It's that time of year again!

You know, that time of year when the leaves are just beginning to change colour, the evening air is crisp, and you are grasping onto any fragment of summery goodness. Nothing puts me in the mood for apple pie more than the promise of fall on the horizon. I snagged a copy of Kraft's "What's Cooking" publication from a co-worker, and they had a multitude of drool-worthy recipes, including a sinfully delightful dutch apple pie recipe. Add that to the fact that one of my 12 goals before 2012 is to bake a pie from scratch, and you have the perfect conditions for a bake-athon. 

Here's how it went down:

The stars of this recipe. I know I have 5 apples out, and the recipe only calls for 4, but I thought since some were smaller I might need to compensate. Turns out I only needed 4, but you'll just have to adjust that according to your apples. 

I'm lucky enough to have a mom who freezes her homemade pie dough. I know I wanted to make my pie dough too, but in my defence, I have made it before, and technically this crust is still homemade!

Roll out the pie dough and place it in your pie dish. This is where I had to call in the big guns (Mom)- I caved! I just wanted to make sure that nothing would seep out of cracks. After one failed attempt, I had a semi-decent pie crust. 

 Pie crust with crimped edges. You can really do any type of "edge" with your pie crust though.  

Beat the softened cream cheese and add granulated sugar.

Add an egg and vanilla extract.

Spread the cream cheese filling over the pie crust.

Peel and thinly slice the apples. Mix them with a couple tablespoons of flour, some granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Pour the apples over the cream cheese layer. 

To make the crumbly topping, add oats, brown sugar, and cut in margarine. The recipe calls for butter, but I try to avoid fatty butter when possible- it turned out just fine with margarine.

Fresh outta the oven! Still bubbling- see that?!

First slice of heaven. 

There ya have it. While the three-part recipe is kind of tedious, it is de-lish, and it looks so rustic and is perfect for an autumn afternoon. Not only did I satisfy my apple pie craving, but I can also cross off another item from my 12 Before 2012 list! booyah!

words of wisdom

{image via/ text edits by pinkazaleas}

Just a few wise words that I love today before I run to work after a long working weekend. Saturday I worked, then yesterday I spent the day sanding, priming and painting for my parents. Let me tell you, I am EXHAUSTED! There's no rest for the wicked, eh. I never feel better or more accomplished after a long hard day's work though. I hope you all had a relaxing weekend, and are geared to go for this last "unofficial" week of summer! 

What I'm Wearing

This is how I do the summer-to-fall transition with my wardrobe. A couple of new purchases this time. I'm wearing a new long sleeve tee I bought at Walmart for $9! The purple clutch is a new purchase from my road trip to St. Jacobs, and so is the bangle watch. The clutch came with a chain, so it can also be a purse, and only set me back $25. The bangle watch was only $12! Such a cheap way to infuse some interest in your wardrobe. 

My new bangle watch. 

Playing with different pieces is so much fun. The crisp air and sunny days are the best. I love this time of year! 

road trip recap

I had a blast road trippin' it up at St. Jacobs with my mom and sister yesterday. We went out for lunch, did a ton of shopping and saw some cool scenery and weather! Not only was it a great girl's day out, but I managed to cross off two items off my 12 Before 2012 list! I visited a flea/antique market (TONS of inspiration there) and I crossed off the clothing items I wanted to purchase. A successful day if you ask me!

What we wore.

We stopped in a furniture store and they had the most awe-inspiring displays and items. If only I had more money...

My dream bedroom. One day it will be mine.

A unique corkboard/whiteboard find at the antique store. I thought this would be a great DIY idea, and it could probably be done for way under $75. 

Of course we had to have num-nums. A strawberry and cream cheese roll up. Delish.

I think I did some really smart shopping. We went to an outlet mall, and I was able to get my winter coat for less than half price! A gorgeous black wool peacoat was originally $185, and marked down to $69.99. Of course I nabbed that up, along with a turquoise short sleeved sweater (for $15), and a great pair of statement earrings (for $1.99)! The clerk was even shocked at the low prices- talk about self-gratification! I also bought a structured jacket, a "pleather" jacket, a large clutch, new watch, 2 sweaters, and a professional yet fun laptop bag.... which I will share with you later. The day ended with a tornado warning, and my mom, sister and I spent the evening in our basement. A fairly eventful day!

nail art DIY

So you all know about my addiction to Pinterest by now. Well, when I happened upon this pin, I KNEW I had to try it out! Judging by the pictures from this tutorial, I tried to master it myself!

Before (crappy quality)

After text (crappy pic)

Up close! 

