it was amazing ...

i can't wait to share my day with you. so much to tell.

but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. full details then.

homemade is always better

do you make and can your own salsa? i know she does ... and so does she, but do you?

i certainly don't, but i really appreciate those that do. first, because its hard work! all the chopping, cooking and canning! yikes! and second because homemade salsa is like a million times better than any store bought salsa. agree? especially kathy's salsa. words can not describe how much i love this stuff!

she painstakingly chops all her ingredients to the perfect petite size (i'm not a fan of super chunky salsa). and she had nailed the sweetness level. it's beyond perfect. oh my.

my favorite way to eat it? with some local tortilla chips ... melted cheddar ... sour cream ... salt & pepper ... and the salsa of course. talk about yum! the only thing that could make this better would be a big ol' margarita to wash it all down.

have a stellar weekend everyone! i know i will.

really good

it's be quite some time since i've baked something that wasn't for breakfast. i can't even tell you the last thing i baked for 'fun'.  i sort of missed it.

so, today i baked. and it felt good. really good. the sun was shining. there was a breeze in the air that reminded me of fall. i can't wait for fall.

everything came together so smoothly. almost easy.

that's when baking is the most fun. when amongst the mess (yeah, i'm a messy baker) things turn out beautifully ... imperfectly perfect. don't you wish everything worked that way?

there is something about the uniformity of decorated cupcakes that i love. i could take photographs of cupcakes all day.

 thanks to beantown baker for the recipe and tutorial. genius and delicious.

i used a plastic baggie to 'pipe' the icing. again, imperfectly perfect. i love the look ... styled but still loose and fun. as it should be when oreos are involved.

i also made threw together some trail mix.

peanut + cashews + m&ms + raisins = super easy yumminess

 done. and happy. i needed that.

gift shoppe tunes ... an update

so sorry for not update my gift shoppe tunes (on the right hand sidebar) for a while. i have been listening to other things, but i didn't feel any were noteworthy or they were repeats from before.

anyway, things have died down a bit around here this week so i took some time for myself (which was greatly needed) and in that time i did some internet searching and found this great, new-to-me artist ... caitlin crosby.

i love the sound of her voice. a little raspy ... but fun and cute. normally i just change the 'gift shoppe' tunes but i thought i'd point out a really great video. i think everyone can take something away from this. love the song. love the message. love the little old lady at the end. love songs with 'meaning.'



what new artists are you loving these days? i love discovering new music ... please share!

inspired by ... open shelving in the kitchen

well, it's official. i decided to jump on the bandwagon by taking off some of my cupboard doors to create open shelves.

so here is a section of my kitchen cupboards 'before'. these are right above my sink and the section i choose to remove the doors from.

these cupboards and counter tops were probably installed in the 50s at some point. the cabinets are grey and the counter tops and back splash are a pink marble. which, obviously wouldn't be my first choice, but they are actually in excellent shape and i honestly don't mind them. i may  update the hardware one of these days, but that's a different story.

okay, ready for the after? (yeah, i didn't take any pictures of the 'in between'. once i get going it's hard to get me to stop to take pictures. gotta keep the momentum flowin'!)

tada! do you like?

so, i removed the cabinet doors and hardware. patched the holes left by the screws and repainted everything. i took a cabinet door to sherwin williams and they matched the color flawlessly! i was amazed!

the items one the shelves are things i use most often. i'm not sure i LOVE the way i have it set up now, but i'm pretty happy with it. the red box holds small 'mise en place' bowls that i use all the time. i think a wicker or seagrass basket may work better (something without a lid), but i don't have one at the moment.

i also had mirror cut for the back of the cabinet. i called the local glass cutting place, gave them my measurements and it was ready in a couple days. it cost around $45 for all the pieces i needed. i'm really glad i did this cause it really brightens things up! i hung the mirror with those new picture handing velco thingys from 3m.

i also got rid of the old artwork above the sink and replaced it with these 'custom' pieces. i searched etsy and found prints that i liked and then created my own with ms publisher. these prints sell for $20-$30. mine were basically free! sweet!

this one reads ... 'lettue turnip the beet' ... get it? .... 'let us turn up the beat' love it! at the bottom it says s'upport your local farmers market'. again, this was inspired by something i saw on etsy. the white frames are from wal-mart ... i think they were about $15 a piece.

so what do you think? love it? hate it?

i'm really happy with the way it turned out! do you have any open cabinets in your kitchen? are they functional? do you use them for display? leave a comment below with a link to some pictures. i'd love to see what you've done.

i am ...

another 'i am ...' post for you today. i really like doing these, but if you hate (strong word) them or think they silly, please let me know.

i am really excited for my outstanding dinner. remember i mentioned it to you here and here. words can not describe my excitement! and don't worry. i'll take lots of pictures and share as many details as i can.

what was your last most memorable dinner? or the best thing you've eaten in a while? and where did you have it? i love a good food story! leave a comment below.

i am happy my mom got me another piece of fabric for my quilt. that's right another one. check it out!

super cool! love it. i'm getting closer.

i am dancing because the new katy perry and little big town cds came out today. and they are both fantastic as expected. i dodged between the senior citizens (tuesday is senior citizens day ... there was actually a line for those motorized carts you can drive around. crazy!!) at wal-mart to pick up these two albums as soon as i could.

