HAPPINESS WITHIN REACH

Because I've been feeling happier recently, I thought it was time I write a very positive post.

A new year has only just started and it is time we take the good in life, enjoy ourselves as much as possible and be who we are without anything stupid stopping us from doing so.

Taking time to do things I like and create in order to bloom and be happy is something I am going to try to achieve this year. I would be absolutely delighted to have people around me doing the same and I hope I can spread the positive energy.

Therefore, I need to stop some things I hate about me and start living for real. And as I am a listographer, you know what is following...

THINGS I NEED TO STOP

Prevent myself from being who I am in fear that people may not appreciate the real me

Expect too much from people

Being afraid of exploring and experimenting the unknown.

THINGS I NEED TO DO

Open myself up to people (friends and family)

Being able to talk about myself without feeling selfish and egocentric.

Accept myself and stop complaining

Make the best of little pleasures to truly find happiness and fulfillment

This is a very intimate post. I can't go through details too much because there are so many things I want to achieve that even I am confused. I really hope this positive energy will remain in the future because this little glimpse of happiness just feels very new but good.

Good luck everyone.

Margaux

VALENTINE'S DAY COOKING AND MORE

Hello Everyone!

Today's post is going to be a little different as I'm going to start off with some cooking!

I've been wanting to cook something different recently but didn't take the time so today I thought, why not giving a try to the famous éclairs au chocolat (I much prefer the coffee flavour but didn't have the right ingredients) and because I had some egg white left I decided to make some Valentine's day themed Meringues. You probably all know how much I am fond of meringues so I thought that spicing them up with a little V-Day look would be nice and could give you some ideas for your own Valentine's dinner!

I've found the perfect meringue recipe a few months back and there is no way anybody can fail at this.

What you need:

• 4 egg whites

• 200g of caster sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (as I don't have any, I usually put less sugar and add a paquet of sucre vanillé)

• 1/2 tablespoon of corn flour

• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar (not essencial here but better!)

You want to beat the egg up to a point where it feels like a shaving foam (yes you heard me!). In a bowl put the sugar, the vanilla and the vinegar. Add the corn flour (better if you sieve it first). Once this is ready, you want to keep beating your egg whites and GRADUALLY add the rest of the preparation (one teaspoon at a time). You can tell it's ready when you can reverse the bowl and nothing falls out of it.

Today, I added some food colouring to the egg whites before beating them (I put 10 drops of red and 10 drops of yellow to create this corally-pinky tone). I used a punch (emporte-pièce) to create a heart shape, put them in the oven (at 200°c) for an hour and Voilà! Very easy, quite cute and ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Let me know if you try any of this and tell me what your plan is for Valentine's day!

Also, just thought I would share a hairstyle I've tried on Rose recently. Fairly simple but elegant and versatile (I've changed the front bit as you will see).

How is you weekend so far?

I shall speak to you all soon, maybe with a Valentine's day makeup?

Margaux