Truly Homemade Apple Pie

This beautiful and delicious apple pie is about as homemade as they come. Not only did I make the crust from scratch, but I actually picked the apples from my very own apple tree in our backyard! I didn't follow any one recipe exactly, but rather pulled from a few sources to create my own concoction. And it turned out wonderfully, if I do say so myself! Plus, while the pie was baking and bubbling away, I made butter tarts with the leftover crust dough. These remind me so much of my grandma, and they were my absolute favorite treat to eat at her house. I'm sure she must have made plenty of pies, but I don't remember any of them as well as those flaky, buttery cinnamon tarts.

Finally, a City Satchel!

After much practice and waiting for my skills to improve, I finally did it. That's right, the City Satchel. And I love how it turned out! I found these fabrics in the home decor section of the fabric store, but they are a very sturdy cotton and I think they are cool together in a not too matchy-matchy way. I decided to go with a rusty orange color for the lining and I even added my own personal touch by doing a zippered pocket on the inside. To be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be. It took one afternoon to do the exterior portions, then a couple more hours to do the lining. It's just as cute as I'd imagined, and I'm super happy with it.

Pretty in Pink

So today was my birthday, and I just had to share the beautiful roses Craig brought home. Aren't they pretty? For my birthday dinner, we met some friends at my favorite local Italian place where they make the BEST pizza. I like the fancy pizzas with pesto instead of pizza sauce and sundried tomatoes. Yummy! If I weren't so full, I'd be into the leftovers right now! And the best part about my birthday? I don't have to go to work tomorrow! It's Veterans Day, so I can sleep in, stay in my jammies, and get started on the city satchel! Woohoo! Some days I truly love being a teacher...

Bag Making 2.0

My bag making skills have definitely improved, and I'm pretty happy with my latest creations. These little wristlets are cute, fun to make and even involve ZIPPERS! (Which, by the way, are much easier than I thought.) The blue-green print one I made for my friend Wendy for her birthday, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the brown one yet. I might keep it for myself, but I do have other selfish plans in mind...
Friday night my mom took me fabric shopping for my birthday and it was so much fun! I picked out the fabric for my beloved city satchel project that I've been working up to for the last few weeks. That's right, the "daredevil" level bag. Yikes! I had big plans to start on it this weekend, but things got busy (and I got lazy), so no bag yet. However, this week/weekend looks promising for sewing time, so I will be sure to post my progress - and hopefully pictures of a fabulous finished product!

Lance and Lucy

Last night Craig and I went to a Halloween party, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of us in our costumes. Craig is in full-blown cycling gear as Lance Armstrong, and I am decked out as Lucy from I Love Lucy. I tried to talk Craig into going as Ethel, but for some reason he was having no part of that idea. Strange. Anyhow, at the party, Craig won "Scariest Costume" (It must have been the spandex...and the fact that no one at the event was actually trying to be scary), and he also tied for "Sexiest Costume." (Again, the spandex...) Enjoy!