Southern Styled Apple Pie

This is my favorite pie to make {& more importantly eat}. This is super easy and extremely delicious. One of the ladies at my childhood church made this for every gathering, and you better bet it was gone within 15 minutes! We’ve made a few changes to her original recipe, and I think it’s better than ever. If you’re looking for a classic pie recipe to stick to, this one’s for you!

Crust

2 c. flour
2/3 c. Crisco
1/2 tsp. salt

Blend together.

Dash about 1/2 c. of ice water slowly over mixture until it forms a ball. Split ball into two small balls. Place each ball between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll into 1″ thickness and shape of pie plate.
Chill crust in plastic wrap for at least 1 hour.

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Filling

Cut 6 medium Jonagold apples. Slice. Place in pie plate.

Mix the following ingredients together and place over apples:
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/8 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon 

Place 2 tablespoons of butter on top of sugar mixture. Place water sprinkles along the rim of the crust. Place top crust on top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add extra butter to top of crust. Cut slots in top crust.

Bake 15 min. 400 degrees – then 30 min. at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram: @haleyklockenga

Hannah & Halle || Southern Illinois Sister Session

Oh my goodness gracious! This blog post is one of my favorites.

I had such a fun time taking Hannah and Halle’s pictures. Hannah and Halle are two of my new sisters that I gained when I married Hayden. They {along with Loralai} are so much fun to be around and radiate joy. Hannah and Halle both LOVE fall and have a great sense of style. We decided to take advantage of one of my rare weekends at home and do a fall sunrise session. I am in LOVE with the results. I can’t get enough of those gorgeous fall colors! Enjoy!

xoxo,

Haley Nicole

 

New coffee cups calls for a quick pic! 😉

Such a sweetheart! Love her!

Gorgeous!

How we look 99% of the time — always laughing!

Austin || Southern IL Senior Session

Wow, I can’t believe it! Austin is a senior! Austin is my brother-in-law, and I was so excited to shoot his senior pictures this year. My husband’s family loves to visit different places, so I knew we would be able to get some really fun and unique images! We did three, YES THREE, sessions, and I loved every single one of them. We were able to take some images in South Carolina and in Southern Illinois and in the summer and fall! Austin was up for any of my crazy ideas, and I am soooo happy with how everything turned out! I hope y’all in enjoy them!

Haley

Anna || Southern IL Senior Session

I met Anna a month ago when she was being crowned homecoming queen. I could tell in the few moments that I met her, she was a really sweet young lady. Goodness, gracious was I spot on. Anna was an absolute doll during her senior session. I could easily understand why her class voted for her and loved her. Anna is also extremely active in school. She participates in not one, but THREE sports {volleyball, basketball, & track}.

I was so excited during our initial senior session meeting when Anna expressed her interest to have her session at Carlyle Lake. Carlyle Lake is one of my favorite places to visit in Southern IL, and I was so happy to hear that it was a large part of Anna’s childhood! I had such a blast shooting these pictures. Anna was such a joy to work with, as I am sure you will be able to see in her pictures.

Anna, thank you so much for letting me be apart of your senior year. I know your joyful spirit and happy personality will take you far in life! I hope you enjoy some of my favorite images from your senior session.

xoxo,
Haley Nicole

Such a beauty!

Love this one!

Zach || Southern IL Senior Session

I was so thrilled when Zach’s mom, Cris, contacted me a few weeks ago about scheduling a fall senior session. I was even more excited when I found out that Zach loves the fall, playing the guitar, and laughing. {I knew we were going to get along great!} Zach was so much fun to photograph. He competes on the scholar bowl team and plans to go to pharmacy school after college {can you say super smart?!}. Take a look at his senior session in Mt. Vernon, IL!

Zach, it was so much fun shooting your senior session. Here are some of my favorites from your session! I can’t wait for you to see the rest!!

Haley Nicole

Logan || Southern IL Senior Session

Last weekend, I traveled to Patoka, IL to spend a few hours with Logan for his senior session. I have known Logan for the past 3 years, and I was really excited when his mom, Tiffany, messaged me about shooting his senior pictures. Logan is super cool, athletic, and has a great sense of style! Patoka’s population might be under 800, but it is filled with some pretty amazing spots for senior pictures. It was so hard for me to choose my favorites for today’s blog post, but nonetheless, here are my favorite images from Logan’s senior session.

