How The Foraged Home started

How my journey led me to starting The Foraged Home….

September 30, 2013, my husband of 16 years looked me in the eye, put a gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. I watched as his life ended in a split second. I watched as my heart shattered into a million pieces, in that split second I watched as my life changed forever.  Life as I knew it was gone. I was left with four young children, no job, no life insurance, and the weight of the world on my shoulders. The PTSD I suffered was intense. I was unable to eat, drink, sleep, or even walk for weeks. All I could do was replay that horrible second of time over and over again in my head. It completely consumed me along with the grief and stress that I was left with. 

I remember the day I was able to give my little four year old a bath for the first time. My mom looked at me with such pride and joy her eyes and said, “YOU DID IT!”. That was the moment I started to come back into myself. That support and encouragement planted a seed of hope in my heart. God’s love and grace sprouted in my heart through my mom’s encouragement in that moment. Just as quickly as my life had changed horribly, my life began to change beautifully. 

Slowly I started returning to my normal activities. I was faced with the burden of supporting myself and my kids. I always wanted to be an interior designer and had a real gift for it. I also loved repurposing and refinishing furniture and bringing it back to life. As I write this I can see how the same thing I was doing to those dressers and tables, was happening inside of me. I was becoming something new, something repurposed, something beautiful! This started my career as an interior designer and a love for creating beautiful spaces. 

Fast forward a couple years, and I am married to my Chapter Two. A wonderful, supportive man who loves me and all our kids. He supports me in my dreams and my business ideas. He has been a rock for me when things got tough and there to celebrate my victories. We found out we were expecting a baby about year after we got married and to our surprise that one baby turned into twins girls! What a beautiful chapter to start together. During this time I was blessed to be able to stay home and take care of my sweet and messy babies. This is when I decided to get my interior design certification through New York Institute of Art and Design. I spent another five plus years designing for clients. 

My dreams have now blossomed into a passion to open a home decor store. A home decor store with vintage and new items along with mercantile items. But this is not just a store for home decor or other items. This is a place for a community of men and women to have the chance to receive that support and encouragement that I got from my mom those early days of heartache. 

My vision is to offer classes to the community on how to create beauty around them. These classes may include, interior design classes, floral design, and wreath workshops. Along with these classes I would like to offer other opportunities to learn how to cultivate a healthier home and lifestyle by offering different workshops such as, bread making, canning, gardening, and herbal remedies; as well as Bible studies and support groups. 

My hope is that a community would come to know each other, grow with each other, lean on each other, support each other, and encourage each other to allow that same sprout of hope to grow in hearts through God’s love, grace, and community. 

God knows how to turn our ashes into a beautiful garden that has been cultivated through pain and agony, watered with our tears, and warmed with His love. If your facing overwhelming heartache and don’t know where to turn; turn to Him. He is waiting with open arms for you. 

Mathew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”