Great Wolf Lodge: Fun in any weather!

Waterparks are all the rage these days. Suite style guest rooms, family friendly entertainment, and full service indoor water fun, what's not to love? Wisconsin Dells, in south-central Wisconsin, has been hailed the "Las Vegas" strip of water parks, hosting a variety of indoor and outdoor slides, rides, and good, clean family fun. 


It doesn't matter if it's the middle of summer or the dead of winter, visiting a water park provides splashing family entertainment all year long. 


See our review of The Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells here.

Save Money and the Environment

We all want to do our part to be eco-conscious but "green" companies often present us with a choice: be Earth-friendly or wallet-friendly... never both. The reality is that prices at the average retailer are just plain lower than at eco-friendly businesses. Until now.

For those of you who shop online (and who doesn't?), there are coupon sites galore. But just in time for Earth Day, two coupon sites, UltimateCoupons.com and Tjoos.com, have introduced a special green section. And with discounts up to 50% off at popular green retailers, shoppers can easily save money while helping save the environment, Be green, save some green-- everyone wins.

Earth Day stands for working together to create change—and online shoppers can make a big impact on the global economy by committing to support environmentally-conscious businesses.

http://www.ultimatecoupons.com/coupons/eco_friendly_coupons.htm
http://www.tjoos.com/Holiday/29/Earth-Day/

Be sure to check out our Earth Day section for crafts, recipes and lots of Earth friendly ideas!

Easter Egg Cake

If you're looking for a last minute idea for dessert for Easter Sunday, try this super easy, fun to decorate Easter Egg Cake!

Printable version available here

Easter Egg Cake

You will need

your favorite box cake, any flavor
yellow and green food coloring
white icing (recipe below)
green, orange, yellow, and pink decorator gel
white decorator frosting
decorating tip
gumdrops
silver non pareils
round cake pans

Note: This cake uses one round cake pan. Therefore, you can make two Easter egg cakes, make a double decker Easter egg cake, or make cupcakes with the remaining batter.

Prepare cake mix as directed. Pour half the prepared batter into round cake pan and bake as directed on box. Allow to cool thoroughly before frosting and decorating.

Prepare the white icing by following the recipe below. When finished, remove 3/4 cup of the frosting to a seperate bowl. Add a two drops of green food coloring to the small bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add three drops of yellow food coloring to the large bowl of white frosting, stir thoroughly.

White Buttercream Icing

16-ounce package confectioners sugar
6 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
3 to 4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, with mixer at medium-low speed, beat all ingredients until the icing is smooth and of easy spreading consistency. Add a few drops of red food coloring, 3 for light pink, 6 or so for dark pink.

Prep
When cake is COMPLETELY cooled, cut a straight line, off center, down the cake so that you are removing a rectangular piece from the center of the circle. (See photo) Place rectangle at the bottom of your cake platter, position remaining half circles together to form oval. Place above the rectangle as if sitting on it.

Decorate
Using the green frosting, carefully frost the rectangle. using the yellow frosting, completely cover the "egg". Smoot frosting with a flat cake spreader or a smooth butter knife.

To decorate the cake, simply pipe designs in zig zags, swirls and lines across the cake with decorator gel and decorator frosting. Use non pareils to dot across the cake's surface. Use decorator gels and dot in alternating colors along the decorator frosting piping. Cut the ends off of gumdrops to decorate the top of the cake (see photo). Line gumdrops along the bottom of the green "grass".

You can decorate the egg however you please. Use a different color for the frosting if you prefer. Creativity is the key!

Visit our Easter section for lots of fun crafts and recipes!