Pointe Shoes for Sale

Freed of London Pointe Shoes
$30 per pair

Sizes: 5 XX & 5XXX
Makers: P, F, Z, R, Butterfly, Bullhorn, Triangle
(Ask about a specific size & maker and I will check what I have available. The majority of the shoes are 5XXX F or P.)

Sides: 2 inches
Heel: 3 inches
2.5 DV
Full, hard shank & some 3/4 shank (5 XXX)
Color: Pink & a few White in size 5XXX

Excellent shoes!
Retail for $70+

I will ship shoes for $5 shipping charge.
Transactions made through PayPal.

Purchase 5 or more shoes for $25 per pair. $10 shipping added.

CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED.
CourtneyTeas@gmail.com

Mini Apple Pies

Dave loves apple desserts, therefore for his birthday today I plan on baking something with apple.

We love basic apple pie, but I like to make different variations. A favorite in our house is my

butterscotch apple tart, but today I decided to try making mini apple pies. They are simply a bite-sized version of apple pie & they're adorable.
They're perfect for popping into a lunchbox too.

The above images are from the online recipe. The images below are my mini pies.

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds firm apples
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Pie Dough (make your own, or buy the roll-out kind)
1 egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water to make an egg was

• Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch wedges.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the apple wedges and saute for 3-4 minutes.
  
• Add the 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar to the apples and stir until combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and stir.
• In a small cup combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the sauteing apples. Stir to combine and remove pan from the heat. Let cool completely.
• Roll out your pie crust to 1/8" thick and using a 5-1/2" bowl, cut out a circle.
• Place the (extra large) circle of dough into the cupcake well of a regular-size muffin pan.
• Carefully smooth and stretch the sides to fit flat.
  
• Put a smaller round of dough on top of the filling (I did use the 4-1/2" cookie cutter for the tops), and squash the edge of the top crust into the bottom. Trim off the excess, leaving about 3/8 - 1/2" of dough all the way around.
• Crimp the top and bottom pie crust together and curl on top of the pie. Don't leave the crimped edge on the flat part of the cupcake pan or the crust will burn. Add pie dough decorations if you'd like and cut three little slits for steam venting. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Pop the minis into an preheated, 375 degree F oven and bake for 20 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown).

YUM!

Happy Birthday Dave!

ReloCube Booked

I booked our ReloCube today, so the move is becoming more of a reality. We'll be packing up on April 22nd and heading out on our adventure across the country on April 23rd or 24th. Only 7.5 more weeks in California. It's a little bittersweet. We're super excited to move to NC, but we have many great memories and friends here in CA that we'll miss.


P.S.: Anyone that wants to come help us pack up our Cube on the 22nd is welcome. We certainly won't turn down any help. :)

We've decided to drive

After much discussion, we've decided to go ahead and drive the almost 3,000 mile trip across the country from CA to NC. We were thinking about shipping our car, but after reading horror story reviews online and learning that the auto shipper companies rarely can offer specific pick-up & drop-off dates, we think that driving will offer us more flexibility. It will also cost about the same. So, we'll be packing up our car and making the long trek across the country in our Honda Civic. We're probably going to take the northern route which will take us through Nevada, some of Utah & Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa (where we'll take a few days to visit with the Teas' in Ames, IA). Then, through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and finally North Carolina. We'll try to do it in about five days of driving, which will be about 10 hours of driving a day.

If anyone has great music, books on tape, or anything else to share with us to keep us entertained on the long journey please send it our way. It will certainly be an adventure!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

I love baking and have decided to use our blog to occasionally post some of my latest creations. Today I made "Chocolate Lover's Dream Cake" for a party. It is an easy recipe, using boxed cake mix. It is from the Betty Crocker Simply Desserts cookbook, which I received as a Christmas gift... thanks Sarah!

Cake:
1 pkg butter recipe chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup chocolate milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 pkg (4 serving size) chocolate fudge instant pudding & pie filling mix
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons water

• Heat oven to 350 F. Generously grease 12-cup bundt cake pan with butter; lightly flour.
• In large bowl combine cake mix, chocolate milk, butter, eggs, sour cream, and pudding mix (dry) with spoon until well blended (batter will be very thick). Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into pan.
• Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto wire rack or heatproof serving plate; remove pan. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
• In 1-quart saucepan, heat glaze ingredients over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Note... This cake is very chocolaty!
I recommend enjoying it with some fresh strawberries or vanilla ice cream.

We're Moving

Some of you may know that we've been talking about moving for a long time... well, we're finally doing it. In April we will be packing up our apartment in Walnut Creek, California and moving across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina. We are excited for this new chapter of our life, but we'll certainly miss our friends and family in the Bay Area.

We have been praying about this decision for awhile and continue to feel that God is calling us to North Carolina. Fear and uncertainty have stood in our way, but we are now ready to take a leap of faith and trust in God's provisions. Even if it seems a little bit crazy. Another thing drawing us to North Carolina is the lower cost of living. We're looking forward to having a home and starting a family in the near future.

We'll keep you updated as more things fall into place. We plan on having a going-away party in March (either the 13th or 20th) & we'll send an Evite when the date gets closer.

Raleigh, NC

The Start of Our Blog

Hi friends & family,

We have created this blog to keep you up-to-date on what's going on in our lives.

Many changes occurred in 2009, so here is a brief update:

* In early 2009, we left the city and moved to Walnut Creek, CA (about 20 miles Northeast of San Francisco). We love suburb life and still get gitty with excitement when we can park in a free parking garage downtown. There is no such thing as free or easy parking in SF. Walnut Creek also gets more sun and warm weather in the summer, so we enjoyed lying by the pool and BBQing during the summer months. Court especially loved the warmer weather!
* Courtney stopped dancing professionally & is now teaching ballet to students from 5 yrs old to 18 yrs old at Tiffany's Dance Academy. She also graduated from Saint Mary's College of CA.
* Since we moved out of SF, we also changed churches and now attend Northcreek Church. We do miss our church family at Cornerstone Church, but Northcreek has been a real blessing and needed change as we grow in our walk with the Lord.

It is now 2010 and another new chapter in our lives is beginning. This year brings even more changes and we are excited to share our adventures with you.

Thank you all for being such a great support in our lives. We wish you a very happy and healthy 2010.

Love, Dave & Courtney