to make our furnishings and accessories work in the many homes we lived in. It was both challenging and rewarding to make each new place feel like home!

While we were living in Europe we purchased and remodeled a condo in St. George. We sold the condo a couple of years after we bought it and purchased a brand new home there. Of course we decorated, added design features, and designed and built a pool because new or not, we just have to add our mark! Most of my family lives in St. George so it was nice to have some place to stay when we'd visit during the summer.

In 2010 we made the difficult decision to bring our European adventure to a close. Our two oldest sons had graduated high school and moved back to Utah for college and our two youngest had never actually lived in the U.S. It felt like the right time to move back home so the younger boys could experience life as an American and we could all be nearer to the other boys and our extended family. We came back to a home we bought in South Jordan, Utah and have been in the same neighborhood ever since. I say same neighborhood, but not same home.... As has become our custom, we bought and remodeled a home and sold it two years later! We have since purchased another home, in the same neighborhood, and have remodeled, finished the basement, and are currently thinking of putting it on the market come spring!

In addition to our own homes, we have purchased, remodeled, and sold one flip home since moving back. We have remodeled a condo for my mom, staged and sold her existing home, helped my son and his wife remodel their home, and have redesigned Dave's moms place. Phew! We don't know what to do with ourselves if we don't have a project!

As of this post, Dave and I have been married almost 34 years. We have four amazing sons and one incredible daughter-in-law. Three of our boys are grown and out on their own and our baby is preparing to spread his wings after he graduates this coming spring. We are now facing the inevitable "empty nester" phase of our lives and it has me feeling sad and excited all at once. By the time the youngest leaves we will have been raising children for 34 years. Most of those years I have been a stay at home mom. I feel like my son and I are facing the same question right now, "what do I want to be when I grow up?".....

I have really struggled with deciding what I want to do. Soon after we arrived back in the U.S. I got a job with a local grocery store chain. I started out as a cheese monger and moved into the HR arena. It was a great experience but I found the retail schedule was not conducive to maintaining a family life so after three years with them, I resigned. It was then that Dave gave me a piece of advice that really helped me find direction. He said "play to your strengths". It just clicked for me right then! I have ALWAYS loved organizing. Organizing things, people, events, time, schedules....you get the idea. I have also ALWAYS loved interior decorating. I am a nester at heart and love to make homes feel inviting, comfortable and interesting. I have ALWAYS love redesign because, well, I like the challenge of making the things you have work and look great without having to totally redo. Plus, it's green! Save the Earth! Finally, I have ALWAYS loved to bring people together and relish putting together a memorable gathering. It's almost too exciting to think I could combine all of my loves into one business!

This brings me to now...... I have taken all the courses. I have my business license. My son is helping me with my website. I've joined the professional groups. Phone is hooked up, office set up, and business cards printed. I feel ready to go! I am so very excited to get out there and help people organize, decorate, clear-out, sell their home, throw a party, just anything I can help with! I've been doing all of it for my entire adult life, for myself and the people I love, and the decision to do it professionally just feels right! Wish me luck, and let me know if I can help you!

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little about me, and a heartfelt "thank you" for spending the time!