The first step to a cure:

Admitting you have a problem...

No, friends, this isn't even ALL of them! Maybe the problem is that they mostly reside in pairs. Think they could be multiplying in the boxes they're stored in?

**sigh** No, I'm afraid I simply have a problem. Anyone know of a support group?


I'm starting my spring decor today. Going to keep it simple and less "Easter-y." We'll see how it goes. :)

Findings

I love old stuff. I grew up in a family of antique lovers. I married into a family of antique lovers - especially my mother-in-law.  I love vintage stuff, but my problem is that I want to pay thrift store prices for it! :) Maybe I'm just too cheap.

Well, Saturday I was out with my parents (Mark had some studying to do...) and we stopped by a local antique store. We found lots of cute things and lots of cute ideas! (as well as a place that I know my MIL will enjoy next time she comes for a visit!) :)

I loved some of the piles that I found!

I also found some crafty inspiration:
Love the map on this... I've saved an old atlas...

hmm... I'm thinking maybe using the rest of that book I tore up... No sense letting a good thing go to waste!



and a few unique items...

I love the looks of old fans!

Love the old radio!!

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately... for the budget anyway..) I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. I would like to find more retro/50's items, but I'm not certain what I'm looking for. Guess I'll know when I find it! :)

This snaggle-toothed girl...

...is having a birthday today!!! :)

I won't say how old she is, but her baby sister just turned 20 on Sunday!!!! (You can do the math...) ( oh, and a late Happy Birthday, sis!) ;)

...and it sure is strange talking about yourself in the third person!!! Happy birthday to me!! I just wanted to share my day with my blogging friends!! :)

A Little Shopping

So it's August already. I'm not usually one to complain too much about the weather (after all, what can we do about it?).... but this is going on 40 days of over 100 degrees. I know, you people are thinking, "She lives in Texas. Doesn't she know it's supposed to be HOT in Texas?" ;)  But actually, here in East Texas, we usually don't reach 100 until mid-August, and some years we might have just a day or two of that hot. But this year?

Well, enough about the weather, except to say, I am so absolutely thankful we have air conditioning!

Last week, I shared a unique table that I had purchased. I am planning on redoing the table when I have time. (Believe me, I have been crazy busy the last few weeks!) ;) I have bought supplies, but now I'm just waiting on the time! That trip was so much fun. We weren't planning on antiquing that day... actually headed to a local lake for some cool water time. But this place looked so interesting, we dropped in for a look-see.



I wish I had taken a picture of the outside of the building. It was an old train depot and half was converted into an antique store. Although it was all open air, it was a cloudy day, and not super unbearable in there... I thought you all might enjoy a look around with me! (First, let me say all these photos were taken on my phone, so aren't of the purest quality... please enjoy anyway...) :)

I'm not sure why, but I've been wanting an antique coffee grinder for quite a while. They aren't quite in my budget though!

(and I love the detail on the table behind it!) 

Loved this lamp!


Ok, you know I have a thing for chairs right? Look at the detail on this rocker!!


Can anyone tell me what this chair was used for? I can't figure it out. There were a couple of them. See the hook on the side and the slot in the back? And the top is really wide...


I thought this recipe box was great! Love the shelves to display recipe cards!


Love, love, love this tray!!! (But for that price -$69.00 - I let them keep it!) :)



Since I (obviously) couldn't afford to take home what I admired, I just took a few pictures instead! :) Not everything was overpriced. In fact, compared to many antique shops, some of these prices were rather cheap. So of all the fun things that "got away," at least I have some fun pictures to look at! I hope you enjoyed our little shopping trip! :)

"New" Table and winners!

I have had a little table by our couch ever since we moved here. It is not the most practical thing, as you will see, and it certainly isn't child friendly. One of my "soon-to-be-accomplished" goals is to get our home much more child safe - we have a homestudy to look forward to, and hopefully fairly soon! :) So this little table really needed to go:



Yesterday we stopped by an antique shop that had some very unique items (and sometimes just a little pricey...). I probably still payed a little more than I should have for this little table, but I fell in love with the unique shape - and it mimics my coffee table. So I made the switch:



Unfortunately (or maybe fun??) this table is a project... I really need to strip this paint off and then see if the wood is worth refinishing. Maybe just paint it again after all, but I would like the finished wood look. See how chippy it is? It seems like it really wouldn't be that hard to get it off.  Anyone have any tips on stripping paint?

