The Diaper Fairy Emily Weixler McCay's Forecastle Goals
Louisville entrepreneur Emily Weixler McCay set the local festival season as a cancer recovery goal.
I'm so excited for Forecastle Festival this weekend! I'm also extremely honored to bring you this story about hope, happiness, and healing today. Emily Weixler McCay is known around Louisville for her beautiful smile, her love of spreading glitter, and her Highlands-based business, The Diaper Fairy Cottage. Emily, a wife, mother, DONA trained doula, and entrepreneur, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia last fall; she set "attend Louisville's Music Festival season" as a healing goal. I felt so humbled that Emily agreed to share her story with HerKentucky readers, and I look forward to seeing her (and all of y'all!) at Forecastle!
Emily Weixler McCay, photo by Sarah Schweizer Hester of SSH Photography.
Louisville folks know you as the Glitter Fairy. Can you please tell me a little bit about your business, The Diaper Fairy, and about your penchant for spreading glitter and happiness wherever you go?
Seven years ago, I opened a modern cloth diaper delivery service, The Diaper Fairy, to fill an unmet need for Kentuckiana families. Our specialty door-to-door laundry service offers the opportunity to set dirty diapers out on the front porch with the promise that we will come by and replace them with cleans. How cool is that? A Diaper Fairy lands on your porch and takes the dirty work out of choosing cloth diapers. Let’s face it, what we do isn't glamorous and we’ve always been in on the joke that we’re #1 in a #2 business. So, if we can throw some glitter and fun at the dirty work of parenting, my Flock of Fairies and I are all for it!
Around 4 years ago, we saw an opportunity to fill another niche and expanded again into a brick and mortar boutique, The Diaper Fairy Cottage (because every Fairy needs a Cottage). Our goal is to provide parenting items and resources that could be hard to find locally. Our boutique offers much more than diapers. We’ve focused on natural parenting gifts and gear, classes and private consultations on topics such as breastfeeding and baby-wearing, and we’ve built a vibrant and inclusive parenting community that meet for toddler crafts hours and new baby support groups.
You’ve been through so much in the past year or so. Can you please tell me a little bit about your diagnosis, treatment and your wonderfully positive outlook?
Last year on Halloween, after being fatigued and anemic for several weeks, blood work and a bone marrow biopsy uncovered an underlying blood marrow failure cancer called Myelodysplastic Syndrome. I was quickly referred to Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO and by my first consultation, just 11 days later, my aggressive cancer had progressed to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I was basically admitted on-site and underwent two back-to-back rounds of induction chemotherapy to try and get me in remission.
I was hospitalized for a solid seven weeks in St. Louis during the process which is incredibly isolating and hard. I relied on daily meditation, an escape into the music playlists that my husband would make for me, and constant walks up and down the hallway. I found strength and support in focusing on the pictures and cards that plastered the walls of my hospital room and would take time to sit in windows streaming with sunshine to help keep my inner light lit.
The induction chemo worked for just a few weeks and my cancer quickly returned as soon as my bone marrow attempted recovery. My doctors had to move up a timeline for my stem cell transplant because I was so ill. My brother was identified as the fastest, closest match and he donated his stem cells in early February with another month long hospital stay. To (over)simplify an explanation of how a stem cell transplant works, his cells were transfused in, they engrafted into my bone marrow, and started to grow new healthy blood for me. I’m now 100% my brother’s blood inside and right now, I’m 100% leukemia-free. He has literally saved my life.
Early on in my diagnosis, my husband and I made the decision to share the news and my journey through a group we call “Emily Conquers Leukemia”. The group now nicknames themselves “ECL Nation” and it’s filled with friends, family, and colleagues that are nationwide! I have been so fortunate to have an incredible amount of support through my treatment. I have often said, I have felt like we have a network of hands under us, holding me and my family up as we CONQUER this. I’ve had people thank me for staying visible during these past nine months and honestly, I don’t know how else I would have done it.
Maybe the silver lining in this terrible strike of lightning is for us all to recognize it’s about living a life of intention and loving those around you. A life of gratitude. The reality could be that life is quality over quantity. None of us are promised tomorrow.
