ABOUT ME
I spent most of my childhood in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, daydreaming on my tree swing, tearing through book after book, and living for Seventeen to land in my mailbox. Before my junior year of high school, my family relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire, where an English teacher commented that I was the best writer he'd ever had in class. Then, when I got to college and began writing for the school newspaper, I knew for sure that I'd found my thing. During my two paid newspaper internships, one a coveted slot at The Boston Globe, I earned my first local and national bylines (including covering a plane crash, a hurricane, and Al Gore's visit to a classroom during the presidential election). I became the first college student to win the New Hampshire Press Association Rookie of the Year award, competing against full-time reporters.
Newspapers were an invaluable training ground, but the second I got my journalism degree, I took off for New York City to make all my magazine dreams come true—as one does. That journey wasn't *quite* as glamorous—or linear—as I'd imagined. I started out writing headlines for Dow Jones financial newswires (gotta take what you can get!), then hopped to an associate-editor job at a fashion trade magazine company. There, I got to travel to trade shows around the world while honing niche magazine-industry skills, like how to get brands to lend you clothes for photoshoots, and how to wrestle a rolling rack into the trunk of a cab during rush hour. By age 27, I was named editor in chief of the iconic children's fashion magazine Earnshaw's, managing a staff of editors, overseeing all aspects of production, and planning/hosting an annual runway show. ​
That job was a dream in many ways (including: my own office overlooking Herald Square—with a Sephora downstairs!). Yet I still dreamed about working at a big-name, newsstand magazine. Thus, when I was offered a research editor position at Martha Stewart Living, I had to go for it. It was yet another job experience that proved invaluable: There's nothing like fact-checking the definitive guide to cultivating hostas to fine-tune your attention to detail. I was low woman on the masthead, but I offered to write articles (for free) whenever the editors needed help. And when Martha Stewart launched Blueprint—a brilliant publishing experiment that magazine lovers talk about to this day, a la Sassy—I got the job of staff writer. That felt like my big break and I thought I'd never, ever leave.
Except: Glamour came calling, and I learned that it's HARD to say no to Glamour. The executive editor read one of my voice-y Blueprint articles on a plane and called me into Conde Nast to interview for a beauty writer-editor position. This was the big time, and I definitely didn't have the heels or manicure for the part—but I got it. Oh, to have worked in the hallowed halls of Four Times Square during the heyday of magazine journalism. Conde Nast was said to have show ponies and work horses, and I was proud to be one of the latter. Even when I was still at my desk at 9 p.m. In addition to writing and editing for the magazine, I helped launch the brand's digital presence via one very popular beauty blog.
All of this is to say, by the time I left Glamour to go freelance, I was one generously seasoned writer. ​Over the past decade-plus, I've gotten to write for so many more of the publications and brands I grew up admiring, and to deepen my subject-matter expertise. I particularly love writing first-person essays, health features, and home tours—nothing tells you more about a person than their home. And a few years ago, I finally said goodbye to the NYC metro area and moved back to Maine with my husband and three kids—my current-day version of living the dream.