About Me

Today, I am an artist....a writer, a woman who loves to cook, read, garden, collect all things vintage and day dream probably a bit more than I should....

Welcome to our dream home!  For as long as I can remember people told me that my dream house didn't exist.  My list wasn't too long....a little cottage with at least an acre next to a farm that sold fresh produce....and there had to be chickens.  Imagine our surprise when one day out of the blue it showed up....exactly the house I wanted complete with chicken coop in the backyard!  We opted against actually owning any chickens since the farm next door has 14 of them, but everything else is exactly the way I dreamed it would be!  Our magical little paradise just 5 minutes from the bustling downtown area of our suburb and then quiet enough to be a little slice of heaven.

My soul mate Gary.....we've been married for almost 12 years and the adventure is just as much fun today as the day I met him!  Do you know what the key to a truly happy marriage is?  Marry your best friend and then give yourself the gift of loving yourself just as much as you love him!  Once you're happy with who YOU are, you suddenly find that there's plenty more of the happiness to share and somehow it just grows and grows! 

My wonderful step-kids....Jeffrey on the left, Kim, and then the oldest, Gregg, on the right!  Whoever said that all step-parents were evil was reading the wrong book.  It isn't always easy since they do have a mom of their own, but over the years we've found our groove and I love each of them as if they were my own!! 

The furry love of my life, Miss Betsy Johnson, yes, named after my favorite clothing designer! 

The newest addition to our family, Mad Max....just a year and a half old and already been through so many health issues, but we push and push every day and with a whole lot of love and faith we're hoping he will be a part of our family for a very long time.

And then one day we decided it would be fun to turn our garage into a store, and so we did! Hey, we're lucky enough to be right next to a farm that lends itself to us being zoned for commercial or residential use, so why not save a few dollars on the overhead it takes to rent store space (been there done that) and keep it right here at home? Friends and family still think we're nuts and maybe we are, but if you ask me, home is where the ART is and so The Ruby Slippers Company Store was born!  Packed with the work of several different local artists, antiques, vintage items, upcycled items and some of my own work it has become a gathering place for the most unique and wonderful people!  www.therubyslipperscompany.com

A sneak peek inside this magical little place!  I love when people see the sign in front of the house, finally decide to visit and wander up the driveway asking, "what is this place?"  We're in the process of winterizing it so that I can be open during the colder months so stay tuned as the adventure continues!

I'm always on the look-out for all things fabulously vintage and have a particular love for old linens and textiles! 

And....the motto I live by....it's not always easy to walk to walk on the sunny side of life but it's a heck of a lot more fun than the alternative!