The journey hasn’t been easy, at all. But I do credit having a “Good Vibes Only” outlook for helping me reach each daily milestone of survival. I have learned so much through this process. I very much take it one day at at time. There were days where I have had to take it one hour at a time. I now move at a slower pace and I don’t multi-task nearly as much. I find it easier to stay present and be in the moment.
Emily's "Festival Season" kimono, custom-made by Louisville designer Gunnar Deatherage. Photo by Sarah Schweizer Hester of SSH Photography.
I know Festival Season has been a huge milestone in your recovery. Can you please tell me about how you set Forecastle as a goal for yourself and your physicians?
Live music has always been a very important part of my life and has fed my soul for years! In fact, before my diagnosis, my husband and I were planning to attend My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday”, a destination music festival in Mexico in February…But as it turned out, my stem cell transplant timeline settled in during the *exact* dates of the tropical festival. (We’ve often joked that I attended “One Big Transplant” instead!) I knew I’d be just under 6 months out from my stem cell transplant when music festival season was underway, and Forecastle specifically. I’ve always loved our hometown, yet national, music festival and we’ve been honored to be vendors the past couple of years.
While being a vendor wasn’t going to be an option for us this year, Forecastle and AC Entertainment made it clear that if my health allowed it, they would welcome us as guests. As soon as I heard that, I prepped my transplant team for making it a recovery milestone. My health and endurance has continued to improve since my move back home in early May, and so my transplant team approved me to go! This year will be a little more chill for us as I’ll need to make sure to stay super hydrated, take breaks from the heat and sun, and I honestly can’t give out a lot of hugs because I’m still immunocompromised. Still, to be here, meeting this milestone, feeling healthy and normal, feels AMAZING.
Finally, can you tell me a little about the Parent Comfort Tent?
Yes! As it turned out, while we aren’t vendors this year, a last minute opportunity presented itself to host the Parent Comfort Tent again this year. The space is located at the back of the festival grounds, where it’s quieter, on Kentucky Landing’s Buy Local Boulevard. The Parent Comfort Tent gives space for parents to comfortably feed a baby, change a diaper, or pump milk if they are away from their nursling. The booth features fans to cool the private tent, comfortable chairs for feeding, extension cords for breast pumps, and a diaper changing table for the littles. We are also providing breast milk storage bags, disposable breast pads, diaper wipes and diaper cream. The space will be available all three days of the Festival and will be open until 9pm each night. We hope knowing this tent is a comfortable option for families means more parents will attend Forecastle and enjoy the festival. Because, honestly, couldn’t we all use a little more music and celebration in our lives?
Thanks so much to Emily for sharing this journey with HerKentucky! Wishing you continued healing and happiness, Emily!
Brunch at the Silver Dollar
I get a lot of questions about where to eat in Louisville. Every couple of weeks, someone texts/ emails/ facebooks me for a lunch, brunch or dinner recommendation in the Derby City. To keep up with these suggestions, I'll be updating the HerLouisville City Guide to reflect my favorite suggestions. First up is brunch at the Silver Dollar.
As you drive down Frankfort Avenue, The Silver Dollar looks like a hole in the wall you could easily pass up. That would be a huge mistake. Instead, you should stop when you see the iconic "Whiskey by the Drink" neon sign for a cocktail, dinner, or weekend brunch. The servers are friendly, the music is Bakersfield honky tonk country, the drinks are stiff, and the food... well, it's amazing.
Some of our favorites on the Silver Dollar brunch menu include the smoked chicken enfrijoladas,
the waffle and the flank & eggs,
and the shrimp and grits.
The Silver Dollar is located at 1761 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Amazon Prime Same-Day Delivery
This morning, I awoke to perhaps the most exciting press release I've seen in a long time. Amazon Prime has extended same-day delivery to Louisville!
Readers in Cincinnati and Nashville, y'all are getting it too!
Amazon Prime members can place an order in the morning and receive all Same-Day orders over $35 before bedtime that very same day, seven days a week – even Sunday. With these newly added areas, Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery now serves 27 metro areas in the US, accounting for more than 1,000 cities and towns.
