On Monday, March 18, I chatted with the lovely ladies on Living Local DMV, a local news station based here in Washington DC, covering news from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area.
Photo from @LivingLocalDMV_ on instagram.
During the segment, I talked about how The Neighborgoods got its start when I took a screen printing class in 2014 and made our pickle print as a birthday gift for my pickle-loving friend, Jessica Smith. I can't believe that was 10 years ago! Below is a photo of Jessica and me at Picklesburgh this past summer, still friends, still loving pickles, and people are still loving our Big Dill design, now available in so many product categories, click here to shop our pickle collection. For the full story of how it all began, check out our blog post about how I started.
While on the show, I also showed off some of our oldie, but still goodie, designs and previewed our NEW Pollinator Garden Collection, which you can shop now here, and gave viewers a glimpse into our exciting ventures coming up talking about our new store that is set to open at the end of April in the DCA airport. Find out more about our airport store here.
If you weren't able to catch the broadcast when it aired on Monday, no worries, just click here to watch the full TV segment. You can also catch some of the behind-the-scenes footage on TikTok here.
Thanks Living Local DMV for having me, I had a great time sharing our story and our goods with the DMV community!
Jodi
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The Neighborgoods team took a recent trip to the DCA airport to check in on the store's progress and to start the official airport badging process. From left to right: Naomi, Julie, and Jodi.
Our store will be located in Terminal 2 in the National Hall (accessible to all of DCA’s airport travelers after passing through security) and closest to the C Gates, as indicated in the map below. The store will be directly across from the Legal Seafood restaurant.
We are partnering with Marshall Retail Group (MRG), a specialty retailer in the airport marketplace, who will be running the store day-to-day and managing all operating aspects with their top-notch team. MRG has been around for 65 years and runs more than 300 standalone stores in 46 airports nationwide, and we're so excited to be a part of their new retail development at DCA.
“Marshall Retail Group reached out to me back in 2019 and we've been in talks about opening an airport store ever since,” Jodi Kostelnik, founder and owner of The Neighborgoods shared.
Though the airport store has been 5 years in the making, the process hasn’t dulled Jodi’s excitement one bit. “Good things take time! We are grateful for our continued partnership with Marshall Retail Group and are thrilled our store in DCA is finally happening. MRG has been amazing to work with, and this wouldn’t be happening without them.”
The Neighborgoods DCA Gift Shop will be carrying our full range of products, including our top-selling dish towels, tote bags, dish towel sets, sponge cloths, greeting cards, and more.
In addition to The Neighborgoods products, you'll also be able to pick up goods from our local maker friends like:
• Terratorie Cards and Maps
• Tiny Hooray Notebooks and Stationery
• Kin and Care Candles
• Bell's Reines Cookies
• Bailiwick Clothing Company T-Shirts
• Naked Decor Potholders and Coasters
• Andy Factory Uncle Dell's Mambo Sauce
• Right Place Studio Etched Glassware
• DC is My City Greeting Cards and Postcards
• Cate Paper Co. Painting Kits
• Wick & Paper Candles, Stationery, Mugs
...and more!
We'll also be curating a selection of some of our favorite foodie and colorful themed gifts from makers across the country that we love just the same because they always make us smile.
• Ban.do Stressballs
• HumDrum Bookmarks
• Jellycat Plushies
• Eat My Socks SUPER Cute and Cleverly Packaged Socks
• Jenny Lemons Fake Cakes, Hair Clips, Hats, and More
• Seltzer Goods Puzzles, Mugs, Stickers, and More
• Modern Sprout Seed Pops, Candles, and Herb Kits
• Blue Q Oven Mitts
• Studio Oh Keychains, Stationery, and More
• Inklings Paperie Lunch Notes
• Fresh Cut Paper Popup Cards
• Yellow Owl Workshop Jewelry
...and more!
We hope you can stop by our gift shop (once it's open) on your next travel adventures and pick up something fun for yourself, or a gift for a friend.
We're so excited for this new venture, and grateful to all who have supported us over the years to get us here. More information is coming soon, so stay tuned!
]]>A bag of our favorite local coffee from Lost Sock Roasters wrapped in our NEW Coffee Tote and topped with a Bagel Ornament is sure to create a buzz from your coffee loving friends and family.
These seed-bearing lollipops with edible herbs and flowers from Amborella Organics combines a sweet treat and a gardening project all in one. After finishing the pop, you can plant the biodegradable stick and it will grow an herb or flower matching what you just ate. We paired their pack of 8 pops with our Basil Dish Towel and added our Shake Your Fruity Magnet Set as a gift topper to match the strawberry basil pop.
CLICK HERE for a video showing you how to wrap these goods together for one great gift that will keep on giving after the pops have been savored. There are a variety of fun flavors these plantable pops come in and we have matching designs for those too, like our Roses, Marigold, Peach, and Mint Tea Towels, or check out our Dish Towel Sets to get a deal when buying in bulk.
We LOVE these cute little fake cake craft kits from Jenny Lemons, which makes the perfect gift for all of your crafty friends. We picked the Pink Cherry "flavor" to pair with our Cherry-O Dish Towel and matching Sponge Cloth to help clean up after crafting. They also have a strawberry and mushroom design available, which happen to pair nicely with our Mushroom and Strawberry Dish Towels if those are more your style.
