Hygge.  It’s all the rage in my house right now.  Pronounced, Hoog-ah, but not really because it’s impossible to write it phonetically and make it sound right, it is the Danish word for the feeling of coziness.  Hygge goes beyond coziness, though.  It seems to be a word that the Danes use to explain warm feelings […]

Pie Crust Rolling Hack My pie crust recipe has remained unchanged since forgoing shortening several years ago, so I think of my pie-making as unchanged. Sagi (my fiancé and the man behind all things tech at Pie Eyed) found and edited a pie video that we shot last year revealing that growth (or at the […]

Reach out.  Roll balls.  That was the tag line for my New Year’s resolution in 2015. I had slipped into a terrible habit of not proactively reaching out to friends and getting the ball rolling on plans.  I was either the recipient of an invitation where I joined in the fun, or text strings would […]

“Expect Miracles”.  That’s been the theme of my last few months.  It’s also the tag line of some soap I just purchased. Recently, the rational, grounded me has been replaced with a version of myself that has become interested in quick fixes, silver bullets and magical solutions to all of my problems. On the surface, […]

Sweet Surrender If the sweetest bit of surrender is inherent in pie baking, Sunday’s peach pie required downright capitulation. My plan was to make a lattice crust peach pie. I’m a huge fan of multi-fruit pies (or mashups as Emily calls them), but am so thrilled with the new bounty of local peaches in my […]

The Privilege of Helping My name is Emily and I am a chronic helper. Anyone who has been the recipient of my gestures can attest – I am well intentioned, but I am an eager, enthusiastic helper who though genuine, can run the risk of over-helping. Back in grade school, it was a minor holiday […]

The Wallpaper Factor I saw an article recently about a woman who wore a hidden camera to show how many times she received harassment from men in a day. The article brought back a memory of some advice I received from an elderly woman not too long ago. Before I go any further, let me […]

I don’t regard myself as an entertainer. I lack the skill or the energy to plan parties with thematic decor, parchment wrapped mini sandwiches, and coordinating signs on chalk boards. In fact, I get very overwhelmed when I see blog posts or magazine articles telling me how easy it is to create the perfect summer […]

Peaches and dreams. That about sums up my experience making this pie. What was intended to be a simple summer pie ended up being a catalyst for summoning some of the best summer memories. As I was preparing my peaches, my mind wandered to the summer I spent working at a local road side fruit […]

I have a change addiction. Not change like shiny quarters and pennies, but actual change, as in the verb. I find myself always working towards the next big thing. In my 20’s it was easy. Change came around every year or so. A new apartment, a new job, an engagement, a wedding – I was […]

Pie is my zen. Time and again, I’m always surprised by the random thoughts that enter my mind as I clear my head and focus on making pie. Over the past few weeks, my pietifications have centered around a funny phenomenon that I now affectionately call the Disappearing Mommy. I’ve been seeing articles recently about […]

I dread baking during the work week for one simple reason – dishes. I love the baking part, but the aftermath is just so overwhelming when all I want to do is call it a night and go to bed. My M.O. each time I’m in the kitchen is to use as few utensils and […]