Hi hello, I’m Jana.
Whenever I started this blog in 2021, it was called Anchor Bakehouse, a home-based bakery selling breads, cakes, cookies, biscuits, and many other sweet & savory baked goods. I started that business after accidentally moving back to the states from London, UK at the cusp of the covid-19 pandemic (and I never went back). My experience working in the food tech industry in NYC and the UK didn’t smoothly translate to small town Kentucky, so I decided to take the year in 2021 and apply my skills to a new venture—selling baked goods at the local farmer’s market and through online sales. Therefore, Anchor Bakehouse was born. My experiences while traveling were a key ingredient to the bakes. And the name, Anchor Bakehouse, was inspired while sitting in church one Sunday morning when the choir sang “King of My Heart.” The line…
He’s our anchor in the waves
…could not be more true and more evident in my life. Through the adventures, challenges, mistakes, risks, heartaches, and joys of my life so far, the only constant has been God’s love, forgiveness, and guidance through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
I have to mention that almost everyone (besides my supportive parents and a few others) thought Anchor Bakehouse was a bad idea—a waste of time. I knew they were right, sorta. I knew I wouldn’t make money. I knew it wouldn’t be a profitable biz worth all the time and effort and resources (unless it was commercially scaled and to do that, you need a lot of capital which I didn’t have). However, I had clear instructions from the Holy Spirit to do it. So, I did.
That year, I baked countless items, spent thousands of hours on sore feet in my childhood kitchen, worked alongside my parents to package, transport, and display each item at the local marketplace. We all gained a bit of weight at the start during recipe testing and created memories I will never forget. Oh, did I say that all of this took place in my parents’ home where I grew up? Yes, at the age of 30, I left the career I had been working towards in the food tech field and moved back in with my parents. It was one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Continue reading to understand why that year and a half living as an adult back with my parents (though it felt lame and pathetic at times) turned into the most special gift.
At the start of the 2021 farmer’s market season, I was assigned a slot next to a kind, older man selling his produce. It was a rainy morning, and no one came to the market. During the downtime, I walked over to introduce myself. His name was Mr. Montgomery, and he seemed very kind. He told me that it was actually his 81st birthday. I wished him a happy one and that it was nice to meet him and headed back my bake stand. A couple hours later, and after selling basically nothing, I packed up several bags of breads and sweets and walked them over to my new friend, Mr. Montgomery, wishing him a happy birthday.
Every week at the market from that day onwards, Mr. Montgomery would come say hello and told me about his grandson, Eric, who he said I should meet. I humored it, thinking his matchmaking attempts would never happen. Fast forward to the end of the season, I learned a lot about his grandson. In August, I received a text from him. A month later, we went on our first date. Two months later, we got married. One month after that, my sweet dad went to heaven. A month after that, I got pregnant with our daughter, Cora. 18 months after that, my beautiful mom joined dad in heaven. A year after that, here I am typing this with tears rolling down my cheeks. I’m 29 weeks pregnant with our son, Walter. I am SO grateful for the story that God has written and continues to write for me. I only wish to follow His path for all the rest of my days.
So that leads us to…
Anchor Schoolhouse
What started as a bakehouse is now a schoolhouse. I’ve left the workforce and am at home with our daughter and soon-to-be newborn son. I’m focusing on caring for and teaching our children, supporting my husband and our household in ways that I never dreamed would be my sole occupation, but a job it most certainly is and the best one I’ve ever had. During this time, I’ve been researching ways to homeschool and raise our kiddos. I’ve learned a lot, but have a LOT more to learn. So this is going to be a place where I document and share. When I was 21, I got a tattoo on my wrist that says, “note” in times new roman font (type writer style). I wanted a reminder to always keep writing and recording this journey. So that’s what I’m doing with this space. I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to look like or where it’s going to lead, but I have ideas for sharing homeschool resources, read-aloud book lists, creative tips on being frugal and a single-income household in these mad times, recipes, grocery lists and budget calculators, biblical devotionals, and more. If you’ve read this far, thanks & hope you find something useful or enjoyable here!
Lord, let your light shine through this content and this space.