CLICK HERE for a video tutorial showing you how easy it is to wrap these all together as shown below for one super cute gift.
These Happy Hour Shower Steamers from Chez Gagne are made with premium essential oils (which smelled so good while taking these photos). We paired them with our Love the Wine You’re With Dish Towel to remind your friends and fam to take some time for themselves to unwind and relax this holiday season.
CLICK HERE for a video tutorial showing you how to wrap these steamers up in our Wine Dish Towel to make it look as sweet as candy.
This delicious little Lemon Herb Simple Syrup from Simple Goodness Sisters uses ingredients they grow on their farm and will liven up any cocktail, mocktail, and even baked goods. We paired it with our Lemon Dish Towel and Rosemary Herb Swedish Sponge Cloth which not only makes great gift wrapping, but will stick around long after the syrup is gone to freshen up the kitchen.
CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap these all together for a fun and festive gift that is sure to be a hit. Simple Goodness Sisters also have gift sets you can wrap up like we did with the fake cake kit above.
You can’t go wrong wrapping a tin of cookies with a dish towel to gift to your holiday hostess, your friend with a sweet tooth, or that person who already has everything. Bell's Reines miniature gourmet cookies are baked by hand, in small batches, using the highest quality of nut free ingredients. We wrapped their tin with our Season's Eatings Holiday Dish Towel for one sweet little holiday gift everyone is sure to love.
CLICK HERE to learn how to easily wrap these together as shown below. Let us know how it goes if you try it.
Often overshadowed by the pumpkin spice latte craze, pumpkins are gourd-geous, versatile vegetables that can be used to make delicious food and tasty snacks. From the skin and pulp to the seeds and flowers, pumpkins can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Whether you’re a fan of savory or sweet, we rounded up seven ways to inspire you to plate your pumpkins and savor the flavors of the fall season. And we have some kitchen essentials to help to bring the fall vibes into your home.
Before we dive into our round up of the best ways to eat a pumpkin, it’s important to note that while technically all pumpkins can be eaten, it's best not to eat your carved pumpkins, especially once you’ve taken them outside. Insects, birds, and squirrels enjoy crawling and snacking on jack-o-lanterns. Plus, carved pumpkins have a woody texture, bland taste and are stringier than pumpkins intended for eating. Instead opt for smaller, heirloom pumpkins, like the sugar pumpkin, Baby Bear, or Cinderella for your cooking needs, and be sure to compost your carved Halloween pumpkins, here's a link to help you with that.
Snag our Yippie Pie Yay Dish Towel Set of 3 for the baker on your gift list.
It’s nearly impossible to enter the month of November without mentioning or hearing about the iconic pumpkin pie. The classic dessert is loved for its smooth, velvety texture and nutty spices. Whether you're baking from scratch or using canned pumpkin puree as your filling base, a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream is a perfect way to bring in the fall season. To add a unique twist to your pumpkin pie, try out the Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Pie recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.
It’s tempting to want to throw away the seeds when carving your pumpkin - but don’t! We mentioned earlier that carved pumpkins are not typically enjoyable because of their tough and woody texture but the seeds actually taste good! Roasted pumpkin seeds are not only delicious but also packed with nutrients like magnesium, zinc, and fiber. Toss them with your favorite seasonings, roast them at 400 degrees for 5 to 20 minutes on a single sheet pan, bake them into a granola bar, or simply enjoy them alone as a healthy and crunchy snack.
Infused with spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and a touch of cream, pumpkin soup is an especially warm and comforting dish perfect for when it’s cold out. Whether made from roasted pumpkin slices or canned pumpkin, pumpkin soup is easily customizable with your choice of toppings or garnishes. If you want a more savory flavor, omit the brown sugar and heavy cream and use coconut milk instead. Whether you’re looking for an elegant addition to a holiday meal or an easy dinner idea that requires less effort than your traditional Thanksgiving recipes, pumpkin soup just may be the easiest dish to make on this list. Even better? The total meal prep time for Taste of Home’s Pumpkin Soup recipe takes only 20 minutes.
Here’s another comforting (and quite easy) meal to make and insert into your dinner rotation during the cold season. Combine risotto rice and pumpkin chunks into a vegetable broth and let it simmer until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, creating a thick and creamy risotto. For extra flavor add in a rosemary sprig and mushrooms while the risotto is cooking for a touch of earthy sweetness that complements other ingredients perfectly. Inspired by these complementary flavors of mushroom and pumpkin, we created the Fall Feast Dish Towel Set featuring two of our most popular dish towels this season, Mushroom and Hello-Gourdgeous.
Elevate the cozy fall vibes in your home with our top-selling Fall Feast Dish Towel Set of 2, or if you're a Rosemary lover you can enjoy having the evergreen herb in your kitchen for more than just cooking, check out our full Rosemary collection here.
