What Is I Love Fair Oaks? The Story Behind Fair Oaks’ Community Platform

I Love Fair Oaks is a locally created digital magazine dedicated to documenting the people, businesses, events, and everyday life of Fair Oaks, California. For more than sixteen years, it has grown into a storytelling platform where residents, newcomers, and local businesses can connect with the heart of this community.

This article was originally written years ago, when I Love Fair Oaks was still growing. I’ve updated it to reflect how the platform has evolved and to answer a question I’m asked often by newcomers and some longtime residents alike: what exactly is I Love Fair Oaks, and how did it begin?

My name is Chrysti Tovani, and I’m the founder of I Love Fair Oaks.

I have always been a writer.

Before websites. Before blogs. Before social media made visibility unavoidable, I was the kid who loved writing stories and essays and filling sketchbooks with drawings. I felt most at home with a blank page.

My mother was a writer too. She wrote constantly, filling pages with stories and entire books that were never published but deeply loved. I still have some of her manuscripts. That love of words was passed down quietly, long before I knew what I would eventually do with it.

Creativity was always part of the environment I grew up in. My mother was an architect who worked for a firm in San Jose before moving to Fair Oaks when the firm opened a Sacramento office. Real Estate was also part of my life early on. My father and stepmother were real estate developers who owned a real estate office in San Francisco. My father is also a talented painter with his own art studio, so art and creativity were always present in our lives.

Looking back, I realize I was born into a family where storytelling, design, art, and real estate were all part of everyday life.

Today, that creative thread continues in the next generation. My son is now a real estate photographer and runs his own real estate media company, MWPropertyMedia.com, creating media for properties across the region.

I studied English, design, photography, and visual storytelling. I learned how to build websites and communicate visually. In the early 2000s, when blogging was still new, I started writing online. I loved the creative process, but I was shy about being seen. I preferred creating quietly without attention.

That worked for a while.

Until it did not.

Learning to Be Visible

Little by little, I realized something important. If I wanted to create and share meaningful work, I could not hide from visibility. Being seen was not separate from the work. It was part of it.

Around 2009, I stepped more fully into the world of digital storytelling. I joined the Social Media Club and volunteered alongside marketers, journalists, and creative professionals. For the first time, I felt like I had found people who understood the power of online storytelling.

I began writing more publicly. Some of my pieces were published on Sacramento Press and Active Rain. A few of my stories were picked up by local journalists and news anchors who were covering related topics.

And when that attention came, I froze.

I did not yet know how to hold that level of visibility. I pulled back again, and writing became harder for a time. At the time I did not have language for what I was experiencing. Now I understand it much better. Being visible can feel overwhelming, especially when your work begins reaching more people than you expected.

That experience shaped how I think about storytelling today.

The Day I Love Fair Oaks Began

One day I was spending time alone in Fair Oaks Village, doing what I had always loved to do there. I walked through the Village, fed the chickens, and sat outside at the deli with a sandwich. I wandered through the art gallery that once stood where Brahma Bar and Grill is today.

I was simply taking in the atmosphere of the place.

When I went home that day, I built a website.

I called it I Love Fair Oaks.

At first it was just a quiet creative project. A place where I could write about the town I loved without pressure or expectations. But long before it was common for communities to have their own online platforms, I began documenting the people, businesses, events, and everyday life of this town.

For a long time I had to explain what I was doing, because nothing like it really existed yet for Fair Oaks.

Looking back now, I realize that I Love Fair Oaks became one of the first digital community magazines devoted entirely to this town. Over time it grew into a living record of local life, capturing the moments, traditions, and personalities that shape the character of Fair Oaks.

Today, community platforms are everywhere, but Fair Oaks has always had something special about it. It is a tight-knit community where relationships are built over time.

I like to think this platform played a small role in strengthening that sense of connection.

What I Do and Why It Works

I Love Fair Oaks is not a traditional news site, and I am not a conventional journalist.

I follow curiosity.

I write about the people, places, and stories that feel meaningful to the life of this community. When I meet business owners, artists, or community members, I listen first. I learn about their work, their motivations, and what brought them to Fair Oaks.

Then I write their story in a way that helps others see the heart behind what they do.

Most people know their work very well.

But many people are not comfortable telling their own story.

That is where I come in.

