Soldered Glass Charms

Maybe I never mentioned it [but I probably have] that I have an art degree. I love metal smithing & jewelry. A friend of mine had a piece similar to these that I made years ago [omg years like I’m 60 or something] & she works at a cute little shop near Petoskey, MI. THE NORTH. [which I love] & If you’re local, you can go there & you can buy my stuff. & then I can make more stuff. Exciting, isn’t it? Check out their insta @journeynorth141

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COOL. I’m super awkward when I talk about my own stuff. I have this notion in my head that its never good enough, or cool enough, or like enough. SO. Check it out. Tell me I’m awesome [so maybe I’ll believe it]. Till next time…

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APPLE PIE

APPLE PIE

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Sometimes I don’t want to share a recipe cause it’s like, a family secret or something & then sometimes, I’m like… there are all these people in the world NOT enjoying this recipe… so then I share it. Since Thanksgiving is coming & people traditionally eat pie…. HERE’s my favorite.

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You’re going to need NORTHERN SPIES. They are a late October apple & the best apples for a pie. I get mine at my local orchard, but my mom’s orchard doesn’t grow them – so do your research. THIS MAKES THE PIE. If you ABSOLUTELY cannot find Northern Spies, you can use Cortlands, but its just not the same.

This is a dutch style apple pie.. so you’re going to need a springform pan… typically this type of pan is used for cheesecake.

FIRST you’ll want to peel & cut your apples. I typically use around 7 apples. (8 cups when sliced) More or less depending on size. Slice the pieces as thin as you can. Once you have those babies peeled & sliced you’ll want to add…

For the apples:
1 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cups sugar

mix it up in the bowl so it looks like this:

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NEXT you’ll want to make the bottom pastry of your pie. AKA the crust.

6 tablespoons cold butter cubed
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups flour
5 tablespoons ice water

Mix together until it’s a dough & Roll this sucker out and put it in the bottom of your spring form pan. It should look something like this:
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I’m kind of a garbage roller & can never get it exactly even in all areas, so usually I end up doing the bottom a nice circle, and then putting the sides in by hand – small pieces at a time. Just make sure the thickness is even & there aren’t any holes in your dough & its not a million inches thick in any areas & it’ll be alright.

Now’s a good time to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

The topping is [the best] and worst part. You really need to have patience for this portion of the pie. This is a crumbly topping and you’ll need a pastry blender… if you don’t have one you can use two butter knives and criss cross them back and fourth in the bowl.

Topping
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
4 oz butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

You’ll want this mixture to look like sand. That is when you know its ready. Keep mixing and mixing until you feel like it was arm day at the gym, and then mix it more. It should look something like this:

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NOW take your sand a little at a time and put it on top of the apples in your springform pan. I like to shake as much of the crumbly [sand] mixture down into the pie as possible. I also like to place my pie over foil on a baking sheet, because sometimes it will bubble out a little and make a mess in your oven. Foil is MUCH easier to clean.

BAKE the pie on 425 degrees for 15 minutes & then [leave the pie in there] turn your oven down and bake it for an additional 45 minutes on 350 degrees. [note that every oven is different] If your oven bakes quickly, you might want to put the 350 degree timer on for 35 minutes and keep checking every few minutes.

After a long wait & a lot of work, you should have a VERY delicious pie. I will be making mine Wednesday before Thanksgiving. If there is any extra, put it in the fridge.

Good luck! Let me know if you try it & love it, or have an AMAZING [family secret] recipe that you’d like to share! Till next time..

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VIVA LAS VEGAS

I think travel is super important. I think its a million times more valuable in life then things. Seeing the world is my ultimate dream, but I suppose I’ll start here. In the good ole’ USA. I’ve never been to Vegas & boy was I in for a treat.

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It all started as soon as we got on the plane. There I was, in my leopard coat, leather backpack, really sleek black jeans and converse, looking cool as ever. AND MY HUSBAND AND I WEREN’T SEATED TOGETHER. Idk what it is about planes now where they separate everyone traveling together, and buying their tickets together. I was in row 39. THE LAST ROW POSSIBLE. & I was all, tight. I have a window. NOPE. Because my seat was the last possible seat on the plane I was the only window seat sans window. So I plugged in my headphones, got my book out, and read. I read the whole thing. I love this series. If you’re interested, I’ll put a link for them on Amazon.

You’ll love it more if you read them in order. My husband in row 9 sent me a drink. THANK YOU JON. I married a good one girls. Find yourself a good one.

All this is not why you came here. Sorry. I get really off topic when I’m anxious. Anyone else have anxiety?

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Welcome to the Adult Playground where you’ll be up for 4 days straight & try to see as much as possible. I’ll insert some photos that summarize my first day. (We spent Friday-Tuesday there)

  1. Me & My wonderful hubby. 2. The strip. SO MANY LIGHTS. 3. Me outside The Mentalist. (WHICH WAS NUTS. Idk how he knew that stuff!!) – Also, that sky is a CEILING. yep. Currently inside of a mall type venue. 4. I just thought this was funny. Take it as you wish.

