JULY, WEEK #1: THE RUNDOWN.

We kicked off the first week of July with the Yours Truly BBQ/Pool Party on Saturday, July 2nd.

The previous photos were taken by @manuallfocus.

@ R Bar with my main shorty.

On July 4th, boyfriend and I had a romantic evening in. We were able to watch the beautiful sunset and the entire Macy's fireworks show from the apartment window. For dinner, we stirred up some fresh fruit Sangria and I made jerk chicken, along with rice & peas and banana bread. It was delicious and one of the most enjoyable nights we spent inside in a while. Sweet and relaxing.

On July 5th, I attended the Dom Kennedy show at SOB's with Neesha and my boyfriend.
These two photos were taken by Neesha. It was an awesome time.
The following day, we had some company over for dinner,
including Neesha and our darling friend, Milly.
I made some baked ziti, stirred up some more fresh fruit Sangria (latest obsession)
and baked a homemade apple pie.
I had never baked a pie before and for this one being my first, it was exceptional.
Here are the ingredients I used/steps I followed:

1 box of Betty Crocker's pie crust mix, 2 cans of Musselman's apple pie filling,
brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, flour, water, 1 egg (for the egg wash).

You prepare the pie crust in 2 sections: the base and the cover.
For each mix, you use half of the bag of pie mix and add in a teaspoon of vanilla, 2 tablespoons of cold water, 2 teaspoons of cold water and cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar at your discretion.
Blend and mesh this mix with your hands and form into a ball, ready to be rolled out.

Lightly flour your dough to prevent it from sticking to the counter and rolling pin.

For the base, thinly roll out the dough into a large enough
circle to stretch and fit the bottom and rim of your pie pan.
For the cover, thinly roll the dough and slice into strips to cross-hatch over your filling.

For your filling, in a large bowl empty the two cans of apple pie filling (which is VERY bland)
and mix in your seasonings (cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar) with a large spoon until satisfied.
Empty your filling into the bottom of your pie crust.

I kept adding more and more brown sugar and cinnamon because I'm a huge sweetie.
On top of the filling, I also added a few teaspoons of butter, for melting purposes.

Once you've completed your pie filling and sliced your pie dough into strips as a cover,
begin cross-hatching from one side to the other.
As you lay the strips over the top,
be sure to pinch the base crust and cover crust together to seal the pie.

Pinch all around the sides of the pie to make sure it's completely sealed.

To finish off the pie before it heads into the oven, brush an egg wash over the top of your crust.
Mix one egg with 2 tablespoons of water and brush on thoroughly.

Bake on 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crust dark golden brown with a simmering filling.
Complete this dessert with some vanilla bean ice cream: Delicious.
Hope you enjoyed my recipe... We sure did!

I hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July!
If you're wondering why most of these photos weren't taken by me, it's because my digital camera is currently undergoing repair by Best Buy. I've been shooting with film lately and my camera should be returned to me by no later than next week, so please bear with me.
Thanks for reading, darlings.
XO