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







Monday, February 9, 2009

Junk Yard Finds

The other day I told you about my trip to the junkyard with my new friends Janis and Sue. I found a few things to take home with me but what I really needed to do was find bits and pieces for the shed we'll be building in our backyard this spring. But how could I drag home a french door in her little car? When things thaw out and dry out a little I'll be going back for the big ticket items. I did find these cute mailboxes. Well, they will be cute soon.

This sign that says Sunday, well, duh. I'll hang that somewhere outside maybe on a fence or by the potting area or the new shed. We've got a lot of plans for the spring! A pay phone sign. Will my grandchildren know what a pay phone is? A bottle to decorate and a light globe. I like to buy unique globes (I find a lot of them at thrift stores), then I attach a wire around the neck and another wire to hang it with.
I then put a tea light in it (citronella candles work well) and hang it from a tree or shepherds crook in the garden. We had a wedding reception for one of the daughters and hung a bunch of these around the yard and it looked magical. Be sure to bring these in if you think it's going to freeze or you'll find a pile of broken glass. I learned that the hard way.
The junk yard doesn't have prices on anything. You take what you want up to the register and they tell you what they think it's worth. So if you go, wear your old clothes and look poor and pitiful, maybe you'll get some great deals.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sunday Sayings


"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Becky, at Sweet Cottage Dreams, lost her oldest son a few days ago. Prayers for this sweet family would be appreciated.








Friday, February 6, 2009

New Friends, Old Junk

I have a new friend, her name is Janis. Janis has a lovely blog...Grams... She has lots of kids and lots of grand kids and she and I have a lot in common. (Husbands with the exact same birthday and our wedding anniversary is 1 year and 1 day apart.) Just to name a few. The best thing is she just lives 10 minutes north of Mimi's Cottage. I love the letters she cuts and decorates herself and so I bought a set of the LOVE letters and she delivered them to me. It was so fun meeting her. She brought them to me all wrapped up cute like and even threw in a jar of her delightful bean dip.Cute heart made from scrap book paper and hung on the LOVE letter bag.Well, Janis was kind enough to invite me on a little field trip. So, a couple days later, we were on our way to the big city. Janis brought along her best friend, Sue, who is as cute as Janis. Sue made me this darling treat...decorated paper clips and M and M's. Sue doesn't have a blog but she really should. If I can do it, she can do it.Anyway, they took me to this fabulous junkyard. For you Utahns it's on 900 S and 400 E in Salt Lake City. It had piles and piles of junk, er, architectural salvage Outside...
And inside a big barn...





Doors, windows, cabinets, light fixtures, sinks, claw foot bathtubs, door knobs, hinges, signs, trim, you name it, they had it.





It was so much fun. I'll show you what I bought next week.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Low Calorie Cupcakes

Some of you asked for the cupcake pin cushion directions so here ya go... Clear off a spot on the table in the unfinished craft room...Then cut two different colored felted wool into two rectangles 5 x 12 inches. Then cut 2 pieces of not too thick quilt batting 3 x 10 inches. It doesn't have to be exact.
Put the quilt batting on top of the felt and fold the felt over making a tube. Glue or sew closed. (Just the long side).




Make both tubes then place one on top of the other and roll.

Trim the excess felt and fold under to make a neat edge then glue or sew.
The "cupcake" wrapper is an old stretchy ribbed turtleneck that was cut into a 5 x 10 inch rectangle.
Glue one edge under to make another neat edge. Fit the wrapper around the cupcake, trim off excess, fold under and glue or sew.

Push the middle of the cupcake up to form a cupcake top. Trim bottom wrapper, fold under, glue or sew.

Cut a round circle of felt to fit the bottom, glue. Cut a little green felt leaf, and find a little cherry red pompom and glue on. Or embellish however you'd like. Wrap a ribbon or more felt around cupcake and you're done.
Gosh, I hope that made sense.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Oh Fudge

The very first thing you do is put your mini marshmallows in the freezer. You should keep them there for at least 4 hours or til they're pretty well frozen. Then you get out your grandma's candy making pot that's probably toxic but NOTHING burns when you cook in it.
Then you gather your ingredients...


And chop your nuts...

Rocky Road Fudge
Over medium heat
melt 3/4 cup butter or margerine in large heavy pan
add 3 cups sugar, stir til disolved
add 2/3 cup evaporated milk
bring to a boil, stirring constantly
boil another 5 minutes, just keep stirring
remove from heat and add
1 12 oz pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
stir until melted then add
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
stir until well blended
fold in 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
take marshmallows out of freezer and sprinkle about 1 1/2 cups evenly over 9 X 13 inch pan
(I used a cookie sheet which makes the fudge not as thick)
pour warm fudge mixture over marshmallows
do not stir or you'll melt them!

Try not to eat half the pan all by yourself. You could put them in a cute little box or cellophane bag and take some to your neighbors for a sweet Valentine treat.


Monday, February 2, 2009

I Heart Hearts


I thought maybe I should do a little Valentine Day decorating since it's less than two weeks away. So before I made my way down to the basement to haul out the Valentine box, I started looking around. My oh my, I have a lot of heart shapes already.














I love the heart shape any time of the year.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Sunday Sayings

"There is only one happiness in life...to love and to be loved." George Sand