Unfortunately none of the people taking photos for me were photographers. BUT. The Bellagio was awesome. There was the world’s largest chocolate fountain, the gardens (the peacock is all made from flowers) & the lobby itself was pretty rad. Idk where I was bossing out with my winnings, but I needed to include this. So you can get me. The real me. lol.

ITS BRITNEY BITCH! That was the one thing I really wanted to do while we were there. LOVED IT. I really enjoyed it. If you’re a Britney fan, and ever find yourself in Vegas between now and Dec. 31st when her residency ends, you should totally see her.

That night we also saw Mat Franco a magician who was the winner of America’s Got Talent… last year? Don’t quote me. BUT HE WAS AWESOME. No pictures allowed, cause… magic. But also a show I really [needed] to attend while I visited. Outside the Mat Franco Theater I met Maleficent and the Evil Queen (Grimhilde).

In case you haven’t already noticed, I tried to maximize my glitter output while in Vegas, because my Michigan town doesn’t really do that. Most people here wear hoodies & tennis shoes. WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE. Okay? I wore these beautiful Vera Wang Lavender flats until I couldn’t stand it anymore cause my fitbit said we walked an average of 23,000 steps a day. Which is kind of a lot when you’re wearing flats.

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The Venetian was kind of amazing. THERE IS A RIVER IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PLACE. & you can hire a little man to row you through it in a cute little boat that props has a special name, but I don’t know what it is. OH. BTW. All these places I’m naming are casinos & hotels, & show venues, & like buffet locations, & like, anything you’d wanna do, ever places.

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Here we are! At the iconic Vegas sign. It was pretty emotional because we were in Vegas VERY shortly after the mass shooting at Mandalay Bay. There were beautiful tributes, memorials, flowers, & loved ones leaving items for lives lost. So fucking tragic. Idk what is wrong with the world. I kind of love this picture tho because it shows that I’m a real human behind this computer. Which people often forget. I’m so truly sorry if you have a loved one that was lost in this sickly tragic event.

On a happier note, Mandalay Bay has an AMAZING Aquarium & if you stick around long enough in wonderland – you’ll see how crazy I am for animals. 1. Lion Fish. 2. Me in a sea tunnel and the fish swim all around. 3. THE biggest shark I’ve ever seen in an aquarium. What I loved about this aquarium specifically was that they had the LARGEST aquatic animals I have EVER seen in captivity. It was INSANE. The sea turtle was at least 3 ft. wide, and the shark had to be 8-9 ft AT LEAST. I loved it. I probably could have stood there all day.

The last day of our trip we went to the Hoover Dam. I kinda hated it. If I’m really honest. It just wasn’t that exciting. BUT my husband loved it. (He’s an engineer.) I mean, it is an amazing engineering project and its massive. But, not that exciting. We walked over the bridge & then we walked over the top of it. That’s lake mead in the bottom right and the white line is calcium from when the dam almost flooded a million years ago. [I would be a terrible tour guide – dates are not my thing]

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Its hard to sum up a trip to Las Vegas in just a few short paragraphs, but we stayed up all night, ate at a Bellagio Buffet, saw a Comedian, won a ton of money & paid for our whole trip which was really cool & best of all – made some great memories. Till next time.

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HOLIDAY IS HERE

GUYS. TODAY IS THE DAY. I know that this has nothing (and everything) to do with Elise in Wonderland, BUT the face behind the blog has a REALLY COOL clothing company. YES. I do. (A woman of many talents.)
See SO MUCH NEWNESS from Callie’s Closet Clothing Co. —> here.

Today we (me, really) am releasing a small portion of my HOLIDAY COLLECTION. & YOU ARE GETTING THE FIRST LOOK!!! OMG. YES. HOLIDAY. Santa! Baking! Snow! (if you’re in the north like me – hey Michiganders) You’re probably freezing. & still I love this time of year. There’s a lot of glitter, & excellent food, & potential times to entertain.

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I know it’s only November 1st, & not everyone is ready… and everyone wants to wait till after Thanksgiving, but I legit hate Thanksgiving so – that doesn’t excite me. AND I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. What about all the poor retail people that have to go in at 6pm on Thanksgiving, WELL, that was ALSO me. I did it for 3 years in college & I’m happy to be beyond that. But, for those of you who aren’t quite ready for the holidays, you can check out Callie’s Closet Clothing Co. Fall collection —> HERE. See, I’m thinking of everyone here. (which isn’t common, so don’t take it for granted.)

I’m sorry I said I hate Thanksgiving. It’s just like really stressful, & a lot of travel for a day filled with my in-laws & their friends & cranberry sauce & green beans & all that. It’s tradition in our family that we spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws & Christmas with my parents. (yes, and only parents cause we legit have like 11 living people in our bloodline. & they are all over the country) So it’s kinda hard to get together to eat some turkey & potatoes. But – my mother always decorates to the 9’s and it looks like a store when you walk into the house, for like any holiday – but especially Christmas, so I wouldn’t miss it.

Happy November 1st Babes. Now, go fall in love with some Callie’s Closet Clothes. K?

Fall Collection —-> HERE.
Holiday Collection  —> HERE.

Kinda cool you didn’t even have to scroll back up, isn’t it? Kisses.

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