Here's how you do it:

1. Cut strips of newspaper with lots of text. Make sure it will cover your nail, and make the strip large enough that you can easily pull it off your nail. 
2. Paint on a base coat and let it dry.
3. I did two coats of a grey coloured nail polish- "Cement" by Joe Fresh Style to be exact. Make sure nails are completely dry before proceeding with the next step. 
4. Dip fingers into rubbing alcohol for 5 seconds (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi...) 
5. Press the newspaper strip onto your nail and gently peel it off.
6. Paint on a layer of topcoat.

That's it! It's fairly simple, and the results are so trendy! What about you- have you tried any funky nail art that I need to try? Have a fabulously trendy day, loves!   

rules to live by

Just a quick post this morning before I run off for a day out with my mom and sister. Rules to live by. So simple, yet (sometimes) so hard.

{image via/ text edit by pinkazaleas}

Natural Beauty

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I believe that Mother Nature provides us with everything we need to look beautiful. We spend millions of dollars each year (myself included) on beauty products when in reality, all we need to do is raid our kitchen for some natural ingredients to make good, maybe even better beauty products. Here are some of the best "recipes" I've come across to solve beauty woes. 

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Walnut scrub 

*to exfoliate hands and feet. 

Blend 1/4 cup shelled walnuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, tablespoon of honey in a food processor set on a slow speed, which makes a fine scrub to really slough off dead skin cells. Scrub it on your skin for a few minutes, rinse with warm water. This is my tip: Do this at nighttime, right before bed. After exfoliating your hands and feet, slather on vaseline or olive oil (a 95 year old family friend swears by this and has the skin of a newborn), and put on a thick pair of socks- even on your hands if you can stand it. Overnight, your feet will become impeccably soft in their soft sock cocoon. 

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Oranges, Lemons, and acidic fruit 

*for your bendy joints

Acid in the fruit loosens dead skin cells... all you do is cut the fruit in half, and rub the half all over the area. Then scrub a mixture of sugar and olive oil (1/4 cup of each) onto the skin. Rinse with warm water, pat skin dry, and moisturize. 

*for hair

Make your own hairspray. Use lemons or oranges! Lemons are better for dry hair, and oranges prolong a strong hold. Chop the fruit in a bowl so you don’t lose any juice. Then, boil the fruit with 2 cups of water until soupy and the liquid has reduced significantly. Strain the liquid (through cheese cloth or something similar), and put that in a spray bottle. Because there is no alcohol in this spray, it will not dry out your hair. 

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Coffee Grounds 

*for hair

Throw your used coffee grounds into your conditioner and it will make your hair extra shiny. 

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Cucumbers, Potatoes or Tea Bags

*for dark under eye circles 

Apply a grated cold cucumber paste on dark circles. Repeat it for three mornings. Applying grated potatoes for 20 minutes also works. The age old trick of applying cucumber slices also is still quite effective. Slightly cooled tea bags on eyelids also is a remedy for dark circles. 

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Other good websites to try out: 

http://herbalistpath.blogspot.com/2007/06/blog-party-soothing-skin-natural.html

http://www.modelbeautytip.com/homeremedies.htm

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/skin/homemade-beauty-recipes

http://allnaturalbeauty.us/hbr_mainpage.htm

Have you discovered any natural homemade beauty recipes? Do share!

newly acquired gems

This past weekend, I went with my mom to a local antique and general store. I always love looking at gems from the past because I imagine ways of incorporating them into the present. I was especially enamoured with their vast collection of vintage and unique jewellery and accessories. In fact, I purchased a few new pieces for my jewellery repertoire at a reasonable cost ($50)! I took some pics with my phone, and yes, I used "The Ellements of Personal Style" as a prop.

My new collection of jewels displayed on "The Ellements of Personal Style"--more on that book later!

Semi- precious gemstones with the beautiful Olivia Wilde in the background. 

In addition to purchasing some jewellery, I also bought a leather handbag... which, coincidentally, is structured- one of the items I planned to invest in, as stated on my 12 Before 2012 list! There was an adorable Louis Vuitton bag there screaming my name (Tiiiiiffany you know you want me!!), but one of the straps needed repair, and I am just not talented enough to fix it. Double sigh. I still adore the bag I ended up with. It's red. It's structured. It's leather. Perfect for school and work. Score! 

The brand is "Maxime"-anyone have info on that? 

For around $50, I got a leather handbag, two necklaces, one bracelet and three rings. Not bad! 

One final pretty from this weekend: my stack of bracelets, including the newest pink beaded on my mom bought for me! 

Have you acquired any new-to-you gems lately? How fun is antique shopping!? Happy Monday lovelies!

It's Friday night!!!

night out by pinkazaleas featuring a leopard print clutch

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes on Friday nights I like to get a little fierce. When I go out on the town, I want to rock it like I'm Ke$ha (oh, too far?). So imagine this little number as you troll browse the streets for potential hotties- like taking candy from a baby, right? Happy trolling weekend, lovelies!! xo