Mimi Sue's Cottage

A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadows, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. Thomas S Monson







Friday, April 30, 2010

Oh My Heck

This is what the weather's been like for the last few days and probably today. Looking forward to better weather next week so we can get outside and start on our big project.I went to a boutique a few days ago and found this cute idea.

It's made of cardstock, stickers, little brads to hold up the pocket. It hangs on a water bottle and you could use any flavor of Crystal Light. How cute for a family reunion, 4th of July party, shower, birthday, wedding reception, teacher gift. In appropriate colors and designs of course.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A Project Completed

Only 437 projects to go!

Last summer as the mister and I were driving around town, we came across a bunch of oak kitchen cabinets by the side of the road. I yelled STOP!! and the mister did. We took a closer look and they were for sale, $2.00 per cabinet. So of course we bought a couple.They sat in the garage for a loooong time until a couple of weeks ago when I gave them a fresh coat of black paint.



Some contact paper on the shelves from the dollar store.

And some new knobs (half price) from the wonderful Hobby Lobby.

And now they're hanging over the potty in our master bath. Where they'll live happily ever after.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Summer Project 2010

Last summer our big project was putting in our front yard and building a shed. Check and check. This summer our big project will be installing the backyard. Fences, patios, irrigation, lawn, plants, trees, patio covers, arbors, walkways, and lots of other stuff I'm sure I've forgotten. Last week we borrowed a tractor, moved some dirt around, and scraped the ground so we could get it kind of level. The building with the star on it is an old chicken coop that was on the property when we bought it. We're trying to save it but it's pretty rickity.

That big tree out there is an ancient walnut tree. Probably over 100 years old. Love that tree but it's so messy. We won't cut it down though, the shade it produces makes up for the millions of leaves and walnuts it drops every fall. So that's what we'll be working on this summer. We need to get busy before it gets too hot.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sunday Sayings


"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather recognizing and appreciating what we do have."
Frederick Keonig

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Birthdays

Today is the Mister's birthday. We took a little break from working on the house and spent the day in Salt Lake City.

Our first stop was the Clark Planetarium where we saw this...in 3D...at the Imax theatre. It was a little freaky but the mister loved it. He's geeky like that.
We had a late lunch at the Blue Plate Diner, wandered around Best Buy for awhile, then drove home in a huge rain and thunderstorm. That was definitely freaky.


Today was the beginning of our 7 birthdays, 1 anniversary, and Mother's Day in 2 1/2 weeks. This year we'll have one big celebration on May 1st so nobody dies of cake overdose. More celebrations to come!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Tiptoeing

We've had a few nice days with temperatures in the 70's. It's been heavenly.


The bulbs I planted last fall seem to be enjoying the weather too.


I made a tulip for the front door to celebrate beautiful spring.



Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sunday Sayings


"Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength."
Hasidic saying


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Countertops on the Cheap

I love a lot of things about my house but one of the things I love the most is my pantry. It's like a walk in closet for the kitchen. It has lots of storage and I wanted a place where I could plug things in and leave them plugged in like the food processor. It's so much more convenient when you need to use it. Our kitchen countertop is Corian. I love it but it was a little pricey so the mister came up with something, well, cheaper. First he cut a sheet of melamine that he found in the cull wood at Home Depot to fit the top of the cabinets. Then he took a dollar store vinyl tablecloth, wrapped it around the melamine, and stapled it.
I used this for the past two years. It cleaned up well, it was bright and cheery. We got a lot of compliments on that countertop. It was a dollar store tablecloth and it started to get a little ratty looking so I found something a little higher end... some oil cloth.

We wrapped and stapled and voila!

A new countertop. It looks a lot better with our new floor too.

I think the whole project probably cost us $35.00. The most expensive part was the oil cloth. I like it so much I think I'll be doing something similar in our laundry room.



Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sunday Sayings


"The day the Lord created hope is probably the same day He created spring."
Bern Williams



Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wall to Wall

I told you last Tuesday that Mimi's Cottage's basement was going to get carpet on Wednesday. The carpet installers were supposed to come at noon. They showed up at 4:30. They put down the pad in the family room and then they went home. They said they'd be back on Thursday morning bright and early. So we waited...

And we waited... I called the carpet company at noon and they said I'd have to reschedule. Would I like them to come on Saturday or Tuesday? Huh?


We have a houseful of kids, grandkids, and dogs. The Easter Bunny was supposed to show up on Saturday, not the carpet installers!
Yesterday afternoon a new set of workers finally brought the carpet and got it installed.


Bless their hearts! It only took six days!


It's a sage green but looks kind of dark in the picture. The walls are painted Steamed Milk by Sherwin Williams. (It's white with just a hint of yellow) I saw it on Penny's blog and loved it so I copied.


Six days! But it's finally done and I love it.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A Sweetpea Visit

As you know, the mister and I went to California for a short visit. We were lucky enough to bring the sweetpeas home with us for a whole week. Their mommy and daddy came too, along with our granddog, Lucy. It was an adventure! Here are the California girls, our youngest grandson, and the tall guy in the back will be our newest grandson in June when his daddy marries our youngest daughter. The short white one in the front is no relation.When you don't actually live in the snow it's a ton of fun. Making snowmen...er, snowgirls...
Running around in the falling snow...getting soaking, freezing, wet. So fun!



We watched some movies. Snow White, An American Tale, a few others on our old VCR. The kids were so interested in this antique device. I'm not throwing that thing away. I have a million kid movies from when my kids were little. They didn't seem to mind that it wasn't in HD or 3D or whatever D is the newest thing.




We went bowling, ate homemade ice cream, shopped, ate at McDonalds, played with the cousins, colored and searched for Easter eggs. They left early on Sunday morning and Mimi's Cottage is so quiet. Sure do miss you guys!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Sunday Sayings

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosover believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16