25/07/2026
One year ago, I released the first edition of The Local Coloring Book.
I still have a hard time believing what this little project has become.
Over 325 copies sold.
Carried by 6 local retailers.
Now in its 4th edition.
Long before it became a book, it was just an idea born in the blur of early motherhood.
After having my first baby, I felt like I lost my identity. A woman I had once been so sure of seemed to have vanished. My days were full of bottle feeds, diaper changes, laundry, and the uncertainty of trying to find confidence in my new role. I loved being a mother, but somewhere along the way, I started missing the creative part of me.
In an effort to reconnect with my new identity, I started drawing the places I loved.
And in between feedings and diaper changes, my mind would wander back to the Forgotten Coast.
Back to St. George Island.
Back to being a little girl.
My family has been visiting the Forgotten Coast for generations. Some of my sweetest childhood memories were made there. I remember summers with my family and the feeling that getting to the island was an adventure all on its own.
After what already seemed like a long car ride from South Georgia, filled with anticipation and excitement, we would reach State Road 65, which felt like hours long in itself. From Sumatra, my Granny would have us count down the bridges until we reached “the turn.” There were five, and only bridges with water underneath counted.
Finally, we would get onto the scarily narrow old bridge. I was convinced we were driving straight into space because it seemed so steep when I was little.
We would always stay at Wild Child. I can still remember the unique smell of the boathouse where we would shower off after a long day in the sun.
I remember my Granny carrying a Ziploc bag full of quarters so my cousin and I could play hours worth of games at BJ’s Pizza.
I remember long beach days at the state park or 7th Street, and stopping at Aunt Ebby’s on the drive home with sand still clinging to us.
I remember evening suppers at The Blue Parrot. My cousin and I would sit on the jet skis while we waited for our food, pretending we were ripping through the waves, looking for dolphins.
I remember long days offshore fishing on my uncle’s boat, competing to see who could reel in the biggest fish. Somehow, my little sister always seemed to catch the biggest one.
The Forgotten Coast has always felt like home to me. Not necessarily because I lived there, but because so many of my core memories do.
And when I became a mother and felt like I was trying to find myself again, I think I was also finding my way back to those memories.
The Local Coloring Book became my little escape.
A way to return to the coast when I couldn't physically be there.
A way to let my mind wander to a coastal state of mind while my hands were busy caring for a baby.
A way to take all of these places and memories that I loved so deeply and turn them into something tangible.
Something I could hold.
Something other people could hold, too.
I never imagined that this little project, created from a need to reconnect with myself, would make its way into more than 325 homes or be carried by 6 local retailers.
And I certainly never imagined that something so deeply personal to me would resonate with other people who love this coast just as much as I do.
Thank you to every person who has bought a copy, gifted one, stocked one in a store, shared a post, encouraged me, or simply told me how much a particular place means to you.
These places hold our memories.
And sometimes, when we are lucky, we get to turn those memories into something that can be passed on.
One year of The Local Coloring Book.
One year of finding my way back to myself.
One year of drawing the places that have held my heart for as long as I can remember.
Thank you for letting me share a little piece of my Forgotten Coast with you. 🤍
