Jessica Bakes | Mulberry Pie

Yesterday I made something incredible - a mulberry pie using berries from our own tree! We’ve got buckets of berries right now (or we would.. if we harvested them all) so what’s a gal to do? Make pie of course!

I used three cups of berries, which would be the equivalent of four or five hearty shakes of a branch over a sheet. I picked out the darkest and juiciest ripe berries, washed and measured them out. And don’t worry about the little stems - they soften and don’t negatively effect this delicious pie! 

“I’m a berry eater, mama!”

After a quick internet search and a combo of recipes, here’s what I came up with:

Mulberry Pie Recipe

• Two store bought pie crusts (for a 9" pie)
  
• 3 C mulberries
  
• 1/3 C flour*
  
• 2/3 C sugar*
  
• ½ t freshly ground nutmeg
  
• 2 T butter, cut into cubes
  
• Milk to brush on top crust

* plus a little extra (maybe ½ t each) to dust your crust before adding the filling. 

Let your pie crust warm up just a bit after taking them out of the fridge. I used to make my own crust, but it really stressed me out and took a lot of the fun out of pie making for me. So now I just dial 1-800-Betty Crocker (errr… buy the two pack at the grocery) and call it a day. Baking should be fun! 

To start, mix your berries, flour, sugar and nutmeg in a bowl. Add mulberries and coat them thoroughly. 

Before adding filling, dust the crust of your pie shell.

Top with cubed butter.

Cut and weave lattice top using second pie crust. Hide butter under intersections.

Crimp edges and lightly brush with milk.

Turn on and pre-heat your oven to 400F. Meanwhile, put your prepared pie in the fridge to chill for around 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Covered pie edges (with a silicon ring or foil) and turn the temp down to 350. Bake for another 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let pie cool for at least an hour and a half before serving (we had ours with vanilla ice cream!)

This pie is so subtle and on our first service (shortly after baking) the nutmeg came through strongly. The next morning when I had a piece (well, two pieces), the mulberry and nutmeg had blended beautifully. This is not a super sweet pie, like you might expect with blueberries or cherries, but that’s why we liked it so much!!

What I Wore | Old Dress New Tricks

WhatIWore: If you know me at all, you know I appreciate getting a lot of different uses out of everything in my closet. Usually it’s the neutral pieces you see styled in many ways (like my olive green jacket or a favorite pair of jeans), but something like a little printed sundress has a ton of remix potential too! Like this little pink number!

When I bought it, I straight up just got the outfit off the model from Banana Republic. I normally don’t shop like that, but it kind of reminded me of the days I’d help my dad buy my mom Christmas outfits from L.S. Ayers in the Liz Claiborn section. Anyone remember those days? So anyway, I bought the whole outfit and have managed to style both pieces into a lot of fun looks (dress below, jacket here, here and here)

When: May 31, 2017

What:
Shades: Karen Walker Super Duper
Scarf: Target
Jacket: Old Navy
Dress: Banana Republic
Sandals: Rockport (gift from past partnership)

Where: Out! By Myself! (Went and worked on my laptop at a coffee shop)

Also worth mentioning, while I did nurse Bea while wearing this dress, it’s more of a full boob reveal, which I really don’t go for in public. I had 2.5 hours to myself so I wasn’t as concerned with nursing access!

Lastly, looking at these old pics and thinking - I need a summer hat! I really wear the heck out of them each year and I love the crispness of a just blocked fedora. All of my hat making supplies are in storage, but I’m inspired to move them over to the new house and make one!

DIY | Wild Flower Wreath

New houses (especially new old houses) are loaded with projects. Paint this room or that, demo, structural or “not fun projects” (like HVAC repair) all take a considerable about of time or money or both. Ever since we were under contract with the farm house, I’ve been dreaming of putting my touch on the place with a front door wreath. People! I LOVE MAKING WREATHS! They’re relatively inexpensive and create a welcoming vibe. It’s like saying “come on in and stay a while!” Here’s a step by step on how to create your own.

SUPPLIES

• Metal Wreath Base
  
• Florist Wire
  
• Wire Cutters
  
• Assortment of Faux Flowers and Greenery
  
• Over Door Hook 

A word on flower choice: my favorite wreaths mix multiple blooms in the same color with greenery. I try to select as realistic looking flowers as possible, incorporating in larger and smaller buds in addition to stems that look almost like wild flowers. It’s also better to get more stems than you think you’ll need because a skimpy wreath is a sad wreath. If you’re on a budget, aim to spend more money on the more life like larger flowers and save a bit with the smaller buds. I think paper and fabric petals look better than plastic. While you’re shopping, gather your choices together to get a sense of how they’ll look in the wreath. I’ve been known to lay everything out on the floor of the store to be sure I have what I want! All of these supplies will be in the florist section of your favorite craft store. I personally really like the selection at Michael’s. 

STEP ONE | Snip Your Stems

Divide your bushier blooms into smaller, more workable bunches and remove excess length. Remove any leaves that look too fake. 

STEP TWO | Create mini bundles

Take a little bit a of this, and a little bit of that to create small bouquets, layering vertically.

STEP THREE | Affix to Base

Using your florist wire, attached the bouquet to the base simply by wrapping around the steps a few times. No need to cut the wire.

Now repeat steps two and three until your wreath is complete. How you layer your blooms is a personal preference. While I’m normally all about symmetry, I like a more organic and unexpected layout (like with my sunflower placement!) Now that you’re done, proudly display using an over the door hook

If you’ve enjoyed this post - please share and link back! I’d love to see your creations too!

What I Wore | Morning Light

WhatIWore: We had such a laugh taking these photos today. Felix struts out of the house in a tee shirt, diaper and rainboots and proceeds to put a bucket on his head and stumble around the yard. I guess it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway! I love these two little kiddos so so much! 

When: May 30, 2017

What:
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’
Kimono: Anthropologie
Olive Skinnies: Target
Tee Shirt: Target
Sandals: Clarks (gift from a couple years ago)

Where: Running errands

Outfit wise, I’m doing another simple get up - new olive skinnies from Target, a basic v neck tee shirt and my kimono style shrug thingy that I also wore a couple weeks ago here. We just ran a couple errands this morning and later I’ll probably change into painting clothes and try to wrap up a few projects so I can photograph them and share here! 

Speaking of - we’ve been busy bees at the farmhouse and I’m so excited about our progress. I’ll devote a full post to it this week (please! Hold me to it!) with updates!