How 'Bout Them Apples?

To me, September is synonymous with apples as October is to pumpkins.

At our old house, we had 2 huge apple trees.
Every September, we would get TONS and TONS of apples.
When we sold our house, I was really sad to leave those apple trees.
Well, our new house does have an apple tree.
But, it is a very, very, very sad looking apple tree:
But, even though it is a sad looking Apple Tree, it still produces apples!
Apples that are perfect for picking & baking with!
So, yesterday we braved the 100 degree heat and picked some apples in our backyard.

Our Apple Tree is so pathetic, Kate can even reach some of the branches!

A lot of the apples had been falling off the tree, so it was time to pick them so we could use them to make yummy apple-ly goodies.

Even though it was 100 degrees out, I had a mission with my apples.
I have never made an apple pie in my life.
It was time. Time to attempt to make an apple pie.

One of the things that made me so intimidated about making an apple pie was making the crust.
After some research (thank you, Internet) I read that Pilsbury's pre-made dough was the way to go. Sounded good to me!
Here is the recipe I used for my apple pie. I combined about 3 or 4 different recipes and came up with this:

1 package pilsbury pre made pie dough crusts (each package has 2 crusts)
6 cups peeled & sliced apples
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter, chopped

Steps:
Take the dough out of the package & unroll it.
Peel your apples:

Slice your apples.....

In a bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon & nutmeg:
Press 1 of your pie crusts into your pie dish (I sprayed my dish with Pam)
Then sprinkle in some of the sugar mixture on the bottom of the crust:

Then, combine the sugar mixture & the sliced apples:
Pour them into the pie dish:
Is your mouth watering yet?

Next, sprinkle the 2 T of chopped butter on top of the apples.
Then, take the 2nd pie crust and cover the pie . Or, you can be fancy & do a lattice top.
(That's what I did!)
Using a pizza slicer, cut it into 1 inch strips to make a lattice top.
I just overlapped them to make the lattice. See?

I melted some butter, brushed it on the top & sprinkled sugar on top. Yum.
Bake in your oven for 15 minutes at 450.

After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes.
(After 30 minutes, I checked on my pie & the top was browning too much, so I covered the pie in foil. But, my oven can be temperamental, so just keep an eye on your pie!)

When the pie is done, it will be bubbly & golden brown on top!

I did it! I made an Apple Pie!

Claire, sniffing it because it smells SOOO good!

Kate & I holding up our very first pie!

I'm officially a grown up, I made a pie :)

I served it A La Mode...because everything is better with ice cream.

Now, go with confidence and make an Apple Pie!

I want to make another one this weekend...look at all the apples I have left!
But, I am going to make my favorite apple cake with homemade caramel sauce:
Click HERE for the recipe!

Happy Apple picking & Happy Fall Baking!

What I Wore Wednesday

Lindsey over at the Pleated Poppy has been doing a blog series called

"What I Wore Wednesday".
I have wanted to participate for a while, but I never got my act together until this past week!
So, here is what I wore this past week.
When you are a teacher, it is all about comfort & layers (my classroom is freezing!)

Cardigan - Ann Taylor Loft
Ruffled Shirt - NY & Co
Capri's - Gap
Shoes - DB Shoes

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Cardigan - Target
Tank Top - Ann Taylor Loft
Necklace - Target
Jeans - Hudson
Flats - Old Navy

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Cardigan - Brass Plum
Tank Top - Target
Jeans - 7 for All Mankind
Shoes - Target


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What I wore to church (after church, it was back into my bathing suit!)

Dress - Target

Shoes - Target

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Shirt - NY & Co
Capri's - NY & Co
Necklace - NY & Co
Shoes - Db Shoes

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Blue Shirt - Ann Taylor Loft
Capris - Target
Shoes - Walmart
Necklace - I made using beads from a bracelet I got at H&M
Close up:
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I had fun documenting what I wore this past week & this is what I discovered:
1. I buy most of my clothes at Target, NY & Co and Ann Taylor Loft
2. I wear a lot of black, gray & blue.
3. I own a lot of cardigans.
4. Taking pictures of myself is awkward.
5. Our bathroom has terrible lighting! yikes.
This was fun, I will definitely participate in this again!

First Weekend of Fall?

It may have been the first official weekend of Fall, but it felt more like summer!
The summer we never had (since it was the coldest summer California has had in 40 years)

It was a hot, hot weekend!
Highs in the upper 90's.
Seriously? Not okay.
It is Fall. I love Fall. I want Fall weather!
But, I was willing to embrace the summer weather this weekend (despite my longing for Fall)
Our weekend was filled with family, swimming, BBQing & wedding dress shopping!

Kate "laying" out.
All that swimming & laying out makes these girls thirsty!
We also let Boulder go for a swim to cool off:
Sign of a good weekend....bathing suits hanging from the pool fence:

In between swimming...I also went dress shopping!
My little sister found her wedding dress & it is GORGEOUS!
It was the very first dress she tried on!
I can't wait to show you, but you will have to wait until after the Big Day (in April!)
And, we found our bridesmaid dresses & I absolutely love them. They are "Tiffany" blue.

