I made this pie the first year Michael and I were married when I was on a kick of trying new recipes. It’s from my 1976 Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book that my grandmother gave me. It really is called “Perfect Apple Pie” and you can never go wrong with this recipe. It’s simple and tastes like your grandma made it.

Photo Credit: Novel Eats

Perfect Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS
- 6-8 tart Granny Smith apples, pared, cored, and thinly sliced (6 cups)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- dash of ground nutmeg
- Pastry for 2-crust 9″ pie (store brand works just fine)
- 2 Tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine sugar, flour, spices, and dash of salt; mix with apples.
2. Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry, fill with apple mixture, and dot with butter.
3. Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam; seal along edges.
4. Sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.

Note: Don’t use the canned apples! I swear it’s not as good. If you feel up to it, cut your top pie pastry into strips and create a weave pattern (it looks amazing and ensures you look like you slaved over your pie).

Happy baking, turkey eating, and football watching!

Just look at their faces, don’t they just melt your heart?

Watercolor paintings by Lee O’Connor

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE owls. And, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that because owls are so trendy right now with the emos. My love for them actually comes from my dad’s mother. I have taken over a few pieces from her collection of owls that she gathered over the years.

Here are a few owls I would like to add to my collection:

Modern Owl Trio from Studio By The Forest

Adorable tear drop owl necklace by Brittany Chavers

Check out this mini felted owl by Alisha Harms So cute I could die!

And…after that cuteness I came across this and was mortified.

But, this photo of unbearable cuteness makes me happy again:

I feel proud to have supported a local business and now I can bring my machine in for free classes or to just sit around and craft with everyone else. If you love crafting and haven’t been to Edwards, make sure you stop in!

Here is my machine (I wasn’t crazy about the pink at first, but it’s growing on me):

Inspired by my new buy, here are a few DIY sewing projects:

1. Makeup Bag from Momtastic. (I’ve made this one before.)
2. Tissue cases from VeryPurplePerson using scrap pieces of fabric.
3. Very chic pleated pillowcase from Presserfoot.
4. Laptop sleeve from Design Sponge.

My purse is the Baroque pattern, my favorite! And if you love Vera Bradley like I do, you’ll be excited to know that you can sign up with them and receive a $20 coupon on your birthday. Sign up here.

Receiving surprises from loved ones reminds me how important it is to surprise those around us, even if it isn’t their birthday. I feel inspired to think of cute gifts or notes for my co-workers, friends, and family. Just the littlest thing can turn someone’s day around.

In the spirit of lifting people’s moods, here is a Thinking of You card I created recently. Download it here and share it with someone you love!

Now check out these awesome paper sculptures by Anna-Wili Highfield a Sydney based artist currently making nature-inspired sculptures from torn paper and copper pipe.

Tomorrow should be a beautiful day and the perfect weather for a run outside. I have to take advantage of every nice day we have left before the cold weather forces me back on a treadmill. In spirit of working out and staying healthy, I wanted to share a healthy recipe for you that we made yesterday and enjoyed leftovers of today. Happy cooking!

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup low-sodium cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup boneless chicken breast, diced
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 cup frozen veggies
- 1/2 cup Bisquick
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 egg white

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix soup and 1/4 cup milk in 1 quart casserole dish. Stir in veggies and chicken.
3. In a small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with a fork until blended. Pour over chicken mixture.
4. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes.

Note: If you prefer more Bisquick breading, mix 1 cup Bisquick with 1/2 cup milk and 2 egg whites. You will need to bake slightly longer, until the breading is cooked throughout.

To help everyone get into the crafty mood, here are a few projects for the weekend:

Leaf Covered Candles from MarthaStewart.com

Refashion your drab cardigans with ideas from The New Home Ec

Pixelated Watercolor from All Things Paper

Adorable Paper Lanterns from BustleBlog

To celebrate November, I searched the month in Etsy and found some lovely things:

A: Fall themed hair pins from PlumePretty
B: Golden wheat art print from RetroMenagerie
C: Autumn colored yarn from CandySkein
D: Gold citrine earrings from JenniferCassady

Also – I found some nice desktop wallpapers for the month of November at SmashingMagazine.com. Enjoy!

Instead, we made natural Strawberry-Banana Smoothies!

Note: I never measure any of this out. Start with a little milk and if your blender doesn’t blend, add more. A Tbsp. of honey should do it. FROZEN bananas are a must, it makes your smoothie taste like it has ice cream in it. Sometimes I get crazy (ha!) and add different types of fruit or use orange juice instead of milk.

Also – I have to share this adorable pin from hugaporcupine on Etsy:

Bear Origami Pin

Zombie Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 cup milk
- Frosting (I’m going for the store bought kind)
- 1/4 bag pink candy melts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake tins with liners (I’m going for black).

Cream sugar and butter in a bowl for several minutes (until light and fluffy), then beat in the eggs (REALLY WELL), one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder with a wire whisk, add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternating with the milk and mix well until the batter is smooth. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. For directions on the spooky zombie hands go here. Have fun!

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I also wanted to share a fun template for your front door (download here). I have to mention that I didn’t come up with it on my own. I found the idea online and traced a photo of the design.