Hear ye, Hear ye!

Ever since, I made my first declaration of woe-is-me, I-am-so-single, blah-blah-blah. I have been able to vent to you about things.

I like that about you.

Now, I have come up with a new scheme plan. Plan. Does scheme sound conniving to anyone else?

First, I [of course] am still planning my wedding even though I have yet to meet a man to whom I wish to marry. In that planning, I have decided that I would like to buck all trends and not have any people of honor, ladies in waiting, maids and all that. It's just that I have way too many people who are important to me to rank them. That's not fair.

I like fair.

So, here's the new plan:
If I meet someone on my own--ha!--I get to do what I want. I know, you're shocked.

If you introduce me to someone I want to marry, you can be my lady of honor, man of honor, person of importance, choose-your-own-title.

Yeah, I just declared that.
BAM!

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake

It also has a caramel glaze because it wouldn't be decadent enough as just Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake, right?

It's a boun-bun-bundt cake. Please tell me you get my My Big Fat Greek Wedding reference. If you didn't, you are dead to me.

DEAD.

Or not, whatev.

I made this cake for my Grandma's birthday. I need reasons to bake since I don't really have enough people to bake for. An occasion! A birthday! Yes! Also, after I baked this I finally got my oven fixed [my landlord got me a new one--whoo!] and now I can bake at home. (-:

If you don't like carbs--what?!?!--you can have an Atkins bar instead and pretend it's a warm, gooey apple cinnamon cake covered in caramel.

But you'll be the only one at the party, unless you're hanging with my family and then you can join my uncle.

Really, I'd rather you just joined me in the decadence of this:

Apple Cinnamon Cake

• 3 cups AP Flour
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Ginger
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 3 cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 6 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 medium Apples, grated

Preheat your oven to 325. Grease your bundt pan to get it ready for the cake!

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients [flour, spices, baking soda and salt] and combine thoroughly. In another bowl [or your stand mixer if you have one] add the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla. In about 3 increments add your dry mixture being careful not to over-mix. Using a spoon, fold in the apples.

This part is optional...nn your bundt pan, coat with oil and cinnamon sugar then add pecan halves along the bottom [which will become the top when you turn it out] of the pan. Pour in your batter and bake for 70-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and turn out onto your cake plate.

Caramel Glaze

• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 6 Tbsp Butter
• 1/4 cup Heaving Whipping Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Salt [use less if you aren't as smitten with salty-sweet as I am]

Add your sugars and butter to a sauce pan on medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugars begin to dissolve and remove from heat. Continuing to stir, add in the heavy whipping cream, vanilla and salt. Allow to cool to thicken slightly and pour over the cake.

Eat. Enjoy. Laugh with friends.

Random Factoid #2

I'm in month three of my four months of not purchasing a clothing item. [This was one of my 30x30s.]

It hasn't been difficult.

Until today...when I was seduced to peruse online shopping. I'm going to blame a lack of sleep because I can.

Four more weeks.
Four more weeks.
Four more weeks.

Four.

More.

Weeks.

You know what's weird? The things I want to buy most: work out clothes and dress clothes for work. They're even responsible items!!!!!

I'm still not allowed...right?
I'm going to need some validation.

Hank Chillin'

I've been trying to document Hank's quirky-ness lately.

Just get ready.

I can't get him to talk to me here, but someday I'm capturing the voice that's behind the Hank.

Fall Pie & Apples

Last weekend I went to the apple orchard for the first time ever.

EV-AH.

These hands that are typing this plucked apples from trees! You may think it looks like I was picking with a picking basket, but I only did that once. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as using my hands. It was amazing. The bounty of the earth. The glorious fruit!

I loved it.

I went with my Aunt and cousins to Advanced Tree Technology in New Haven. Yeah, I didn't think Advanced Tree Technology sounded like an orchard, but it was! The only hard part of the day was combating all the no-see-ems. Those little buggers ate us alive!

At one point this mini-Paris asked if we could go get manicures instead. Hilarious.

