I've moved! New blog address.


My new website + blog is emilyneuburger.com.  Please visit me there!

If you have this site bookmarked in a blog reader, you'll want to switch to emilyneuburger.com.

Thanks, and see you in my new space!

xo emily

s h i r t s



This is a series of t-shirts I made for Cradle, a new maternity wellness center which just opened in the beginning of August. I stopped by to drop off the shirts on Tuesday and was ooooo-ing and ahhhhh-ing the entire time I was touring their space. It is beautiful, peaceful, and clearly lovingly designed. Even their bathroom is glorious with giant art murals and a beautiful, clean space to change a wee one's diaper. The place seriously made my heart skip a beat.

I was so honored and happy to be asked to create this series for their sweet living room style shop, and I had so much fun planning and executing my designs.

xo e



keeping cool

Some good friends of ours, who moved to South Carolina this past March, drove back to our town to visit with friends and to pick up some of their belongings that were left behind. We were thrilled that they stayed at our home because we have missed them so much since they moved away. Our days together were full of yummy food, wine (once the kids were asleep), a picnic at the park, dominoes, and tons of playing. Chick was so excited to have her friend play upstairs in her room with her, and whenever any of the adults went to check on them, both girls would ask us to kindly leave so that they could continue.


This was the one week that summer decided to actually behave like summer, so it was hot and muggy outside and inside, which motivated me to cut up the big bag of cucumbers our friends gave us when they arrived. I had Tom cut some dill when he picked up our vegetables from the farm, which is the essential ingredient in this cold, sweet and sour cucumber salad. I ate this kind of salad at a friend's house seven or eight years ago and instantly fell in love. Since then, I have been given a few recipes from various friends, and I have sort of combined them all to make what, for me, tastes just as it should: crisp, tangy, cool, and infused with dill. It doesn't hurt that our dill came straight from the farm, so it was super flavorful and fresh.


This is a picture of leftover salad because I completely forgot to take a picture pre-dinner. If it looks a little bit two day-old, that's because it is.

Cucumber Dill Salad

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cucumbers
1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 T sugar
1/2 fresh ground pepper
1 T kosher salt
2 sprigs of dill (optional)

Peel cucumbers and slice thinly. I sometimes slice them in complete circles, but this time I scooped the seeds out and sliced little crescents. Sprinkle the kosher salt on the cucumbers, and toss to coat. Put cucumbers in a colander (over a bowl or in the sink) and let stand for an hour stirring occasionally.

While you are waiting, in a serving bowl stir the vinegar, dill, sugar, and pepper until sugar is completely dissolved. After the hour of draining, press cucumbers firmly into the colander one last time with a thin, cloth towel and then pat dry. Place cucumbers into the serving bowl, with the dressing, and toss to coat. Refrigerate until cold. Place two sprigs of dill on top of salad for an optional garnish.

*Note: feel free to add more or less dressing depending on taste.

Hey, Henningsons - Thanks for filling our home with cheer, laughter, and plastic horses. We already miss you, and the herd.

xo e

antique


Summer finally arrived in the northeast with heat, humidity, and sunshine that just won't quit. Luckily, we visited the lake house this weekend, so when we were uncomfortably hot, we just slipped into the cool water. Chick played in the water endlessly. She was in the water yesterday from the early morning until we drove off in the early evening.

My sister-in-law, Beth, and I bravely decided to face the heat, and visit The Madison-Bouckville antique show in NY, which is, conveniently, only 17 minutes up the road from the lake. This is where I found the above handkerchief and the 1940's business ledger tablet pictured below. There was a whole stack of the Blair's Mail bill head tablets, but I figured that I would just scan one of the ledger sheets into my computer and have it forever.

I read about the fair on Maya's blog just before we headed out the door on Friday evening, and was instantly motivated to make my way there since I knew we would be mere miles away from antique paradise. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera because I felt wimpy and a little fearful of the extra sweat that would run down my neck from carrying it. We were drippy and hot and thirsty, but it was totally worth it since there were so many reasonably priced treasures to be found like this sunny salad bowl.


I'll hopefully be there next year with my camera!

xo e

small places :: story telling in a jar

I've been spending some of my evening time developing new story stones that belong to different groups and series. I've already posted about the fairy tale series, which has made me beyond happy and, at the same time, feeling sort of creepy since most of the old fashioned fairy tales are mostly about being eaten and other random, gruesome deaths. These days, I'm particularly excited about the new back-to-school series that features a diverse group of children with different hair colors, clothing styles, and skin colors. The series isn't meant to be limited to children who go to traditional schools; instead, it is meant to celebrate the reacquainting of a group of children who have been apart during the long, warm, free-roaming summer. Stay tuned for pictures of those new story stone children and play things in the coming weeks.

On top of developing the actual stones, I've been pondering various settings and play areas for the stones. Lots of ideas have been flooding my mind, but, just yesterday, while dealing with a jar of pickles, I came up with one of my favorites so far: The Story Telling Jar.

It is made with a clean, transparent jar, some felt, stuffing, a needle and thread, a button, a little bit of glue (optional), and a wee bit of fabric scraps and paper. It is the kind of project that can be tailored to whatever imaginative story you and/or your child hold dear.

1. It begins with a large felt circle and a basting stitch around the circle. I filled it with stuffing, pulled it tight, and knotted. This is the grassy hill that goes in the bottom of the jar.


2. Before putting the grassy hill in, I placed a circle of green felt at the bottom to sort of fill in the areas where light filtered through the bottom. I used a dot of glue under the circle of felt to be sure it stayed in place, but the glue is optional since the felt gets wedged in there.

3. Once the hill was in place, I used a hole punch to make some fabric and felt circles. Using tiny, tiny dabs of glue, I glued the little flowers on place on the hill. I think the the hill can be adorned any which way.

4. There is a bird flying around in the jar. Do you see it? It is a tiny paper bird dangling on some blue thread. I punched a hole in the lid of the jar, threaded the bird thread through the lid's hole, and tied the end to a button to keep it from falling through.

5. Put some story stones (or any small critters or people) inside the jar. Fun.

xo e

last week


Our past week was full of swimming, playing, eating, and boating at Grandma and Grandpa's lake house. We spent the time with our family, and the girls got to play with their adorable, sweet California cousin who they, sadly, only get to visit with twice a year. Above is a picture of her with Miss Mouse, and below is a picture of her wearing the tree tee that I made for her last year.

This year, Miss. Mouse believed herself old enough for full fledged swimming, so the grown-ups had to keep a close watch on her, and Chick found herself comfortable doing all sorts of tricks that she was afraid to do last year. She was boating, swimming solo (with a floaty), and staying up late with the grown-ups.

There is something so peaceful about Tuscarora Lake's water - it is cool, clear, and when I'm in it, I feel at rest. We returned home to orange pick-your own tomatoes in our CSA farm share. *Sigh*



And, here are the girls, at home, eating and frolicking in last night's cool evening air with bellies full of tomatoes, fresh greens, hummus, and lemon chicken.


Happy weekend.
xo e