In the end, however, Rome never left me.

In 2021, exactly 20 years later, fueled by nostalgia and a desire for personal and professional reinvention, I applied for residency.

My journey to feel at home in Rome has taught me the importance of human connection and the true meaning of hospitality. Wine education opened my eyes to the people and stories behind everything we eat and drink. I do my best to convey them both on paper and in the classroom.

I’ve forged genuine connections over the last twenty years throughout Italy and the Mediterranean. These relationships inform and enrich my writing, from a tour of Athens’ best bars with a leading female mixologist, to the romantic origins of Rome’s beloved cream-stuffed maritozzi brioche, as told to me by the third-generation owner of a historic bakery. 

A regular contributor to Amex Essentials, my work has been published in Every Day Fiction, The AutoEthnographer, Where Rome, Travel & Leisure, Wine Enthusiast, Club Oenologique, BBC Travel, and guidebooks from Insight Publications, Dorling Kindersley, and Time Out. I co-authored WHERE Publications, Rome: Shop! (2009), and am currently editing the manuscript of my first book: a memoir about falling desperately in love with Rome, and learning to love myself enough to leave it.

I’m currently based in and around Rome, Italy with regular stops in Athens and NYC. When not writing, I’m probably filling my wine glass (or someone else’s), hosting dinner parties on a terrace, or running a marathon.

Old World, New Roots

In 2001, I left Mid-Missouri for Rome, Italy on a five-month student visa. Two decades later, I’m back.  

During my twenties I worked as a freelance writer, English teacher, and translator. I’ve always loved language and I’m certain I would not be the woman or the writer I am today had I not immersed myself in a foreign one. I studied wine in Rome and learned to describe scents and flavors in a new vocabulary, rich with nuance and a uniquely Italian passion for storytelling.

I left Rome for New York at age 30, and founded a consulting and communications agency, DiVino. I freelanced at industry publications and created winery website copy. I hit the streets as a  wine sales rep, served wine from behind the bar, and nearly opened a wine bar of my own. In the wake of a dream diverted, creativity prevailed. I wrote and produced the YouTube series 21 Days to Wine, an introduction to the language of wine tasting, and an invitation to pull up a seat at my virtual bar.