When we think of a cozy fall breakfast, a stack of warm, fluffy pumpkin pancakes immediately comes to mind. Stir in pumpkin puree into your batter and add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to give your breakfast a taste of fall. Pro tip: Whether you decide to make a homemade pumpkin puree or use a store-bought, drain the water content from your pumpkin puree using a cheesecloth to ensure pancakes are nice and fluffy. Don’t have a cheesecloth? FUN FACT: All of The Neighborgoods Dish Towels are made from 100% flour sack cotton, which means the tight, fine weave allows the towel to act as a pseudo cheesecloth or strainer. For an extra touch of sweetness, drizzle the pancakes with maple syrup. Delish’s Pumpkin Pancake recipe gives the lowdown on how to make your pancakes from scratch or with a can of pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin bars are a small treat that can be enjoyed at any time. They're great for dessert, but you could even eat them for breakfast because they are a good-for-you fall treat with heart healthy fats (and only take 10 minutes to prepare). Jodi, the Founder and Creator of The Neighborgoods, made the pumpkin bars above last fall and they were a hit with the team, you can find the recipe here from Dishing Out Health.
Try incorporating pumpkin into unconventional recipes, like hummus. With its creamy texture and slight sweetness, pumpkin hummus serves as an excellent base to dip in pita bread or vegetables. Pumpkin hummus is made with all the usual hummus ingredients (think chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice) all you'll need to add is homemade pumpkin puree or a ready-made can of pumpkin puree. Here's a recipe to get you started.
Shop our entire Gourd collection of dish towels, aprons, greeting cards and more.
Pumpkins are delicious ingredients that can be easily incorporated in your snacks and meals. Whether you use a pumpkin to try out one of the recipes above, don't forget to compost your pumpkin!
]]>Here, we're talking about the best flowers to eat right out of your garden, their culinary uses, and how you can easily incorporate them into your recipes. And if you're anything like us you'll be wanting decor to match, so we included a few links to our edible flower products, too.
If you’re excited (or unsure) about how to use flowers in your next meal or beverage, keep scrolling. From delicate petals to vibrant blossoms, the edible gems in this list come in a wide array of flavors ranging from sweet and fruity to herbaceous and spicy. Read on to discover the flavors each of these 5 edible flowers brings to the table and enjoy all they have to offer whether you’re new to the kitchen or a seasoned chef.
Not only are roses a universal symbol of love, but they are also one of the most popular edible flowers. Roses come in many vivid colors and give off a sweet-smelling aroma and refreshing flavor. While some flowers are not fully consumable, roses are completely safe to eat, including their leaves, petals, buds, and hips. Rose petals are the most commonly used part of the flower and bring a mild floral flavor to salads, drinks, and desserts. Whether they are fresh or dried, rose petals are simply a delight to consume. Toss the petals in a salad or use as a garnish over sorbet for dessert. You can also create a rose syrup from dried petals to mix into cocktails. In Greece, it's popular to chop fresh rose petals and mix them with honey to use as a spread.
Roses are one of the best flowers to eat. With 150 varieties of the rose plant to choose from (all of which are edible) you can't go wrong adding them to your next dish. So, this summer, consider stopping and eating the roses. Or better yet, add a few pieces from our rose collection to your cart to keep you feeling rosy and inspired at home all year long.
Shop our Rose collection of dish towels, sponge cloths, and more.
Nasturtiums are brightly colored blossoms with a sweet flavor and a peppery finish. One of the most popular edible flowers, Nasturtiums come in varying shades of orange, yellow, pink, and red, and when fully bloomed, peak out just above their lush greenery. These versatile flowers are easiest to add to salads and stir-frys, thanks to their peppery, watercress- like taste that pairs well with mild lettuce and vegetables. Both the flowers and leaves have a similar taste and can be eaten. Nasturtium seed pods, often formed in late summer, can also be pickled and used as a caper substitute.
Snag our "I Lilac Purple" Dish Towel Set and our variety of lilac-themed greeting cards here.
Every spring, lilacs appear in clusters of lavender-colored flowers and fill the air with a sweet-smelling aroma for 2 to 6 weeks. Though lilacs bloom for only a short period they can be enjoyed all year long, thanks to their sweet edible nature. Lilacs have a slightly bitter taste and sweet, lemony flavor and scent, which pair well with desserts like ice cream, cakes, custards, and pudding. Infuse lilacs into sugar to easily add the sweet floral qualities of lilacs into baked goods or simply use it to garnish a cocktail or decorate a cake. And don't forget to shop our lilac collection to brighten up your kitchen decor and more.
Most people know you can eat a sunflower’s seeds. But did you know this edible flower's petals, leaves, stalks, and buds are also fully consumable? Though the entire sunflower is edible, each part has a certain taste. Sunflower petals have a bittersweet taste and are often used in salads or as a garnish for stir-frys and soups. The leaves can be used like spinach or steeped to make a tea, and when steamed, the buds taste like an artichoke. This may come as a surprise to some but even the stalks are edible. Similar to celery, sunflower stalks can be eaten with peanut butter or dips.
Marigolds’ gorgeous golden hue is just part of their appeal. This edible flower has a zingy taste that ranges from mildly citrus to subtly spicy. Pot marigolds bloom all summer long, and in many areas, through the fall season, making them a great choice to add to your summer salads and fall dishes. The leaves are also edible and can be added to spice up soups. Add our Marigold dish towel to brighten and spice up your kitchen.
Edible flowers are not only unique in taste but their brightly colored blooms on your plates are known to be a real mood booster. Drop a comment below and let us know which flowers you’ll be adding to your dishes and beverages this summer!
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Needless to say, we think our dish towels, sponge cloths, and totes make great gifts your mom will love and can use in her everyday life. We even have specific Mother's Day gift bundles that are super cute and ready for you to gift, like our No One Lilac You Mom gift bundle below.
