applesauce - homemade

two saturdays ago my husband and i went apple picking. it was the perfect saturday. we both slept in, eased into the day, then we decided to go pick apples while the weather was still nice. then last weekend i decided to make homemade applesauce. i do not enjoy long, drawn-out processed things, but i do enjoy cooking and i do enjoy making homemade things. all that to say i found this super easy recipe on how to make homemade applesauce with very little tools - meaning less mess! below are my instructions on how to make the perfect homemade fall treat:

find a local orchard.
ours is Advanced Tree Technology

pick

wash

dry

core

peal

this process would be so much faster with an apple corer and peeler!

put apples in the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. (it did NOT take that long so make sure you are home for this process or don't leave the house for more than 3-4 hours)

add lemon juice from one whole lemon. (i find it is easier to squeeze the juice out of the lemon by hand, if i roll it out on the counter a few times) also try and keep the seeds out!

add about a cup of water (this is so the apples won't scorch)

add 2-3 teaspoons of brown sugar if you wish

sprinkle with cinnamon

keep an eye on your apples

after the apples are soft use a potato masher or an immersion blender and mash up the apples. i chose to use the potato masher because i prefer an uneven texture that the masher provides over a smooth even texture which you'll get from the blender. keep the apples in the crock pot. less mess to clean!

yum.

fashion in fall

I would never call myself trendy or even that up to date with fashion. I think I try to stand out from everyone else by looking and dressing not by what society tells (shows) me, but by dressing in things that make me feel pretty and by wearing things that flatter my body. Not everyone has the same body type so not everyone should be wearing skinny jeans, you get my point? However, I felt a little twing of excitment when I broke down and bought new boots today. I bought them because my olds ones, well, they were literally falling apart and were very embarrassing - my husband thought the dog chewed them up. Nope, I'm just too cheap frugal with our money that I was waiting to buy new boots until I had extra cash.

So I went to our local second-hang store, Clothes Mentor, and spent a whopping $22 on these new (to me) boots. I am a little sad that I broke down and converted to fashion, but another part of me feels a bit more confident in who I am. Isn't that funny? I have to look like every other 20 something year old woman to feel more at peace with who I am as an individual? Someday I think I'll find a balance between being apart of the world yet standing out from it. But for now I am happy with my purchase and I am feeling even more ready for this cool weather...

Fall is coming...

Enjoy the evidence of fall this season...