Tell us about yourself!

I grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to attend Augustana University, where I studied English and journalism. After graduating, I worked in marketing for a while before going out on my own as a freelance writer, which I’ve been doing full-time for five years now.

I married my husband, Mason (who I met on the first day of college!) in 2018. This June, we welcomed our first baby, a little boy named Crosby James. We also have a three-year-old mini sheepadoodle pup named Nessie. 

When I was a little girl, my dream job was to be a baby name consultant (who knows… there’s still time!), so names have always been a big deal to me. Our son’s first name is a nod to my mom’s hometown in northern Minnesota, where I spent a lot of time throughout my childhood, and his middle name is in honor of my dad, who passed away in June 2022. Even our dog’s name, Nessie, is a fun nod to a study abroad trip to Scotland that my husband and I went on together in college.

When did you join the roux croux and what brought you here?

As a kid, I used to visit my aunt and uncle out in the Black Hills of South Dakota every summer. In their neighborhood, there was a family with two daughters who were a few years older than me, and they would graciously play with me and take me on adventures when I was in town.

One of the girls was roux’s very own Lauren. We kept in touch over the years, and when I began freelancing, she reached out to me about working with roux. The rest is history!

Here's a throwback photo of me and Lauren with her sister and cousin!

Tell us about your role with roux. What are you typically working on or involved in?

I’m a writer, so I help out with a variety of copy-related projects — primarily roux’s own social media and blog content, as well as sporadic projects for other clients such as ad copy, social content and press releases.

What’s one of your most memorable moments from working with roux?

Way back in fall of 2019, I was able to meet up with everyone in person while on a trip to Nashville. Most of my clients are local to Sioux Falls, and I get to engage with them in person on a regular basis, so it was a fun opportunity to spend time with a remote client. 

What has defined your path? Did you always envision yourself in a role similar to your current one, or were you following a different path before finding this? 

Storytelling has been a passion since I was a little kid, so I think writing was always in the cards in some way. My direction became more clear in high school when I joined the yearbook staff and was formally introduced to the world of journalism. I went into college dreaming of working for a magazine, and while I have enjoyed freelancing for several local magazines here in Sioux Falls, I quickly learned that telling people’s stories was what I’m ultimately most passionate about, regardless of the medium.

No matter the client, I’m happiest when I have the opportunity to create content that speaks to their personality or what sets their businesses apart. Everyone has a story, and I love discovering them.

What’s something you’re looking forward to, whether work or personal?

I’m in a really sweet season of life right now where I have the ability to stay at home with my son and fit in my work projects where I can. Every day is different — he’s always growing and changing — and I genuinely look forward to seeing how I can continue to creatively fit my writing around my mom duties. It’s been a challenge, but I’m beyond grateful for it. 

What’s something your colleagues may not know about you? 

In addition to English and journalism, I also picked up a German major in college. I am by no means fluent, but I can understand it decently well and enjoyed learning about the culture and history.

Tell us about your hobbies!

I love cooking, family walks, travel, music and movies.

My husband and I have a regular movie night with another friend, where we each take turns bringing three movie selections to the group, and the other two get to vote on which they want to watch that night. We log, rate and write reviews for all of our picks on a movie app called Letterboxed (think Goodreads for movies), and it’s been a fun way to expand our film repertoire. 

For the kitchen:

Favorite local restaurant/bar/coffee shop:

If you ever make it up to Sioux Falls, Queen City Bakery is a must-stop. I actually used to be a barista there when I was getting started in my freelance career and needed a little extra income, and now it’s my favorite place to work from or meet up with friends. Absolutely everything is made in-house, and it’s impossible to pick a favorite treat. 

Your all-time favorite food:

This may sound silly, but I don’t think there’s much better than a great piece of crusty bread, slathered in quality butter, perhaps with a slice of cheese or some jam on top. I recently got back into making sourdough, so we pretty much always have fresh bread around, and it just doesn’t get old. 

Your signature recipe:

This is cheating a bit as it’s technically my sister’s recipe, but it’s one I’ve adapted and enjoy making for friends and family. She lives in the Netherlands, so there are a couple odd ingredients that are a bit tricky to find here, but Amazon has come through for me when local grocery stores fail. It’s a unique but fairly simple pasta with a bit of a sweet kick to it. I like that it’s creamy and filling enough to enjoy in winter, but the veggies and sweet chili also make the flavor work for summer.

Creamy Thai Chili Pasta

Ingredients

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually use two, but it’s flexible if you want to bulk up your meal a bit)
• 16 oz package of a hollow/tube-shaped pasta (rigatoni, penne, etc.)
• 1-2 heads fresh broccoli 
• 1/2 a yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 an orange bell pepper
• 1/2 package of mushrooms
• 1 stick herb butter (Kerrygold makes a good pre-made version — or you can make your own compound butter with herbs of your choice. Garlic, thyme, rosemary and chives would all work well.)
• 1 package of Boursin cheese (the garlic and herb flavor is usually my pick)
• 1 package of creme fraiche (or sour cream, in a pinch)
• 1/2 TBSP yellow curry powder
• Red pepper flakes (to taste)
• Ketjap (sometimes spelled kecap) manis
• This is the tricky one — it’s an Indonesian soy sauce, and it’s thicker and sweeter than what we’re used to. I haven’t been able to find it in grocery stores here in South Dakota, but perhaps you’ll be luckier than me in a larger metro area. I go with Amazon.)
• Thai sweet chili sauce for drizzling



Instructions 

• Chop uncooked chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
• Marinate for 20-30 minutes in a mixture of the ketjap manis and curry powder.
• Melt half the stick of herb butter in a pan, and begin sauteeing the chicken in the butter (add any leftover marinade to the pan, too). Give the chicken a few minutes to brown up, and then toss in all of your chopped veggies. 
• Cook the chicken and veggies together, stirring regularly, until nearly done.
• Add in the rest of your herb butter, the creme fraiche and the Boursin, and mix together until it forms a creamy sauce (I never said this was healthy! 😃). Season with red pepper flakes at this point.
• Once the sauce is well-mixed, add in your cooked pasta and stir to combine. 
• Finish it off with a healthy drizzle of sweet chili sauce (to taste, keep adding until it tastes good to you!).