I designed our lilac dish towel inspired by my mom's love of lilacs. Paired with our mint towel, anyone who "lilacs" purple, flowers, and herbs will love this set. Click here to check out all of our gift bundles.
1. CHOCOLATES WRAPPED IN A DISH TOWEL - You can't go wrong with chocolates! We went with our all time favorites from a woman-owned company based in Detroit, Bon Bon Bon. We paired them with our Love the Wine You're With Dish Towel because there is no better pairing than wine and chocolate.
Click here to watch a video showing you how easy it is to wrap this up.
2. HOME BAKED GOODS OR JAM WRAPPED IN A DISH TOWEL - Nothing says LOVE YA MOM like a homemade treat, or gifting an ingredient to bake up something together.
We can't get enough of Trade Street Jam Co. for their interesting flavor combos, nice packaging, and not to mention delicious jams. The larger jars make great gifts wrapped in one of our dish towels, like we did with our Strawberry dish towel below.
Or take it one step further and bake up a sweet treat to gift. I went with the PB + J muffins on Trade Street Jam Co.'s website made with their blueberry and lemon jam, then wrapped them all up with one of our lemon dish towels.
Click here to watch a video showing you how to wrap up this jam and plate of muffins to gift.
PLEASE NOTE: I made these before we redesigned our lemon towel, but it works just as well with our new lemon design you can snag here.
3. PUZZLE WRAPPED IN DISH TOWEL - Puzzling is a fun way my mom and I like to spend time together when she visits. So why not gift a puzzle of a local spot we visited together with a matching dish towel.
This one here is from our local biz friend, Right Place Studio, who is a Washington DC favorite for her watercolors and calligraphy. Wrapped up with our blossom dish towel, you can find here with the rest of our blossom collection, and topped off with some flowers picked from the yard, your mom will love this. It also makes a great birthday present as well.
Click here to watch a video showing you how to wrap this up. Don't be fooled by it's fancy look, it's super easy.
4. CANDLE WRAPPED IN DISH TOWEL - Candles make great gifts no matter what, and when you wrap it up in one of our dish towels you have one great gift your mom is sure to love.
We picked up a candle from our local candle-maker friend, Handmade Habitat, and wrapped it our mint herb dish towel. You can pick up our towels as singles, or in sets (which you can buy to always have a few towels on hand, and break it apart when you need to wrap a gift).
Click here to see how you can wrap a candle in a dish towel as shown above.
5. SPA GIFT CARD WITH OUR MOTHER'S DAY BUNDLE - This is the easiest of all because our dish towel sets come ready to gift and if you pick up one of our Mother's Day gift bundles we throw the card in for FREE. Just print out a gift certificate from your local spa and include it inside the card.
Click here to see how you can easily wrap up the card with our towel set like we did above here.
These gifts are great for Mother's Day, but you can also gift them for birthdays, thank yous, house warming, and hostess gifts.
Be sure to leave us a note below if you tried any of our gift wrap ideas and how it worked out for you!
]]>Whether you have a garden or a sunny windowsill, growing herbs at home is not only charming and useful, but also super simple. Many herbs require minimal care and need only the basics: adequate sunlight, soil, and a container of space. Although herbs are generally easy to care for, there’s still some things to keep in mind when it comes to growing them, so we’re breaking down the best herbs to grow this spring, how to care for each one at home, and the culinary uses of some popular springtime herbs, so you can get the most use out of your tasty plants.
Herbs are more likely to thrive during spring because warm weather temperatures are more consistent than in early spring, winter, or fall. Many herbs are drought-resistant too, which means they can withstand overheating and tolerate days without water. Herbs can be grown from seeds or starter plants found at plant nurseries, so no matter how you want to start growing them, springtime is the ideal environment for your herbs to grow.
Keep scrolling to discover the best herbs to grow this season with how-to tips to keep them thriving and surviving.
Known for its aromatic and flavorful taste, Basil is one of the most popular herbs planted during the spring months. It comes in many varieties but the most commonly grown basil plants are small and easy to grow in compact containers. Depending on the species, it can grow up to three feet tall and wide.
If you’re sowing seeds, place them directly in the soil. Choose a spot in your home that will allow the basil plant to get at least six hours of sunlight a day. When outdoor temperatures have become more consistent and the danger of frost has passed, transplant the basil to a sunny area in your garden. Basil loves moist soil, so be sure to water it regularly. Basil plants also grow well indoors, just be sure it's in a well-lit area like a sunny kitchen windowsill.
Fresh basil leaves are easy to throw into a ton of dishes while you’re in the kitchen. Basil complements a number of recipes for soups, sauces, salads, omelets, and makes for great pizza toppings.
Basil doesn't just come in plant form around here. Click here to shop our Basil Collection where you can find Basil dish towels, sponges, cards, and more.
Loved for its medicinal properties, mint is a go-to herb for everything from relieving seasonal allergies and calming indigestion to soothing common cold symptoms. There are more than 11 types of mint, from peppermint to pennyroyal. Most mint plants will grow 1-2 feet tall and can spread up to 4 inches per month, which equates to 1-2 feet in width in a span of 6 months.