Through the Local Legends program, I work with local businesses that want more than simple promotion. They want presence. They want to be known within the community. Together we build visibility through storytelling that reflects the real people behind the businesses.

I bring the same philosophy to my real estate work.

Having spent nearly thirty years in the real estate industry, I help people navigate major life transitions. Some are upsizing. Others are downsizing. Many are moving into a completely new chapter of life.

Homes are more than property. They are containers for identity, memory, and future plans.

Because I know Fair Oaks deeply, I am able to help people find not just a house, but a place within the story of this community.

A Living Archive of Fair Oaks

Over time, I Love Fair Oaks has grown far beyond the original website I built that day.

I Love Fair Oaks has always been an independent platform. It is not part of a franchise or a corporate media network. I built the website myself and continue to maintain it, write the stories, photograph the events, and shape the platform as it grows. What began as a personal creative project has remained intentionally local, built from the ground up with a deep love for this community.

Today it functions as a digital magazine and a living archive of community life. It is a place where stories live longer than a social media post and where the traditions, businesses, and personalities that shape Fair Oaks are documented for the future.

The platform has also allowed me to connect people throughout the community. I meet business owners, artists, nonprofit leaders, and longtime residents who all contribute to the character of this town.

When people are looking for someone, something, or some direction in Fair Oaks, I often know where to start.

Supporting Local Businesses Through Storytelling

Over the years, I Love Fair Oaks has grown into more than a storytelling platform. It has also become a way for local businesses to be discovered and understood by the community they serve.

Depending on the stories being published and shared, the website has reached as many as 94,000 visits in a single month. That traffic comes from people searching for information about Fair Oaks, local services, events, and businesses.

One of the ways I support the local business community is through a collaboration called Local Legends. Instead of traditional advertising, Local Legends focuses on storytelling and visibility through content. I interview business owners, learn about their work, and create articles and features that introduce them to the community in a meaningful way.

Unlike a print advertisement that appears briefly and then disappears, these articles are written to be searchable and continue working long after they are published. Because the content is search engine optimized, it can continue to appear in search results when people are looking for services in Fair Oaks. That means the stories not only introduce businesses to readers today, they also help people find them months and even years later.

Over time, this approach has helped build a growing network of local business partners who believe in showing up through authentic storytelling rather than traditional advertising. It strengthens their visibility while also helping residents discover the people behind the businesses that serve this community.

The Stories I Am Writing Now

Writing continues to be at the center of everything I do.

In recent years, that work has expanded into longer storytelling projects. I recently published my book Downsizing with Intention, which explores the emotional and practical journey people often face when leaving a long held home and stepping into the next stage of life.

I am also working on a children’s book called Fair Oaks Finn. The story follows a rooster named Fair Oaks Finn who quietly watches over the village and helps newcomers find their way in this community. Anyone who has spent time in Fair Oaks knows that the roosters are part of the town’s personality, and Finn represents that spirit of curiosity, connection, and local charm.

The stories are inspired by the everyday moments that make this place special. Through Finn’s adventures, the goal is to introduce children and families to the warmth of the Fair Oaks community and the idea that sometimes the smallest guides can help people feel at home.

Now that I have published Downsizing with Intention, I feel more confident stepping into the role of author and bringing Fair Oaks Finn to life in the way I have imagined. I am looking forward to sharing the book soon, hopefully by the end of the year.

Why This Matters

We live in a world where content moves quickly. Stories appear for a moment and then disappear into endless social media feeds.

But community storytelling still matters.

I Love Fair Oaks was created to document the people, businesses, traditions, and everyday moments that make this town unique. When people feel connected to the place they live, they care more about it. They support local businesses. They participate in local traditions. They recognize one another in the Village, at events, and in the small interactions that make a community feel like home.

Fair Oaks is more than a location on a map.

It is a living community shaped by the people who live here, the businesses that serve it, and the stories that connect us over time.

Through writing, photography, interviews, and community storytelling, I Love Fair Oaks exists to preserve the character of this town and to celebrate the people who make it special.

If you love Fair Oaks, are discovering it for the first time, or are beginning your next chapter here, you are welcome here.

Chrysti Tovani is the founder of I Love Fair Oaks, a hyperlocal digital magazine dedicated to documenting life, businesses, and community stories in Fair Oaks, California.