Hey there! I’m Luz, also known as Luci (two letters of my first name and two letters of my last name) I am so glad you came to visit White Oak Shop. I should start by sharing a little bit about myself. I am a daughter of immigrants. My father came to the United States from Mexico in the 1960s during the bracero program in search of a better life. He saw the potential of America and slowly began to migrate his family. He and my mother made central California their new home. They both worked in agricultural fields to provide a better life for their children. Their dream came true when all 3 of their children graduated college. My father passed away in 2011. Complications from colorectal cancer. I got a chance to really know him during his rounds of chemo. He worked so much growing up that we didn’t get much one on one time. He said he lived the “American Dream”
I am also living the American Dream. I received my business degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Go Mustangs!! I then got a pharmaceutical sales job. A corporate job with an expense account and a company car. I married my long time boyfriend. I vividly remember going to Hawaii on our honeymoon thinking I couldn’t of imagined this for my life as a child. I was and still am so grateful with my life.
Our first home was in Bakersfield, CA. We lived in a house we were renovating at the time. The entire house was in disarray. We fixed up one of the bedrooms and it felt like we were living in a 12 x 12 studio for 1st few months of our marriage. Renovations are hard on couples and we not only survived but thrived. We were newbies at the time and we learned a lot. This was all pre Pinterest. LOL I don’t have pictures of that house. I didn’t document our makeovers until later in our endeavors.
Fast forward a few years and a couple or kids. We were now in our 3rd house. Andy, my husband, worked on a rotation. He was in Alaska for two weeks at a time and then home for two weeks. We did this while the kids were little. I honestly look back at that time and don’t for the life of me realize how I did it. Parenting solo is extremely difficult. Much love to all you single parents. That time in my life was a blur. Working, traveling and raising babies. I am so thankful for the village of help I had at that time. I had managed to reduce my time at work to part time. I loved my job and when my hubby got a job that allowed him to stay home we decided it was time for another baby. A baby we could both watch grow up. So in 2014 we welcomed our bonus baby. The piece to our family we didn’t know was missing. That is also the same year my part time position was dissolved. I had to make a choice to go back full time of stay home to watch my baby grow up. We had decided to have another baby to actually remember and cherish those years so I decided to stay home. Watching our babies grow up has been such a blessing and so much work. I can honestly say from experience, staying home is harder mentally than working away from home. You never get a break. With that being said, I missed working. I needed a creative outlet. I started out by making handmade farmhouse signs. I love working with my hands and creating.
I then started sharing my work on Instagram and I was going to open an Etsy shop when my husband got word that we would be moving to southern Alabama. In 2016 we packed up and moved our family of 5 across the country. California to Alabama. What a culture shock. Four years later and we are still here, in the south, really enjoying the southern hospitality and way of life. We are now on our 5th fixer upper and here I am documenting our crazy journey.