Friday Five with Free Stuff and Giveaways

Hope you brought your mug of hot something with you, as today we've got a few things on the go here on our blog.   

Hubby asked me yesterday morning if I would look up the recipe for the fruitcake we're baking this year. He suggested that he measure out the fruit and nuts and get them ready while I went off to meet a friend for lunch. As you might imagine, it didn't take me more than a nano-second to nod my assent. Oh yes, please, that would be lovely. 

Today, I went out to buy a couple of new loaf pans for the baking of the Christmas cake, and by the time I got home, hubby was already measuring and mixing the rest of the ingredients to make the batter. So I quickly cut up the parchment to line the new pans and in no time those loaves were baking in the oven.

Oh my, and then the fragrance began to waft up and out of that oven ... swirling around our noses in lemony, fruity, vanilla-y enticement. Two hours later the cakes were done and cooling in the pans. I must admit I was sorely tempted to follow my mom's example when it comes to sampling fruitcake. Her favourite way is to slice off the crust, skip right over the aging process, and eat it while still warm from the oven.

Below is the recipe for Light Fruit Cake -- we call it Marie's fruitcake as it's her recipe, a friend of my sister. The recipe has been a part of our family tradition now for years.

  1. a little Christmas fruit cake baking with recipe

Marie’s Light Fruitcake

3 cups light raisins
2 cups mixed glazed fruit (one tub)

6 slices candied pineapple, chopped

1/3 cup chopped orange peel

1/3 cup chopped lemon peel

1 cup green glazed cherries

1 cup red glazed cherries

1 ½ cups whole blanched almonds

1 ½ cups pecan halves

1 cup flour

1 lb butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

10 eggs
rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon

2 tsp almond flavoring

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Prepare 3 loaf pans – line with 2 alternating layers of parchment paper and grease. Mix all fruit and nuts with one cup flour.

Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in flavorings and lemon rind and juice. Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture, stir well. Mix in fruit and mix well. Divide batter between 3 pans.

Bake at 275 F for 2 – 2 ½ hours, or until toothpick comes clean. Cool in pans. When cool, remove loaves from pans and brush with brandy. Wrap in plastic. Ripen for 2-3 weeks, brushing 3 more times with brandy, and then may be frozen.

 2. free Christmas advent pdf book

 Link to Restoring Your Joy of Christmas PDF Book

Last December I offered a little blogging Advent series on restoring the joy of Christmas. This year I've turned the blog posts into a PDF book so that you can download it and even print it off if you want. Just so you know, the book isn't quite the same as the posts -- text has been adjusted, new graphics have been included, and of course, the format and layout are different.

A new blogging friend, JoAnn, was excited to find the series on the advent blog recently -- she was looking forward to reading it during December. And, another long-time reader, after casting her kind editor's eye over the pdf format, remarked that even though she'd read the blog last year, she found it was new and fresh again.

So, I'm excited to offer Restoring the Joy of Christmas as a little gift this year. I hope you enjoy the thoughts I share and that it indeed adds a joyful addition to your Christmas preparations.

  3. free restoring your joy of Christmas bookmark

Link to Bookmark

To go along with the book, I created a bookmark that you can download and print off onto card stock. Punch a hole at the top and thread a ribbon or cord through it and, voila, you have a cute bookmark for your Christmas reading pile. Is that pile by your bedside or by your reading chair in a cozy corner?

4. enter the giveaway contest for Jacquie Lawson Goodies

 

December is not that far off anymore, and often people who celebrate Christmas use advent calendars as a delightful way to count down the day until Christmas Day.

That's why it's so much fun to have this giveaway contest in which we are giving away two Jacquie Lawson e-advent calendars: one Victorian Theme and one Christmas Market Theme. Each calendar unveils something new from Dec 1 to 25 -- games, puzzles, delightful animation, and music. You can check out more about these calendars by clicking here.

Last year, I sent one of these advent calendars to a dear friend; she told me how much fun both she and her granddaughter had doing all the puzzles, making snowflakes, and watching for the day's surprise when a new window opened. My friend was pretty excited to see a new one pop into her inbox just a few days ago.

Gift One.  Victorian Theme e-Advent Calendar
 (works on PC, MAC, or iPad)

Gift Two. Christmas Market e-Advent Calendar
(works on PC and Mac only)

Gift Three. Gift Membership to Jacquie Lawson Website

Those of you who have ever received a Jacquie Lawson e-card will understand just how delightful it is to have a membership to her website full of e-cards. A membership to jacquielawson.com gives you access to all of Jacquie's gorgeous e-cards for a whole year. Talk about surprising all your family and friends with exquisite e-cards for events like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and just because times. To see the kinds of cards available for yourself, click here.

Three gifts = three winners


Giveaway Contest Guidelines

1. There will be three draws, and everyone who leaves a wee comment in this post's comment box is eligible for all three draws. (If you see this on Facebook, you can leave a comment on my Facebook page.)

2. If you want your name added a second time for each draw (ie, a second chance to win), include a comment about what you do to restore your joy of Christmas when you need it.

3. You are welcome to share the contest on your own blog. If you let me know, I'll add your name a third time.

4. Contest closes Wednesday, November 25 at 10:00 am MST (to give time for contest winners to get their calendars before Dec 1). Contest now closed.

    

5. What else to make Five on Friday and wrap up?

How about a quote? I like this one by Edith Sitwell: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 

The evening shadows draw in close so early now. I was out in the town around 2:30 this afternoon and already it felt like a person should be heading home for cozying up beside the fireside. The sun was low in the sky. Oh my. But then it is late-ish November. We forget it's that late in the year when we haven't had the usual cold and snow to remind us.

Today I'm grateful for twinkle lights, the fireplace, hot toddies, and warm cozy covers to snuggle under when I crawl into bed in a few minutes. Oh yes, and a hubby who doesn't mind if I put my cold feet on his.

Wishing you a cozy and beautiful Friday,

Hugs,

Brenda

xox

Today I'm linking to Five on Friday