Plant mint in well-drained soil in an area that you can easily maintain and curb the plant’s growth. If you’re growing mint outdoors, plant it in the full sun and make sure there is at least 20 cm of space around the plant to give it adequate space to thrive. And if you’re planting it indoors it’s best to use a planter that’s 12 inches or larger. Mint has a reputation for being a fast spreader, so it's best to keep it in check by regularly pruning and keeping it contained to areas with hard boundaries like a garden bed, path, or pot.
Often topped over cocktails or mixed with salads and teas (yum), mint is a good way to add a refreshing and invigorating taste into your food and beverages.
You can shop our Mint herb collection here to match the new mint plants you'll be growing.
Thyme grows up to 15 inches in height and is one of the best herbs to grow in spring simply because it grows well in dry, sunny conditions. It also features tiny white or pink flowers that attract bees and other pollinators during the spring and summer months.
Thyme grows best in direct sunlight and in sandy soil instead of moist soil. Whether you’re growing a Thyme plant on a kitchen windowsill or in an outdoor garden, make sure it has access to the sun six to eight hours per day.
A beloved Mediterranean herb, Thyme blends well with garlic, olive, oil, and tomatoes. Not only is Thyme one of the most popular culinary herbs today, it also has a long history of medicinal uses, including alleviating dry cough, lowering blood pressure and boosting immunity.
Our Thyme greeting cards are great to send to a friend to say hello, or pair our Best Mom of All Thyme card with our Fresh Herb towel set for a Mother's Day Gift your mom is sure to love.
Rosemary is a popular herb that can grow up to 48 inches in height. With such substantial growing power, most people prefer to plant it outdoors though it can be grown indoors as well.
Rosemary does not grow well in cold temperatures, which makes it a great herb to plant indoors or outdoors in the springtime. If your rosemary plant is outdoors during a cold season, transfer it indoors to an area with adequate light and good drainage. Regardless of where it is planted, water it regularly allowing the soil to dry completely in between waterings.
Rosemary packs a strong, piney aroma and complements garlic flavorings well. The herb is commonly used atop toast, soup, and stew recipes.
All of The Neighborgoods towel designs come as art prints as well, available in 4 sizes, like our Rosemary art print shown above. You can find it here with the rest of our Rosemary Collection.
Cilantro has twice the benefits of your average herb. First off, cilantro leaves add a rich, pungent flavor to a variety of Latin and Asian style dishes. Secondly, cilantro flowers produce coriander seeds.
Cilantro thrives in shaded areas. So when planting cilantro outdoors it is important to place the plants close together in order to protect the roots from sun exposure.
The coriander seeds are often used as a seasoning in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. They're also used for pickling vegetables, and flavoring stews and meats. I love using cilantro leaves to top off my soups, burritos, Asian noodle dishes, or veggie burger and salad shown below.
Chives grow in clumps that can become 12 to 18 inches tall. As chives grow in height, pink and purplish pom pom-like flowers sprout throughout the plant, which are also edible and used in salads or for decorative purposes.
To best grow chives, sow the seeds indoors for six to eight weeks before moving them to an outdoor garden or pot in part shade. Upon first planting chives, it needs moderate watering but once established chives can grow well in dry soil.
Similar to green onion, chives have narrow, hollow leaves that have a mild onion flavor often used on top of chili, eggs, soups, salads, and sauces.
Dill is a fern-like plant that can grow six to 24 inches tall and wide. Its attractive nature is partly due to the fact that during the summer clusters of yellow flowers grow atop of the dill foliage.
Dill grows best in direct sunlight and away from shade. Keep the soil moist by watering it regularly. It’s also best practice to protect dill plants from the wind, as the leaves are delicate and hollow.
Whether fresh or dried, dill leaves are commonly used to add a sharp, slightly bitter taste in potato salad, soups, fish meat, and poultry.
Click here for our Dill Herb Collection where you'll find DILL-lightful items such as a dish towel, sponge cloth, tote bag, and more.
Lemon Balm is a bushy plant that grows 2 feet tall and wide. Like mint, Lemon Balm is another fresh tasting herb. The scalloped leaves give off an invigorating scent of lemon and mint and are often used to treat indigestion and insomnia. It also brings your stress levels back into balance, making it a go-to herb for anxiety and depression.
Plant lemon balm seedlings or plants directly in the sun or part shade. If you see any flowers sprouting on a lemon balm plant, it's best to remove them to prevent pests or disease.
Consider adding the leaves to tea, lemonade, fruit salads, or vegetables dishes to create tasty dishes with delightfully refreshing flavors.
Lover of all things lemon? Shop all of our zesty lemon products here.
Known as a semi-shrub, Lavender has leaves that release a sweet-herbal scent and produce abundant, pretty purple flowers that bear the same scent.
Lavender is one of the lower maintenance herbs to grow on this list. That’s because it grows best from neglect. As long as it's in a sunny location, planted in rich soil, and placed in a well-drained area it should grow beautifully. While it’s possible to grow lavender in a pot, lavender likes the outdoors far more.
Lavender has many uses in the culinary world. Most recipes call for lavender flowers which add a sweet floral flavor in meat rubs, marinades, desserts, and drinks.
Parsley is a beloved garnish for a reason. The herb grows eight to twenty four inches tall and wide and is made up of lush, bright (and might we add tasty) green leaves.
