Tutorial-Homemade Mini Apple Pies

Hello loves,
This past weekend I made some cute little apple pies for a Halloween party. These mini pies are easy to make and taste amazing.

I like the idea of everyone having their own little individual pie.

This recipe makes around 20-25 little individual pie.

Recipe: 

• 12 Tablespoons of flour
• 1 1/2 cup of Sugar
• 4 heaping spoons of Cinnamon
• 8 medium/larger apples
• 2 boxes of pie crust
• 4 table spoons of unsalted chilled butter
• Unstick Spray
• Set oven 400 degrees and bake for 18-20 minutes

Step 1: The first thing I did was cut out the pie crusts for the cupcake/muffin tin. Some might need an exact measured circle. I used a red solo cup and flipped it upside down. It seemed to work perfect for my size pan. 

Tip: I pulled the pre-made pie crust out of the fridge and started to try and unroll it. Of course it cracked. So I just pressed into a ball and rolled out again. If I remake these, I would allow the pie crust to come to room temp. in order to save a little time. 

Also, before adding the pie crust to the tin, SPRAY THE CRAP out of the pan with non-stick spray. I just used a butter generic nonstick. I didn't want to make these and them not pop out when done. 

Step 2: I peeled the apples, and diced them up. I then added the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix around. 

Tip: Dice the apples fairly small, the bigger the chunks, the less amount of pieces you can put in the pie crust. 

Step 3: Fill your little pie crusts to the top with the apple mixture, and then top with a few little pieces of the chilled butter.

Tip: When I first got all my stuff out to start making the pies, I just threw a stick of butter into the freezer, then it was pretty chilled by the time I was ready to use.

Step 4: This is totally optional. I just created little lattices for atop the pie's. I have seen other recipes where they just cut out a leaf shape. I then melted a little butter and brushed the tops. Then bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

Below is the final product. These babies are just enough to get the sweet craving to stop, without eating an entire slice of pie. 

If you try them, please let me know how they turned out! I would love to read the comments and see pictures.

Also, if you want a video tutorial, please just let me know and I would be happy to make one.

Until next time, loves!

The Secret Club- Enter if you dare!

This topic has taken me some time to muster up the courage to talk about..dun...dun...dun..The Secret Club (evil laugh). I feel like a rebel spilling the secrets no one dare talk about. It sounds wonderful doesn't it? Something so elite people whisper about it in hush tones. When searching the internet you find the club vaguely written about it. What special club is this you ask? Could it be the perfect ten club, or maybe the secret to weight-loss club? Nah, even more top secret. 

    Welcome to the Step-girlfriends/boyfriends, Step-fiance, stepmother/stepfather club        <please, insert sarcasm here>.

Enough with my sarcastic introduction. The divorce rate according to divorcestatistics.org lists 40% of couples with children divorcing. To put that in perspective out of 100 couples 40 of those couples with children divorce. Another site says 50% of all children will witness the divorce of there parents.

1.5 million babies are born out of wedlock. 750,000 teen pregnancies a year.

As a result, many of these children will have other people in their lives to help raise them besides their biological mother and biological father. With the statistics listed above it is absolutely astonishing to me there are not more support groups, and help available for those of us without children who date, become engaged, and marry those who do.

Call us naive, call us stupid, or unrealistic. Call us dreamers, or suckers. The simple fact of the matter is this...We ( meaning us non-children people) are looking for love. Given the statistic's many of the single people do in fact have children. I know, I know, MIND BLOWN!

When I started dating it was rare to find a guy who didn't have kids. I remember family members asking me if I really wanted to date a guy with kids because of how draining they heard it was. In my mind I'm thinking do they not understand how many people actually have kids? And the older you are, the more likely it is for the guys to have kids.

After dating for some time, I met R, I remember thinking to myself he is sweet, funny, and a great dad. As the days turned into weeks, we decided to wait to introduce me to the kids until we were both serious enough for the relationship to last. While it was an absolute wonderful gesture for the kids, it was also a bit deceiving for me. So I was basically dating a man who we would go out and be like a normal couple with no children for close to 3 months before I even met the kids. We would go on the town, go out to eat, watch tv, go to the movies. R has 3 all under 13, and at the time he had joint custody. I went into the relationship heart open, excited, and feeling confident I could handle anything thrown my way. Seriously, I love kids. I knew I loved R, so how hard could this step-whatever you want to call me really be? Boy-oh-Boy, have I been on a wild ride ever since.

It's been close to 3 years and those who are not in this elite club would think it gets easier, I am here to tell you that in some ways it does get easier, and in other ways it gets much much harder.

Once a week I will write my stories, thoughts, and struggles on my blog. I am also hoping I am not the only one feeling alone in this scenario and would love to start a support group of sorts for all of us to come share stores, talk, and provide advice, and a shoulder to cry on.

Happy Stepping, my loves,
Autumn

Lemon Water-What is it good for? Absolutely everything!!!

I've been trying to incorporate some good habits into my daily routine. I have come across a recent trend with lemon water. Have you heard of it? Do you drink lemon water? I'd love to hear your stories.

I went to the store and got myself a bag of lemons, and brought the entire bag to work. I figured I would drink lemon water at work instead of my usual coffee throughout the day. The first time I tried lemon water I think I put too much lemon in the water because it was so sour I would barely drink it- note to self! haha! 

From what I have researched lemon water first thing in the morning has some great health benefits: 

1. Helps with weight loss
2. Aids in digestion
3. Boosts your immune system

Those are just 3 of the many ways lemons seem to be a hidden super fruit. 

Review: E.L.F Cosmetics

Hello, beauties!
I have been looking at ways to control my budget when it comes to buying make-up. I decided to go out and find some great quality but most importantly, budget friendly products.  I was at the store the other day and ran across some e.l.f cosmetics.

My initial reaction was the packaging looked cute but, eye shadow and lipstick for $3? Let's get real. How good could the products possibly be...

To my surprise the products I purchased were good with pigments, feel, and long lasting. I would try some of their other products again.

Have you tried any? If so, did you feel it was worth it?


The Matte Lip Color is amazing. I love the true to color and rich pigments. The color stays on just as long as any of the mid-class lipsticks I have purchased and the glide is creamy. I would buy these again.

 The colors above top to bottom are: Nearly Nude, Tea Rose, Praline

Above you can see me wearing a combination of Praline & Nearly Nude.

If you are looking for a cheaper, but still has a great quality Matte lipstick please try this brand. I will have a review on two eye shadows I purchased along with a couple different eye looks coming soon.

Stay sweet my friends,
Autumn xoxo