Hi, I'm Jessica.

Welcome to Barnwood & Butter! I’m a homemaker, wife, mother, storyteller (and self-identified comedian), and former Army Combat Medic with a heart full of memories and a home filled with love, laughter, and the smell of something delicious cooking. It's not always pretty, but it's always ours.

My Story - No one asked for this. But in case you're interested...

My story begins in Germany, where I was born to a German mother and an American soldier father. I was just a toddler when the Berlin Wall fell, and while I didn’t fully understand its significance at the time, it left an imprint on my sense of history, ancestry, and resilience. My family moved to New Jersey when my dad left the Army to pursue his education, and most of my childhood was spent there, with a few detours—Florida for middle school, and then back to New Jersey in high school to be near family.

I started college at Rutgers University, with dreams of engineering and a future in the Air Force. But life had other plans. During "the surge" in 2008, I felt a pull I couldn’t ignore and enlisted in the Army, shipping out just a week later. It was during this chapter that I met my husband, Mr. G, on my first day at my first duty station in Germany of all places. We got married a year later while deployed to Afghanistan, a love story forged under the most extraordinary circumstances. If it sounds mushy, that's because it is haha.

After deployment, we moved to Savannah, Georgia—a place that would shape my life and cooking forever. Savannah became the backdrop for learning how to be a wife and mother, and its rich, soulful cuisine seeped into my heart. Sweet tea, boiled peanuts, and fried shrimp weren’t just meals; they were memories. I often joke that I grew my babies on southern coastal flavors, but it’s true—those years of nurturing and experimenting in the kitchen inspired much of what I share here.

When my middle-youngest was born, I left the Army to focus on our growing and nurturing our family. We moved a few more times as we followed my husband’s career, eventually finding our forever home here in the Rocky Mountains.
Ranch life has its challenges—short growing seasons, long trips to town, and the need for self-sufficiency—but it’s a life I wouldn’t trade for anything. We raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, and Jakob sheep, living a life of intentionality and purpose.

Barnwood & Butter is my way of preserving this journey—of documenting the messy, meaningful moments and the recipes that nourish not just the body but the soul. Whether it’s a meal that brings your family together, a DIY project that transforms a small corner of your home, or a story that makes you smile, I hope you’ll find something here that feels like a warm embrace.

Pull up a chair, pour a glass of sweet tea, and join me in celebrating the beauty of homecooked and handmade. Together, we’ll make the ordinary extraordinary.