housework: let's make cake!

Okay, I LOVE LOVE LOVE baking. It just makes me happy. My mom passed along her love of baking to me. Here some tips for cake baking. You should listen to me. My cakes rock out.

-If you don't have a Kitchen Aid mixer, save your lunch money and buy one! It is so useful for baking. I LOVE my Kitchen Aid mixer.


-Measurements matter! When baking (anything, not just cakes) you CANNOT eyeball ingredients. It also matters what type of measuring instruments you use. Don't use eating utensil spoons. Use real measuring spoons. Level off dry ingredients, and don't over/under fill the cups.

dry ingredients measuring cups

liquid ingredients measuring cups

-I like to line my cake pans with parchment paper then grease and flour them. I use Crisco shortening to grease the pans (with my hands, fun!) and then sprinkle flour and shake off the excess. I have also used that Baker's Joy cooking spray, and it works fine, too.

-Preheat! The oven needs to be pre-heated for at least ten minutes before you begin your baking. Don't open the oven until the timer goes off! And set the timer according to the directions!

-Don't over-mix the batter, just until ingredients are blended. About two minutes is standard. Scrape the sides and bottom to make sure everything gets incorporated.

-Ingredients are better when they are all the same temperature, so set the eggs out at room temperature for fifteen minutes or so. Butter for frosting needs to be left out for about thirty minutes (I usually set the butter out after I put the cakes on the cooling rack, see below.) Don't let the butter get too soft, or your icing will be a hot mess.

-Cool it! Let your cakes stand for ten minutes in the pan (set the timer so you don't forget) then flip them out onto cooling racks to cool completely. If you don't let the cakes cool in the pan first, then they will most likely fall to pieces. But if you let the cakes cool too long they will stick to the pan. Ten minutes, no more no less.

-Please, please, please don't use icing from a tub. It is so gross. Homemade icing is so simple and can make a box cake really yummy. Some of my favorite icings:

Vanilla Buttercream

Cream Cheese I put pecans in this frosting for Dr Hubby's favorite Hummingbird Cake. This frosting is great on Red Velvet box cupcakes. (If you want nuts in frosting, toast the nuts-about half a cup-in the oven for a few minutes first for some extra flavor. Yum!)

Strawberry Buttercream My favorite!

Troubleshooting-My number one trouble-shooting tip: If the cake didn't turn out right, you didn't follow the directions OR you used a crappy recipe. I think I addressed the main problems people have when baking cakes. Please leave a question/issue if you have any! I find that Southern Living has the best cake recipes, and their recipes never need to be adjusted. I don't really like decorated or themed cakes, I like old-fashioned style cakes that taste good. Now you are wanting some cake, huh?

Some links to some of the other cakes I have made:

Sugar & Spice

Chocolate Chocolate

Pupcakes

Italian Cream Cake

I was going to post a pic of Chris's birthday a few weeks ago, but I can't find my USB cord...I think Brooks hid it from me.

Med School-Letter One

Dear Med School,

It's me, Amanda Shubert. I believe you have taken my husband and I am writing this letter demanding him back. I have figured you out. You still have many people deceived, but I am on to you and your trickery.

When people find out that Chris attends medical school, we usually hear something like, "Oh, what a great career choice," or "Wow, you're gonna make a lot of money one day." Oh Med School, have you ever fooled people. You have crept into our marriage. You have become the determiner of where we live, when we will have children, and how often we get to spend time as a married couple. Sleep schedules are pure chaos because of you, Med School. Pagers, texts, emails, phone calls, it never stops. The ever-increasing cost of tuition-let's not go there. We all know that we will be indebted to you forever, Med School. Most conversations revolve around you, Med School. My husband spends so much time with you that he has a difficult time talking about other things. I know you are trying to take away his social skills too, but you are no match for me and my friend, Sociology.

Med School, you do have a lot of annoying characteristics, but I guess you really aren't all bad. After all, you have taught my husband an awful lot about, well, medical stuff. He is great at answering random medical questions from friends and family, and he even is good a diagnosing issues, too. I think he has probably saved many lives already. He also seems to be especially popular among the little old ladies. And one day, like fifteen or twenty years from now, the money will probably be worth all of your hassles. But until then, I will continue to fight you for time with my husband. And no, Med School, I am NOT ready to meet your older brother, Residency.

Until we collide again,

Amanda K Shubert

housework: making a schedule

Let me start by saying I am in no way an expert housewife. But I must also say that staying at home has given me an opportunity to work toward perfecting (ha) the art of housekeeping. I also have no children, which I think allows my house to remain in a mostly-clean state. (If/When I do have kids I plan on locking them in the crate with Brooks so I can get stuff done.) I am a self-proclaimed procrastinator, and I have never cared much for schedules. Confession Time: CREATING A SCHEDULE FOR OUR LIFESTYLE HAS MADE EVERYTHING SO MUCH EASIER. I also never have to really clean house. I do a little bit everyday so I really never feel overwhelmed with housework. When I do go back to work, I WILL maintain my housework schedule. I still have a pretty good bit of procrastination left in me. I don't plant out every single minute of my day, I just have a list of things that need to be completed by the end of each day. I have decided to share some of my favorite tips that work for us and our household.

Weekends-I make a weekly menu. Then I make a grocery list. Making a grocery list is really important. It saves time, money, and prevents stress of trying to decide what to cook for dinner. If it's not on the list that week, we aren't buying it. I also make enough granola for Chris's breakfast for the entire week.

