a pie battle cry!

Whoever listed 'moving' on the list of most stressful life experiences, right next to 'death' and 'divorce', was right on the money.  Taking care of 3 pets, running a home business, dealing with late inspectors and churlish buyers and mounds of paperwork, plus keeping track of all the bills and packing up the house and does the dog need to go out again?!?...oh my. 

Thankfully, my stress level is much lower than expected.  Really low, in fact.  I contribute that to God's grace, and...to chocolate.

And...to homemade pie.  Lots of pie.  Apple pie, bursting at the seams with spicy goodness...

Smooth and creamy pumpkin pie...

...which rose to new heights, since I started making my own sweetened condensed milk, which contains a bit of baking powder.

Juicy peaches stewed in sugar and spices...

 ...and topped with a sweet, butter biscuit crumble:

Did you know about blanching peaches?  Just cut an 'X' in the bottom of the peach, toss it in boiling water for 1 minute, and then roll it into a container of cold water.  The skin peels right off!

 There's just something so soothing and satisfying about burying my hands into a floury dough, or listening to my KitchenAid whirr to life and turn butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and vanilla into something magical.  Stress?  What stress?

Of course, all this pie is no good without my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which takes a dangerously short amount of time to whip up.

My stress level is low, but now all of my clothes are getting too tight.  Ten pounds up?  Check!  I joined Weight Watchers again, but after this weekend's sugar free-for-all, I don't know if I'll be going back for a few weeks.  I'm not ready to take the walk of shame to the public scale.  However, I truly am looking forward to getting back to a healthier lifestyle once Todd and I get settled.  I've scoped out the local YMCA and healthier-food stores and I'll be ready to put a plan into action.  Best of all, I can bake all day long, but just send the baked goods with Todd when he leaves for work!

I love it when a plan comes together!

Hope you have a great - and stress free - week.  Enjoy fall baking!