I didn’t have an agenda when I moved to the Bay Area 18 years ago… 

I was 25 years old, was dancing professionally and teaching dance in Chicago, and was considering going back to get my master’s degree in dance. 

But, almost every mentor I shared this news with advised me not to go back to school just yet, and to go dance, live a little, and explore. 

One day, in a café in Geneva, Illinois, I started journaling about where I might want to go, what I might want to do. 

I wrote San Francisco down in big letters and circled it a bunch of times… 

Later that day I asked my boyfriend at the time to meet me for dinner later that night to discuss, and within 10 minutes I had convinced him to take the leap and move cross-country to SF with me. 

And, the rest was history.

I spent 10 years in SF dancing for incredible companies, choreographing modern dance works in bizarre spaces, getting certified in bodywork, exploring the eclectic neighborhoods of the city, teaching myself how to make jewelry, experiencing heartbreak, going through my Saturn Return…the list goes on.

When I was 29, I fell in love with a man who I had met in my hometown of Quincy, IL, at one of my besties’ weddings (they’re cousins), and 2 years later he moved from Omaha to SF to live with me.

We eventually got hitched, and a few years later, we moved from the city to the beautiful Sonoma County countryside – where I followed my vision to hold retreats and circles on the land we’ve been privileged to live on – unceded Coast Miwok land, for the past 8+ years.

I got certified as a health coach, trained as a transformational life coach, invested in business coaching, got certified in yoga, and completed ritual, herbalism and shamanic trainings. 

I’ve led nearly 100 retreats here at this incredible property, and at 39 I birthed my sweet son Quintin in the comfort of our bedroom… it’s been a wild and unexpected ride!

And, at 43, I’m following my intuition once more and am moving back to my hometown, away from where I’ve lived as long as I grew up there…

Leaving Petaluma and the Bay Area feels as if I’m leaving a lover that I don’t really want or feel entirely ready to leave, but I know deep within my bones that it’s time…

The seduction and allure of this area has reeled me in good over these last 18 years. But, what I seek in this next season of my life is a greater sense of sustainability, stability, closer connections with family, and spreading my soul’s work farther and wider.

Petaluma and SF will always be second homes for me – and I’m so grateful for my incredible communities here…

But, for now, Quincy, dear Quincy…I’m coming home. ❤️

Thanks for reading this reflective post dear one – more on this magical shift and all of the exciting changes and offerings that lie ahead, soon!