We caught up with Katie Leonka this week! She shares the role Glens Falls played in meeting her husband, the joys of city living, and two versions of a perfect Glens Falls day - because there’s never just one ;)
Tell us about yourself!
Hey, my name is Katie Leonka! I’m a mom of two - Tenley (3 years) and Macey (10 months). My husband Brendan is a Glens Falls fireman.
I recently started working at the Glens Falls Veterans Affairs office on Ridge Street. Working with our local veterans is so rewarding. This job gives me the opportunity to give back to those who served us and this is meaningful and fulfilling to me! Every day I look forward to meeting more veterans in this position.
I maintain a very small blog on Instagram (LuckyLeonkaCo) where I engage with an evolving mom community. We spotlight other moms, their experiences and perspectives, struggles with motherhood, quick meals for the busy mom, and the one thing that keeps most moms going - coffee! I share my own experiences with motherhood, the importance of positivity, and showing up when it’s not always the easiest. For example, completing a 6 month dietary restriction (cutting dairy) for my own lactose sensitive baby girl was quite the challenge recently. Featuring my custom made shirts on this blog and getting feedback from the community helps me to separate the good ideas from the ‘not-so-good’ ideas - it’s still fun!
Another fun fact about me is that I’m ordained (because your girl loves love) and I’m going to get to marry a few of my favorite people coming up in the next couple of years!
On Life In and Around Glens Falls
Brendan and I were both born at Glens Falls Hospital, and grew up in Queensbury. Fate would have it that we would inevitably meet. Interestingly enough, I grew up next door to Brendan’s Grand Aunt Madeline who used to watch me as a baby. Our paths didn’t cross until I was graduating high school. I was with his sister Brittany at the Relay for Life and Brendan was home visiting from college. About a year later we reconnected on college break at Dango’s (on Maple St) and bonded over chicken wings and good laughs. We had our first ‘official date’ at Rob and Deb’s where I distinctly remember ordering mint chocolate twist ice cream, having one lick and dropping the whole cone.
When we were talking about where we wanted to place our own roots, we quickly knew we wanted to stay in the Glens Falls area to be close to family and in hopes that Brendan would be hired at the fire department. It seems like just yesterday, but was almost 10 years ago!
Glens Falls is so up and coming! It seems like there is always a new boutique, restaurant or other interest to check out. I believe this is the ideal location for raising a family. There is so much to explore and enjoy in this tight knit community and I love that. We are growing our family here and look forward to watching the city really flourish with everything new it has to offer!
On City Living
We bought our first home in the city in 2014 from a friend’s grandfather. I knew that the search for our home was over the moment we pulled up in front of the house. We have spent the last 7 years making it our own. When we moved in, most of the walls were either wallpapered and/or white lath and plaster. We have remodeled almost every area and it looks so different. Brendan has completed our version of just about every Pinterest project I have found, including a pallet wall in our kitchen and shiplap wall in our bathroom.
Our favorite part of the house is probably our New York Giants “Fan Cave” where we proudly support blue and red in almost every square inch. We love the smell of buffalo chicken dip filling the house with our family and friends screaming at the TV as if we were actually at the game.
A Perfect Glens Falls Day
My perfect Glens Falls day… oooh this is a tricky one, so I’m going to do a split perspective weekday and a weekend version!
My ideal weekday would start at Spektor for a breakfast sandwich and vanilla almond milk latte before heading to the office. I would hope for a sunny day to enjoy a walk around the city during my lunch break and eat my lunch in City Park with the beautiful tulips. Before heading back to work, I would grab an afternoon pick-me-up from Juicin’ Jar, praying that they have their chocolate ganache donuts - seriously, they are amazing! After finishing work, I would pick up my girls and head back downtown for Take-A-Bite, finished with a Raspberry Cosmo at DTCT!
My favorite day in the city is Saturday! We load the car first thing in the morning and head straight to the Glens Falls Farmers Market! Tenley especially looks forward to going to the Farmers Market to pick up her Rainbow Bagels from Alchemy Bagel. Other musts are chatting with John at Adirondack Gourmet Coffee, ground beefalo from Lick Springs Farms, Mercy Cheddar from Argyle Cheese Farmer, and our newest favorite Blue Boots Farm habanero ginger jelly - which is the perfect addition to the beefalo burger with cheddar! After the Farmers Market, we would meet my parents for a quick breakfast at Spot Coffee before heading to the Halfway Brook Trail in Queensbury. This tires the girls for their afternoon nap. Afternoons consist of hanging out with family and having a cookout poolside, or going for boat ride on Lake George. We’d end the day with date night at Doc’s for dinner. The staff at Doc’s always goes above and beyond with excellent service to ensure each guest is happy.
