The Other Side of The Picket Fence

I always dreamed of the white picket fence—the kind that framed a house where love was baked into the walls, where laughter floated out of open windows, and where I had endless time to sip homemade lemonade on the veranda with my best girlfriends. In this dream, my life looked like a cross between a Norman Rockwell painting and a Nancy Meyers movie—charming, cozy, and perpetually bathed in perfect lighting.

But, as life often does, it took one look at my plan, laughed, and said, “Oh honey, bless your heart.”

Instead of a perfectly manicured life in the Hamptons, I grew up in a small Texas town where people measured distance in time instead of miles, casseroles were a love language, and "bless your heart" could mean anything from you poor thing to you're about to make a terrible decision, and I’m here for the show. At 19, I packed my bags and moved to Austin, ready to chase the so-called "picket fence life"—checking all the right boxes like a good grown-up should. But somewhere along the way, I realized that the real magic wasn’t inside the fence. It was happening on the other side of it.

That’s where life gets messy and unpredictable, but also deeply meaningful. That’s where the best stories are written—the ones you can’t plan, the ones that make you laugh so hard you cry, the ones that break you and build you back stronger.

And that’s what The Other Side of the Picket Fence is all about. It’s a place for stories, devotions, watercolor paintings, and reflections on life—the good, the hard, and the absurd. It’s a little corner of the internet where I hope you’ll stop, stay a while, and find something that makes you smile, think, or breathe a little easier.

I don’t have all the answers (trust me, some days I can’t even find my car keys), but I do know that life is richer when we share our stories, embrace our creativity, and let go of the need for a perfect picket fence.

So welcome, friend. I’m glad you’re here.