Occupation: I am the owner of A Rustic Feeling, which is my side business where I design rustic décor for homes, weddings, babies, and pets. It's really fun. It originated when I remarried, and my daughters and I created all the rustic décor for the wedding day. My daughter Olivia actually named the business when she was 12 years old. I'm also an account manager for a software company called Exago out of Shelton. I've been with them for about a year and a half.

Family: I remarried in 2014. My husband Wayne and I dated in high school and rekindled after 26 years. He's a Botsford firefighter. We have four children between the two of us and one granddaughter. Steven is 28 and lives in Norwalk, Victoria is 24, Sarah is 20, and Olivia is 14, and our granddaughter Isabella is 7 years old.

Pets: We have two English setters, a rescue, Mike, who is 11, and Sammy, who is 5. We have a new 5-month-old kitten from The Animal Center in Newtown [now closed], named Toby. We had a wonderful experience adopting from them. We also have two rabbits and a fish. We recently had a Guinea pig, who was so sweet, but she passed away unexpectedly.

I've been here for 27 years. I came from Norwalk and fell in love with the town because of the country life.

How long have you lived in Newtown?

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to exercise, spend time with my family, read, and create rustic things.

Do you have a favorite book or author? I love the Mitford Years Series by Jan Karon. One of my aunts who passed away years ago recommended it. It's good, light reading.

What is your favorite travel destination? We have a cabin up in the Berkshires on top of a mountain where we love to go with the kids. Also, my husband and I like the Bahamas. We took our honeymoon there.

What is the best part about Newtown? The people and how they treat each other here. I love the small town feel and how people know each other, almost like Cheers.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? My parents and my Aunt Jean. My mom and Aunt Jean passed, but my dad is still here so he carries on a lot of the family values and morals. He continues to teach us about being a close-knit family. My aunt taught me to be strong, independent, but also caring. My mom is a huge part of who I am today. Watching her [as I was] growing up and seeing how kind, caring, and loving she was towards her family and everyone had such a big impact on me. So much so that when I was little and was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was "A mom just like mine!"

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? My brother Stephen. He passed away just last year. He was a business owner, and I used to talk to him all the time. When I had questions, I would go to him and he was always so encouraging. I really miss him a lot.

What is your favorite music genre? I love country music. My husband and I have gone to many country concerts.

Do you have a favorite TV show? I love all the shows about Alaska like Life Below Zero. I also like Live PD, Chicago Med, and Chicago Fire.

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever been given? From my brother, Stephen, "Always write down your goals. Place them everywhere."

What is something you cannot live without? My big family. I love them all.

What is your proudest accomplishment? A Rustic Feeling. To be able to take a vision that you have and actually make it into something and have people like it is so awesome. It has really taken off, and I'm so happy.