A Little About Me

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I'm a mom to four adult kids, Marvin's wife, an entrepreneur, a baker, an animal lover, and someone who's always had more ideas than time to pursue them!

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I was born in Canoga Park, California, but grew up moving around the country. My dad worked in hotel construction and renovations, which meant we moved every year or two. We lived in California, Florida, Virginia, Oregon, and eventually Arizona. In seventh grade, my mom decided she'd had enough of Oregon's rainy weather, so we moved to sunny Arizona. I've been here ever since!

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I met my husband when I was 16, married him at 20, and we welcomed our first daughter shortly afterward. Over the years, we added three more kids to our family, and somewhere along the way, I followed in my dad's footsteps and built a career in construction management.

I worked full-time in construction management until September 2023, but it's still part of my life today. I still take on contract projects when opportunities come along, which sometimes takes me to pretty interesting places. In fact, I spent two months in Puerto Rico in 2025 working on a project!

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While construction has been a big part of my professional life, I've always had creative businesses and projects running alongside it.

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How I Got Started With Cakes

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When I was pregnant with our third child in 2005, I felt overwhelmed and wanted something just for me. My mom signed me up for Wilton cake decorating classes at Joann's. I wasn't much of a cook or baker then, but I attended an arts-focused high school, and in that first class, I realized I could use cake as another art medium.

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I was hooked!

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I started making sculpted cakes for family and friends. I'm talking gaming consoles, football helmets, and cakes that looked like anything but cake. Eventually, friends of friends started asking me to make cakes for them, too.

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At the time, Arizona didn't allow home-based baking businesses the way it does today, so I eventually opened a shared-use commercial kitchen in Gilbert. That business partnership ended in 2012, and I decided to take a break from the cake business.

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Always Another Idea!

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I've also always loved hosting parties, so my next business was Simply Party Box.

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This was back when Pinterest-worthy parties were everywhere, but creating them yourself wasn't always realistic. I wanted to make it easier for people to throw beautiful parties without spending a fortune or doing everything themselves. Simply Party Box offered curated party supplies designed around different celebrations. Eventually, a much larger company introduced a very similar concept, and I decided it was time to move on. But something good came out of it. That was when I started using the name Simply Cheyenne!

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Over the years, I've kept exploring different businesses and creative projects, and I've learned a lot from both the ones that worked and the ones that didn't.

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Life at Rowell Ranch

 

In 2020, Marvin and I moved our family to a larger property. What started as a new home eventually became Rowell Ranch, our family's nonprofit farm sanctuary in Chandler, Arizona.

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Today, caring for the animals and helping our community through the ranch are a big part of my everyday life. In addition to providing lifelong care for rescued farm animals, we run a Pet Food Assistance Program that provides pet food and supplies to homebound seniors so they can keep caring for their beloved companions.

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Eventually, balancing my full-time construction career with the growing responsibilities at the ranch became too much. After many conversations and budget discussions with Marvin, I stepped away from full-time construction management in September 2023 to create more flexibility. And, of course, I found my way back to baking!

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I opened The Cake Cart in 2024, which gave me another opportunity to bring sweet treats to celebrations. Since then, I've passed the business along to my daughter, and these days I get to enjoy baking without running the business myself.

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So, What's Simply Cheyenne?

 

It's a little bit of everything that makes me, me!

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I love baking, planning parties, trying creative projects, spending time with family and friends, traveling, discovering new foods and cultures, and finding ways to give back. Sometimes I'll share a recipe or a party idea. Other times it might be something happening at the ranch, a place I've visited, a project I'm working on, or something I've learned along the way.

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You don't need to do anything extravagant to make life enjoyable. Sometimes the simplest things turn into the best memories.

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That's what Simply Cheyenne is about: sharing ideas, experiences, and a little inspiration to create more joyful moments in everyday life.

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And with that, I think the cakes are done!

Until next time!

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~ Cheyenne