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 […]

Things were heating up this past weekend – figuratively and literally. We came upon our first hot and humid day which also meant the first hot day in our new house without air conditioning.  It all sounded so manageable when we were buying the house in the crisp October air! The heat deterred me from […]

Lessons from a Life Well Lived Today I attended the funeral of a woman I never met and was reminded that in the end, nothing is more important than how one makes people feel. It was a sad day for many, but also a joyous one because it was unquestionable that this woman lived fully […]

First a Cook  I love ritual, especially those involving food and connection with family and friends. My favorite ritual is Friday night Shabbat dinners. It’s quite lovely when we get together with extended family for Shabbat, but I am especially fond of those that we share quietly in our dining room as a family of […]

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 lens through which I come up with ideas is admittedly a tad off the grid from what your average person might consider normal. I’m rarely surprised that when I throw an idea out there, I’m often met with looks of skepticism or, in most cases, advice not to do it. But, in most cases, […]

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 […]

I always have the best results when I don’t over think things. Take my hair, for instance. The days that I’m late, half-showered and furiously drying my hair to get out the door are usually the days that people tell me my hair looks good. “What did you do to your hair?” they will ask. […]

What better to commemorate National Pie Day then a big, deep-dish, double-crust, packed to the brim, all-American apple pie? And a darn right perfect one at that! Yep, let’s just skip to the end – I did it and it was awesome. Week after week, I sit here behind my keyboard and espouse my latest […]

It’s 2012 and the best thing to do for a new year is to come clean and start fresh. Don’t get excited – there’s nothing juicy here like sordid affairs, slipping my kids Benadryl so they will sleep, or a problem with shop lifting. My confessions are rather mundane, but they are mine and blogging […]

Do you ever have those weeks where you feel like you’re trying way too hard? For some reason, you have deliberately complicated your days with too many tasks and too many commitments all in the name of proving to yourself you can do it all? That was my week. I blame it on kindergarten. If […]

According to me, you get total pie street credit if you’re from the South. If you have an accent and hail from any of the states below Ohio, I automatically assume that you are harboring your Great Grandma’s family pie recipe and that you know some worldly secrets about great pie making. After all, don’t […]