lets intertwined

Braids, braids, braids- oh wait, more braids. I love 'em, there are so many styles and looks you can accomplish by just twirling your hair here and there. The picture below is not of me, but I have done this on myself, and it looks pretty awesome. The other pictures are done by myself. They're all super easy yet look sophisticated and difficult.

So easy it's unbelievable. Not to mention once you learn how to do it, the options for variations are endless. I'll be adding posts on how to do various types of braids soon. stay tuned xx

apple madness

Kapnick Orchard's is a tradition for me here. Every fall I go and have a wonderful time, making the welcoming of fall even better. Friendly people, the smell of freshly made pumpkin spice donuts, the taste of apple butter that you can watch be brewed for you, hundreds -and i mean hundreds -of apple trees of every kind waiting for your hand to pick off them, corn mazes, tractor rides, and a pumpkin patch makes this the place to be in fall. This year we got just a litttttle obsessive with the apple picking, ending up with two whopping bushels worth of all different kinds of apples.

My Mother (above) and I walked past what seemed like every apple tree, picking and eating a couple here and there to see which were best. I swear I got my entire day's worth of calories just from all of the apples I consumed, it was just too fun to not participate in.

The beauty of fall never seems to disappoint me, rather it continues to amaze me. Rows of apple trees remind me of the album 'Apple Tree' by Katie Herzig, but more so the song 'wish you well' on the album. It's sad but somehow always manages to make me feel warm insnide. 'shovel' is another great song from that album. I intend my next post to be a music update too, so keep a lookout for it.

 Other than scuffin' up my boots a little and giving my arms a work out, the result of our trip to Kapnick Orchard was this, four giant bags of apples. Why do we need so many apples, you ask? Beats me, but we're gunna eat an apple a day to, well you know the saying. We're also gunna bake our little hearts out to make sure we use 'em all up- which leads me to the point of this post....

Warm Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Basically, deliciousness. The sour cream in these amazing muffins make them somewhat moist, unlike most muffins that are dry and crumbly. It's hard to decide what's best about these, the sugar cinnamon topping or the little surprise chunks of apple once you take a bite. But beware, you'll want to eat the whole thing (and probably another).

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled tart apples

(this recipe makes about 12-15 muffins)

This recipe is from The Comfort of Cooking.

Enjoy!

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples.

Spray paper muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray and fill cups to the top.

For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful over each muffin.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Best if served warm.

To store: Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat one muffin in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, if preferred warm.

surf's up

Here I am in a strange hotel room in Cincinnati. I'm here with my college soccer team for the weekend, kicking ass and eating enough for, well, a ravenous soccer team. I've been busy busy busy with school, but have been making little things here and there.
This is a painting I did for a good friend of mine's son. She was decorating his room with a surf theme.