About
I’m so glad you’re here. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and stay awhile — there’s always time for a good conversation.
I’m Christy — in the beautiful, busy season of midlife, living in the mountains of western North Carolina. I’m a nurse with a full plate and a full heart, heading back to school in the fall of 2026 (30 years later, which still feels a little wild to say). I’m a mom to all boys, doing life alongside Scott, and somehow managing a full-time job with a few too many irons in the fire most days.
We’re also raising our 6-month-old black Goldendoodle, Rubble — affectionately known as CDO, Chief Dirt Officer — who keeps life entertaining and just a little messy. In the quieter moments, I’m learning how to grow peonies, a few other flowers I’m still figuring out, and more blueberries than I probably need. There’s usually coffee in my hand, a book (or my Kindle) nearby, and a strong belief that both mountain air and salty ocean breezes are good for the soul.
Here, you’ll find pieces of family, faith, life in the mountains, and our dreams of one day living closer to the coast. Mostly, you’ll find the small, everyday joys that make life meaningful.
Whether you’re just passing through or planning to stay awhile, I hope these words and stories feel like a friend stopping by to share a little light and joy. You’re always welcome here.
What You’ll Find Here
Flower Diaries: Our beginner gardening journey in zone 7b, western NC. I love flowers of all types, but especially peonies. This spring, we planted some roots, bought a couple of plants, and transplanted one big plant that was given to us. Our flower garden is definitely a work in progress and the learning curve is…well, in progress. Scott has blueberry bushes galore - summertime is our pickin’ season. I’ll share tips I learn about gardening, hopefully with more successes than trails, but…
Nurse Life, Round 2: I’ve been a LPN since 1996. After always wanting to go back to school and get my RN, life finally changed and now I have the support, love and encouragement to do it. School - specifically college - isn’t like it was way back last century. I’ll tell you all about it…and probably cry a little along the way, as well. Excited, scared, nervous, all the emotions, all while working full time and building a life and home with Scott.
Pages & Lattes: Books I’m reading and great coffee shops. I want to learn all kinds of make-at-home latte recipes and am on the search for the perfect latte and coffee maker. But I haven’t found “the” one…yet. I really need a bestie that works at Dunkin and/or Starbucks to share some trade secrets with me. Anyone? Oh, speaking of books, be sure and follow my small bookstagram account over on IG. Link at the bottom of the page. If you do, be sure and comment - let me know you’re there from here. :)
Mountains to Coast: I have always wanted to live near the coast. I love the ocean, the summer, the sunshine. Imagine how perfect life felt when I found a man who’s willing to help make that dream a reality. Scott wants to fish, so we’ve compromised. If he takes me to the beach, he can buy a boat. It’s a goal we are working on together, and “together” is the best place to be.
Family & Fur: Family adventures, stories and happenings. Day trips, family trips, and fun things we do. And - Rubble, the goofy, all-black-except-for-a-little-white-on-his-bottom-lip golden doodle that is the joy, chaos and nerve wracking toddler that keeps us on our toes. Pray for us. Keeping him out of the flowers is only part of the fun. Tune in for Rubble’s Report and learn how he came into our lives on March 16, 2026.
Doing life with your best friend is quite honestly one of the biggest & best blessings, ever. We are loving, growing, supporting, encouraging, laughing, thankful for the good days, and faithful through the hard ones. Learning someone new in your 50’s can be tough - but it doesn’t have to be. Relying on GOD, learning from our experiences, forgiving, and learning to communicate well has been important for us. Mid-life, starting over, blooming again - it’s a beautiful thing.
If you’re looking for perfect, this space might not be for you. If you want real life, dirty hands, coffee rings on the table (and textbooks - maybe even pants), and a black doodle who is the world’s best sock stealing, food stealing, couch stealing side kick, stick around. You’re in the right place.
Why Peonies?
The first bud of 2026 - she is a white Sarah Bernhardt with a deep purple trim around the bottom layers.
Peonies feel like little love notes from the earth - all of those soft petals, layered like fragile silk. Pink, white, cream, coral, red - the color doesn’t matter. They don’t rush developing their beauty in the spring. When the world begins to get warm and finally wake up again after a long, cold winter peonies begin to bloom - starting with tiny little buds that seem unsure of themselves, until one morning they burst open, seemingly overnight. Watching this transformation seems like witnessing a new beginning: gentile, brave, and unapologetically beautiful, each one coming into its own life. Our lives, I’m finding, is a lot like that, too. We spend seasons (sometimes years) tucked in, self protecting, growing quietly, until we reach the moment when we are ready to bloom - full and taking up space without saying sorry for it. Peonies remind me that beauty doesn’t have to shout, and neither does growth. Starting fresh can be as soft and sweet as a petal catching that first glow of morning sunlight or those small drops of rain.
Life, too, can be grown in the right conditions. What conditions are you watering your life in right now?