A Little Bit of Everything!

This will probably be a little long. The reason I mostly blog is to remember what was going on so that I can go back and use it for scrapbooking and memories but I also having a place for ideas and such. Reading blogs gives me plenty of those and if you're a Pinterest-aholic, like me, you have a place for LOTS of ideas.

1. I bought a new lamp shade from our Pottery Barn outlet here. I still don't know how I feel about it. I think I'm liking the openess of it but Chris is still on the fence about it.

2. Inspired by a blog that I read, I changed the dining room set-up and I like it, but, I think our table is to small in the room. Maybe because that's the only furniture in the room but I think I want a farmhouse table in here. More on that later.

(I probably should've cleaned off my pumpkins..oops)

3. This is the only tree on my block that has leaves turning color and I love it. Yes this is random.

4. I made this delicious meal the other night and was so proud at how it looked I photographed it! It's Balsamic Chicken with Tomato and Mozzarella Topping courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes, a food blog I love!

5. I love Halloween and I love decorating for it but this year I realized that my decorations are not big enough for our house! In the apartments they were perfect sized but not so much anymore. I haven't had the chance to really buy any for this year so maybe I'll deal with what we've got and pick some decorations at the end of the season, real cheap, and buy some next Halloween.

6. My baby boy turned a month old already. Feels like just yesterday I brought him home. He loves his brother, he's back up to his birth weight, he's eating about 4 oz. every 3 hours, he's in size 1 diapers (they're still a little big), he's still in 0-3 month clothes, but has already outgrown his newborn stuff. We love him so much!  ♥

7. I'm so excited but nervous to be starting school again in Jan. I'm planning on getting this Life Planner from erincondren.com to keep my life in check. I saw it on Amanda's blog, OurOklahomaNest, and thought it was absolutely perfect for the student/working mom in me! Can't wait to place my order =)

My favorite design!



So far that's what I've been up to. Painting and other home improvements are on the back burner until after the new year. There's to much going on between now and then. I need to get into a routine and then hopefully everything will fall into place. Hope you all have a good week.

A Real Simple Apple Pie

I wanted to make this pie for Thanksgiving but I didn't own a food processor until my birthday so I made it for Christmas Eve instead! It was oh-so-delicious and gone by the end of the weekend! I got the recipe out of my favorite magazine Real Simple. Here's the recipe:

Gingery Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients

Homemade Piecrust or 1 store-bought piecrust, fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
1/2 cup cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 pounds apples (about 5; such as Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Empire), peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions1.Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 375º F. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet.
2.In a food processor, pulse the butter, ¾ cup of the flour, and ¼ cup of the sugar until large clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
3.In a large bowl, toss the apples, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and the remaining ½ cup of sugar and tablespoon of flour.
4.Transfer the apple mixture to the crust, sprinkle with the crumb topping, and bake until the top is golden and the apples are tender, 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can definitely taste the real ginger in the pie. I used a store bought pie crust and it was still good!! I promise!