THE FRENCH RIVIERA

At the beginning of May I travelled to France for a long weekend with my boyfriend Si and his parents.  Si fancied going to the Classic Grand Prix again, he went 4 years ago and loved it, so I decided to tag along.  I'm not interested in cars, I was just hoping for some lovely Mediterranean sunshine!

CROQUEMBOUCHE

My boyfriend absolutely loves profiteroles so for his birthday I planned to make a rather elaborate croquembouche.  This involved a lot of 'first times' for me.  I've never made pastry cream or choux pastry before.

LEMON AND GINGER SEED BARS

Making these treat bars has been on my to-do list for a number of weeks now.  I've been getting into the whole healthy eating thing recently and my snack habits have been transformed completely.  I don't often reach out for that unhealthy chocolate bar any more instead opting for fruit or vegetables.  This is great progress for me, a massive chocoholic, but sometimes I feel like I need something a little more substantial to snack on.  I don't want to fill up with unhealthy, empty calories so I put these together as a way to try to help me feel full and to give me a bit of an afternoon energy boost.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+

After reading all of the hype and the good reviews surrounding La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+ I had to pick some up to try for myself.  I don't have particularly bad skin in the way of spots, however once a month when hormones are all over I do tend to get a few angry pimples on my chin, cheeks and nose.

VIVA LA DIVA