check out their latest videos below...

katy perry - teenage dream

little big town - little white church


i am honored to be a part of better after again (here's a link to my oars from before). remember last week i showed you my dining room 'before and after'? well the lovely lindsey of better after featured it on her site today. so, thank you lindsey and better after and welcome to all of those who have found their way from there (and for all your sweet comments, i'm glad you like it).

i am getting ready for st. mary's first annual bavarian fall festival! i'm really excited about this event which will be held the first weekend in october. as a kid st. marys always used to have a 'hometown festival' and it was always so fun. over time i guess it lost it's steam, which i suppose happens to things. i think the fall fest will be a nice replacement for the hometown festival.

here at old charm i will be hosting our first annual autumn pie social with some pretty amazing homemade pies my by yours truly (and my mom of course). if you have any great fall pie recipes ... email them to me. please! the store will be stocked up with new merchandise. i will also be hosting a couple other vendors. it should be an exciting weekend.

i'll do a separate post with my hours and more details in the coming week. in the meantime you can read more about it here and here.

i am also pumped that my favorite local greenhouse will be opening their doors again on september 1st for their fall season. as you know i love me some pumpkins ... cornstalks ... mums and all things fall. and they sure have it!
 

if you can't visit morning glory hill greenhouse is person you can visit them on the web via their website or their facebook page. check it out!

and have a great tuesday. thanks for spending a part of yours with me!

enough already

i know you are probably sick of hearing about jam and fabric and fall but these things seem to be very relevant right now. so i apologize. just hang in there.

my hands have stopped burning from my red pepper jelly. thank goodness. i'm super happy with the way it turned out. i ate a whole jar in two days with crackers and cream cheese. oh my. heaven. it's taking all my will power not to open another jar.

today i made raspberry vanilla jam. i used raspberries from a fruit stand in erie, pa and the seeds from vanilla beans. so yummy!! i love warming berry jams up and then pouring them over vanilla ice cream. talk about tasty.

i told myself i was going to take a jam making break, but then kim posted this recipe and now i'm dying to try it. strawberry maragrita jam. ummm, yum!

my mom and her friend had a quilt shopping day this weekend and she picked me up a piece of fabric for my quilt. more than anyone my mom knows i can be sort of ... picky, but i love the fabric she picked.

beautiful colors and almost a vintage feel. what do you think?

did you have a busy weekend? what did you do? leave a comment below. things were busy around here again. i normally don't talk about my guests here, but when they give me a wonderful gift, i just can't help it.

so, i don't think i have confessed my love of cheese here yet, but ... i love cheese. seriously i could eat cheese all the time. cream cheese, hard cheese, soft cheese. it's so bad i don't think i could eat pasta without a sprinkling of parmesan.

anyway. these lovely folks own a dairy farm and they brought me three wedges of their cheese.

(your probably wondering why i'm only showing you two ... well, i already ate one ... and it was fantastic ... and i don't care who knows it!)

i'm so thankful for wonderful people that are so kind to think of me. these seemingly little gestures mean so much.

goosebumps

hey ya'll! thanks so much for all the super support (and for sharing my excitement) for my new etsy shop. i just finished up 46 jars of red pepper jelly. and i think i should have wore gloves when i was cutting up the jalapeno peppers because my hands are burning.

i also sold my first jar of jam too! so exciting! so, thanks.

a couple of you asked me how my quilt is coming along. well, thanks to all your amazing support i have about half the material i need, but i still need lots more. if you are new to inspiredbycharm, you can read more about it here.  i'm anxiously await to start sewing my patches together, but i think i should have all my sqaures first. right?

today, i received some fabric ... and when i open it i seriously got goosebumps. seriously.

what's the last thing that gave you goosebumps? can you remember? leave a comment below!

amazing right!? she embroidered them! i just love them.

they are from catherine at stitchfork designs. catherine is a fellow penn stater and pennyslvanian. thank you catherine!! i love them so much.

there are lots of other exciting things on the horizon. i will share them with you tomorrow (hopefully). have a exiting friday night!

i'm on etsy!

so, this is more of an 'fyi' rather than me telling you to go buy my jam. i just love you guys and like to share my exciting news with you.

anyway, i decided to list my jams and jellies on etsy!! i'll be adding more as i make them, so check back often ... and thanks for sharing in my excitment.

blueberry peach jam

peach jam

black and blue (berry) jam

blueberry jam

champagne ginger peach jam

do you have a shop on etsy? i'd LOVE to see what you sell. please leave a link in the comments.

ready or not ...

... fall is coming!

as some of you may know the next season comes a little quicker for those of us in the retail world. its still 80 degrees outside, but the gift shoppe is taking on a whole different feeling.

rich colors and cool metals fill the space.

pumpkins abound. leaves fall.

things begin fade and die ... to become a little 'creepy' perhaps.

and even though the green fades, color remains.

even in the glow of pumpkins.

squirrels gather food for a long winter retreat.

grapevine takes the shape of wreaths ... it wraps around porch posts ... and of course, creates pumpkins.

and a little fun sprinkled in for good measure.

what do you love most about fall? the smells? the colors? the food? or all of it? ... like me! thanks for stopping by!