We may have over-picked when we ended up with about...40 pounds. Yes, that's more apples than most toddlers weigh.

So, what was I to do? MAKE A PIE!

Of course. (-: This is my second apple pie on here, the first is here. This one was delicious as well. I may have sinned for all you pie makers so just plug you ears for this part, but I made a crust and just smashed it in the pie pan because I was too lazy to roll it out. Truth. Throw in the apples. Top with some delicious crumblies. Delicious pie is in your future!

Apple Pie

Crust

• 1 1/3 cups Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Butter, cold
• 3-6 Tbsp Water, ice cold

Mix the first three ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and add enough water until a dough ball forms. You can roll it out, or you could smush and smash it into the pan. Ignore me if you're a pie critic. Or make the crust from the other pie I made. Yeah, do that. 

Filling

• 5-6 Apples, cored and sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 2-3 Tbsp Flour

Combine and pour in your crust. It's all good. 

Topping

• 6 Tbsp Butter, cold
• 1/2 cup Quick Oatmeal
• 2/3 cup Brown Sugar

Mix together until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is distributed among the oatmeal and brown sugar goodness. You can't go wrong with brown sugar. Just pile this on top. 

Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes. 

Dear Blog Stalkers,

Feel free to replace the word "stalker" with "lurker," "creeper," "covert follower" or "person who secretly reads amy's blog hoping no one will find out because it's a little girly and doesn't make much sense." Whatever makes you feel good. Roll with that. 


I like you.


That is all. 


Love,
amy

Summer Pie

Yes, it's fall now, but earlier in the summer I made a pie.

It was good.

You need to have it in your list of things to make when rhubarb is in season.

Plus it's waaaaay too easy to make not to add it to your repertoire.

I started with a pre-made pie crust. Yeah, I'm not a pie crust snob. If it has a fat [butter, shortening, whatev] plus flour with some yummy filling I'm good to go. Truly my pie particularities are starting to shine through.

Then I filled it with rhubarb that my grandma ran down the road and picked up from an Amish woman. She literally walked out her front door and sliced it off. Yum!

Just dump that in your pie crust...either the one you made or bought.
Next you're going to whip up a custard. For the first time in my life I used a mixture of artificial and regular sugar. I went with the pink stuff.

All you have to do is combine it, mix it and pour it over the rhubarb.

Then bake that baby until the custard is set at 375. Let it cool and enjoy the bounty of the earth!

Rhubarb Custard Pie

• 1 pie crust
• 2 cups Rhubarb, diced
• 2 Tbsp Butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk or cream [depending on your level of decadence]
• 3/4 cup sugar or a combination of sugar and your favorite zero-calorie sweetener
• pinch of Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Make or unfreeze your piecrust. Wash and dice your rhubarb and put in the pie crust. In another bowl mix butter, eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture over the rhubarb. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until custard is set. Serve cool.




Up next? Apples and Fall Pie. 

In the things you don't need, but you'll definitely want category

Last Christmas I got a gift certificate to Parker and Otis in Durham. I actually got several gift certificates to P&O between my birthday and Christmas, but the majority was spent on coffee.

[old picture of a pretty latte]

Oh, P&O baristas, how I miss you. I have yet to find a place in the Fort where they pull their own shots of espresso or steam milk as beautifully as Summer and Kyle did. Yeah, I went every day [judge me, go ahead] and was on a they-know-my-drink-when-I-walk-in-the-door-basis with the baristas. Whatev.

In addition to awesome coffee and delicious food [grilled pimento cheese-get it!] Parker and Otis also has some of the best selection of gifts, which is where I purchased these beautiful birds:

Totally cute, right?

If you can't quite see it here's a close-up:

These are made by Decor Craft, Inc, and they make totally cute stuff, but you can't order directly from the manufacturer. If you're not close enough to go over to P&O [you can order some things from their website], you can also find these on Amazon, but they're apparently out of stock right now. I told you, they are awesome!

They're only $6.99 for a pack of 16 and they just make clothespins look so last year, don't you think?
Hahahahaha.

Thanks for sticking around. (-:

I am ridiculous

Some of you may not debate this. I certainly don't.