On Sunday, we went to church, came home & watched the pathetic 49er game.
We put the girls down for naps & then around 2 pm Kevin & I randomly decided to demo all the tile in our entryway. I had found a $150 Home Depot gift card that we got for our birthdays in May, but had never used. We did some math & figured out we could re-tile the entry way for about that price, so we decided to go for it right then.
I have always hated the front entry tile. It just doesn't "go" with our house.
It is a terrible orange/terracotta/peach color. The grout is brown, but the previous owner painted the grout white. It just looked gross.
2pm until 10 pm on Sunday, was spent ripping out the old floor, making several trips to Home Depot & getting ready to lay new tile.
It only took about 2 hours to rip out. It would have taken longer, but one of our neighbors is a contractor & let us borrow some of his tools.

We had a quick In N Out for dinner...yum!
We only eat fast food 2-3 times a year, so this was a treat!
While we worked, we were entertained by 2 little girls who were dancing with underwear on their heads!
Here is what the entry way looks like now:
There is just backer board that Kevin put in so he can lay the tile on that.
Even just this looks better than the awful tile we had.
Kate's comment after we ripped out the tile. She said, "Yay. No more red tile!"
I feel the same way Kate! Hooray for no more red/orange tile!

Now, I just have to find new tile. The one I wanted was on clearance at Home Depot & there were only 18 tiles. We need at least 25. I went to 3 diferent Home Depot's yesterday trying to find more, but it is all sold out.
We hope to lay the new tile & grout in the next few days, so hopefully by the end of the week we will be finished with this little project!
Wish us luck!

To Nap or Not to Nap?

For the past few months, Kate has been skipping her nap about 1-2 times a week.
She is usually fine on the days she doesn't nap, she just falls asleep a little earlier at night (and is a lot crabbier in the evenings. yikes!)
On the days she does nap, we will put her to bed at 7:30-8, but she won't fall asleep until 10 or 11 (she will "read" books in her bed).

I feel very fortunate that my almost 4 year old still takes a somewhat regular nap (2-3 times a week) but I know the end of her regular nap is coming to a close, especially because she isn't falling asleep at night.

I decided to do an experiment this week & not have her nap at all
(in hopes of having her fall asleep at a normal time at night, like 8:00 pm)

So, today was Day 4 of no nap for Kate.
The good news? She has fallen asleep right away at bedtime!
The bad news? Today during her afternoon snack time, she was literally falling asleep while she was eating her cereal.
So, I did what any good mom would do...I took pictures of it!
She would take a bite of cereal & close her eyes as she was chewing.
I kept asking her if she wanted to stop eating & go take a little nap.
She said, no, she wanted to eat her cereal.

So tired...struggling to keep her eyes open...but must.eat.more.cereal......

Just one more bite....

Aaaaaaannnndddd, she's out.

Mommy, can I have more cereal?

My poor little Kate.
She is totally stuck in the "in between" napping stage.
And, throw preschool in the mix & she is just exhausted on some days.
I don't think she is quite ready to give up her nap just yet!

Totally Awesome 80's Party

On Saturday night, my friend Kelly threw her husband Gregg an 80's party for his 35th birthday.

Everyone dressed up in 80's outfits.
It was hysterical seeing what people came up with.
So much fun, I LOVE costume/theme parties!
This one did not disappoint!

Get ready to see some obnoxiously awesome & hideous 80's outfits!
Here we are:
Yes, it was our goal to look as gross & tacky as we could!
Kevin didn't shave for a week so that he would have an 80's stache for the party.

Our outfits are vintage 1980's.
My outfit was splatter paint shirt, acid wash denim skirt with fringe, white fishnet tights, slouchy socks & white lace gloves.
Kevin's acid wash jeans were his brother's from the 80's and a white fur trim jean jacket (which were found in his old bedroom closet!) I think the mullet wig adds a nice touch!

Gotta love the slouchy color coordinated socks!

I also painted my nails with neon nail polish:
Kelly asked me to make an invite:

(Now available in my Etsy shop!)

Here are some more pictures of what people wore.....
Andrew, Ryan & Kevin:

One of our friends didn't even recognize Kevin at first!

Kevin & Ben:

Becky & I:

Muffy & Buffy, the 80's prepsters:

Gotta love 80's Rockers:

There was JOLT soda! I totally remember having this before middle school dances!
There was also Bartles & James wine coolers. Classic!

Some of the girls:
Kelly & her brother (who won best costume)
Seriously, his outfit was legit. Totally 1980's..even the fanny pack!

Ben & Becky:

Nothing says the 80's like Pop Rocks!
And, yes, I borrowed a crimper to crimp my hair!

Close up of us. Eww. Just eww!

Lee & Bridgette
(not pictured, Lee's boom box. He did the Say Anything vibe)

Susan & Becky:
(Susan won best female costume)
Bridgette, Kelly & I:
Gregg & Kelly:

The next morning, Claire found my socks & shoes downstairs and wanted to wear them:

Kelly did a great job & had so many fun details (that I wish I had taken pictures of!)
I may or may not have done the Running Man at the party....
We had so much fun & I totally want to throw an 80's party in a few years for my younger sister's 30th Birthday!