Video: Collett Hilliard Wedding, 10 November 2013

One of my goals for 2014 was to put together our wedding video. At the absolute last hour (16 last hours, actually!) I started (learning) and finished. It's a little rough but I'm ridiculously proud of it.

Goal: REACHED.

Happy 1 year anniversary, my love. 

xoxo
jess

Recipe Post: Mini Apple Pies with Cinnamon Roll Crust

My coworkers tasked me with bringing dessert for a boss's day and birthday celebration for the office. I initially was going to make something really healthy - but delicious - so that I could also enjoy the dessert but then I realized that as much as I adore these folks - they don't really give a damn about whether or not their dessert is paleo/clean/remotely healthy. 

SO, I found a pin for mini apple pies that I'd pinned THREE YEARS ago and decided it was time to give it a shot. I also remembered seeing a great idea for a pie crust: rolled-out cinnamon rolls. I combined the two ideas and here we go:

FILLING:
5 small-ish apples - peeled, cored, and diced.
1 cup sugar
11 tbsp ap flour
2-3ish tbsp of cinnamon (this is a preferential thing since the crust IS cinnamon.)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp chilled butter, cut into 20 squares.

• Mix all that shit together in a bowl. 
• Set it aside while you realize how frustrating rolling out/flattening cinnamon rolls is. 
• Preheat the oven to 350. 
• I know we didn't use the butter yet, just wait.

PIE CRUST:
2 cans cinnamon rolls to make 20 lil pies

• Grease a muffin tin or be lucky and have a silicon muffin mold. 
• Open one can of dough at a time, unless you can cook all 20 at once - room temperature dough is a bitch to work with.  
• Cut each cinnamon roll in half - lengthwise - so you have two really thin cinnamon rolls. 
• Press each "slice" into your muffin tin.
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

• Pull out the dough - and using a TBSP measurer - kind of smash the dough back down into a cup shape and then fill each cup with about a tbsp of the apple mix. 
• Top the mix with a square of butter and put them back into the oven for 20 minutes - or until golden brown. *I can't remember if I baked them for a total of 20 or 25 minutes; sorry! 

After they've cooled a bit, feel free to use a dollop of the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls to top them off - they won't "need" it but why waste it, right? 

Fresh out of the oven!

Family Photo Session: The Hamiltons

Another Saturday and another gorgeous family to make me look talented. The Hamilton trio with Amber's mother visiting from Clemson.

Family Photo Session: O'Dell

Occasionally I stick myself behind a camera and shout "1, 2, ..." & "one more for good measure!"

This mom is one I've known for a very long time and her incredibly photogenic family made my job so easy, see:

Out of the Closet: Outfit Post 2

I got dressed some more times - and eventually will start taking more appropriately composed photos -  and went to work like this:

Ah, class class class! You could be wearing a suit of mud and set of pearls would make that shit so classy. I've had this skirt for a while and every season threaten to toss it but I'm glad I haven't - it's a wonderfully constructed piece that looks equally awesome with pumps or boots. This was/is the first time I paired it with this top - another awesome transitional piece that I grabbed last summer at Chico's in Tanger Outlets.

Blouse: Chico's, Skirt: Grace Elements, Shoes: Mossimo, Necklace: Rando Boutique