Snow Day At Home

Mother Nature doesn’t mess around.  It has been snowing here, in beautiful New Jersey, for over 24 hours and we have received close to 2 feet of snow so far…on top of the 1.5+ feet we received on Saturday.  It is a big, cold, snowy mess outside- the region’s snowiest winter in history and it’s not even over yet.
Our house, which in it’s summer glory looks like the the photo below, is now engulfed in snow:




Is it spring yet??

This weekend we were snowed in and not being adequately prepared, I was subjected to watching several of my husband’s movie picks, which usually are a variety of straight-to-video horror movies.  Yikes!  So for today’s snow storm, I planned in advance.  I did have to work from home, but after my work was done I prepared a yummy dinner, baked chocolate chip cookies, and watched the movie “Julie and Julia” which I proactively rented yesterday.  Not usually the first type of movie I'd pick, but I enjoyed it- especially as a blogger.



I also liked the movie because I have been on a total baking kick since I got this awesome Sunbeam detachable stand mixer for Christmas.  It is not nearly as fancy as the very popular Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, but it gets the job done for a fraction of the price.  (And don’t worry, no one is paying me to say this). 

I sadly probably only baked about 4-5 things in all of last year.  But this year alone, I have already baked banana bread 2 or 3 times, muffins twice, brownies once, oatmeal cookies, and now chocolate chip cookies.  And all of these, except the brownies, have been totally from scratch!  And it is only February, people!  I am very proud of myself.  Something about the new mixer and our recent kitchen update has totally got me into a baking mood.  I just love how the house smells and feels so warm and homey with something baking in the oven.  I was also inspired by a challenge on A Soft Place to make your home more welcoming by baking and doing other things to treat your family with the same hospitality you’d give to guests. 

My goal is to keep baking regularly this year because baking something fresh for just Rob and I makes the day feel like a special occasion.  But to avoid gaining 100 pounds this year while I bake away, I modify my recipes to replace regular flour with whole wheat, cut back on sugar, and cut back on fats and use substitutes like applesauce for butter and oil.   Have any other tips to make baking healthier?

Is anyone else snowed in this week? Looks like we will be snowed in again tomorrow!  What do you do on snow days?