The Twice Remembered Cottage

Make Your Monday Week 11 - Add Your Link! + Are You Going to Blissdom?

I t's time for another Make Your Monday link event! Show us where your creativity has taken you lately by joining in! {see instructions - please use the proper "link back" coding for the Make Your Monday button below}

Before I go on, can I ask you if you'll be attending the Blissdom blogging conference here in Nashville next week? I don't have a ticket to the conference itself {I'm soooo going next year!} but I *will* be at the Blissdom cocktail party there at the Opryland Hotel on Thursday night followed directly by the Blissful Bites and Bubbles blog party held offsite. If you are going to be at either one this Thursday night, please let me know so that I can meet you!

Now, moving on! Here are some very creative and beautiful projects submitted last week - as usual, it was hard to narrow them down to a handful for tonight's spotlight! I realized as I was writing this post that several projects were Pottery Barn knock offs. I didn't plan that! I take my time throughout the week looking at the projects and making note of various ones...it just so happens that several of the ones I made note of were Pottery Barn inspired!

Cottage Guesthouse Tour @ Beneath My Heart

Ballard Inspired Burlap Foot Stool @ Pickles and Cheese

Brick Backsplash @ Moody Girl Projects

Milk Glass Cake Plate @ Made by Stephanie

Pottery Barn Inspired Cubby Organizer @ It's the Little Things That Make a House a Home

Pottery Barn Knock Off Chandelier @ Frugal Home Ideas

Chalkboard Paint Projects @ My Creative Attempts / Junk Style

Now let's have another creative Make Your Monday link event! To participate, just follow these 2 easy steps:

1) ~First, create a blog entry about something you made yourself. **Include in your blog entry a link back to this post so that others can discover this great list of Make Your Monday links and have an opportunity to contribute. To get this link, just click on the post title above and then copy the address that appears at the top of your browser.

2) ~Next, add your Blog name down below along with a short description of your project and then add the permalink of the blog entry about your project {not your blog homepage}. Where's the permalink? Just click on the title of your Make Your Monday entry and then copy the address that appears in the address bar and paste it down below. It should look something like this:
http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/2009/07/your_project.html.

Don't worry if you come back and your blog isn't listed anymore. You can just make the needed adjustments and add your link again. You can grab the Make Your Monday button for your site, too, if you like.

<center><a href="http://twiceremembered.blogspot.com/2010/01/make-your-monday-week-11-add-your-link.html"><img src="http://www.twiceremembered.com/blog/makemonday1.gif"/></a></center>

That's it! We're looking forward to seeing what you've been up to! Have fun visiting all the creative projects below!

{This list will open on January 31 at 9pm Central time and will close on February 2, 12am central time}

Simple Homemade Tomato Soup - A Family Favorite!

A few Twice Remembered readers asked me a little while ago to share the recipe I used to make the homemade tomato soup I mentioned in my Snow Day entry. Usually when I make soups, I don't follow a recipe {I just go by taste}, so I wanted to first make the soup again while recording some ingredient amounts to pass on. Per Hubs request, today I made tomato soup and in the process, put together this recipe for you. Keep in mind, make your soup to your liking...you may want a little more of this or a little less of that. Make it your own!

The following ingredients will make a large pot of soup. Eat on it all week or put half of it in the freezer or feed a large group! If you'd rather, just split this recipe in half for a smaller pot.

Here's what you'll need:

8 cups of water
8 chicken bouillon cubes
8 cans diced tomatoes {undrained}
1 medium onion, chopped & sauteed in a 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter
2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk {optional, depending on if you like a creamier soup}

{Notes before you begin: If you already have eight cups of chicken stock, either from a boiled chicken or canned, you can use it instead of the water/bouillon cube combination. You may need to add additional salt, however. Also, fresh tomatoes would be wonderful for this recipe, but it would take a good amount. If you have a summer garden that produces lots of tomatoes - keep this recipe in mind!}

-Start by making your chicken stock. Combine your water and bouillon cubes and bring to a boil and then to a simmer until the cubes have dissolved.

-Sautee your chopped onion in butter until tender and set aside.

-Once your chicken stock is made {cubes fully dissolved}, add the 8 cans of diced tomatoes, followed by the sauteed onions.

-At this point, add the dry seasonings.

-Bring the pot of soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. You can let this simmer for an hour or more - but at least a couple of hours is recommended. I like to let my tomato soup simmer for much of day if I have the time.

Here is what it should look like:

When the soup has simmered sufficiently and your house smells so good you could take a bite out of it, it's time to puree it to make it nice and smooth. You'll have to do this in several batches, ladling it from the pot {unless you can pour it from the pot into the food process or blender, but trust me - that has never ended well for me!}.

After each batch is pureed, pour it into another pot set to low heat. At this pureed stage, you can add just a little milk if you'd like for it to have a creamier taste. My recipe states 1/4 cup of milk but slowly add as much or as little as you like - tasting as you go to get it just the way you want it. I almost prefer tomato soup without any milk at all but I always add a little for Hubs.

So there you have it! Please let me know if you try this recipe. I've been making tomato soup this way for 17 years now and it has become a family favorite... I hope your family enjoys it as much as we have!

This week, I'm linking up to the following blog events:
Make Your Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up Monday

Easy Peasy Cherry "Dump" Cake

Have you made Cherry "Dump" Cake before? If you haven't, or have never heard of it, you may be thinking that anything associated with the word dump wouldn't be in the least bit appealing. If you have heard of it and know of a nicer sounding alternative name, please do tell me! I've done a Google search, but "dump cake" is still all that I can find.

