(Almost) a Year of Swagbucks

May 11, 2011 by Aliesha

About a year ago, my sister-in-law Angela told me about Swagbucks, a site that allows you to earn “points” (Swagbucks) for searching the web. I had heard about Swagbucks before, but I didn’t think it was legit. She convinced me to sign up, and I’m so glad I did!

Now, almost a year later, I have earned enough Swagbucks to redeem (throughout the year) $95 in amazon.com gift cards!!! This is for real – you can actually earn amazon.com gift cards and other prizes just for searching the web, taking surveys, filling out polls, and doing other easy stuff.

I’m hoping I can get to $100 by the end of May (when I started), because that would just be cool to say I earned $100 in a year!

So what are you waiting for? Join Swagbucks today and start earning!

Prince William’s Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe

May 10, 2011 by Aliesha

I know everyone is probably “over” the Royal wedding and SO tired of hearing all about it, but indulge me for a moment while I share with you a wonderful recipe! As you probably know, Prince William requested his favorite cake (a family recipe, I believe) to be served as his groom’s cake at the Royal wedding reception. Here’s what it looked like there:

via

Tad’s mom made this cake for us for Mother’s Day, and it was so rich and delicious! I thought I’d share the recipe with you in case you want to try it sometime too! (Recipe taken directly from here.)

it was so pretty!

Prince William’s Chocolate Biscuit Cake

4 ounces dark chocolate(for the cake)
4 ounces granulated sugar
4 ounces unsalted butter (softened)
1 egg
8 ounces Rich tea biscuits
½ teaspoon butter for greasing
8 ounces dark chocolate (for coating)
1 ounce chocolate (for decoration)

Lightly grease a 6 inch by 2 ½ inch cake ring and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.
Break each of the biscuits into almond size pieces by hand and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture starts to lighten.
Melt the 4 ounces of chocolate and add to the butter mixture whilst constantly stirring.
Beat in the egg to the mixture.
Fold in the biscuit pieces until they are all coated with the chocolate mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake ring. Try to fill all of the gaps on the bottom of the ring because this will be the top when it is un-molded.
Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand while you melt the 8 ounces of chocolate.
Slide the ring off the cake and turn it upside down onto a cake wire.
Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides using a palette knife.
Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.
Carefully run a knife around the bottom of the cake where the chocolate has stuck it to the cake wire and lift it onto a tea plate.
Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and use to decorate the top of the cake.

Enjoy!

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Linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tatertots & Jello

Vera’s Dedication

May 9, 2011 by Aliesha

Yesterday, on Mother’s Day, Tad and I dedicated Vera to the Lord during our morning worship service at church. It was a special time, and we felt so privileged to have both sets of parents (as well as my two brothers) with us.