MAY 11 • 2023 | 39

school in Adelaide, Australia, 
so Lauren went with him. He 
earned a master’s in wine mar-
keting and she a master’s in 
international marketing.
“We even found a temple 
there to attend Rosh Hashanah 
services and celebrated Passover 
with Jason’s thesis adviser,
” she 
said. 
The Blanfords now have two 
children, Fiona, 9, and Asa, 7.
When they returned to 
Chicago after two years in 
Adelaide, Lauren accepted a tra-
ditional marketing job. “I tried 
my best to love it, but I found 
working in an office was just not 
for me,
” she said.
The Blanfords realized they 
wanted to provide a different 
kind of life for their children 
and started looking for land in 
northern Michigan. “It was hard 
leaving our tight-knit Lincoln 
Square community, but we knew 
we were ready to take the leap,
” 

said Lauren.
They had to leave their 
Chicago condo before they could 
close on their new property. “We 
managed to find a short-term 
rental in Montague, Michigan, 
on an organic farm,
” Lauren said. 
“It actually ended up being a 
blessing in disguise! We learned 
so much living on the farm, and 
it felt like the perfect stepping 
stone to becoming farmers our-
selves.
”
The family lives in a centu-
ry-old farmhouse. In addition 
to hosting overnight guests, they 
run a market garden and raise 
chickens. They also host com-
munity events, yoga classes and 
more. 
Last summer, the Blanfords 
hosted a “barn mitzvah” for their 
fellow congregants at Temple 
B’nai Israel in Petoskey, where 
Fiona and Asa attend religious 
school and Lauren is on the 
board.

The glamping project is pretty 
much Lauren’s baby. Jason helps 
out but has a full-time job as 
regional sales director for Volio 
Wine Imports.
Over the past two summers, 
Lost Woods Farm & Forest 

has hosted about 150 sets of 
guests. 

More information is available at the web-

site, www.lostwoodsmi.com. For reserva-

tions, contact Lauren at thelostwoodsmi@

gmail.com. 

The Blanford 
family: Lauren 
and Jason, Fiona 
and Asa

B I R M I N G H A M

Member FDIC

We can’t teach your 
teenager to drive.

But we can help you 
save for college.

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Version:
04.24.23