New Years Eve Punch

I found this delicious punch recipe on Pinterest.

HERE

We served it at our church for the home tour and then 

I made it again for Christmas Eve. 

Very refreshing.

It is 

1 can frozen Pina Colada mix

1 can frozen orange pineapple juice

4 cans water

Mix in large jar.  (I got mine at Walmart)

Add pebble ice (my friend Lisa calls it rabbit poop ice)

You can buy it by the bag at Sonic

Then carefully add 2 two liter bottles of lemon lime soda

(I used one regular and one diet)

Add one bag of frozen raspberries

I added mixed berries cause that's what I had in my freezer

The berries kind of sit on top and look pretty and sometimes 

they end up in your glass and then they taste pretty.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did.  It was a great big hit.

                        Have a Safe and Happy New Year!!

Packing it Up

I hope your Christmas was as much fun as ours.

There was lots of family, friends, and food.

Very delightful, although we missed the California kids so much.

Now all of this needs to be put away until next year.

Even though the decorations will be put away,  I'm hoping to keep

the Christmas spirit going all year.

Sunday Sayings

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called... 'The Prince of Peace'."     2 Nephi 19:6

Merry Christmas from Mimi's Cottage!

Christmas Fun

We've been having some Christmas fun around Mimi's Cottage this week.

We started out on Sunday with cinnamon rolls for dinner.

A cinnamon roll and a cup of hot chocolate.

Well balanced and oh so healthy.

Then on Monday we made a boatload of candy cane popcorn

for neighbors and friends.  I found the recipe and downloadable tag

HERE

On Tuesday I made a couple of Christmas stockings for a son in law

and our newest little grandgirl.

Today one of the grandboys and I made these snowman ornaments for

his mommy and his Mimi's tree.

They are made with the littlest canvas painted red.

The snowmen bodies are fingers painted white and used as

a stamp.  Snowflake fingerprints, sharpie pens for the details,

and ribbon to hang them by.  We tried to make some

with his 6 month old sister but that turned into a disaster!

Got the idea from HERE

Last week I made a couple of these cute candy holders.  They're made out of an old jar with the lid painted red and a Dollar Store candlestick also painted red.  I got the idea from HERE.

While the paint was drying on the snowmen ornament we made reindeer

cookies that I saw on Pinterest.

Sooo many fun ideas out there! 

Not one single original idea once again.

Tomorrow I hope to come down from my sugar high.

And clean up the mess we've made having all this fun.

Sunday Sayings

"True love was born in a stable."  Anonymous

Timing

December is always a busy month for me.

Well,  I guess everyone is busy in December.

There's home tours, parties, shopping, wrapping, decorating,

baking, cleaning, and the list goes on and on.

So here's the conversation the Mister and I had the other day.

Him:  "I think this would be a great time to get a few things

done around here."

Me:  "Really?  Like what do you have in mind exactly?"

Him:  "Like finish up door trim, baseboards, things like that."

Me:  "NOW??"

Him: "Well, not if you're going to get snippy about it!"

We've lived in this unfinished house for three years now.  And NOW

he wants to start moving around furniture and empty the linen closet?

Aaaaaah!

One thing I've learned after almost 40 years living with this man

that when the project mood strikes it's best to just get out of the way.

Pantry

Unfinished door trim...

Pantry

Finished door trim

Gotta love it.

Holiday Home Tour

Last night we had our neighborhood Christmas home tour.

We met at our church building for some appetizers and a

nice little lesson on making our Christmas more meaningful.

I was in charge of the refreshments and the serving table decorations.

So I made these little flags out of scrapbook paper and stuck them in

a pot from the dollar spot at Target.

I made a table runner out of aqua and red Christmas fabric.

It was simple, not very expensive, and I think it turned out pretty cute.

I took my camera with me.

But I didn't take one single picture.

So here they are waiting to go to the party.

I didn't take any pictures of the home tour either.

Sad,  but true.

Sunday Sayings

"If Christmas can point our hearts toward our Savior, we can rejoice even in the imperfections of the season..."  Dieter Uchtdorf

Apple Dumplings

It's been colder than normal here in northern Utah this past week and when

it gets cold I want to turn on the oven and bake something.

A friend of mine gave me this easy recipe for apple dumplings a couple of weeks

ago so I thought I'd give it a try.

When apples are baking it sure makes your house smell good.

Apple Dumplings

2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced into eighths

2 tubes crescent rolls

2 cubes butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

cinnamon, to taste

1 can Mt. Dew  (I know, weird huh)

Roll each apple slice in crescent roll.  Place in buttered 9 X 13 pan.  Or

you could use cooking spray if you're on a diet. ;)

Melt butter, add sugar and barely stir. You want grainy, buttery, sugar.

Add vanilla.  Pour mixture over crescent rolls.  Sprinkle cinnamon over all.

I probably used about a tablespoonish.  Now pour Mt. Dew all around the

edges of the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.  Pour juices from the pan

over all.  Delicious.

Pretty Poinsettias

I love so many things about Christmas.

Poinsettias are just one of those things.

Every year the Mister and I visit a local nursery just to

look at this beautiful Christmas treasure.  Well, and

to buy a couple to bring home.

This year I remembered to bring my camera.

AND I remembered to take a few pictures!

(A Christmas Miracle)

One greenhouse for the red...

One for the pink...

Gorgeous symbol of  the Star of Bethlehem.

Sunday Sayings

"May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through."  Anonymous

Wild East Wind

Yesterday we had quite the windstorm.

The weatherpeople said we had category 2 hurricane winds.

Kind of unsual for our land locked State.

This is what it did to our patio.

And this is what it did to our neighborhood.

We lost a lot of our hundred year old trees.

Our patio.   (pics are loading out of order!)

The Mister and I spent the afternoon at our friends home.

(Along with lots of neighbors and friends)

We helped them cut up and haul to the front yard

what's left of a huge pine that crashed onto their roof

punching a big hole in a guest bedroom.

Siding and shingles are everywhere.

Fences are down, metal sheds are crumpled, and trampolines are

no longer in the correct backyard.

Our daughter #1 and her little family are staying with us until they get their electricity restored.

We've been so blessed! Our trees have survived, losing only a few branches. 

It's been a wild couple of days here in Northern Utah!