Germination of parsley is known to be very slow, but if you’re looking to grow it quickly, soak the seeds in lukewarm water for a day before planting them in a rich organic soil. Plant them in a sunny area and water at least twice a day.
Rich in vitamin C, parsley is not only healthy but adds a depth of mildly bitter and peppery flavor to sauces, soups, sautes, and more.
Fun fact, once you cut your herbs store them in a glass of water while using them and they'll last longer.
Leave a comment below and let us know what you're planting this season.
Happy spring!
My mom, sisters, and I went on a trip to Italy this past Fall. We visited Rome, Florence, and Sorrento, home of limoncello and the land of lemons.
We visited La Masseria Farm, a family-run farm with spectacular views specializing in producing Sorrento lemons and olive oil. We went on a tour of the grounds learning all about their lemon and olive trees, as well as the variety of other fruits, vegetables, and herbs they grow using sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices.
Here you can see the olive trees in the background, the herb pots they made from the cedar they grew on the farm, and the seasonal vegetables in front. They really used every single piece of land.
There I learned that growing a lemon tree from a lemon seed doesn’t produce the best fruit, so they actually start each lemon tree with an orange seed. Once the orange tree grows into a little sapling they attach a piece of one their lemon trees onto the stock. The two pieces eventually grow together producing the fruit of the lemon tree on top with the benefits of the orange tree roots on the bottom. Depending how they graft the trees together it could grow with half of the tree producing lemons and half producing oranges. Whaaaa?!?! I thought this was so cool and loved how the lemons and oranges worked so well together.
Walking through the lemon grove at La Masseria Farm. They built the canopies from cedar trees they grew on the land and walked on top of them to put up nets to protect the trees from harsh weather.
We ended the tour with a home cooked meal from the mother of the family using everything they made at the farm (including lots of homemade wine!) and it was buono. I highly recommend this place if you're visiting Sorrento, here's a link to learn more.
After our trip I couldn’t stop thinking about this amazing little farm as well as the fresh and vibrant lemons surrounding us from the fruit to the gelato and all the chatychkes in between. It inspired me to squeeze the day and use that inspiration to update our existing lemon design to something a little more leafy and playful that gives a nod to the trees they came from after learning more about them. The redesign of our lemon towel began and it needed some fruity friends.
After learning how the lemon trees were grown from from orange seeds, I knew oranges were the next addition to my fresh new collection. I was also getting some subliminal signs from the universe telling me to do an orange design, like this amazing vintage orange glass and pitcher set I found at my favorite flea market, Brimfield, for only $10! I know, I couldn’t believe it either and had to buy the set because it was so cute and made me smile.
If you are a flea market lover like me, you have to check out the biggest and best flea of all time in Brimfield Massachusetts. Click here for more info, maybe I’ll see you there.
Or this giant, happy orange printed by Banquet Atelier (a fellow woman-owned business) hanging on my dining room gallery wall. Looking at it everyday it brightens me up from the outside in and has definitely been calling to me to add oranges to The Neigborgoods line.
You can pick up your own giant screen printed orange here, or get one of our towel designs as an art print (available in 4 sizes), like our watercolor cherries shown here.
It is said that in some cultures oranges are given as gifts to express joy and good wishes. That is exactly what I want our goods to represent as well, bringing joy into your everyday lives.
Last but not least, I wanted a third design in this fruity collection and who doesn’t love a cherry on top.
Growing up my sisters and I loved sitting on our front porch swing, snacking on sweet cherries, seeing who can spit the seeds the farthest. We could spend hours out there hanging out, playing games, and soaking up the warm summer days. Cherries still transport me back to those carefree summertime days bringing back memories I will always cherry-ish (see what I did there).
Okay, I couldn't find a photo of us on the porch eating cherries in the summertime, but I found some old pics of us playing on the porch as well as the beloved porch swing, I really loved hanging out there.
This new colorful collection is so cheerful I can’t help but smile when I see it. I hope you like it too. You can add our new lemons, oranges, and cherries to brighten your home with our dish towels, and sponges or bring one of our gift sets to your next housewarming party.
Until next time, CHERRY-O!
Jodi
AN EASY WAY TO PRACTICE SUSTAINABILITY EVERY DAY
Repurposing plastic containers and glass jars is probably one of the easiest and most effective ways to be more sustainable. By not throwing away single-use containers, the demand for disposable plastics is lowered, which in turn reduces waste and energy consumption. Reusable sauce jars or yogurt containers are great for storing everything from soup to cookie dough in the freezer or fridge, and we have no qualms about using them as meal prep containers to bring with us to work.
A QUICK (AND EASY) GIFT IDEA
You'll just need a few supplies to start:
• String
• Empty glass jar (search your fridge and pantry for one you can reuse)
• Dish towel (like our dill-lightful Dill Herb dish towel)
• Fresh flowers
HOW TO CREATE A REPURPOSED VASE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY (OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION)
Below is a simple 4-step process for turning your reusable glass jar into a giftable Valentine’s Day vase.
STEP 1: Find a glass jar. Is that salsa or pasta sauce almost out? Don't throw the jar away when you're done, wash it out (you can use one of our sponge cloths), and dry (we have lots of dish towels to help you with that).
