Hi, I’m Kelli.

I’m a registered nurse, a maker, a cat mom of seven, and someone who has spent the last several years figuring out — sometimes the hard way — that the body is capable of healing in ways that most of us were never taught to expect.

I lost my mom when I was twenty-three years old. She was my best friend, my safe place, and the person I wanted to call every time something good or hard or confusing happened. Losing her sent me on a long journey — not just of grief, but of searching. For answers. For comfort. For something that felt like solid ground.

A lot of that searching eventually led me here. To food. To hormones. To the quiet, persistent work of trying to understand what was happening inside my own body and why.

By the time I was in my forties I had reversed type 2 diabetes, put Crohn’s disease into remission, resolved PCOS, lost a hundred pounds, and come off medications I had been on for years. I’m a nurse — I understand the clinical side of what happened. But I also lived it from the inside, and that combination of knowing the science AND having walked through it personally is what I bring to everything I write here.

I started this space because I kept meeting women — patients, friends, strangers on the internet — who were exhausted and dismissed and told their labs were “normal” when nothing about how they felt was normal. Women in their thirties and forties navigating perimenopause without anyone explaining what was actually happening to them. Women who had tried everything and been handed another prescription instead of answers.

I wanted to create something that felt like sitting down with a friend who happens to also be a nurse. Someone who will be straight with you, point you toward real information, and never make you feel like your questions are too small or too complicated.

When I’m not writing, I’m crocheting — I’ve been self-taught for about twenty years and I’m currently working on original patterns that will be available through The Morningside Studio on Etsy. I bake. I decorate cakes. I hike. I race Rally Cross. I paint rocks. I am, at my core, someone who makes things with her hands and likes to get outside. I find a lot of peace in that.

And then there are my cats.

Seven of them. Their names are Puma, Goose, Makitty, Bat, Shit Kit, Babby, and Jetpack Pigeon Forge — and yes, every single one of those names is intentional and has a story. Jetpack is the unofficial mascot around here, mostly because he has the kind of energy that makes everything feel a little more interesting.

They keep me company while I write. They sit on my yarn. They are, collectively, a disaster and an absolute delight.

What You’ll Find Here

The Morningside Studio is a space for women who are done settling for “managed” and ready to explore what thriving actually looks like.

Here you’ll find honest, research-informed content on:

• Ketogenic living and metabolic health
• Women’s health and hormones — perimenopause, PCOS, thyroid health
• Chronic illness and healing — IBD, chronic pain, autoimmune conditions
• Supplements and functional wellness

A Note on Credentials and Perspective

I am a Registered Nurse — BSN, RN — with clinical experience across multiple care settings, including home health nursing. I write from both my professional training and my personal experience. Everything here is intended for informational purposes and is not a substitute for the guidance of your own healthcare provider.

I’m glad you found your way here. Whether you’re navigating a new diagnosis, trying to understand your hormones, or just curious — you’re in the right place.

Pull up a chair. Stay a while.

— Kelli