08/18/2026
Here it is, my BIG secret!!!!!!!!
And you know there’s gotta be a mushy story to go along with this win, right?
My brother and I grew up pretty poor, we always had food and we never worried about a roof over our heads but we had an outhouse until I was 12 (I do love to pull out the outhouse story, iykyk) We had the bare minimum, we didn’t have new school clothes, I remember the big blocks of government cheese, living in a one room cabin with no electricity or running water, I also remember Down East magazine and the LLBean catalogs and to me the pictures in these publications were pictures of unattainable things, the sorts of things that people who lived different lives than I did could have and could see and even then I wasn’t envious, I was just aware that my life wasn’t filled with matching backpacks and lunchboxes, beautiful jewelry or fancy houses SO this one…this one is a true full circle moment for me, seeing my name in Down East as The Best of Maine in the floral category feels very surreal, very humbling, very very meaningful.
To be listed along with some of the shops that I admire most is a tremendous honor and I’m grateful for all of you who voted for me, who believed in my dream, who have spent your hard earned money at The Nest and who have become friends and true supporters.
And to my team, who deserves this award as much as I do (maybe even more) YOU are the heart of The Nest and I’m proud of you all and thankful that you keep showing up for me and for this crazy dream of mine.
Thank you, thank you, thank you-truly from the bottom of my flower filled heart for this honor and for this full circle moment.
