Cupcakes. . . In a hurry!

Yesterday at 3:00pm I got a paniced phone call from my best friend.  Our local Costco had a fire and was closed.  As far as Di and I are concerned, Costco is the center of the universe, so this was quite a blow.  Her daughter's 18th birthday was yesterday and she was planning to just go to Costco to buy the cake, but her plans were dashed.  Her plan was that she would go home and make the cupcakes if I would come frost them because she is convinced that she can't do that type of thing.  I looked at the clock and knew it was hopeless.  Not because of her plan, but because her job is like a black hole with its own gravitational force.  (She is the receptionist at my husband's business!)  I told her not to worry- we would handle it.

My oldest son was lurking, so I set him loose making the cupcakes.  We used regular cake mixes, but my secret is to add an extra egg.  I think it makes the cupcakes a little richer AND helps me use the eggs that my chickens so graciously produce!  Our chocolate batter was really runny, so we added a 1/4 cup of flour and they came out perfect!

I love the pretty cupcake papers that you can find everywhere, but I have become somewhat disillusioned with them over the past year.  Some of them turn downright ugly after having a cupcake cooked in them and some just don't hold up very well.  I noticed that my local cupcake shop used souffle cups, so I had to have some.  I bought mine at Orson Gygi in Salt Lake City.

If you need 5000 (Are you nuts or do you have friends that want to share?) you can buy them here for about $.02 a piece.

http://www.amazon.com/Solo-550-2050-Pleated-Souffle-Capacity/dp/B0040ZOWAA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1357317105&sr=8-7&keywords=5+oz++paper+souffle+cups

Or you can buy 250 for $7.50 which is only $.03 a piece.  Even with shipping and handling these are WAY cheaper than the pretty ones in the grocery store.

http://www.amazon.com/Solo-SCC550-Paper-Souffle-Portion/dp/B005HJ08O2/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1357317480&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=soslo+550

Only fill the cups about 1/3 full- you want some head space when they are cooked.  We cooked the little critters for 15 minutes and they were great.


I made buttercream frosting.  I am one of those dump and pour cooks, so I can't give you my recipe, but I use butter, cream, vanilla, and confectioner's sugar. I tinted it purple with Wilson's gel.  I ALWAYS use a frosting bag and tip to frost cupcakes.

 I think it is easy and it sure looks more professional than slopping on some frosting with a knife.  I used a Wilton 1 M tip and a large 16" pastry bag. 

This bag is too big to drape over a glass, so I use a pitcher.  It is like having an assistant.  A good squeeze and a circular motion will give you great looking cupcakes.

 

At 4:20 I left my house to deliver the cupcakes.  Disaster averted!  Now . . . I hope Costco re-opens today.

A Little at a Time

Do you ever feel like just throwing in the towel because there is just so much to do?  I know that I get overwhelmed sometimes (often) and don't make time to keep things orderly.  Then I get stressed because the house is a mess and I can't find anything!

One day my friend Joan taught me her trick for staying sane and keeping the house "a house of order."  It's so easy and yet, so hard!!!  But here is the rule:

One drawer a day.

 

I bet you thought it was going to be something glamourous, huh?  Nope.  Just take a few minutes every day to organize one drawer.  Or one cabinet.  Or one shelf in the cabinet.  The real point here is to just do a little.  If it takes you longer than 15 minutes, then it's probably too big a job because it will make you want to skip the next day.

 

The FlyLady wants us to declutter for 15 minutes a day.  Once you get truly decluttered then keeping the house clean is supposedly a snap.  I struggle with getting rid of things that I might need. . . someday.  I live by the mantra "When in doubt, throw it out," but we still have clutter.

 

The clutter I hate the most is my boys' schoolwork.  Right now my kitchen table is covered in piles of papers, notebooks, and sundry school supplies.  The end of the term is drawing near and the search is on for those assignments the knuckleheads didn't bother to pass in.  As soon as the term ends, the important papers (like reading logs, practice cards, etc.) will find a permanent home in our "school drawers" which is a plastic container with three drawers that hold 8.5 x 11 papers.  The rest of it will be put in folders in the closet in case we need them to study at the end of the year.

 

Anyway, one drawer a day.  While you are watching Rachel Ray. Or before you call it a day. 

Wow, I think I got carried away, but I really can't say. . . so. . .

 

Clean one drawer, OK? 

Halloween Vintage-Looking Feather Wreath

I went to Hobby Lobby today and I spent WAY too much. But I sure had fun!

I decided to make a large feather wreath for my large front door. The door is 42 inches wide, so it takes a large wreath to not be dwarfed by the expanse of wood. This weath frame is 24" across.

I started with a wire frame and 3 black feather boas. I used a hair clip to attach the boa to the frame. Nothing is permanent on the wreath, so next year I can totally rework it.I went to Hobby Lobby today and I spent WAY too much.  But I sure had fun! 

I decided to make a large feather wreath for my large front door. The door is 42 inches wide, so it takes a large wreath to not be dwarfed by the expanse of wood. This weath frame is 24" across.

I started with a wire frame and 3 black feather boas.  I used a hair clip to attach the boa to the frame.  Nothing is permanent on the wreath, so next year I can totally rework it.

 This next photo shows that I made it about 1/3 of the way around with a boa.  Don't wrap too tightly.  The feathers fluff out and look great.

 Here's the fully wrapped wreath.

