a taste of fall: apple picking = apple pie

this past weekend nick and i went apple picking up near poughkeepsie with our friends bobby and christy. the weather was absolutely gorgeous even though it was totally freezing. after returning home from dubois farms and thawing out i decided to make an old fashioned apple pie - straight out of the betty crocker cookbook. nothing fancy, just a classicly delicious recipe that immediately brings me back to thanksgiving at grandma's. i brought the pie to work so i didn't eat the entire thing myself (nick's in austin this week) and it was a big hit with my colleagues. i forgot to take photos before letting the vultures dig in but i promise you it was as beautiful as it was delectable. the photo below is from betty crocker.

ingredients:

pastry (or just buy the pre-made crust, shhh)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp shortening
• 4 to 6 tbsp cold water

filling

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon {i add more}
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples; usually 6 to 8 apples {freshly picked make a huge difference}
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
  

directions:

1. in medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 tsp salt. cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or fork or two knives), until particles are the size of small peas. sprinkle with cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 tbsp more water can be added if necessary).
2. gather pastry into a ball. divide in half; shape into two flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. this allows the shortening to become slightly firm which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. if refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
3. heat oven to 425 degrees F. with floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round two inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. fold pastry into fourths, place in pie plate. unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against side and bottom.
4. in large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 tsp salt. stir in apples until well mixed. spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.
   
5. roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.
6. bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. {you may want to line the oven rack with foil because apple pies have a tendency of spilling over onto the oven bottom - nightmare}
7. serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
   

gorgeous nightstands from pier 1

my sister recently redecorated her master bedroom and treated herself to two of these hayworth nightstands from pier 1. unfortunately i don't have any coupon codes or sale info for these babies but i think they're worth the $199 each. there's a whole collection of hayworth furniture but i really like the idea of using the mirrored style sparingly to make a statement. my sister's room looks absolutely fab. do any of you watch keeping up with the kardashians (ahem, not that i do, ahem)? if so, you've probably seen kim's room fully decked out in mirrored furniture. it's a wee bit over the top with the mirrors but i think her intentions are on the right track!

above photo from outofaces.com. careful, it's a website for high rolling men that's full of man-focused content, some of which is NSFW.

super cool concert posters

how cool are these posters by independent designer jason munn of the small stakes?? being that 1) they're $25-$30 each, 2) we'll soon be living in the live music capitol of the world and 3) i am starting to think about decor for our new apartment, i think i absolutely neeeeeed to buy a few. the ones above are just a few of my faves. the sad part is that most are sold out (i found some that are sold out for sale on another site but for twice the cost). gotta keep jason munn's site bookmarked so i can check back regularly for new work.

anique michelle - an affordable online boutique

last week i was introduced to a cute online boutique, aniquemichelle.com, that is right up my alley named after it's founder: aniquemichelle.com began with the simple goal of providing stylish, heart-stopping-can’t-live-without clothing, accessories and jewelry at affordable prices.

the site has a number of really great accessories including headbands and purses, as well as a few tops and dresses. the price points are completely unbelievable. anique michelle was nice enough to send me the amy clutch in purple (currently on sale for $20!!) and it is super cute! it's a pretty shade of purple that would work in any season and it's really soft. i love the way it folds over and clasps with the gold turnkey. and it does NOT look like it only cost 20 bucks. i'm looking forward to pairing it with a black dress or other dark colored print to add a pop of color to the outfit.

the best part? anique michelle has provided a discount code specially for my readers! enter "paiduptop" at checkout for 20% off everything. considering the prices are already awesome, the 20% make them impossible to resist.

the photos below were taken with my point-and-shoot camera so hopefully the appeal of it comes through. it was packaged up carefully and even came with some candy, which was a really nice surprise!

quotable quote from mad men

being an account manager in the advertising industry, i'm a religious mad men watcher and spent last night catching up on the past four episodes. one of them contained a fab quote that i just had to write down and share:

bert: "what is being an ad man about?"
roger: "i dunno. about listening to people and never saying what's really on your mind?"
bert: "no. it's about letting things go so you can get what you want."

i die for RZ's parallel universe

one of my favorite newsletters in my inbox every morning is from rachel zoe. the zoe report, as it's called, is a daily newsletter with rachel's favorite fashion, beauty and lifestyle finds. my favorite part is the parallel universe feature - since most of rachel's picks are luxury/expensive, she provides a less expensive yet similar item at a more manageable price point. it's a regular "look for less" inspiration from a revered stylist. bananas!

sign up here.

chilly weather + chilly feet = need new slippers

this is the time of year when i start to get cold feet. no, not that kind of cold feet. actual legit feet that are chilly. these primrose slippers from l.l.bean are so freakin' cute. i love the rosette. they come in multiple colors (more than are pictured here), they're made from fleece and are lightly cushioned - and they're only $24.99.