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 A little bit about us

Hi, I'm Jenna. Ordinary, but blessed beyond measure. I am wife to a wonderful, hardworking berry farmer. He encourages, tempers, supports my creative endeavors, & makes me laugh. We were married by faith, without having dated. You may think we're crazy, & we are...about each other (Sorry, couldn't resist!). Someday, I am going to share our love story, authored by God, on this little blog. Until then, just trust me that we are madly, deeply in love without having dated, & that we have a very healthy, imperfect, real relationship.
photo by kara kuenzi photography
We have one sweet girl whom we love dearly. 
photo by kara kuenzi photography
She brings so much joy (and mess, & stress, & less than great sleep) to our lives. We don't know what we would do without her. 

We make our living growing blackberries & blueberries in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I grew up in the Midwest surrounded by corn & beans, but have my roots on a dairy farm in Ohio, so farming has always been a part of my life. I love being able to get involved on the farm & work side by side with my man during harvest in the summer! It's crazy busy, but I wouldn't trade it for all the nine-to-five, predictable, secure jobs out there. And berries taste a lot better than corn & beans:). Although I'm still partial to dairy.

A little bit about me


I have called Illinois, Ohio, California, & now Oregon, home. Every place offered life lessons, dear friends, & shaped who I am today. God has directed my life in a series of stepping stones I never could've imagined when I gave my heart to Jesus as a senior in high school. I fail so often, but I try to thank Him daily for His grace, guidance, & tendency to overfill my cup.

I love coffee, just strong & black, thank you. I'm a sucker for vintage floral fabric (or vintage, floral anything!). I collect cakestands, girly dishes, & love a well-decorated party. Watercolor is my favorite medium (I've lost patience & talent for anything else). I spent two years at an art school studying fine art. I'm 6th of 7 kids. (My husband is 4th of 12!) I thoroughly enjoy trying exotic, ethnic foods & have a shameless weakness for taco vans. I used to read a book every few days & once won a contest in grade school for reading the most pages in a month. My prize was being forced to kiss a live pig at an all-school assembly...I still love to read, but tend towards "how-to" books & non-fiction these days. I prefer to be at home over anywhere else, puttering around the house. My husband & daughter get the best & most of me, as they should. I spend my free-time with my wonderful in-laws at the farm, cooking/crafting with friends, facetiming my family in Illinois, or dreaming up how to incorporate more hand-painted watercolor florals into my life.

Being creative is an essential part of who I am. When I should be doing laundry, sweeping Cheerios off the floor, or bookwork (I loathe bookwork. Someday, I shall hire it out), I can more likely be found painting for my etsy shop (JKathrynDesign), having fun with my camera, sewing/crafting/modpodging little pretties for my girl + home, or writing on the blog.

Some of my wildest dreams are designing my own line of fabrics, figuring out adobe illustrator, sewing a whole dress that actually fits me, being featured on Martha Stewart, & mastering macarons once & for all. I know, I dream BIG. Until then, my dreams of being a mother, wife, artist, & designer are being realized daily. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom!



A little bit about the blog

One of my dreams back when was to have a blog. Check that one off the list. The blog started as a way to keep my family in the Midwest updated on my happenings after I moved to California (pre-marriage). The name, "Pearls on a String" was borrowed from a line in one of my all-time favorite books, Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery.
“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” ― L.M. MontgomeryAnne of Avonlea 
That pretty much sums up my blog intentions: to celebrate life's simple little pleasures in a real & uplifting way. It has slowly evolved into a journal of sorts, to document the little things in life, as a way to share encouragement & creativity to others, & to give me a sense of purpose while I stay at home & work my favorite job so far: mom to my girl. My hope is that you leave here feeling refreshed, encouraged, inspired, & with the certainty that Jesus is real & He knows your heart, even if I don't. 

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