Monday is laundry day at theshuberthome. (I understand if there are more than two people in your house there probably needs to be more than one laundry day.) Having a designated laundry day keeps Chris from asking me when I plan on doing clothes. (Of course if there is an urgent need I don't refuse to wash clothes but having a designated day really cuts down on doing a million loads a week.) I DON'T USE LAUNDRY BASKETS. That's right, I put all of our laundry baskets in the attic a few years ago. All laundry baskets are good for is preventing me from putting away clothes immediately. Seriously, it takes about two minutes to fold clothes and hang everything on hangers. Then it is done and I don't have to dread putting away clothes. (That is the worst part of doing laundry, isn't it?)

On the same topic, I don't put dirty dishes in the sink. It is a wasted, inefficient step. As soon as the dishwasher finishes running (or first thing in the morning) I unload it. Then all the dirty dishes go straight in the dishwasher while I am cooking. There really isn't any clean-up after cooking. Chris is even on the no-dishes-in-the-sink wagon. Wiping out the sink after each use with a towel or Clorox wipe will keep it from getting grimy and gross and smelly.

I sweep the main part of the kitchen every time I finish cooking (or sometimes while I wait for dinner to finish cooking). This makes mopping so much easier. Plus, who likes walking on a gritty floor?

We have, um, just a little bit of a dog hair problem at our house. There is almost always little fluffy dog hairs on the coffee and end tables. I polish the tables a couple of times a week, but sometimes I just knock off the hair with my hand. Yep, that's what I call good enough housekeeping.

Oh, the dog hair. We will never get rid of it all. I do have to vacuum every other day. The only way I think I could get out of this is making Brooks live outside, and I think we all know that's not gonna happen. If I don't vacuum that often and just let it go, then I have to stop and empty out the little vacuum bin way too frequently. I also started throwing an over-sized beach towel on the love seat where Brooks naps, then when company comes over I toss the towel. Ta-da, it's dog hair free. Well, mostly dog hair free.

Febreeze plug-ins are fabulous. They don't smell too sweet, just clean. Febreeze is also great for pet bedding. Speaking of pet bedding, it really needs to be washed once a week or your house will stink like a giant dog. Trust me, I know.

Bathrooms: I keep Clorox wipes under the sink and give everything a wipe down as needed. Sometimes after I get out of the shower and the mirror is all steamy, I wipe it down with a towel. More good enough housekeeping. I also keep a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser in the tub.

Okay, I could go on and on. Look for more tips and tricks to come. And of course, my housekeeping schedule most likely won't be applicable with your lifestyle. But let's hear it. Do you have a weekly schedule? Do you wish you had a schedule? What are some of your scheduling tips and tricks? Please share! Happy cleaning!

momentary impulse~a somewhat ridiculous but sweet tribute to our dog

***Warning-Really, really long post. About a boy and a girl and a dog. Bail out now if you have a short attention span.***

If you have known Chris for any length of time, you probably know that he attempts to plan out every moment of our lives. A few weeks after we got married, we had a discussion about getting a dog. In our six years of dating, we never once talked about even wanting a dog. Chris said no dogs in our brand new house. That would be destructive and would dramatically decrease the value of our home. Anyway, one Sunday afternoon, we decided to go to the GBHS, you know, just to look. Chris had never even been to a humane society (growing up, that is the only place we ever got our dogs) and didn't really think that humane society dogs were good enough. We looked at one dog, but didn't really feel a connection. We walked around one more time, and Chris told one of the volunteers that we wanted to look at this little white puppy. Actually, it was a rather large white puppy. We thought he was a few months old, but no, just eight weeks. We waited in a room, and she brought him in, cradling him. He was just chillin'. She set him down, and he started running around like a maniac. I was sitting in the floor, and Chris was standing there, watching us. Brooks (who was called Dakota by the humane society, ick) walked up to Chris, put his little giant puppy paw on Chris's leg, and looked at him with those intoxicating sweet eyes. Chris said almost immediately, "Okay, we'll take this one!" Sucker. Chris went back the next morning to fill out the paper work and get him settled at home while I was at work.

the day we brought him home-he was 8 weeks old

a few weeks later, still trying to get used to everything (I really have no idea how someone could have left him at the humane society...look at that face!)

a little bit bigger...

before we (er, I) let Brooks on the furniture, he would just nap under our bed

1st Christmas! (Trying to capture this oh-so-sweet picture is the reason our pup strongly dislikes all things Christmas.)

helping with the flower bed, he's about 8 months here. And he is STILL growing.

Check out the tongue!

one of my favorite shots ever

my guys

The photographer rarely gets her picture made...Brooks is 14 months here, and already way bigger than me!

trying his paw at retrieving

We had so much fun at the beach!

He's not so sure about this stuff...

our sweet little fam

Brooks was a spontaneous decision. Fortunately Chris and I are somewhat responsible adults and we stepped to the plate of training a puppy. I wasn't really sure about having such a big dog in the house. We became experts at crate training. When Brooks was a few months old, we got a privacy fence hoping he would stay outside some. Well, he suffers extreme separation anxieties, and prefers the crate. Except on days like this. And we have had many fun adventures, like this and this. Brooks is also the inspiration to some great posts about how wonderful Chris and I think he is . This week marks his three year adoption anniversary. I must admit (although you couldn't have convinced me three years ago that I would EVER say the following) big dogs are more fun. We like to jog as a family. Saturday we even went hiking together. He is always ready to play and never has a bad attitude, unless I am forcing him to stupidly pose for blog pictures. Brooks has really been great for our marriage. He is a very active dog and it helps keep us active. We have also had to agree on puppy parenting techniques. Now don't get me wrong, we don't regard our dog as a person, but we have definitely had to get on the same page about our expectations for him. Brooks has been a great addition to our little family and we are looking forward to many more great years with him!