Festival of Trees 2009

This week Mimi will be very busy working at Festival of Trees . It's a huge charity event benefiting our local Primary Childrens Hospital. Last year almost 1.5 million dollars was raised at the five day event. Opening day is Tuesday Dec 1st and will run through Saturday Dec 5. Hours are 10 AM to 10 PM. I'm selling tickets or you can purchase them at the door.

Every year people and organizations from all over the Wasatch front come together to raise money. Some decorate trees, wreaths, or gingerbread houses. Some donate boutique items, goods and services, baked goods, and lots of people give thousands of hours to help out at the festival.

All the trees, wreaths, and gingerbread houses are auctioned off. There's a sweet shop, a boutique, Santa's there of course, there's live entertainment, a scone and cinnamon roll booth, and the Kids Korner where you can get your face painted, craft, talk to an elf, play a few games and have a great time.

I'm on the Kids Korner committee and the Mister and I will be working at the auction on Tuesday night. It's such a wonderful way to get in the holiday spirit. It's held at the Expo Center in Sandy, Utah. For you local girls Email me if you want tickets, $3.50 for adults, $2.50 for children $14.00 for six immediate family members and must be purchased at the door. (Wednesday only) Every single penny that's raised at this event goes to helping hospitalized children who don't have health insurance and can't afford medical care. So all you grandmas out there bring your grandkids, make some memories, have some fun and help some kids who could use a little help. See you there!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Matthew 5:16

Thanksgiving Dishes

Before we go completely into Christmas mode I want to show you my Thanksgiving dishes. I found the first five at a thrift store. I found the rest on ebay. I have about fifteen dinner plates and a gravy boat plus a few small bowls and bread plates.

They're called Indian Summer by Franciscan. I just love them.

I think they look really cute with these miss matched napkins that I made.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families on this wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who reads my little blog and shares in my life. I'm thankful for those of you who take the time to leave comments and those that just come to visit. May your day be filled with love and peace and just enough turkey and trimmings. Love, Mimi

Zion National Park

On the way home from California the mister and I stopped at Zion National Park for a few hours.

It was so beautiful.

The weather was perfect. A little cool in the shade but a sweatshirt took care of that.

Have you heard of the senior National Park Pass? When you turn 62 you can get one for yourself. Ten dollars for a lifetime pass, then all National Parks are free for the rest of your life. If we didn't have the pass it would've cost us $25.00 for the two of us. (they charge by the car load) It's such a great deal.

Of course the mister is waaaaayyy older than Mimi;). Mimi won't be 62 for many many years. Well, maybe in a couple of years.

Zion National Park is truly a treasure. We're so glad we took the time for a visit.

Sunday Sayings

"And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him." D&C 78:19

Thanksgiving at Mimi's Cottage

I love Thanksgiving. It's such a home and family kind of holiday. No over the top decorating, no stressful gift buying just good food and good company. This year we'll be having Thanksgiving dinner at Mimi's Cottage. Every other year the kids go to their spouse's family dinner. There should be about twelve of us around our big table.

I love turkey platters. I found this one at a thrift store for a couple of dollars.

I bought this one at an antique store years ago.
This one is from Pottery Barn but I bought it at a yard sale. Of course you get the best deals on Thanksgiving stuff at the thrift stores around Easter.

This turkey plate is a calendar from 1911. Love it.

The window boxes are all decked out for fall.

The goat cart too.

I hope all of you are spending some time with the people you love this wonderful holiday. I'll be baking and cooking, cleaning and fluffing for the rest of this week. Things I love to do to get ready for a holiday I love.

Vintage Embroidery

I love these embroidered pieces. Whenever I find one at a garage sale, thrift store, or antique shop I snatch it up. Someone's put a lot of time and effort into stitching these things, so I take them home and love them.I like the ones with little cottages, are you surprised? But gardens with flowers and birds are high on my favorites list. My adorable blog friend Gayle found this one at a thrift store and thought of me. I was so thrilled when she brought it over. THANK YOU Gayle!

I also like sweet sentiments. Like Home Sweet Home or cute little sayings. This one says "A person roams the world over in search of what one needs and returns home to find it." Can anything be truer than that?

Most of the time they're not framed so I find a frame at the thrift store, paint it the right color, and frame the stitchery. Sometimes I need a mat cut, which is pretty inexpensive. It really dresses them up, don't you think?

I'm starting to hang these in my hall that goes out to the garage. Just one of my little collections that makes me happy.

Sunday Sayings

"If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today." Rotarian

Cozy Day at Mimi's Cottage

It's been snowing here in northern Utah most of the day. It's a great day to snuggle up in front of the fireplace. The mister has a football game on TV and some yummy chicken is cooking in the crock pot.

This is Julie's recipe from The Harwards. She's a sweetie and lives in a beautiful part of our great country. She also has a wonderful family and some of the best recipes. I made this a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit with the family.

Any Day Crock Pot Chicken

~6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 (10 0z.) cans cream of chicken soup

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1 Cup sour cream (or) 1 pkg.-8 oz. cream cheese

1 10 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained a bit

a sprinkling of ground nutmeg(optional)

a can of plain artichoke hearts

Place chicken in greased slow cooker. Mix remaining ingds. (except tomatoes, art. hearts and sour cream)Cover and cook on high 4 hrs. (or) on low 6-8 hrs.One hour before serving, stir in tomatoes, artichoke hearts and sour cream.~Serve over cooked thin pasta...sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garnish with parsley, basil~

Hope your day is comfy cozy too.

Fun with the Sweetpeas

Last Tuesday morning Mimi got on an airplane and flew to California. This picture was taken after we were in the air. There was maybe 15 of us on the plane. It was great. Mimi went to California to play with the sweetpeas while their mommy and daddy went back east to a graduation.

We watched the new Tinkerbell movie 37 times. When you watch the movie you have to wear your Tinkerbell T shirt. They look a little spaced out here. This was after the 4th showing in a row. You'd look spaced out too. We played with the new sticker books grandpa brought.

We had a fashion show. Yes, that's a shopping basket dog hat. Creative, no?



We went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner one night. Have you been there lately? The security is unbelievable. It's like going through security at an airport.

We spent some time at the park.

I'd like you to meet our grand dog Lucy. She was adopted from a shelter. She's such a sweetie.

We sure had a great time in California. Mimi and Grandpa are home now and missing the sweetpeas so much. You guys live too far away.

Sunday Sayings

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

Winston Churchill