Now for the winners of the cds!!

I counted up the total entries (including my Facebook friends!) and put them in order according to timestamp. Here are the randomly picked numbers:


So Marie (from Facebook) and Rlta, you are our winners!! Rlta - I don't have any way to get in touch with you, please drop me an email at charitree (at) gmail (dot) com so I can get your cd on it's way!! :) (and if I don't hear from you in a couple of days, I'll need to pass the prize on to someone else...)

Thanks everyone, for entering! It was fun to hear from you - especially those that don't comment much. ;) (Stephanie, we had some fun times didn't we!? :)  Laura, I'm so glad you enjoy my book reviews!) It was fun to do a little "surprise" giveaway... I may have to do one again soon! :)

Sing a song!

Children like to sing! No surprise there! And those of you who teach children (at home, church, or school) know that songs are one of the most effective ways that children learn.

Gracie singing and signing "Teach Me Your Way"

We use songs so much in our children's work at church. In fact, some of their songs of choice ARE scripture. They have learned more scripture than they would have learned just by rote memory. Our kiddos have learned the Ten Commandments by singing them. No, they haven't learned them the conventional way - but they know them and will remember them! In fact, it is one of their absolute favorite songs to sing! (and BOY does it get stuck in your head!!!) :)

They insisted we sing the 10 Commandments Song at VBS. I was glad to comply!

I am passionate about good music for children - especially Scripture songs. I love Steve Green's albums for kids, as well as the Teach Me Your Way albums from Homestead Heritage.

More recently, however, I have discovered Seeds Family Worship. These albums put a more "modern" twist on Scripture songs, and they aren't just for children. They really are geared for the whole family.

Here's a peek at one of my favorite songs:


That's not the end of this post though... I would like to give a Seeds of Faith cd to two of my readers. If you would enjoy this music, just leave a comment and include the words "ENTER ME" in it. That's it! :) I will pick the winners next Tuesday! :)

