Day and days after Christmas sale

How many inches of snow did we get this past weekend?? Oops, I should've said how many feet of snow!! We really did get lots of snow and I wonder if there were people who went to the mall to take advantage of the 'day/say 2 days after x'mas' sale. I'm sure there must've been a few who might've gone to the mall in the morning and maybe got stranded in the mall unaware of the conditions that were building up outside...but again thankfully I didn't hear about any incidents of the sorts on the news.

Coming back to the point that I want to make...is the sale really worth it? Would you drive through snow to go to the mall?? I had tons of coupons flooded in my inbox over the weekend and was tempted to step out in the cold knowing that I didn't really need anything [I don't step out of the house unless I absolutely need to if it's snowing and I was busy as it is making Tiramisu, will write about the Tiramisu later ;)). Is it really worth it to make the effort and go to the mall a day after x'mas or the weekend after x'mas when it clearly looks like there will be chaos in the mall unless ofcourse you have to buy something important.

I wanted to buy a christmas tree for next year and wanted to go check out the deals because I heard from a friend that trees are sold at ridiculously low prices the day after x'mas. Makes sense! But again wouldn't I get a tree at Walmart for a reasonable price...would I really save much by going to the mall? Knowing me if I had gone to the mall, I would've probably returned empty-handed because of the overwhelming number of people at the mall and the crazy sales everywhere!! But I've wasted all my coupons and I will never have a chance to know what I missed out on! :)

Blizzard!!

So we got hit by a blizzard last night...after cleaning up some of the snow. Ok, I didn't do any cleaning, my husband cleaned most of it and I took the day off. Don't think the roads were in a drivable condition and there's snow all the way upto my waist...So I had to put my mind to work...and hence, I decided to make Tiramisu. I decided to make it for a friend's birthday and that is tonight...some pictures from my first time making Tiramisu...hopefully, it tastes good. I had a small size bite in a shot glass for myself to taste...will just help me in deciding whether I should take it over or just replace it with the yummy shoprite Tiramisu brand.

Please ignore the order in which I placed the pictures...these were supposed to come before the ones which had the chocolate shavings...but like I mentioned earlier, I am not perfect! Enjoy the snow and my fellow east coast friends, please be safe!!

I bake cakes too...

I have grown up seeing my mom bake different cakes, cupcakes, cookies every other day. She used to make recipes of her own by playing around with the measurements. I know that baking is a science...but if you have the passion for it, it doesn't need to be science...atleast that's what I think.I haven't exactly succeeded at the art of baking, but with numerous trial and errors I will...one day. I might just go to school and get a baker's degree. Don't know whether that's worth it!! Whaddya all think??

Some pictures of my cakes that I baked for my niece, nephew and dear hubby recently. Didn't take any pictures of the cakes I baked prior to these..

 For my nephew who loves Optimus prime from Transformers (he's only 4)

For my husband, who is a Giants fan...

Holiday cookies for sale!

So I decided to take a stab at baking some holiday cookies and see if I could sell them. I baked some gingersnap cookies and dipped them in semi-sweet chocolate and decorated them with icing....some contemporary looking christmas trees and snowmen...;)

Cookies for X'mas...

Firstly, I'm not a professional baker, but I'm trying to get there...there are three most important things in baking that I've learnt over the years - taste (obviously!!), originality and presentation (I have quite some learning to do here).
I live in this close knit community in Central New Jersey and was invited to a Christmas party over the weekend. My sister's been living here for a while and I joined her a year back, so I found that there would be around 20 children at the party. This being my first formal Christmas party (I'm Indian), I was supah excited  and so decided to bake tons of cookies to give out as gifts. Some pictures of me having fun with the cookies - dozen or more of ginger spice cookies and another with a regular cookie dough and chocolate on top....the latter cookies were the ones I decided to personalize for each child....with their initial on the cookie .;)

  Ginger spice cookies with royal icing

Vanilla cinammon cookie with chocolate icing...can you spot the initials ;)

Snowmans like to have some fun

Yum...just had one cookie...and it tastes yummy!! I think I should gift wrap them before I finish them all...