Welcome! I’m Julia, the writer and photographer behind the Instagram account @simply.living.well, where I share about living simply, slowly, and sustainably. I’m also the author of Simply Living Well and Gardening for Everyone and occasionally contribute to magazines, such as Willow and Sage and In Her Garden.

I started my career working in conservation and international development, after earning degrees in biology and conservation science and policy. I still put some of those skills to use, as the co-founder of Lookfar Conservation, a nonprofit that supports biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, and regenerative agriculture in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

But mostly I’ve spent the last decade and then some raising children and looking for ways to integrate simplicity and sustainability into our lives and our home. I’m inspired by the old ways and slow, natural living, as well as by my grandparents and the agrarian community I lived with while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea, West Africa.

On a good day, you can find me working with my hands – in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes and remedies, in the art room making and creating with my children, or in the garden growing veggies, herbs, and flowers. 

I live in an old farmhouse on the north shore of Chicago with my husband Scott, our two children Benjamin and Eloise, and our beloved dog Gus.