STEP 2: Wrap the empty jar with a Neighborgoods dish towel. Lay the dish towel on a flat surface design side down. Fold the towel in half bringing the top seam to meet the bottom seam. Place the jar at the top of the fold on the right side where the design starts. Fold the towel in half again from bottom to top OVER the jar (this will ensure your jar doesn't slip out of the towel when carrying).
Take the extra towel material on the right and fold it over the jar. Then start rolling the jar to the left. Before you get to the end, take the bottom left edge to meet the top seam, forming a triangle fold, this will give it a nice finish and keep the edge of the towel from hanging loose.
CLICK HERE for a quick video tutorial.
STEP 3: Add water to the jar.
STEP 4: Add fresh flowers to your glass jar. We collected ours from the back yard or you can pick up seasonal flowers from your local florist.
This DIY vase wrap shows you put in a little extra effort into your valentine flowers, and your recipient gets an additional dish towel gift that will last all year round once the flowers are gone. It also makes a great gift to take to you next dinner party or your friend's housewarming.
We have lots of other dish towel designs you can use for this gift like our Edible Flowers and Fresh Herb Collections.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions or let us know how your vase wrap turned out if you tried it!
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SHOP OUR PEAS COLLECTION HERE, and join us in helping to spread more hap-pea-ness this holiday season.
Peas on Earth Dish Towel has been our top seller so far this year at our Downtown Holiday Market.
NO KID HUNGRY USES THE POWER OF FOOD TO NOURISH FAMILIES and strengthen communities in times of crisis and has created a Center for Best Practices through its work helping educators, leaders, and government agencies develop and improve access to childhood nutrition programs.
Our Peas on Earth Tote Bag is great for grocery runs, farmers market hauls, and even to use as a gift bag.
At the start of the pandemic No Kid Hungry connected MedStar Georgetown’s Division of Community Pediatrics leadership team with influential DC Chef, Erik Bruner-Yang to create a meal delivery pilot program for vulnerable families living in DC during the pandemic. The result? Food insecurity decreased from 75% to 21% for families in the program, which equated to a total of 775 deliveries of 14,191 meals for families with children over a 10-week period.
On top of funding pilots, the DC based organization supports school meal programs, federal programs such as WIC and SNAP, and works with elected officials to shift local, state, and national policy on creative ways to end child hunger. No Kid Hungry means business and we are excited to continue supporting their efforts towards ending childhood hunger.
Our Peas on Earth Sponge Cloth & Dish Towel Set makes a great gift for gardeners, cooks, and foodies (and just pun lovers in general).
OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS THE NEIGHBORGOODS HAS DONATED MORE THAN $3,000 TO NO KID HUNGRY. Due to our donation, we received a special thanks letting us know how much we helped:
SHOP OUR ENTIRE PEAS ON EARTH COLLECTION HERE for your gift to go a little further this year. We're also taking it one step further and on this GIVING TUESDAY (November 29, 2022) we will be donating 10% of our ENTIRE SITE to No Kid Hungry. With your help, we’re hoping to surpass our $1,600 donation from last year to help make an even bigger impact.
Our Happy Holidays Dish Towel Gift Set is one of our top sellers your friends and family are sure to love.
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Modern Sprout's self-watering rosemary herb kit in a vintage-inspired mason jar paired with our Rosemary Dish Towel is a gift that keeps on giving all year long. These cute kits come in a variety of different herb options, and we have matching designs for those too, like our basil or mint dish towels.
CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap these gifts together as shown below and make everyone jealous of your gift wrapping skills.
We love gifting a book because you can change up the genre to really personalize it, a cookbook for the chef of the family, coffee table book for the home decorator, or that new memoir your friend keeps talking about. Wrapped in one of our totes you have one cute package with two awesome gifts, and they have a new tote for their next local bookstore haul.
Here we have Jose Andres Vegetables cookbook from one of our fav local DC book stores, Solid State Books, wrapped in our beet tote bag with a matching beet pin gift topper. CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap this all together as shown below.
Fellow local maker, Element Shrub, makes these delicious vinegar-based drinks, aka shrubs. Made with organic Apple Cider Vinegar and fresh fruit, you can use them as mixers for a cocktail or add seltzer for a refreshing non-alcoholic bev to sip on. And one of my favorite parts is that they plant a tree “shrub” for every bottle they sell through their site.
We paired Element Shrub's mixer gift set with our Falling for You Dish Towel Set (including our gourd-geous, apple, and figgy designs) and are breaking them apart so you can cross 3 people off your gift list with this one idea. These would be great if you're looking for something for a group of friends or coworkers.
CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap these gifts together as shown below and make three cute little gifts everyone is sure to love (and actually use!)
I LOVE puzzles, especially ones with lots of color, patterns, and cute designs. Wrapped in one of our foodie or flower-themed dish towels this combo makes a great gift for all the foodie and gamers on your list.
Eeboo Piece & Love puzzles are made out of recycled material and vegetable inks and are a fellow woman-owned company. We paired our Fresh Oyster Dish Towel Set containing the Shuck Yeah and Lemon dish towels with their Blue Kitchen and Green Kitchen puzzles.
CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap these gifts together as shown below, it's super easy and will make your recipient will think it looks so fancy.
