Welcome to Seashore Mountain Lady

Studio Selfie, image by @janehugentober

Every one of us has stories to share - thoughts about fleeting moments and life lived, sensory memories woven through generations and our everyday lives. These are some of mine - told through recipes and what’s happening in my kitchen in everyday life. Right now it’s just this blog and eventually, I’ll be ramping up into a podcast as well.

I’m an artist, a mother, and a seashore mountain lady embracing life in California. My childhood spans Mexico and Indiana, while my adult years have seen me as a New Yorker, a Los Angelean, and now a Northern Californian. I currently live and work in the Bay Area with my family, where my two greatest joys are mothering and making - nurturing my children and creating art in my studio. Writing is an essential outlet for me. I find inspiration all around, including the fragrant California Bay and Eucalyptus that fill the air during the warm, dry, and cooler wet seasons. I genuinely do heart California.

The simple pleasures of life resonate deeply within me: the weight of a weathered, ice-cold shell in my hand plucked from where the seafoam meets the sand, the serenity of cross-country skiing in the wintertime in Lake Tahoe—my church in nature, the sweet sounds of birds from the magnolia tree just outside my bedroom window in the morning time when I'm still nestled in bed. Euphoria is the warm, dreamy California light dancing on my skin, while love feels like my son’s breath on my neck during a tight embrace. I will always say yes to good bread and butter, and raising chickens for eggs has been a good idea; did you know they put themselves back in the coop at night?

Sushi, a Hawaiian plate lunch, and Al Pastor street tacos are my happiest meals, and I have a soft spot for mid-century design, vintage thrift shop treasures, the charm of the 1970s, and the music of Kate Wolf.

I hold a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA, where I juggled motherhood and earning my Masters, a testament to my strength and badassery then and now. Today, I’m a proud mother of two sons, our cherished senior dog, two pet goats - haven’t you, too, always wanted goats? -, and The Hens.

Welcome to Seashore Mountain Lady.

Jane