Pieces of greens

I wore this outfit the other day and I took these photos in the morning... Thank goodness. Because I looked at the photos on my laptop right before I went to class and I realized that this outfit kind of looked horrible. The hat looked stupid and I wasn't wearing the right pants. etc etc etc. So I changed.

The way I feel about this outfit is just how I have been feel these past few days. I keep saying that I am not ready for spring quarter to start. Yet it is starting. It is happening right now, we are almost done with week one. Needless to say I have been unmotivated and uninspired. I was telling this to my mom and she said "that is fine, you have one week to feel like that but after this week it stops." It was definitely what I needed to here. For someone to say its okay to feel this way and you can feel like that for a bit longer but then it needs to be over. 

So yes I am feeling much more motivated today and even

yesterday. However, I still don't like this outfit and that is why you are only seeing pieces;)
love, Carlee 

Cardigan: American Eagle

Shirt: Target

Hat: Walmart

Giveaway: Shabby Apple $75 giftcard.

I am so excited to give my readers a chance to win a $75 gift card to the pretty boutique Shabby Apple. One lucky winner will win a $75 gift card to this lovely boutique. With $75 dollars you can buy a variety of piece in the store. I don't know about you guys but I love their pretty dresses that are always beautifully featured in lovely themed photoshoots. My favorite is the beach with the carnival in the background, the collection is called Ferris Wheel. The Calliope Skirt and the Lime Ricki Skirt which are featured above are my favorite from this collection. 

To enter you must:
Leave a comment below saying you Liked Shabby Apple on Facebook
Leave a comment below with your favorite item or dress from their store.
Be a follower of Almost Endearing via GFC or Bloglovin'

Open to U.S. Readers only

Please leave an email address with your comment
Giveaway ends April 15th

Mini blackberry pie

I made these delicious mini blackberry pies over spring break this past week. They were so good. My dad even requested I make another batch just for him because blackberry pies are his favorite. I had never made mini pies but I wanted too. I remembered I had pinned a mini cherry pie recipe on Pinterest a few months ago so I went there first for some inspiration. 

I first made the crust. Which is the hardest part but it you do it right it will be worth it. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Next put chucks of butter into the bowl one at a time and smash with a fork. Keep doing this until all the butter is in the bowl. It should be lumpy. Next poor a little bit of the water into the bowl. Knead a little bit with your hands. This is where it gets tricky. The key to getting nice and soft dough after the pies are cooked is to knead it as little as possible. So keep mixing and kneading lightly until it is a ball of dough. You don't want it to be to moist. 

After you have the ball of dough roll it out on a piece of wax paper. I used a butter lid to make the round shapes. Then I placed them into a muffin/cupcake tin. I then used a knife and a pie cutting zig zag tool (not official name) to make the top. 

Crust
2 1/2 cups of flour.
1 cup butter or 2 sticks
1/4 cup ice water
1 teaspoon salt

The filling was super easy. So easy I had to check around on multiple websites for different recipes. I first looked in a Betty Crocker cook book for blackberry pie just to find how you do the filling. All it said was mix blackberries, sugar, and flour. I thought this can't be right. But it is. I used frozen blackberries and they worked perfectly fine. Just remember don't unthaw them. 

Filling
3 1/2 cups of blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

I really recommend trying these! Mini pies are super awesome and so convenient to eat and make. Oh my gosh. I will definitely be making variations of this recipe in the future. I hope you enjoy. I am sorry if the directions are a little confusing at times. It is hard to explain exactly what I was doing. So if you have any questions feel free to email me or leave a comment. 
love, Carlee