My Life as a writer - When I'm not scribbling

I love comfort food; it makes you feel all warm inside.  Once of the meals I love to make as comfort food is hearty rustic lasagne.   Originally I learned to make this when I was around ten or eleven, I had a bit of an obsession with Italian food so I started to experiment.  Over the years I've tweaked, changed and adapted my recipe.   This version was partly inspired by the brilliant Mary Berry and uses wraps as a pasta substitute and partly by my mindset of trying to eat as many vegetables as I can.  Hopefully you'll enjoy!  Ingredients to make four servings  Mince 500g (steak mince at 5% Fat)  Olive oil (1tbsp)    Two medium Red Onions    2 Carrots    Frozen garden Peas    Mushrooms (Button or chestnut)  Broccoli    Green Beans    Tomatoes  Beef stock (1 cube)    Worcestershire Sauce (to taste)   Sugar tsp.    Tomato Passata 500g  1 cup Water    Fresh Basil  Mediterranean Wraps    Grated Cheese    Red Wine    Garlic Step 1  I st

Okay, I know right now it hardly feels like summer - I'm still wearing jumpers and a coat!  But I do have some summer make up loves that I wanted to share. My first is the Clarins Lip Oil, this has been out for a while but there is a new flavour out now called Red Berry which I'm loving.  I leaves my lips with a light reddish tint, feel gloriously rich when putting it on and last ages.   My lips which can sometimes feel dry especially at the moment as the temperature is all over the place feel moisturised and soft when using this.  one bottle (0.23 fl oz) is lasting me around three months.  At £19 this may seem a bit excessive for a lip balm but it does go a long long, gives a great summer shine and tastes lovely.  The sponge applicator is soft and swipes the product on evenly and doesn't leave a sticky residue. My second Clarins product is the Summer bronzing compact.  I've been using this for the last two months to give a subtle glow, partly to convince my very

I love makeup.  I have worn it everyday since I was about 8 or 9 years old.  I've tried hundreds of ways of applying my make up, experimented with colours and changed my look from heavy to light to somewhere in between over the years. The one thing that's always remained a constant though is on a regular basis cleaning my tools.  My grandfather always said you can tell a good workman by the way they treat their tools.  I'm careful with my make up brushes and renew them every few years as they start to loose hair and shape. Currently I have two sets which I use combined, this also allows me to have one set cleaned and using a second set while they dry.  I have sensitive skin and I can always tell if I've left it too long between cleansing sessions.  Usually I try to wash my brushes once a week, usually they are okay for two weeks, longer than that I start to notice my make up isn't as smooth as I like and my skin may start showing signs of breakouts. To clean m