Publisher: According to L

I started this blog as a way to keep track of my recipes, and then developed into a forum for tutorials and memory book on my life and my kids and my family. I am so excited to share my tales with you and hope that you find inspiration, hope and humor in my posts. I have written a few posts about myself here and here and here. I grew up in Maple Grove, MN with my parents and older sister, Molly. After graduating from high school in 2000, I attended college and graduated from the University of Minnesota - Duluth (go Dogs!) with a BA in English. I always loved to write. Even as a kid, I was always typing out short stories out our gigantic Apple computer. But after college, I took "real" jobs with Target and Regis Corporation. I eventually fell into the health care industry and worked on the broker side of health insurance, and moved into wellness with OptumHealth. I met my husband, Nate, at a wedding, and after a long-distance relationship, he moved to Minnesota and we eventually moved in together (in sin). We were married in June 2007. After buying our home in Champlin, MN, family was next on the to-do list. Olivia was born in 2008 and Avery came two and a half years later in 2011. By August 2012, I decided that the corporate life was no longer the best fit for my family and me, so I handed in my noticed and started staying home with my girls. Hung plung, but I plugged my nose, tucked my knees to my chin, and jumped in feet first! My blog, shop and being a Stella & Dot stylist are all huge sources of fun for me and my crazy world. Not to mention the extra money we need to fund dinners out and my need to have wine after the girls go to bed. My life is probably no different from many of my readers, but I like that. I like that we all share something in common, especially when things get tough or troublesome. It's always nice to know you're not alone, and thanks to this place, I never am. You can contact me via email: accordingtol1128 (at) gmail (dot) com