Meet Leigh Anne

As promised, here is my interview of Leigh Anne Wilkes, a wife, mother of four, and purveyor of several home-based businesses. As you can see, she is one busy lady!

1. You have an adorable family. Did you always want four children, or was that a later-in-life decision?
There are 5 children in my husband's family and my parents had 3 so I guess 4 was a good compromise. Although, the first two were boys and if number 3 had been a boy there would not have been a number 4! But fortunately for my youngest - the 3rd was a girl so thus there were 4!

2. Your blog says you run various types of home-based businesses. Do you have a favorite business? Why?
I have been a stay at home - work at home mom for 23 years. I graduated from college with a degree in Clothing & Textiles (a fairly worthless degree) - I guess it did come in handy when I ran a children's sewing school from my home for several years. But for the last 17 years I have had a direct sales business and led a team of over 700 women. I have been able to work from home, do something I love and make money doing it. Being able to earn a full time income working part time from home is an incredible blessing.

3. If you were stranded on a desert island with one person, one book, and one movie (because there is a DVD player and a TV on this island), what would you choose?
My sweet husband, he's a former Scoutmaster so his camping and survival skills would come in handy plus I love him! As far as a book that is a tough one - I love to read and rarely read a book more than once. The only book I have ever read numerous times is Pride & Prejudice. I am a huge Jane Austen fan so I guess that would be it. For a movie- My all time favorite movie since I was a teenager has been Gone With the Wind.

4. What advice do you give to women who are trying to balance their home life and work life?
Learn to differentiate between priorities and guilt. As women and especially as mothers, we do a lot of things because we guilt ourself into it or out of it- not because it is a priority. Learning to focus on the things that are really important, that really matter and that bring us joy and not getting caught up in doing things because we feel we have to.

5. Do you have a favorite presidential candidate? Who and why?
Well, my guy just pulled out so I guess I need to rethink the whole thing. (Being the good, mildly conservative Mormon that I am - guess who that was?!)

6. Your blog contains a lot of recipes, product recommendations, and advice on entertaining and such. Are you trying to give Martha Stewart a run for her money?
Well my friends and neighbors do affectionately refer to me as Martha Stewart...but it is something that brings me a lot of joy and pleasure. I love surrounding myself with beautiful things, yummy food and good friends. Creating an environment that is beautiful, where people feel comfortable and nourished (both physically and emotionally) is important to me.

7. Do you have a dream vacation spot? If so, where is it? (And if you’ve already been there, tell us about it!)
My dream vacation spot would be to spend a month in a quaint little cottage in the English countryside puttering in the garden! Both my grandparents were born and raised in England and I would love to spend some extended time there. And I mayhave read too many Jane Austen books! My other dream vacation spot is Manzanita Beach on the Oregon Coast where we have a home. We have enjoyed lots of fun family times there - our favorite activity is to have a bonfire on the beach.

8. Having never been to Oregon, I’m curious: What is the best thing about living there?
The worst? The best thing - the rain - it makes everything grow green and beautiful and I have a beautiful garden as a result. The worst thing - the rain - we do get a lot of it but probably not as much as people think. I hate what it does to my hair!

9. How did you become interested in blogging?
I am a newbie blogger - I have only had my blog since September of 2007 and I have learned so much. It is a whole world that I didn't know existed prior to that. The first blog I ever saw was one started by a friend of mine - Sheri Berger at http://www.theloopyewe.com/ She inspired me. I loved the sense of community she had created through her blog - sharing her life, her experiences, her recipes, her passion for knitting and others sharing with her. I wanted to create that same sense of community, inspiration and motivation for women who worked from home and were dealing with the challenges that come with trying to balance the two.

10. Describe yourself in 10 words or less.
This was a hard one for me so I decided to ask my family - this is a few more than 10 word :)
My 23 year old son:"Energizier Bunny", leader, good listener
My 21 year old son (I asked him for 5 words that describe me) - spends too much on clothes
My 18 year old daughter - "knows what she wants", intense, caring, motivating
My 14 year old daughter - fashionable, productive, creative, cook, loving
My husband - beautiful, passionate about what she does


Thanks, Leigh Anne!