Welcome to The Porch
Exploring the art of living well through home, garden, and seasonal design
Well hello there!
I’m so glad you found me.
I’m Miriam - founder of The Whiskey Porch, my Creative Design Studio here in the high-country of northern Arizona.
From executive leadership in Silicon Valley & the NFL to designing spaces and lives shaped by place, season & beauty - it’s been a windy and somewhat unexpected journey that eventually led me here, to this space, and to you.
If you’ve ever felt that overwhelm of modern life, that drifting and disconnect from something essential, and something grounded, then perhaps you’ve found the right place.
Here on the porch, we explore the art of living well through thoughtful home, garden, and seasonal design.
This goes deeper than decorating or craft to focus on seasonal living, creativity, and the small daily rituals that help life feel rooted and meaningful.
And this is not your typical slow-living content - I promise!
We aren’t ignoring politics or the chaos we see and feel around us - we are nurturing the good we still deeply crave: beauty, meaning, joy, connection, creativity, laughter, and home.
Holding on to these ephemeral bits of life can be a challenge, and I’m here to help you seek the joy and beauty - always the beauty. I believe these things matter more now than ever before.
The Whiskey Porch is both a real place and a metaphorical one.
The real Whiskey Porch belongs to our historic 1924 Craftsman bungalow here in Prescott - in the mountains of northern Arizona. (I’ll share the story of that porch and it’s name below.)
And the metaphorical porch is the space we gather together, here - to slow down a little, notice more deeply, and create lives that feel smaller, simpler, and more beautiful.
Locally, I design timeless homes and gardens as one cohesive whole, integrating architecture, landscape, and the rhythms of seasonal living.
Through my Creative Studio, my work also extends into publishing, handcrafted work, and occasional programs and workshops designed to help you create thoughtful homes and gardens of your own.
I’m truly glad you are here.
I didn’t always understand these ideas so clearly. This way of living took time - decades.
Like many of you, I spent years chasing a very different definition of success.
I have no regrets but, the truth is, I arrived at this porch in a somewhat unexpected manner. It wasn’t one “aha” moment, but more of a slow realization.
A dream at first. Then came the doubt and fear that often accompany meaningful change. And then one foot after the other it began to shift.
Now, of course, looking back it feels like I’ve come home - literally and figuratively.
And I know now that it’s entirely possible to build a life that feels more aligned and meaningful. While I sort of wish I’d made this shift earlier in life, I wouldn’t have the perspective to truly relish it the way that I do now.
And it certainly took years to really get to know myself well enough to make the truly personal choices for fulfillment rather than following the inherited definitions of success.
Perhaps you’ve experienced some of this yourself?
Recently, I wanted to share this personal story, in more detail, and it became a letter called When Success Stops Feeling Like Success. It’s about walking away from Silicon Valley, the NFL, and a big life - to create something smaller, simpler, and more beautiful.
Many of the changes and decisions were initially very practical and tangible. This was perfectly fine, because big changes come with little steps.
But slowly, almost without realizing it, I began making choices that felt more personal, more intentional, and ultimately more honest.
I wasn’t re-inventing myself. I was finding myself and setting an anchor. A Truer Kind of Honesty is a reflection on truth, performance, and living what we believe.
I like to think that every change and decision was entirely intentional.
Do you know that saying “be careful what you wish for”?
The truth is that sometimes you get what you need - even without realizing it. And then, as those wiser than I have said, you need to ‘be ready when the luck happens’. Be open to opportunity.
We didn’t really intend to buy an old bungalow. It was the last thing on our minds.
But one day trip changed everything, and set us on a path toward reinvention that would eventually grow into The Whiskey Porch and our compass, and my “small-not-tiny” design philosophy that now guides so much of my work and life.
The story of that unexpected turn - and how we We Accidentally Bought a Bungalow - is about openness, reinvention, and the surprising ways life sometimes leads us exactly where we were meant to be.
Since that day, 16 years ago, I have come to realize that beauty, design, gardens, creativity, and seasonality are not luxuries - they shape the quality of our lives.
They bring depth and meaning, and a rhythm that is a true gift.
And over the years, I’ve found myself returning often to what I really mean when I use the word “design.”
🌼Not Instagram-perfect
🌼Not Pinterest-influencer
🌼Not trend-driven, perfomative luxury
To me, thoughtful design is something far more personal and meaningful:
thoughtful spaces that support emotional wellbeing
gardens that reconnect us to rhythm and attention
beauty that nourishes us deeply
creativity woven into ordinary life
homes that feel intentional and lived-in
and the understanding that smaller and simpler can still feel rich, expansive, and deeply beautiful
These ideas eventually became the heart of Creating Beauty Is Enough - a true story about beauty, the art of contentment, and what really matters.
Perhaps that’s really what The Whiskey Porch has been about all along - contentment & possibility. Holding onto the good: joy, beauty, connection, creativity, laughter, and home.
I want to help you rediscover a way of living that feels more intentional and deeply your own. To find richness in a smaller, simpler, more beautiful lifestyle.
To help bring the inspiration and ideas to life, my Creative Studio also offers a small collection of progams and workshops designed to guide you in that transformation. Gently. Thoughtfully. Step-by-step.
If some part of you has been longing for that, then perhaps you’ve found your way here for a reason. ✨
If you’d like to wander a little further, you can learn more about the story behind The Whiskey Porch on my About Page, or explore conversations on:
With contentment & possibility,
