here again, and a giveaway! hip hip horay!

I've had a bit of a break, haven't I? Besides the recipe, that is. Have you made that pie yet? You really should. mmmm. I realized this week I turned 1 over here! Blogging for a whole year. Not as frequently as I hoped or imagined, but I won't make excuses for that. Instead, I have a treat to share with you, well one of you anyway. I would like to give one of you a copy of Ultimate Cookies, (Better Homes and Gardens Special Publication) and a Wilton Cookie Scoop! I noticed the mag/book on the newsstands the other day and thought it would be perfect inspiration to start planning holiday baking. And the photo's are really pretty. So, leave a loving comment and in a few days I will pick a winner!

And in the meantime, let's hope that the 'scoots' pass through(no pun intended) my children quickly.

open apple pie

Thanksgiving is for making pie, right? It is for me. I made 2 pumpkin yesterday and today I wanted to make apple. I found this recipe in The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes. Open Apple Pie. Did you notice the 1/2 cup of cream you pour over the pie just before baking? Yep, 35% cream. That's a Mennonite recipe for you. Delicious!

Open Apple Pie

9" unbaked pastry shell

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

4-5 large cooking apples

Mix flour and sugar and cover bottom of shell with this mixture. Arrange sliced apples over this and cover with the following:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon - I used 2

1/4 cup butter

Pour over all 1/2 cup cream. Bake at 350 until crust and top are golden brown.

a wallpaper quilt

I have been following Kelli's blog for a long time now. Those of you who know me well, I am sure would agree that she and I are the same. Well, close anyway. She even has her own chickens! {smile} Today she posted the most beautiful quilt made with vintage fabrics and I just had to share it! Go to her blog and check out a few more photos. {she also has a few kits to make your very own for sale in her etsy shop}

feeling hopeful

Kendra read the post from the other day and sent me this! Yay! There is hope for some good shots of Sadie! This one is pretty awesome, don't you think? {Click on the image to see a larger version.}

family photos

Yesterday afternoon/evening we had some family photo's taken. I had pretty high expectations for these. When we arrived home and and I was not feeling too hopeful about how they will turn out, I realized something. To get really great photos, you really need to have willing participants, which we did not. Especially Sadie. Basically the entire time she was uncooperative, shrieking, and running away. What else should I have expected from a nearly 2 year old, right? So, here's to hoping! And here are some of the photo's Kendra took of our children last year.

picking dinner

As in, not just choosing what to make for dinner, but literally going to my little back yard and picking these nice ripe green and yellow zucchini's along with fresh parsley, all for our pasta; that is rewarding. And fun.

checking it off

Today is the first day of September and we are busy checking things off of our 'quick, we only have a few more days of summer left, what do we still want to do??!!' list. Yesterday we headed off to the beach with friends and today we ruled Tinkertown, a amusement park for the younger set. What's next? Definitely more beach, picnics, play dates home brewed herbal iced tea and ice-cream. Oh, and camping this weekend!