Also, I'd love to hear about some of your favorite teaching songs! How has music helped you learn?
~~~~~~
PS~ This is not a promo. Seeds Family Worship doesn't even know I exist. I just like their songs, got a good deal and wanted to share!! The cd I bought for the give-a-way actually comes with two identical cds. So I am splitting up the packet to send one to two different people. :)

Summer reading...

Ok. so it's not really summer yet, but this Texas weather has got me feeling like it's close (this week anyway...) :)

I'm not sure what it is about summer, but I have this urge to read!! :) I think it comes from my summers growing up. Remember keeping lists of all the books you read for the library reading program? I always hoped to win a prize. I never did. On the other hand, my sister always seemed to be winning things. Maybe by the time she was into reading they had more prizes. :)  (We are just days from being exactly ten years apart.)  :) Or if it wasn't the library reading program, it was the required books for school. Of course, the required ones are never quite as fun as the ones you got to pick! :)

Today I came home with quite a stack. I'm not sure which ones I will actually finish, I was just having a hard time picking. Of course, I don't have quite the time to read as I did "back in the day." But I am still a fast reader... :)

Do you remember summer reading programs? Maybe you won a prize! :)  Have you read any of the books above? Any good books I should know about for this summer's reading?

PS~ If you haven't hopped over from your reader, my blog has an all new "summery" look!

31 Days to Clean!

My house needs a good cleaning... yet here I sit. :) Maybe what I need is a good book to motivate me, right? Sarah Mae is giving away a free copy of her book, 31 Days to Clean, in exchange for blogging/twittering about it! How cool is that! :)   Thank you, Sarah Mae!! :)

Chari Tree Chat

I have been a rather absent blogger, I know. Really... things were supposed to slow down after Christmas!! What you are about to read is a pretty random catch-up post. Hold on for the ride! :)

Of course, we are super excited about officially starting the adoption process! It will be a few weeks before we are able to go to the next step - a meeting when we learn more about the process and the agency we have chosen. I know that everything will happen in God's perfect timing. and He has just the right little one for our family! :)

The past few weeks have been a time of transition for me, as well as for my coworkers. As many of you know, I work at a wonderful church bookstore/library. We have had several people recently (including manager and assistant manager!) who have made the decision to move on to different stages of their lives. (whether to another job or to be a full time wife.) It is so hard to say goodbye - even though they will still be close by! We aren't just coworkers, but friends as well! But change, though hard (especially for me!) isn't always bad, and I am excited about getting to know our new manager! I think she has some exciting ideas! :)

I've been wanting to share a few pictures of Mark's birthday party. Unfortunately, I didn't get very many on my camera, so I've been waiting to upload Angie's pictures... she did get a few more than me! :) I think the bit of decorating I did turned out rather fun! :)

The most popular of the goodies, especially to bottle on the right! Angie figured we had to have "Nerds" at Mark's party... and the bottle was so easy to grab and pass around! :)

Love this picture! Isn't Angie a good photographer? :)

I just realized I had this picture of Mark with his parents! I have wonderful in-laws! :)

Ok, I had to include this picture, although it is a bit fuzzy! I just love the expressions! :)
That's Mark's "baby" brother, Dustin, on the left. Then Angie, Andrew and Mark.

 

This is long overdue, but thank you to my bloggy friends for the "Stylish Blogger Award!" Karen, Pamela, and Jennifer!

I'm supposed to share seven things about myself, but I'm not sure what to share that I haven't shared before! And I'm supposed to pass the award to other bloggers, so I'm passing it on to YOU! :)  I have so many favorites! :) I think YOU deserve the award! :)

Another random bit: I want to do my hair like this:

I don't think it's going to happen... I tried. Maybe if I had an entourage to fix my hair, it could look this cute... oh. well. :)  The screen shot is snagged from the new BBC version of Emma - very beautifully done! :)

So there you have it! One of my longest posts in "recent history!" Very random and it's getting late so I hope it at least makes sense! :)  I hope everyone has had a great week!!

Finished Object Friday

Remember the pumpkin? Well, umm... it got another makeover!! :)



It's not long until Valentine's Day and I thought it would be fun to continue decorating my pumpkin for the new season!!
 

I had plans fore Easter even, but unfortunately Mrs. Pumpkin won't be with us much longer. She is beginning to succumb to the second law of thermodynamics. bummer. It would have been so much fun to have a pumpkin shaped Easter egg! Oh. well. :) Have you done any Valentine crafting or decorating?
(oh. and yes the pumpkin is a bit goofy... my neighbors probably think so too! :) You can see last year's Valentine craft here. I have it up again this year - love it!)  :) 

Thank you all for the sweet comments about our adoption process!! Your love and support mean a lot to us!

---

1. Nikki

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Days of Christmas 2010: Day Twenty-two

Do they still make wooden Christmas Trees?

Charles Schulz

Linus Van Pelt in Peanuts.

  