So if you can get past the name {so called because you simply dump all the ingredients into the baking dish}, you will absolutely love this simple and delicious dessert. You'll need:

1 can {21oz} cherry pie filling
1 can {20oz} crushed pineapples, undrained
1 box cake mix {dry}
1 1/2 sticks of butter cut lengthwise

While your oven is preheating to 375 degrees, pour the undrained can of crushed pineapples into a baking dish. I've found that an 8 X 11.5 X 2 dish works best. On top of the pineapples, pour in the cherry pie filling.

Spread out the cherries as evenly as you can get them. It's ok if the cherries and pineapples start mixing together.

Next it's time to "dump" the dry cake mix right on top. My favorite to use is a golden butter yellow mix.

Here you see hubs getting in on the dumping action. He got a little zealous, as you can tell.

You don't want to mix the dry cake with the wet ingredients - just spread it out gently with a fork and try to break up any giant cake mix clumps. I like to leave a few little ones, though. And yes, I was totally in my pajamas while baking today.:)

Slice up the butter vertically. You'll need about six 1/4" thick slices in all. It usually takes me about one and half sticks.

Place the slices evenly on the top of the dry cake mix, like so...

Now put the cake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. It won't take long for your house to start smelling divine! When the cake is finished, it's top should be a golden brown and the corners will have set up nicely.

You serve this dessert as you would a cobbler, hot out of the oven! And vanilla ice cream on top is a must! OH my! You'll want to have it for breakfast - despite it's name!

I wanted to let you know that my "Make Your Monday" projects this week are all recipe related. We finally got a good snow this week and naturally, I feel like making comfort foods when we're all cozied up inside. Plus, the projects I had in mind to work on this week required some additional materials that I didn't want to venture out in the weather to get. Besides recipes, I also worked on a couple of blog designs this week - mine and a friend's...more on those later!

This week I'm linking up to the following blog events:
Make Your Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up Monday

Sunday's Quote: My Wish for You

"This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, ...courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life."~Unknown

{Seventeen years ago today a young girl of 19 married her childhood sweetheart, a young boy of 24. I dedicate this quote to that young boy, my Hubs - who is my 'forever' sidekick in this grand adventure we call Life. Love you, babe.❤}

I hope everyone is having a delicious Sunday and I look forward to seeing you this evening at 9pm Central as we kick off Week 11 of Make Your Monday!

Sponsor Love: Timeless Treasures

It is with much excitement that I'd like to tell you about one of the first sponsors for The Twice Remembered Cottage! I love the idea of supporting home based businesses run by busy mothers just like myself. Someday I'll have my own business here at home...so I'm very encouraged by others' talent and wisdom in not only creating beautiful products but also balancing that with family life. Kudos to all of you who are making it work!

Amber of Timeless Treasures really lets her talent shine through with her charming handstamped and hand soldered jewelry. Her "junk jewelry" is also really cute - those earrings above made of soda pop caps, for instance. How unique are they?!

From the Timeless Treasures shop...
"Although you can buy what is pictured, also please let the items in my store be mere suggestions on what you may build! Let your creative side take over and come up with something near and dear to your heart! 90% of all my hand stamped jewelry was custom made special for each buyer....endless possibilities to get that shock factor when that special someone opens up their custom gift, made with love!"

Below are just a few of my favorites. She has a nice selection of her work available but as she says, most of her creations are custom made, so if you have an idea about what you'd like her to make, let her know!

{I love this one especially! It has that old-fashioned feel about it!}

{A great one for a day like today...it's snowing here!}

I love that you can choose any color of Swarovski crystal or Swarovski pearl to add to your Timeless Treasure...

Like this!

So if you are looking for a unique or custom made gift for a loved one {or yourself!}, head on over to Timeless Treasures to see a sampling of the beautifully crafted pieces Amber has to offer, and feel free to dream up something wonderful for her to make for you! Don't forget to check out the Timeless Treasures blog to see even more and to stay up to date with new creations!

Everything and the Kitchen Sink: Farmhouse Sink Inspiration Photos

Farmhouse sinks. I don't think I've ever seen one that I didn't love. Usually what first comes to mind when we think of these old-fashioned style sinks is bright white classic porcelain. But nowadays, you can find farmhouse sinks in many different materials such as granite, fiberglass, stainless steal, copper, nickel, stone, clay, acrylic, and soapstone. If a farmhouse sink is your style, you're sure to find one that will suit your decorating tastes.

While you can buy new styles and reproductions anywhere from between $199 {Ikea!} to $$$$, if vintage is your thing, check out Craigslist, salvage yards, antique stores, and yard sales for one of these beautiful sinks and a little bit of history to boot. {Stained sinks can be reglazed though I've heard conflicting reports on the cost effectiveness of doing this, from "a fraction of the cost of buying new" to "could have bought a new one at the same price". Has anyone had their sink or tub reglazed? What was your experience?}

As for me, classic white is still my favorite!Though we already replaced our sink during our kitchen remodel, I still dream of someday having one of these timeless, beautiful vessels in our home {perhaps when I don't have my kids doing the dishes for me - they've been quite rough on our new sink!}

Here are a few photos that I have collected for a "sink inspiration" file. I need to get much better about documenting all the sources, but I know several came from Southern Living and many came from various kitchen design sites. I know - what a pathetic attempt to give credit where it's due. I'll be more organized next time! I've numbered them so that you can tell me your favorite inspirations. As for me, classic white is still my favorite! I especially love photo #5 - the farmhouse sink coupled with a wooden countertop. Gorgeous!