One crafty mother blogger.

I burst onto the Southern California scene in 1975. A bunch of stuff happened between infancy and when I started blogging in 2005 with Stix On The Beach: Tales From The Happiest Hooker on Earth! For over a decade, the popular blog (acclaimed for its humorous, double-entendre-infused anecdotes) combined my love for knitting, crocheting, Orange County coastal living, and hanging out at Disneyland on the daily with my then-teenaged homeschooling daughter, Marissa.

I basically took a hiatus from blogging during my forties. A lot was going on. I became a mom again in 2016 at the age of 41 (my girls are nearly exactly twenty-five years apart)! However, the idea for a lifestyle blog for creative homebodies began floating around in my mind beginning in 2018. But Emilia was entering the toddler stage and we were about to embark on a life-changing out-of-state move (we would eventually move eight times over three states), so I decided to brainstorm on it for a couple more years. As we rang in 2020, the planets appeared aligned and I was prepared to be launched back into the blogosphere despite being told that blogs were obsolete. Then the global pandemic struck and the gravity of the situation grounded my mission.


“The heart of the message is in blogs.“

Throughout the pandemic and the years that followed, this short love story has echoed amongst makers, bookstagrammers, homeschoolers, and everyone else who has missed the more intimate, evergreen storytelling that’s missing on Instagram (where their algorithm determines our audience based on ridiculous antics). It lit a fire under me enough to attempt several returns to the world I found so much enjoyment, but there was always something that would cool my jets. This year has been the most challenging (cluster****, folks, cluster****) of my life, yet now more than ever, is the right time to take back my joy.

So buckle up.

This blog is a safe space where you can feel seen and welcomed.

There was a tradition back in the day where folks placed a burning candle in their window as a signal to weary travelers that they could seek shelter and rest. Blogs are our beacons in the dark, but instead of candles in the window, we put paint brushes, granny squares, tarot cards, rainbow flags, junk journals, watermelons, or whatever sacred oddities we hope will attract kindred spirits. Let’s be good neighbors and help one another light the way.

Take care,
Jill & Emilia
January 14th, 2023
Corvallis, Oregon

Updated November 4th, 2025
Port Orchard, Washington