Last year a friend gave me a sweet gift of a little potted Christmas tree. I loved having it in my kitchen!! Unfortunately, it didn't quite survive for this Christmas. I was looking forward to seeing how it grew each year, but I guess I kept the roots too wet. Oh. well... I still thought it was kindof funny.... I make even Charlie Brown's tree look good!! 

Source

At least his was green!! :)

Finished Object Friday

This Finished Object Friday is mostly for fun! :)  Of course, I'm not sharing my Christmas projects yet!

So... what do you do with a perfectly good pumpkin after you have put away all your fall decor?
Why spray paint it, of course!

Actually, I got this idea from my Dad's Uncle Bobby, who spray painted their pumpkins red and green one year. I thought it was a fun idea and I happened to have some red spray paint! :)  I painted the stem gold and now I have an oversized ornament on my front porch. It makes me smile! :)

So it's your turn to share! Maybe you can share something Christmassy too! :)

---

1. Bubble magnets 2. Paper ornaments 3. Finished Felt Flower 4. Winter Wreath

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And the winner is...

The box is all packed and ready to go!!

And the winner is:

Snoopy said: "I actually have random balls of yarn in almost every room of the house, :). But right next to me is an old night light and some kind of weird pencil holder shaped like part of a tree trunk...Love your blog!"

Congrats, Snoopy!! Email me at charitree (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!! :) I hope you see this post... I don't know how else to get in touch with you. In order for you to recieve your prize by Thanksgiving, I need to get it in the mail. If I don't hear from you by midnight (central time) Wednesday - the 17th - another winner will be drawn.

Thanks to all for joining in the fun!! I wish I could send something to each of you! Thanks also to Mark for drawing the winner! :)

Randomness....

What? You mean you don't have a random ball of yarn on your dusty window sill??  :)  you know, sitting next to your hospitality book?

Oh, and there's a giveaway in this post too... :)  I've actually been planning to do a giveaway for quite a while. Now I figure I'd better do it before fall is over! :)  Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks!

I am thankful for all my bloggy "buddies!" I have enjoyed getting to know each one of you - I consider you my friends! So as a little friendship gift, I will send this to one of you:

The giveaway includes the following:
Two fall dishtowels
One leaf cookie cutter
One "Welcome" pumpkin
A votive candle and holder
A package of notecards
A Mary Engelbreit "Autumn" book (The inspiration for the giveaway...)
And a vintage(?) biscuit cover.

You see, the longer I waited to do the giveaway, the bigger it got!! :)  So here's the deal, just leave me a comment, and I'll pick a winner this coming Tuesday evening. For fun, share something completely random lying some odd spot in your house! :) 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This is what happens...

...when you bake late at night.

...when you're loaf pan is too small.

...when you don't divide the batter between two pans.

...when the loaf isn't completely cooked when you remove it from the oven and onto the cooling rack.

...when you put it back into the oven to cook and then again put it on the cooling rack.

...when you are cooking and talking at the same time - late at night.



oops.

but it was really funny - especially late at night! when you are chatting with your friend/sister-in-law! But at least it tasted good!!! yum!!

It's pumpkin bread! I was soo happy to find some canned pumpkin a couple of weeks ago. This is my second loaf of bread, and I'm excited to make pumpkin cookies soon too!

Let Them Eat (Funnel) Cake!

Recently I've had a craving for something fluffy, fried, and sugary. (Healthy. I know!) Sunday evening, we invited my family over for snacks after church. After an oh-so-healthy meal of tuna, chips and popcorn, I started frying!



I quickly realized that funnel cakes aren't a one (wo)man show and I called in help. Pretty soon we had an assembly line going.

I would put the batter in the oil, Mom flipped the cakes and took them out, then we handed them off to Angie who had the fun task of sprinkling the sugar on top!

Let me tell you, it does make a mess in your kitchen! Not to mention your faces (especially if you plant your face in the powdery plate for a photo op!!)  :)


(oh, and Dad and Mark helped us eat them... but I don't think they are as into photo opportunities!) :) It probably would have been easier and less mess with one of these kits, but just as tasty either way!

Here is the recipe below. I had to add more milk to get the cake to go through the funnel, this made for smaller "noodles" and more yummy goodness!!


 Ingredients:
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Funnel Cake Directions:

1. In a deep skillet, heat about two cups of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Test the temperature by dropping a pinch of flour into the hot oil. If it sizzles right away without smoking, it's perfect.
2. Beat egg and milk. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to the egg mixture, beating until smooth.
3. Using a funnel, drop into hot oil working from center outwards in a web pattern. (You can use a gallon sized freezer bag instead of a funnel by pouring the batter into the bag, snipping off a small corner of it, and squeezing the batter into the oil.)
4. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, remove from the oil when golden brown and crispy.
5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

(recipe found here)

Oh, and after you finish the first beautiful cake, you take a picture and text to a couple of friends who you know will get very jealous and threaten to head right over to your house!! :) ...all in good fun, of course!