a storytelling sanctuary

where I come for safe expression

and hope to connect with others

over & over again.

for spending time with your Self 

Your truths

And your passions…

for letting deep breaths and the power of connection guide you back to your deepest pleasures & purposes.

a space i hope you linger

and find landing

And ultimately

a space that allows you liberation

From any aloneness

You might be experiencing.

and, perhaps a space

That serves as a meeting place 

for gathering in this online sphere,

maybe one day in-person,

or, at the very least, (& deepest) in spirit.

We can walk each other through the mud and find the miracles together... 

using stories, circles, and some sweet little carefully created reminders. Come explore...

my story . . .

I am a mama, step-Mom, and. . . still, Me. I’ve always wanted to be a full-time, whole-heart mama. I just didn’t realize how much it would consume me. Shortly after having my first daughter in February 2019, I realized I was losing touch with my other passions and, largely, my sense of Self. Little by little, I began adding practices back into my life to create space for me to be Me again. And so, Mud & Miracles was born beside me & my babies.

Before becoming a Mom, the biggest transformation I went through in my life was becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador (2010-2012). Living in a tiny community, using a language I hardly knew, with barely running water, electricity or any communication with friends and media (and life as I formerly knew it) I was able to get in touch with my Self in a way I had never experienced before. I was realizing that I could distinguish (for perhaps the first time ever) the difference between my own true desires and those that I didn’t realize I’d taken on from others. Simultaneously, I was working with my hands and my heart in a way that brought me deeper joy and fulfillment than I’d ever experienced before. Additionally, I learned a new language, fell into a deep self-study of Yoga, survived multiple muggings and a very muddy, mosquito-y home & outhouse, and discovered who and how I wanted to be in this world.

After leaving El Salvador, I briefly returned to work in NYC . . . but had already been applying to grad school. I accepted a full scholarship to study at the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica, so that I could dig deeper into my curiosity of sustainable food systems and our connection to our food source as a means for self-fulfillment, as well as a path towards greater world peace. I was also eager to ground myself more in the Latin American lifestyle, which was serving my desire to slow down and rely less on modern-day distractions.
Before moving to Costa Rica, I made a quick two month pit stop in Thailand to study yoga in an ashram, where I had the most profound experience of quieting my mind and getting to know my body in ways I had never before.

I studied at UPEACE and then lived and worked for the next three years in small communities in Costa Rica centered around sustainability and food systems. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to start some writing and storytelling projects of my own, pursue a position with a micro-entrepreneurship sustainable travel start-up, and work as an experiential education teacher for a therapeutic boarding school. I left Costa Rica abruptly and with a heavy heart in May 2016, when my father passed away from a motorcycle accident.

In June 2016, I accepted a beautiful position as an “earth school educator” in New York, which also led me to meet my husband. Since, I have worked as a preschool teacher, as well as one-on-one with children and young adults with special needs. I also provide tutoring in Spanish.

After birthing my first daughter in February 2019, I dedicate the majority of my time to being (what I like to call) a whole-heart mama. This simply means that my perspective and approach to motherhood (& life) is to be here and present for it all: I am here to help guide my kids grow, but also to merely witness their own paths to learning. I am here to help them manage their feelings, but also to simply allow them to feel safely.

Too, I am here to honor my own needs, so that I don’t project onto my little ones and loved ones. First and foremost, I am here to simply Love.

I continue to tutor and pursue part-time work and volunteer opportunities related to any and all of the above.

my motherhood experience

I consider myself a deep listener, intuitive, creative, who gets the most out of life by paying attention. When I learned about natural birthing, I knew that home-birth was the right path for me. Birthing our first daughter at home was the beginning of my journey as a mother, and I couldn’t have asked for a more powerful beginning.

I believe to be a good Mom I first have to be a good Me. This is something that takes practice. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working to stay true to this intention, setting up practices and boundaries that allow me to live closer to my truest and highest version of Me, so that I can be both the individual I feel best as, and the mama I want for my children. It is not fool-proof, by any means, and many days I come up short, but these practices help me get back on course when I get lost and at the minimum, allow me to start my day with a grounded, centered, peaceful and powerful guide.

I am working hard to raise my daughters as present as I can be. I gravitate towards Janet Lansbury, Montessori, Waldorf and RIE styles. I believe there’s “no such thing as bad weather” and we aim to be outdoors as much as possible. I try to be “hands off”, letting children learn by healthy-risk taking and child-led exploration. I love natured-based and experiential learning, going slow, and asking questions (without expecting “correct” answers). It is all very exciting, exhausting. . . amazing, and sometimes scary :)

I believe in trusting my gut and this feels right.

my studies . . .

Masters in Environment, Development and Peace, with a specialization in Sustainable Food Systems from the United Nation’s University for Peace, Costa Rica, 2014.

Certified Integrative Health Coach through Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2014.

200 hr YTT certified through Wise Living Yoga Academy, Thailand, 2013.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, El Salvador, 2010-2012.

Bachelor’s of Science in Finance, cum laude, from the University of Florida, 2009.