Our Story

Having been raised in a rural area in Ohio and then Kentucky, to the mountains of Montana to teach school in a little one room log schoolhouse, and the beaches and city life in Sarasota, Florida, in a culture that seems “quaint” to the outside eye, I was taught the value of homemaking, entrepreneurship, and community.

Community: In community I learned to share life with others, host, serve, encourage, teach, support other’s small businesses, help build and grow, all to enrich the lives of those I meet.

Faith and Ministry: With my faith being the most important thing to me, I am discovering a path being laid out with growing opportunities to engage my community and the world, adding cross cultural differences from the Amish lifestyle to my current lifestyle. God has provided for me to do this in a variety of ways, including speaking, coming alongside women in the Renew Women's Discipleship Ministry and teaching them how to bake and cook as we build sweet relationships and enjoy the food we create together, and forming a Women Entrepreneurs group inspired by “The Dream Giver - Following Your God Given Destiny” by Bruce Wilkinson, the Proverbs 31 woman, the Titus 2 woman, Isaiah 6:8, and Esther 4:14, for like-minded women who are entrepreneurs, realizing the purpose and plan God has for us.

God is teaching me how to “tell my story”, and the “heart” and the “why” of what I am passionate about. 1 Chronicles 17:16 says it well, “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?”

About the Market: It all started in 2021, when I accepted my brother-in-law and sister's invitation to team up with their family-owned business, Cedar Ridge Furniture, to expand their online sales on Wayfair, across social media platforms, as well as growing the collections on Amazon and Etsy. Their Amish hand-crafted Western Cedar outdoor furniture is beautiful and timeless, and is shipped all across the United States. They reside in a small, remote Amish community nestled in the West Kootenai Valley, with breathtaking views of the Whitefish and Canadian Rocky Mountain ranges in Rexford, Montana. (This is the same community that I lived in and taught in a small one room log schoolhouse, the very school my nephew now goes to!)

Cottage Kitchen: Since moving to Chattanooga, TN in 2015, I have seen a real desire by women to learn some of the homemaking skills I grew up with. There is a desire to learn how to provide for the needs of her family without having to rely on the items that may, or may not be on the grocery store shelves. I grew up learning to grow, butcher, and put up enough food for a season. We made our food from ingredients we kept on hand, and we sewed our own clothes. I developed a love for working in the kitchen at my grandma’s side, around the same oak table that I still use today. Using her Amish recipes and cooking on a kerosene or wood stove, depending on the season, we baked cookies, cakes, and pies with the flakiest crusts you can imagine. Now when the world seems crazy, I have to remind myself, “what would my viewpoint be if I was still Amish and not seeing the news or social media?” I would only live life, knowing that I know how to live without electricity, butcher, grow, prepare and preserve food, and sew. This takes care of humanity’s basic physical needs of shelter, food, and clothes. I see this as an opportunity to come alongside women, and build confidence, relationships, and community. 

So, in 2022, inspired by my grandma Alma's legacy and cherished memories of being in the kitchen with her, I launched a new addition to the furniture line in my online store by introducing in-person and online classes, along with new hand-picked collections rooted in my Amish heritage. The classes are designed to pass on timeless traditions and skills as I teach and work alongside women in our little cottage kitchen. We step back in time as I share my love for cooking, freezing, canning, and baking so you can be confident in your own kitchen. Using my mom’s and grandma’s handwritten recipes, along with a collection of both new and old recipes steeped in tradition and heritage, we connect over the joy of creating in the kitchen—just as I did growing up.

Teaching: As a teacher in a two-room parochial school in Kentucky, to a little one-room log schoolhouse in the mountains of the remote West Kootenai Valley in Montana, to teaching English to my foreign speaking friends in our community, and German / Pennsylvania Dutch to those desiring to better communicate with that community and heritage, to now sharing and teaching kitchen and home keeping traditions that I grew up with to other women, I have grown to enjoy watching others gain confidence by helping them learn.

Homemaking: We, as women and wives, are called to be gatekeepers of our homes, and to look after the ways of our household. With this principle in mind, I am passionate about sharing natural living choices which goes hand in hand with my love for homemaking, gardening, organizing, volunteering, hospitality, community, preserving food, cooking, and baking. I have learned to appreciate what some may call a more simple lifestyle, or living old fashioned on purpose.

Since becoming a wife in June 2019, Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 have become two of my favorite chapters. These scriptures are rich with words of wisdom, inspiration, business ideas and principles, and challenges me to be a virtuous woman, whose price is far above rubies. This woman is not described as one with no purpose, plans, or calling, but instead she is living life to the fullest. She is kind, wise, business savvy, hardworking, and she enjoys the fruit of her labor. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. The Titus 2 woman teaches others what life has taught her. She is busy at home, self-controlled and pure, kind, and loves her husband and family. It is my desire for everything I do to flow from these God-breathed words guiding me.

I would love to connect with you: I invite you to journey through the heartland of Amish culture and tradition, right from the comfort of your own home. Inspired by my rich heritage, I continue curating a diverse collection of products for your home that celebrate the timeless values of simplicity, craftsmanship, and community. You will find authentic Amish furniture, Amish and Mennonite cookbooks, natural health books, essential oils, traditional foods, coffee & tea, classes, and more.

Connect with Cottage Kitchen and Market online and experience the warmth and hospitality of Amish tradition. Let us be your guide to a simpler, more meaningful way of living.