Who doesn't love a cute candle, amiright? Our Rose Dish Towel pairs perfectly candle set is made by local maker Relume, (packaging designed by me!) inspired by the rooms of the U.S. Botanic Garden. They are sold exclusively at the Rewild + Friends of the USBG museum shop there. Have you ever been? If not, you need to make a visit because it is filled with so many beauties and seriously cool plants, flowers, and botanical info....not to mention cute candles and dish towels in their gift shop.
CLICK HERE to learn how to wrap these gifts together as shown below to make the prettiest gift presentation.
If you’re in the DC area this holiday season, The Downtown Holiday Market (DHM) is the perfect opportunity to do some holiday shopping while supporting local small businesses. More than 70 local businesses will form an outdoor shopping village that will stretch two entire blocks of F Street NW, from 7th to 9th Streets NW, starting Friday, November 18 through December 23.
This year’s DHM retailers include Black-owned and minority-owned businesses. The market will also host six food vendors (hello apple cider doughnuts!) and live stage entertainment from regional music performers. And The Neighborgoods is so excited to be a part of the market’s retail lineup once again for the third time.
You can find us in the same location as last year (Booth #57), facing Hotel Monaco closer to the 7th Street side. Hope to see you there!
The holiday season is an especially critical time to shop small, particularly after the past two years. Small business owners have had to navigate inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages in the wake of COVID-19.
But what exactly are the benefits of shopping small you ask? Here are four reasons to shop small whether you’re online, at a physical storefront, or (if you’re in DC) at the Downtown Holiday Market.
Small businesses invest in their local economy simply by nature of their location. The sales tax generated from small businesses support the community everyday from street repairs to funding EMT and firefighter services. Small businesses owners are also more likely to purchase goods and services from other local suppliers and distributors. So, when you shop small you, too, are investing in the community and helping to stimulate the local economy.
The holiday season is always a critical time for local shops and restaurants—but in the wake of COVID-19 small businesses face unique challenges. Supply chain disruptions have made it more difficult to receive crucial goods and supplies. And the ongoing labor shortage has led to many small businesses owners running their businesses short-staffed, or on limited hours.
When you shop at a small business you can trust that the products have been made with care. So, no matter who you’re shopping for - parents, friends, favorite teacher, a new grandchild - you can expect to shop among products that are quality and handpicked by the shop owner.
From 2000 to 2019, small businesses created 10.5 million net new jobs while large businesses created 5.6 million, according to a report by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Since 2000, more than half of the U.S.’s new jobs have been created by small businesses. Shopping at a small business creates more revenue which in turn leads to the creation of more job opportunities to support your local economy.
Keep these reasons in mind as you begin your holiday shopping. And if you plan to shop at The Downtown Holiday Market, be sure to stop by The Neighborgoods, (booth #58 close to 7th Street NW across from Hotel Monaco), and support a few of our other favorite, local makers that will be there:
RAW BLOSSOM Soaps, Candles and, Bath and Body Care Products
I am the creator, designer, and illustrator of The Neighborgoods. So glad you stopped by to visit this corner of the internet where my mission is to inspire and bring people together through the beauty of food. From sharing recipes and gift wrapping techniques to giving you an inside-look at the process of creating some of our most beloved foodie-themed products (like our best-selling dish towels), this space is meant to bring people, like you, together to explore and try new things. With that being said, we wanted to kick off our blog by helping you get to know more about our brand story and how we got our start!
The very first illustrated recipe dish towels I made in my screen printing class were a family pancake recipe, and a cupcake recipe that I made for my husband every year for his birthday.
Me printing our pickle print at the SVA print studio, a towel I made for my pickle-loving friend's birthday, and the one a fellow classmate asked to buy. It's still one of our popular designs today, so you can definitely say it's KIND OF A BIG DILL.
My first craft market in Brooklyn, New York the summer of 2014. I didn't even have packaging for my towels yet, and also made tote-puns not just food puns.
This is a photo of my very first inventory storage. It only took up three shelves, which is very different from our current two storage units and the entire basement of my home.
Our first wholesale trade show in January 2018 was just one wall in a shared booth. Our collection has certainly grown since then.
I had the opportunity to open my first brick-and-mortar store in May 2019 in Shaw, Washington, DC. Another scary move, but I took the big leap and loved being a physical part of the community, where people could shop for gifts, meet for events, and to feel a communal sense of belonging. As we were finally getting the hang of running the day-to-day operations, COVID-19 came onto the scene and changed everything. We closed our shop doors for the following months and then officially moved out in October 2020. Since the future was unknown, we moved production to our home basement studio where we currently still package up all the goods and ship them to our loyal customers as well as our 400+ retailers across the country (and a few across the ocean).
Frankie and I on the opening day at our shop, May 2014 and an inside view of our little store filled with colorful goods.
Our home studio after moving in...it is a LOT fuller these days and bursting at the seams.
We are still on the hunt for a retail space but until then we're making it work with what we have and are happy to still be able to do what we love which is creating products for you to use in your everyday life that will brighten your day and make you smile. The Neighborgoods has become bigger than I could have ever hoped it to be when I first began printing dish towels for fun back in 2014 and I have all of you to thank for your support over the years.
My hope is to continue to share my passion for food and design with you in new ways that add meaning and bring joy to your day. With that being said, I am so excited to share with you the launch of our blog where I will share some of my favorite food and drink recipes, gift wrapping techniques, ways I try to
live and eat sustainably, and more. I hope you’ll like it here.