randomness at its best

As luck were to have it, I had been quite busy the past week with the parents’ birthdays, and catching up with the lil nieces who stayed over. I was secretly hoping that I could find the opportunity to snap photos of what I baked for the birthday celebrations, but they were wiped out sooner than I had expected. All’s well, I guess

For the mother, I baked an improved version of the peach crumble pie, and a rich butter cake sandwiched with fruits, and decorated with buttercream frosting. Both were easily my mother’s favourites, even though I had deliberately reduced the sugar content in light of the doctor’s advice to her.

For the father’s celebrations yesterday, I baked the tried-and-tested soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies for the little ones to munch on, and tried my first attempt at an ice-cream cake. After several opinions, I went for the same butter cake, sandwiched with a layer of chocolate ice-cream, and another layer of chocolate chip ice-cream, and topped with a layer of Oreo crumbs. Even though it was a total mess (the ice-cream melted during the father’s speech!), I thought it was a good learning point, and I picked up several pointers with regard to the choice of cake (sponge, vis-a-vis butter), and the fridging duration. Oh, and hopefully next time I’ll have enough space in the freezer to use a springform pan

I still have a long way to go before I can come close to the likes of Happy Home Baker and Laureen with regard to cakes and cake decorations, but I do hope that I can get more practice soon!

In other news, I’ve been tagged by HHB and Aimei to give 5 random facts about myself. To be honest, I don’t know why anyone would be interested in knowing more about the boring ol’ me, but here goes:-

1. I own five cameras; two digital, three film. Each with a different function/purpose. They are (clockwise):-
   • Dexter (Vivitar UWS);
   • Red (Canon Powershot A430);
   • Goggles (Disderi 4-lens);
   • Deedee (Diana+); and
   • Mister Black (Nikon D40; not pictured).



2. I can never walk past shelves of shoes on display without trying some on. I’m guilty of buying more shoes than I can ever need, but hey, a girl can never have enough shoes.



3. I made a small journal sometime back; my happy book I call it. And now I’m addicted to it.



4. I have a soft spot for anything with ribbons. I believe that a little tie here and there brightens up the day.



5. I’m a huge fan of musicals. From singing along to Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music/Mary Poppins, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, to crying away in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, I think everyone deserves a spot in the audience seat of a musical. Anyone else going for January 2009’s Cinderella?