Y2K Turns 15 This Year!

Do you remember the hype that surrounded Y2K? Well, I certainly do. 

To refresh your memory, while Prince had long been inviting us to "party like it's 1999," and that was GOING TO BE HIS YEAR to wear out this song for New Years, instead the entire world went crazy thinking that all of our computers would crash because they hadn't been programmed to differentiate between the year 2000 and the year 1900. (Because, you know "ye old computers of yore" were still alive and kickin' from 1900. I kid - I kid.)

So, instead of typical New Year's celebrations:

We had mass hysteria fueled by media outlets:

And general panic in the streets:

On the up side, nearly everyone learned how to spell millennium correctly. So there's that. Score one for grammar! ;-)

In 1999, two of the three Harris Sisters lived in Greensboro, NC, so we went out to dinner with friends. Of course, since we had an IT guru (Ryan Barrett Walkush) in our midst, he ensured us that the city wasn't going to go dark at midnight. (He was right - the restaurant even managed to bring our checks as per usual, go figure!)

Here we are on that night:

So as you prepare for the night's festivities, if you're thinking about partying like it's 1999, think back to the Y2K scare that happened a whopping 15 years ago, and maybe instead party like all of our technology and social media will work correctly on January 1. Now, THAT's a party!

'Twas the Site by Three Sisters - 2014

Back by popular demand, it's the annual Harris Sisters "Year in Review" in the form of a "Twas the Night Before Christmas" parody. Sure, I guess we could have *technically* generated one via the Facebooks, but where would the fun be in that? ;-)

'Twas the Site by Three Sisters - 2014

‘Twas the site by three sisters in Two Zero One Four

I believe last year we promised you MORE.

Starting in January and throughout the year,

We brought you free printables. (We'll keep that up - never fear!)

And January, February, and March brought snow to the extreme,

So we shared a favorite recipe for snow cream!

When April rolled around (not to toot our own horn),

But beautiful baby Lexi was born!

Summer flew by quickly, but we made it through the heat,

With Orangeade, Punch, and Margaritas - what a treat!

As Fall ushered in the cool wind and the leaves,

We brought you costume ideas for All Hallow’s Eve.

You might be wondering what we’ve got up our sleeves,

For 2015 - we've got BIG plans (you’ll see).

More rapid than eagles, the topics we'll post,

And we'll whistle and shout (though we don’t mean to boast):

"Hooray, RECIPES! And CROCHET! And HOLIDAYS and DECOR!

Woot, FAMILY! Woot BEAUTY! Woot, VINTAGE and MORE!"

No matter the topic - the big and the small - 

We'll blog away! Blog away! Blog away all!

With 550+ posts and more than 820,000 page views,

We wanted to offer an earnest thank you,

To all who have followed, shared, commented, and "liked"

"HARRIS CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"

Merry Christmas from Donna, Misty, and Deanna!

Find our previous year's Christmas Eve parodies here: 2012 and 2013.

Grandma Elizabeth's Applesauce Cake

I got a bee in my bonnet this year after Harris Sister Deanna brought over this cake for Christmas a few years ago. THIS cake is Grandma Elizabeth's recipe. Of course we love this recipe and remember growing up with it as kids, but to my surprise, the boys loved it too. So, I decided to make it for Christmas this year. 

With spice and fruit and nuts, it's a sure winner for a Christmas dessert. I hope you'll add it to the Christmas rotation at your house. You'll be glad you did.

Grandma Elizabeth's Applesauce Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup self rising flour

2 cups applesauce

3 eggs

2 cups chopped walnuts

15 oz raisins

1 cup butter, melted

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9" cake pans and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar and flour.
3. Add applesauce and eggs, and mix together.
4. Add in walnuts, raisins, butter, and spices and mix together.
5. Divide batter evenly into the two prepared pans.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until cakes test done with a toothpick.
7. Remove pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the pans and invert onto the racks. Allow them to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile prepare the frosting (recipes follows).
9. Frost cakes after they have cooled completely.

Cooked Coconut Frosting

1, 14 oz bag sweetened flaked coconut

1, 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

pat of butter

1 Tbsp of flour

1. In a small medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, sugar, and butter.
2. Cook, stirring frequently, until it comes to a full rolling boil (then it will begin to make a "smacking sound" as the bubbles pop).
3. Let it "smack" boil for at least 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
4. Remove from heat and stir in coconut.
5. Frosting will thicken as it cools. 
6. Frost middle and top layer of cake with frosting.  

Notes:

Even though the frosting will thicken as it cools, it will not be a thick frosting. If you frost the middle and top layer, this frosting will drip down the sides of the cake like this. Some of it also seeps into the cake and keeps it very moist.

If you are not a fan of raisins, try substituting other dried fruits like dried cranberries (craisins) or dried blueberries.

Try to get some cute little elves to help you make it (not completely necessary - but it sure makes it a fun process):

Hope you enjoy this old-fashioned recipe! Make sure to check out a few more of Grandma Elizabeth's recipes while you're here:

Grandma Elizabeth's Coconut Custard Pie
Grandma Elizabeth's Old Fashioned Cobbler