Say Goodbye to Pet Hair Woes Tips and Tricks for a Hair-Free Home There’s no doubt about it: We love having our furry friends by our sides each day. Dogs, cats, rabbits, and other small animals make great companions, but they also come with their own challenges. One obstacle nearly every pet owner has to deal with is an overabundance of pet hair throughout their homes. Pet hair sticks to surfaces, and it’s not uncommon to find it on your clothes, on your carpets, or even in your car. You shouldn’t have to pat yourself down with tape or use a lint roller to remove hair whenever you leave the house, so here are a few methods to remove pet hair around your home. Fabric Softener Spray It’s no secret that fabric softener helps remove pet hair from clothes when used in a washing machine, but it can also free up the pet hair trapped in your carpets, rugs, and car seats. Mix 2 tablespoons of fabric softener with water in a spray bottle before applying the mixture to the hair-heavy area. This will cause the hair to clump together, which you can then sweep up with a broom. Run a vacuum cleaner over the area, and it will look (and smell) as good as new! Drill Brush You might not think your power tools would come in handy for this chore, but you’d be surprised. Using a brush attachment on a power drill is one of the best ways to loosen up pet hair. All you have to do is run the brush over the hair-covered area and follow behind it with your vacuum cleaner hose or crevice attachment, and the surface will look pristine. Brush attachments for drills are reasonably inexpensive and can be bought online or in home improvement stores. Prevention You don’t have to limit where your furry friends can go in the house, but using easily washable furniture and car seat covers will make pet hair cleanup much easier. Frequent passes with your vacuum, broom, and mop can also prevent pet hair buildup, but so can getting your pets groomed regularly! Whether you brush your furry friend down every day or take them to a professional groomer, these acts can help remove loose hair and stop it from ever reaching your floors.
MARGIE’S KITCHEN: BUTTERSCOTCH COFFEE CAKE
by Darlene Parman
This article is dedicated to my fabulous Texan mother, Margie Trammell. She spread her love through cookin’, so we continue the tradition here by sharing her yummy recipes and those provided by friends of Parman & Easterday. Here’s to baking more love into your life! This coffee cake is from my dear friend and Parman & Easterday client, Elizabeth Wilson, and is perfect for any celebration. The picture is of one I baked for a staff birthday (moments after the candles were blown out). The original recipe does not call for icing, but, let’s be honest, cake isn’t really cake unless there’s frosting on it. So, I created my own mix to add deliciousness on top of delight. Here’s to spoiling your loved ones with this divine treat!
Ingredients
• 1 cup water • 5 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp for cake and 4 tsp for pecan mixture) • 1 cup brown sugar • 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1 box of yellow cake mix (18.5 oz) • 1 box of instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz) • 1 box of instant butterscotch pudding mix (3.4 oz) • 4 eggs, beaten • 1/2 cup oil
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325 F. 2. Blend together dry cake mix, dry pudding mixes, eggs, oil, water, and 1 tsp cinnamon. 3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. 4. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mix into the bottom of a well- greased Bundt pan. 5. Pour half of the batter into the greased pan. 6. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar mix evenly over batter. 7. Pour the remaining half of the batter into the greased pan. 8. Bake at 325 F for 50 minutes. Cool long enough to remove from Bundt pan. Invert onto serving platter. And my secret to a moist Bundt cake: After inverting onto platter, I seal with plastic wrap to cool. This infuses the moisture back into the Bundt cake. My “from scratch” Cinnamon Brown Sugar Icing: 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla, a quarter of a cup of brown sugar, a quarter of a cup of nuts (optional), and enough powdered sugar to thicken. Another topping: Purchase a good butterscotch or caramel sauce (like Braum’s) and pour over the cool cake as a glaze.
If you have a recipe you’d like us to share in Margie’s Kitchen, please mail it to us or email it to info@parmanlaw.com. We’ll feature it in our newsletter or on our website!
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