Baptism

A photo-diary of baby Samuel's big day this first Sunday of the new year at the Church of the Holy Cross at Clementi Ave 1. Uncle S was key photographer trying out his Nikon D80.

12:30pm Samuel's getting his beauty sleep before the big event. Some of Samuel's guests: Auntie Rio, che ches Laura and Hannah, Mummy and Daddy.





Hannah che che's following the rites closely.




Father Richards baptises baby Samuel.




Happy parents.


Second anointing with chrism oil to symbolise beauty of a child of God, and wearing white as a sign of new life.

Receiving and lighting the baptismal candle.

Broccoli & Garlic Penne Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup Swanson® Chicken Broth

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves, crushed

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups broccoli flowerets

4 1/2 cups hot cooked penne pasta (medium tube-shaped pasta), cooked without salt

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

MIX broth, basil, pepper, garlic and broccoli in skillet. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 3 min. or until broccoli is tender-crisp.

ADD pasta and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Serve with cheese.

TIP: Swanson Kitchen Tip: This recipe is also great using Swanson® Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic Chicken Broth in place of the regular chicken broth.

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutesServes: 4

Noodle soup

Though usually a packet of fast-to-cook-good-to-eat Maggie noddles with canned stewed pork does it for me :)

Ingredients: barbecue pork, bok choy, spring onion, ginger, chicken stock, rice wine, oyster sauce

How to cook: Heat stock with water in saucepan. Simmer, add spring onion, ginger, rice wine and osyter sauce and simmer. Add pork, simmer, add bok choy. Cook noodles at the same time in separate pot of boiling water with salt. Drain and rince under cold water. Ready to serve when bok choy wilts.

New baby!

Baby Samuel was born on Wed 8 Oct 2008!

Light up

Celebrating the last weekend of July madness!

Photo outing 1

Photo classes started on 10 June. I missed the first practical session due to the July craze at work, and am glad I managed to drag myself out of bed this Sat morning for the second outing. We practised from 9.30 to 10.30am when the light was good. The Armenian Church of St Gregory at Hill St was chosen because it was old (1835) and white :)

I worked at balancing f-stop and aperture, capturing details and natural light effects; most shots were blah, sigh, though this is my favourite, S liked it best too.

Drink-shopping

Shopping with a difference, sounds like a nice evening out with the girls. A shoe boutique with accessories and clothes in 'friendlier sizes', serves martinis and holds theme parties :)

Excerpts from Business Times report on 26 July, pic from Red Carpet:

Red Carpet - a shoe boutique owned by two sisters, Tricia and Dionne Fok - offer beautiful shoes that were both "affordable and comfortable in the market". Ms Tricia Fok, 30, is the older of the two and also owns an events management company. A $100,000 investment blew life into their first collection of 42 shoe designs and eight party-ready bags. But it's not mass market either, as there are only 15 pairs for each design and colour.

Cross Guess by Marciano with Christian Louboutin, and you get a middle ground that's Red Carpet - but priced at $50 to $120 a pair.

For the making of the shoes, both women traipsed to Hong Kong, Japan and Korea on seven or eight different trips. Using the local Yellow Pages, they went door-to-door to solicit the best workmanship for the job. Extra cushioning was a must and, of course, the softest leather had to be used in the hand-stitched creations.

That done, a call from a property agent friend in late May solved the issue of finding a store. 'We got the shophouse at Club Street with a low lease, so customers wouldn't be paying for our rent when they buy our shoes.'

Her 'shop to relax' philosophy more than explains the well-stocked bar in the store. It offers the store's signature Red Carpet martini, lychee martinis and some selection of red and white wines, for women and their husbands and boyfriends 'to chill out and relax'. In the coming months, Red Carpet will expand to an accessories line, and start launching periodic theme parties.

Seems like drinks are for members only at the moment, wonder why, are they free? Anyway, sounds like an interesting concept, and busy working women could just shop online, free delivery within Singapore.

Red Carpet is at 58 Club Street