Amazon Prime comes with multiple options for unlimited, fast free shipping. Members can use any of these options in eligible areas including:
· Prime FREE Same-Day: Members in 27 metro areas, which include more than 1,000 cities and towns, can place an order in the morning and have that order delivered before bedtime. Members can choose from a broad selection of more than a million items, seven days a week – even Sunday. Learn more about Prime FREE Same-Day at www.amazon.com/sameday.
· Prime Now: Members in more than 25 metro areas can choose from tens of thousands of everyday essentials for ultra-fast, free two-hour delivery from a dedicated mobile app. Learn more about Prime Now at www.amazon.com/primenow. Download the Prime Now App on the App Store or Google Play. Download the Prime Now App on the App Store or Google Play.
· Prime FREE Two-Day: Prime members enjoy unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 30 million items across all product categories. Two-Day Shipping spans the continental US from large cities to rural areas.
Join Amazon Prime today to experience same-day delivery for yourself!
Kentucky Derby Glasses
Kentucky Derby Glasses are a favorite with collectors and racing fans!
Nearly every Kentucky home has a Kentucky Derby glass tucked away in a cabinet – or a full collection of the colorful glassware on display. Kentucky Derby glasses are a Derby tradition and a great souvenir of a day at the racetrack. Some are even highly desirable collectors’ items!
Kentucky Derby glasses date back to the 64th running of the Derby in 1938. The specially-produced water glasses, Churchill Downs management noticed, were so popular that they “disappeared” from the track dining rooms in large quantities. The following year, the track contracted the Libbey glass manufacturing company to produce a highball glass with color print, suitable for serving a mint julep. The rest, as they say, is history.
Many racing enthusiasts and Kentuckians have created a market for collectable Derby glasses, with the 1930s designs carrying price tags in the thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars. Derby glass enthusiasts often divide collections into pre- and post- 1974. That year, the 100th running of the Kentucky Derby, was when Derby glasses were first available for off-track sale. These days, you can pick up a Derby glass well in advance of the race at Louisville-area retailers, but the real fun comes in bringing home a souvenir of the Big Race.
While collectors pore over the variations and misprints in Derby glass runs, others use Derby glasses as daily glassware, a fun reminder of the Big Race. Nevada District Court Judge Nancy Allf is a London, KY native who moved to Las Vegas in 1982. Judge Allf’s Derby glass collection is a fun reminder of her home in the Bluegrass State. She says, “We use Derby glasses every day. It is a fun reminder of home, and always a conversation piece when we have guests over. For dinner parties, especially when introducing new people, I make sure each guest has a different year. It is an unusual but effective conversation starter.”
Whether you’re storing your Derby glasses as part of a collection or using them for cocktail hour at home, they’re a lovely Kentucky tradition that serve as a reminder of Derby all year long!
Five Fun Facts about Kentucky Derby Glasses:
· Nearly 120,000 mint juleps will be served over the two-day period of Oaks and Derby. That’s a thousand pounds of freshly harvested mint and sixty thousand pounds of ice and, of course, enough Derby glasses to hold them all!
· Derby glasses sold at the Kentucky Derby hold Old Forester Mint Julep, a ready-to-serve cocktail made with Old Forester Straight Bourbon Whisky.
· In 1940 and 1941, Kentucky Derby glasses weren’t made of glass, due to concern about the broken glass found on racetrack grounds or possibly the World War II era shortage of glass. . Aluminum tumblers held the storied mint juleps, and a limited number of glasses were distributed for backside use only. Bakelite or Beetleware glasses were issued from 1941-44.
· Since 1949, all previous Derby winners have been listed on the Derby glass, with the exception of the 1950, 1952, 1958, and 1969 glasses.
· The 1946 and 1947 Derby glasses are not recognized by collectors because mint juleps were served at those runnings of the Kentucky Derby in blank undecorated glasses.
This post was brought to you by the Kentucky Derby Book, an interactive coffee table book about the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.