ABOUT

BELIEF #1

A meaningful life is built intentionally, not accidentally. Time passing does not create clarity, healing, or growth on its own. The way we choose our work, our boundaries, and how we spend our days determines the life we look back on.

BELIEF #2

Most people are doing the best they can with the information and language they have. When we focus on intention rather than perfection, we preserve relationships, reduce unnecessary conflict, and make room for connection instead of isolation. And when being close is not possible or healthy, it is okay to coexist with boundaries and a little distance.

BELIEF #3

Life is not meant to be postponed until everything feels easier or safer. I believe in paying attention, showing up fully, and building a life that reflects courage, curiosity, and care, even when the path is uncertain.

Ultimately, our obituary is a summary of the choices we made and the life we lived.I want mine to reflect depth, usefulness, joy, and intention.

I'M LIZ

I’m a recovering hustle-culture millennial who did everything “right.” I paid off my student loans, avoided consumer debt, delayed having kids until it made financial sense, and built a stable career as a nurse practitioner. I followed the plan exactly as it was handed to me, trusting that someday all those careful decisions would pay off.

Then my husband died.

I was widowed at 31 with two young children, right at the moment when life was supposed to get easier. The future we had planned evaporated overnight, and I was left rebuilding not just my family’s life, but my own identity.

In the years that followed, I came to a hard truth: the career I had worked so hard for no longer fit the person grief had shaped me into. I didn’t want to hustle harder or chase someone else’s version of success. I wanted a life that felt aligned, sustainable, and deeply mine.

So I made a pivot.

I started a flower farm, Sunny Mary Meadow, and grew it from a side project into a many-times-over six-figure business in four short years—selling thousands of bouquets each season and expanding into weddings, agritourism, education, and community-centered work. What began as a practical decision became a living example of what’s possible when you stop optimizing for productivity and start choosing intention.

Along the way, I realized I wasn’t interested in building a nonprofit or positioning myself as a savior. I wanted to build businesses, tell the truth about grief and resilience, and create resources that help people make thoughtful choices before life forces their hand.

Everything I do now—my writing, speaking, courses, and work on the farm—is rooted in the same belief: you can honor what you’ve lost without shrinking your life, and you can build something meaningful even when the plan falls apart.

This is a space for honest conversations about grief, growth, work, money, family, and what it really looks like to bloom anyway.

MY STORY

After six years of marriage, two days after our only daughter’s birthday, I lost my husband. The day after his funeral, I found out I was pregnant again.

Widowed and pregnant at 31, I became acutely aware of how uncomfortable loss makes other people. I was often treated like something fragile that might shatter, or something volatile that needed careful handling. Neither felt true, and both were exhausting.

With time, I learned that most people were not trying to say the wrong thing. They were reaching for language in a situation they had never been forced to imagine. I stopped measuring people by how perfectly they showed up and started paying attention to their intention instead. Grief is isolating enough without cutting off everyone who does not get it exactly right. If I had ended every relationship the moment someone misspoke, I would have ended up very alone.

Today, grief still informs my choices, but it no longer runs them. I do not deny anger or pretend loss is tidy or linear, but I am intentional about where I put my energy. I cannot control how the world responds to grief, but I can control how I respond and how I build my life around what matters most.

That intention shows up in my work. I own and operate Sunny Mary Meadow, a diversified flower farm that has grown into a many times over six figure business in just four years. What started as a practical pivot became a deeply values aligned life and business rooted in seasonal work, community, creativity, and sustainability. Alongside the farm, I speak nationally, write, and build educational resources for entrepreneurs, families, and communities navigating change, loss, and major life transitions.

Everything I create is designed to make hard seasons more navigable and meaningful. Not by fixing grief or rushing people through it, but by showing what is possible when you choose intention over urgency and build a life that can hold both joy and loss.

What do I do for a living?

That's a loaded question. Since Josh passed away, I usually don't ask that. I say, "How do you occupy your time?" instead because people often share about their hobbies instead of their job that they hate.

At the center of it all is Sunny Mary Meadow, a diversified flower farm in Central Minnesota. We grow seasonal blooms from early spring through fall and operate a subscription-based model where customers pre-purchase their bouquets during the off-season. We host pick-your-own events, private gatherings, and on-farm experiences that connect people to agriculture in a tangible way in our event venue The Bloom Room. We provide full service wedding and event florals for dozens of couples each year, and we host their showers and rehearsal dinners right here on the farm. We also sell consistently to a number of florists who prioritize locally grown flowers. What began as a side project has grown into a many-times-over six figure business in four short years, supported by an incredible seasonal team that allows me to focus on vision, growth, and creative work rather than daily operations.

I also continue to practice as a nurse practitioner one day a week through virtual urgent care. Medicine shaped me deeply, and while it no longer defines my primary career, I value staying connected to patient care and keeping my license active. I am grateful to work with a healthcare organization that supported me in redesigning my role after my husband died, allowing me to continue practicing in a way that works for my family and my life now.

I am the host of the Rooted Agritourism podcast, where I explore the intersection of farming, entrepreneurship, community, and resilience. Through the podcast, courses, coaching, and live workshops, I work with farmers and small business owners who are building diversified, values aligned businesses. I am currently launching Farmers to Florists, a software platform designed to help flower farmers and florists manage crop planning, availability, and collaboration more efficiently. I also host virtual and in person workshops for those who want to build businesses similar to mine, with a focus on pricing, systems, sustainability, and intentional growth.

I am also a national speaker, working with conferences, nonprofits, corporations, and community organizations. My talks blend personal experience with practical insight, focusing on resilience, leadership, intentional living, and preparing for life’s hardest moments before they arrive.

I am an author as well. I self published a children’s book that is now being traditionally republished, have released multiple digital publications, and authored a guided gardening journal that reached number two in its category on Amazon. My memoir, Flowers Bloom Anyway, will be traditionally published in 2026 and tells the story of rebuilding a meaningful life after loss.

People often assume this means I am doing too much or that I should focus on one thing. What I have built is not a collection of competing projects. It is an intentionally designed ecosystem I call the Fertilizer Framework. Each arm of my work feeds the others. The flower farm provides lived experience and credibility. The education and workshops turn that experience into systems others can use. The Farmers to Florists platform solves operational problems I faced firsthand. None of it competes for attention. Each piece strengthens the rest, creating a diversified and resilient model that supports both growth and real life.

All of my work is connected by the same belief. You can hold grief and ambition at the same time. You can build businesses that are profitable and humane. You can choose a life that feels full, even when it looks nothing like the one you planned.

What do I do for fun?

When I am not working, I spend as much time as possible outdoors. As a family, we love camping, hiking, kayaking, and exploring new places together. Winter is my favorite season for hobbies, especially cross country skiing, which has become one of my favorite ways to clear my head and move my body.

I used to be an avid runner and once had a goal of completing a 10K in every state. After my husband died while running on a treadmill, my relationship with running changed. I have found other ways to move, explore, and challenge myself that feel better for this season of life, and I am at peace with that.

I also really enjoy good food and drink, especially artisan cheese and craft beer, ideally shared with good conversation. Reading is another favorite pastime, particularly books about growth, psychology, leadership, and intentional living.

I am remarried to a partner who supports the life we are building together and gently reminds me to slow down, notice the seasons, and admire the flowers I grow.