These are five of the more recent reasons why I am utterly ridiculous:

1. These pictures are pictures from my camera. They're mostly of Hank. He does this new thing where he climbs up in my lap [he is NOT a lap cat at all] and kneads my belly [it's painful] then he sniffs my face and finally lays down. He's large enough that his face ends up about 3 inches from mine. 

2. I got really teary last night...at a JIF commercial. Hormones, what? 

3. This is the best chai in the entire universe and I will tell anyone who mentions liking chai about it. It's a Big Train Chai with pumpkin added. I love it as much as I love coffee. 

4. These were in the $1 section at Target and I felt the need to take a picture of them. 

5. I took this picture while on the toilet. 

[I kinda want to print it and stick it in a frame.]

Words

I have so many pictures and words to get printed! Aaaarg! Why is it that the creating part isn't difficult, but the submitting and printing part [which should be the easiest] holds me up for months?

It's because I have big feet, isn't it?

I first heard this quote from Lizzie in one of her blog posts a while back.

These are words I want to read every day:

This is from the amazing, Ellen Davis. I don't know her, but I heard one of the best sermons at Duke Divinity School graduation  [she starts around 31:30] last May from her.

Once it's printed, I think it will go up in my bathroom.

I can read it there daily.

my little apartment

I'm sitting in Starbucks for my usual Sunday night ritual [three weeks in a row makes it a ritual, right?] of free interwebs and coffee.

Tonight I had my first pumpkin spice latte [you can get it with skim milk but not with sugar-free syrup, that's how I roll]. Yummy! And I'm listening to The Wailin' Jennys. Awesome!

Fort Wayne, you are good to me. (-:

I've been asked to share some updates on my little apartment, so I took the time today to clean it [!] and take some pictures [!] today. Both are shocking because I usually clean on Tuesdays since it's my day off and my camera is rarely out. It makes me sad, but I'm just not taking pictures. Boo.

To refresh your memory take a moment to check out the floor plan and the original post about my tiny place, then come back asap.

Welcome back.

I'm definitely not done with my vision [I don't even think I'm done developing a "vision"], so these are "in progress" shots.

When you first walk in the door this is what you see. Yup, pretty much everything!

I found that rug at Tar-jay for $3.71. Kate and I looked EVERYWHERE for 2-3 of them so I could sew them together to make a nice big rug, but this was apparently the last one. So once I get a rug to put in the "living room" this green baby will be moving to my bedside.

To your left is my bed nook. I love that phrase "bed nook." I'm trying to decide if I want to put curtains up over the opening, it's fairly low on the list, but they might be nice for additional separation.

My couch is super classy. Larry [Kate's husband] found it on the curb when we were on our way to pick up the couch I was going to pay for. I went with the free one, of course! It desperately needs to be recovered, but I'm not there yet. Also, it has hideous upholstered feet. Who thinks that's a good idea?

Where this kitchen chair is currently sitting, I have plans to find some upholstered, comfy, cheap little chair that I can re-upholster in a bold print. We'll see what happens! I love the old typewriter stand the TV is sitting on, it was one of my Kansas thrift store purchases for $4. Depending on what color or neutral the future rug is this may be painted a bold-bright hue.

My kitchen. You can read more about it over on the cooking closet.

My closet and Hank's litterbox room. Yes, I need to tell you about my favorite litterbox ever. Hank likes it; I like it. Today I decided a curtain in that doorway is near the top of my list. I had a moment where I was thinking about if anyone ever came over and I needed to change...there's not really a place to have a bit of privacy except the bathroom which is teeeeeny-tiny and I'm not sure that you could even stretch your arms out to put on a shirt. OK, maybe you could, but I still want a curtain.

The bathroom is also my favorite room so far. It's the shower curtain I got at IKEA. I LOVE it. This was a purchase I deliberated and debated and contemplated and thought about for way too long. This shower curtain is the color palate that lives in my mind when I think about my whole apartment.

That's my apartment right now. It's coming along! It has a long way to go, though!