My welcome is written in 3 languages. My family originated from Germany and Norway. I am proud of my roots.

My Grandma Bruesewitz recently gave me the trunk that her great grandfather brought to America with him. The trunk and the clothes on his back were all that he had when leaving Norway.  He stuffed the trunk with the only possessions he deemed necessary for creating a life for himself and his family in a new country. The trunk was in a guest bedroom in her home – the room my cousin Jimmy and I played in as children. I remember us both climbing into the trunk, daring each other to shut the lid. We had no idea the age or value of the trunk nor did we consider that neither of us would have been brought into existence without it.

When my Grandpa Fretty died, I was told a story from his childhood that I had strangely never heard before. When he was a boy, he had a dog named Jigs on his family farm. He was outside paying with a piglet, when the sow (piglet’s mommy for non-farm peeps) broke out of her pen. She attacked my grandfather and broke his arm. Like most mothers, sows are both willing and highly capable of killing to protect their young. This could have easily been my grandfather’s fate, had Jigs not come to his rescue to fight the pig off. The dog and his helpless master both survived the incident. Jigs was one of the good boys. One of the best boys. Had my grandfather chosen a smaller or less protective dog than Jigs to be the family pet, our family would have stopped right there.

I am teary-eyed writing this as I consider the minuscule odds of even being born no less making it to an age to reproduce. On a less heavy note, the reality is that each family has a “trunk” or a “Jigs” that attributed to their lineage. Find yours and I challenge you to add it to your daily gratitude practice whether that is prayer, mindfulness, journaling or a family dinner discussion. I promise, you will feel so humbled and appreciative of your family heritage.

You may ask what this has to do with sophistication. My source, my inspiration my muse for everything sophisticated is my family – especially the women in it. This blog will contain links to simple and sophisticated cooking, home decorating, hosting, clothing, and much more. The women in my life have bestowed upon me a great deal of wisdom and I am eager to pass it on to you. I am truly grateful for your precious time.