Logan, I had such a fun time shooting your pictures, and I can’t wait to see what you’ll do in this next chapter!

Haley Nicole

It’s Fall Y’all

Yesterday was the first day of fall and that means it’s totally okay to visit pumpkin patches non-stop! Hayden and I headed out to the pumpkin patch closest to our apartment. It was a short 15 minute drive from the city, and it seemed like it was in the middle of no where. Since moving to the city, I crave any chance I get to be outside and enjoying nature. I think because of that fall is shortly becoming my favorite season. I know it just started, but I love the change of colors and the coziness that takes over. The weather is {supposed to be} cooler, and it gives you a better chance to get out and do stuff! Anyway… Here’s a look at our trip!

 

Happy Fall Y’all! Go outside, enjoy the fresh air, and drink some warm apple cider!

P.S. I just wanted to brag on Hayden. He took all of the images of me, and I think he did an amazing job!

 

Tré & Tatiana || Springfield IL Maternity Photography

Oh my goodness!! I can’t believe that in almost a month, Tre and Tatiana will welcome their baby girl “T” into this world. I have known Tatiana (or Tati as I grew up calling her) my entire life and looked up to her like a big sister. Almost two years ago, I celebrated their marriage in their wedding party, and now I’m shooting their maternity pictures…CRAZY!!

It has been a joy to watch Tre and Tatiana’s love story unfold, and I am so happy for this next chapter of their lives. I am soo excited to meet this sweet baby girl. I know she is sure to be spunky and full of energy! Baby “T” we CAN’T wait to meet you, hug you, and find out what your name is {seriously, I’m eager to know the name!!! 😉 ).

Tre and Tatiana, I’m so excited to see you both take on the role of parents. Thank you so much for letting me be apart of this special time!

Haley 🙂

 

Tatiana and Tre thank you so much for letting be a part of this special occasion! I can’t wait to meet your daughter! 🙂

Ryan & Megan || St. Louis Engagement Photography

A few weeks ago, I was SO excited to hear that Ryan was planning to propose to Megan. I was thrilled when Ryan asked me to shoot his surprise proposal at Castlewood State Park. After meeting, I found out my job was to sneak around through the bushes and capture the moment! The rain kept off and the heat cooled down, and it was a perfect place for a proposal {awesome job Ryan!}.

I am so glad and honored to be apart of this special day. I met the two in college and could tell that they were super cool {its true, they are!}. Ryan and Megan are the sweetest couple who have a deep love for Christ and each other. I had such a fun time hanging out with these two, and can’t wait to see how the Lord will use their marriage.

Congrats!
Haley

Megan’s center diamond is a family heirloom! How cool is that?!

Pure joy!

So excited for y’all!! 🙂

 

 

 

 

Bridal Tea

It’s officially a month away from the big day! I have been super busy with school, work, and wedding planning that I have not been able to share my wedding planning tactics and stories. Hayden and I were blessed with 3 wonderful bridal showers. I wasn’t able to take pictures at the first two because I forgot my camera { 😦 boo!} BUT, I finally remembered it on the last one! Today, I wanted to show some images from my super fun and cute Bridal Tea Party! {YES, THIS WAS A REAL THING!}

Hayden’s aunts, Jen and Wendy, did a wonderful job of planning and preparing for the shower. They surprised me in January and told me they were going to plan a shower for me and it could be whatever I wanted {amazing, I know!}. Of course, I love the South, and Southern traditions and BOOM! Bridal Tea Party was formed. They asked me to pin ideas onto a Pinterest board to give them some inspiration, and they ran with it! I was/am SOOO happy with how it turned out. It was amazing and so much fun!

Side Note: The wedding dresses displayed are the mother of bride, mother of the groom, grandmother of the bride, grandmother of the groom, and great grandmother of the groom. This was one of my favorite parts {and the food too.. the food was AMAZING *insert heart eye emoji*}.

xoxo,