Thimbleanna

Search Results for: slippers

Three Layer Chocolate Cake

52 Comments / February 18, 2011 / Recipes

Thank you SO much, all of you for all the birdy quilt love.  You’re the BEST imaginary friends ever!   In return, I’ve made you a chocolate cake.

Chocolate Cake

Ok, not really, but I would make you a chocolate cake if you lived nearby and we could sit and visit and have cake and coffee or your drink of choice. (With Chocolate Cake? It’s milk for me!) I must confess, MeMum made me this yummy cake last weekend. For several of us in the family, it’s our very favorite MeMum special cake.

We were talking the other day and MeMum said she’d just received a magazine that had this same cake recipe in it, except that they used whipping cream in between the layers. That’s weird, I thought, because Brigette just posted a recipe for a cake that uses whipping cream in between the layers when she was trying to save me from the microwave chocolate cake in a cup incident.  (Speaking of which, Molly also posted a great chocolate cake recipe during the same incident.  I forgot to mention that I tried her cake a few weeks ago and LOVED it — it has oatmeal in it and I’ll eat anything with oatmeal!  It’s a great cake for grab-and-go munching – speaking of which (again!), Randi is hosting Lunchtime Favorites for her Recipe Swap today and Molly’s cake would be perfect in a lunchbox too.)

Chocolate Cake

There’s probably some rule about the number of times you can change course in one conversation, so I’ll get back to MeMum’s cake. Er, Brigette’s cake. I looked at Brigette’s recipe, and sure enough, it’s almost the exact same recipe, except for that whipping cream. Frosting between the layers works better for us because our gang isn’t big enough to devour this cake in a day or two (no matter how much we love it!) Anyway, that tears it. If MeMum and Brigette have the same recipe, you know it has to be good!

Chocolate Cake

Three Layer Chocolate Cake

1 c. unsifted unsweetened cocoa
2 c. boiling water
2 3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. butter, softened
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. walnuts

In medium bowl, gradually add boiling water to cocoa. Mix with wire whisk until smooth. Cool completely. (Do this several hours before actually making cake — at same time, set eggs out to bring to room temperature.) Sift flour with soda, salt, and baking powder. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well and lightly flour three 9-inch cake pans. (Put wax paper in the bottom of the pans.)

In mixer, at high speed, cream butter and then add sugar gradually. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat for 5 minutes until light. At low speed, beat in flour mixture in 1/4ths, alternately with cocoa mixture in 1/3rds. (Do not overbeat.) Divide into pans — bake 25 – 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pans, then put on cooling racks.

Easy Chocolate Frosting

3/4 stick (6 Tbsp.) butter
5 Tbsp cocoa
1 lb. box confectioner’s sugar (which is approx. 3 3/4 c.)
5 Tbsp. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Cream butter. Mix cocoa and powdered sugar together. Add alternately with milk to the butter. Then add vanilla. Spread on three layer chocolate cake. Garnish with chopped walnuts.  (This cake is just as good without the walnuts, so if you don’t like them, leave them out.  I have to have it with the walnuts though!)

Chocolate Cake

And while we’re on the subject of chocolate, it’s really cooled off here this week, so I think I’ll go make a cup of hot chocolate, put on my fuzzy slippers and snuggle in for the V.P. debates. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Finished Knitting

35 Comments / February 18, 2011 / Knitting

Hey guess what??? I got my little knitting project done, so now we can have a drawing!

But first, you know I must draw it out by telling you that I took the day off yesterday and went to visit TheFirstChild and his amazing SweetiePie. It was SO good to spend the day with SweetiePie and see how wonderfully they’re managing. TheFirstChild is consumed with VERY long days (8 a.m. to midnight) and SweetiePie is taking fabulous care of him and their adorable little apartment. She’s working very long hours too and I’m beyond proud of my little hard workers!

Now, onto the drawing! Things started out very slowly, with only one correct guess from MichelleB,  I thought it would be a slam dunk for her.  Then a few days later, Miss Jean snuck in there with a correct guess.  And, just yesterday, Brigette threw her guesses in too, and one of them was good.  Do you know yet?

Slippers

They’re slippers!  (Not that sexy, huh?  LOL!)  I love me some nice warm fuzzy slippers when winter comes and my old slippers are worn out.  The part that I gave you the sneak peek of is a 1 x 1 ribbed cuff and I’m sorry, but I forgot to get a picture of the cuff — it’s concealed under my jeans.  Below is a picture of the old slippers, and while I wanted to get away from purple this time, I have to say, I much prefer the way the purple ones look.

Slippers

It really bugs me that you can see the stitch of the chenille yarn in the new slippers.  With the purple slippers, the chenille was so dark that you couldn’t see individual stitches.  It looked like a big fuzzy boot, which is just what I wanted.  The right side of the slippers is the stockinette side, but I don’t like seeing those stockinette stitches, so I guess I’m technically wearing them inside out.  Here’s my wrong side:

Slippers

The slippers are made from THIS pattern with Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick (in Antique White) and Lion Brand Fun Fur (in  Rainbow).  I got the biggest kick out of Kristy‘s daughter who studied the sneaky peek picture and correctly guessed the yarn, yarn colors, needle size…everything really, but not the final product LOL!  Excellent job R!

One thing I changed about the pattern is that I sew some jiffy grip to the bottom of the slippers.  This keeps me from slipping on my tile floors and it also prolongs the life of my slippers.

Slippers

I wear my slippers every day.  When I learned how to knit socks, the teacher told us to never wear our socks without something to protect them.  It’s a good rule to follow — I’ve never had a hole in my hand knit socks yet.  I have, however worn out three slipper bottoms.  And I hate to show such ugliness here, but just to prove it, here’s the bottom of one of the worn out old slippers, with two layers of hole-y jiffy grip.

Slippers

So, get on with the drawing already??? I had TheManoftheHouse pull a name out of the bowl of three correct guessers, and he chose….

MichelleB

Congratulations Michelle!

And, just ’cause you guys are all so clever and cracked me up, I decided to draw for another Vera Bradley passport holder, just like the first one.  So, if you had caterpillar as your suggestion, lost the first drawing (LOL),  or  ‘caught me on a technicality (a few of you did) I threw your names into the bowl too.  (I also included Kristy’s daughter, because analyzing that little sample took a lot of work!)  This time TheManoftheHouse (laughing about his contribution to the blog) chose….

TattingChic

Congratulations TattingChic!

Ladies, send me your addresses and I’ll get them off in the mail to you.

And to the rest of you, THANK YOU for a very fun guessing game!  I had a great time reading all of your comments.  I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

XOXO,
Anna

P.S.  From Jodi I’ve learned that there’s a new blog on the block and she’s having a great quilty giveaway that you’ll probably want to check out!!!