 I used a pre-designed bouquet of flowers to add some color.  I wove the handle down into the frame and then secured it with some green floral wire.

 I laid out the rest of the elements that I wanted to add to the wreath.

 I used the floral wire to attach all the elements.  I had to wrap around the cat's ears which I wasn't very happy about, but it doesn't really show.  The funny thing is that the cat is so heavy that I had to hang the wreath off-center to make it hang correctly.

 Kinda cute, huh?

Homemade Laundry Soap

 I have been reading about homemade laundry soap all over the place.  So. . . I just had to make some.  Here's my recipe which is based on Jillee's from OneGoodThingByJillee. She has lots of amazing recipes, so check it out!

 I used:

•  one box of Super Washing Soda                $2.99
•  one box of Borax                                        $3.99
• 2 bars of Fels Naptha soap                          $  .99 each
• 2 jars of faux oxi clean                                $1.00 each
• 1 bottle of Unstoppables Scent Crystals     $6.99

So, basically $18 for the works.  It made a LOT of soap.

I used the grinder attachment of my food processor to shred the Fels Naptha soap.  It looked like shredded cheese!  There are a few pieces on the counter next to the bowl.  Then I used the chopper attachment to cut it into smaller pieces.

NOTE- I tried to pulverize the scent crystals into smaller pieces with my food processor, but it didn't work.  I wonder if my Magic Bullet would have done better?

I mixed ALL the ingredients into a garbage bag and swooshed it around until it was well-mixed.  Then I cut off one corner so that I could control the flow as I angled it into my containers.  There were little scoops with the oxygen cleaner, so I just use it to add one scoop into my washing machine's powder dispenser. 

 

I do a LOT of laundry and so far (one week) I have been pleased with this recipe.  Even the nasty, stinky wrestling clothes seem to be clean.  I would like a more highly scented recipe, but those crystals are expensive and I don't love the scent.  I wonder if I could used some essential oil or something.  Hmmm. . .

Anyway, give it a try.  If nothing else, you will feel like a homemaker extraordinaire!

Cute Chicken Coop

The new coop. . . complete with fake plants.  The chickens ate the real flowers!

 

I have chickens.  I actually should say that Little Papi has chickens.  We got them in March when they were tiny and fuzzy.  Now they are huge and beautiful.  Right now they are laying 4-6 eggs a day, but the best part is just having them around.  It makes me feel more grounded and self-reliant.  In a true emergency, we'd still have eggs.  And a stew if we got truly desperate.

Chickens are pretty hardy characters and are pretty easy to care for.  They need a coop or some shelter with roosts to keep them safe from predators at night.  They need laying boxes or they will lay eggs wherever THEY choose.  They need food, water, and room to scratch. 

This is the coop and the run. We keep food in one can and treats/supplies in the other.

 

There was no way that I was going to have some ugly ramshackle coop in my backyard.  I buit a smallish coop out of a large cabinet and the girls have lived in that for four months, but they needed something larger for winter.  I've looked at plans and made decisions about what I wanted, but I just never got around to building the coop. Last week I bought one!  PDog and his buddy, the WingMan brought it home for me  and the BandMan helped me paint and shingle it.  If you undertake a project like this, I strongly recommend that you own a pneumatic nailer/stapler.  It is a life saver!

A little ornamentation makes all the difference.  The wrought iron rooster on the coop was purchased at Hobby Lobby and then I used satin white Valspar paint to give it a happier look.  I love how it spruces up the coop and everyone exclaims about how cute it is.  The chicken sign on the run started with a piece of sheet metal that had holes in all four corners and the sides rolled over.  I bought it at Wooden Connections in American Fork.  I used paper to make the circle stencil and used Glossy Red Valspar spray paint to make the circle.  I used a chicken image that I found online, enlarged it, printed it in sections, taped it together, and cut it out to make the chicken stencil.  That was painted with Glossy Black spray paint by Valspar.  I used stainless steel zip ties that I found at WalMart to attach it to the fence becaust the sharp edges of the holes would have cut right through the plastic zip ties. 

All in al I highly recommend keeping chickens.  They are hilarious and worthwhile.  And my 14 Y.O. has a great sense of accomplishment from taking care of HIS chickens and selling the extra eggs to neighbors.

  The eggs.  Rinsed and labeled with the day they were laid.

Easily Separate Eggs

Believe it or not, this helpful hint is from Papa C. He saw it on TV, but I had never heard of this trick, so I thought I would share.  All you need to separate eggs is a water or 20 oz soda bottle. 

1. Crack the egg into a bowl.

2. Hold the bottle upside down and squeeze the air out of it.

 

3.  Place the bottle opening over the yolk and release the pressure on the bottle.  The egg yolk will be sucked up into the bottle.

 4.  Taa daa!  Let the extra whites run back into the bowl.

 

Check out our beautiful eggs!  We have some backyard chickens and 14 YO Little Papi takes care of them and gathers the eggs.  They are organic and partially free range.  He rinses and dates them to ensure freshness.  Yum!

 

 

Late Summer Printable

I am ready to re-decorate, but since there's no holiday looming (I mean. . . how would one decorate for Labor Day?) I wasn't sure how to decorate.  I decided to go with a sunflowers look and I needed some subway art that reflected out lives right now.  If you enjoy the same aspects of late summer, please feel free to print and frame this subway art.  In a few days I will post a photo of my mantle.

Late Summer Printable