Courgette Tart with Roasted Tomato Coulis

Final exams and my dissertation totally took over my life for the last few months, but since they all finished last Thursday I've suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. After a couple of days filled with cinema trips, shopping and celebratory cocktails with my best friend, I escaped the city and retreated back to Cheshire to see my parents and indulge in some much needed relaxation in the countryside.

One of the first things I did after unpacking my case was to pull my favourite cook books off my shelf and go through them with a pack of post-it notes picking the recipes I simply had to attempt. I've not made many things from Paul Hollywood's How to Bake, but while looking through it this week his Courgette Tart with Roasted Tomato Coulis really stood out and it shot to the top of my list of recipes to try this week. I'm loving courgettes at the moment and wanted to try something savoury so thought this was the perfect recipe to try out first.

Cannes 2014 Best Dressed

No film festival does glamour quite like Cannes.

For twelve days the beautiful and talented descended on the French riviera for one of the most anticipated events in the film industry's calendar.

Met Ball 2014 Best Dressed

The most fashionable time of the year has arrived once again in the form of the fashion world's Oscars: the annual Met Ball. Last night saw the world's most famous and beautiful don their finery to celebrate the exhibition dedicated to couturier Charles James at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The dress code was strictly formal and elegant, with attendees expected to adhere to Anna Wintour's pre-determined theme of 'White Tie and Decorations'. This meant gowns and gloves for the women and top hats and tails for the men: Hollywood glamour at its absolute finest.

#100happydays : DAYS 91-100

I've been meaning to do this post for almost a fortnight but life - read: dissertation - consistently got in the way and I just haven't had the chance. I'm incredibly pleased to say that I actually finished the 100 happy days challenge on time and never missed a single day. I don't think I've ever done something for 100 consecutive days, and I know I've never stuck to a New Year's Resolution quite like this. As silly as it sounds, for me this is quite an achievement. I have very little faith in my abilities and find it impossible to believe I can actually do anything I set my mind to. I'm the type of person that needs constant validation and evidence to prove the little voices of self-doubt in my head wrong, and this challenge has ended up being the perfect example of my ability to actually follow something through to the end. Challenges in the future should feel a little less daunting now.

Olivier Awards 2014 Best Dressed

I've fallen off the radar blogging-wise recently as the final few months of third year have become almost unbearable and university has completely taken over my life. If I'm not in the archives I'm in the British Library, and when I'm not hidden scrolling through microfilms at the BFI I'm frantically writing my dissertation. I've barely had the time to surface to do a #100happydays post on schedule let alone anything else, but I decided to take a weekend off before I ran out of steam and couldn't have planned it better as yesterday afternoon saw the 2014 Olivier Awards take over the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden.

#100happydays : DAYS 81-90

So this is it: the penultimate 10 days of the challenge!

#100happydays : DAYS 71-80

The end is in sight now! I genuinely cannot believe I've kept this up for 80 days: I don't think I've ever consistently done something for 80 days apart from procrastinate, and that doesn't really count…

#100happydays : DAYS 61-70

It's a few days late as Week 20 is quite literally killing me, but here's the next 10 days of #100happydays!

Ushers: the Front of House Musical

As an Usher you’re consigned to the fact that your stage is not the actual stage, but the foyers, bars and corridors surrounding the auditorium. You may be able to hit every note of ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked, know the choreography of A Chorus Line inside out, and have practiced dying on a barricade (the back of a sofa) at home for when the call comes to join the cast of Les Misérables, but that doesn’t matter. 

#100happydays : DAYS 51-60

Here's another 10 days of the challenge!

Academy Awards 2014 Best Dressed

It's that time of the year again: the Oscars are back in town.

Versailles

As 2014 marks the centenary year of the First World War, it seems entirely fitting that there’s currently a significant increase in interest surrounding the conflict. The BBC’s World War One season is starting to gain traction, with documentaries and dramas either already aired or in the pipeline for the coming months. It’s not only the television that’s seizing the moment: the theatre world is joining in too. 

#100happydays : DAYS 41-50

I can't quite believe it: I've reached the half way point!

Final year is really killing me at the moment and I know it's only going to get worse, so I'm appreciating this challenge more and more with each 10 days that passes.

EE BAFTAs 2014 Best Dressed

I completely love the BAFTAs.

They're the best night in the awards season calendar for me as not only are they an excuse to fawn over a red carpet, admire the Royal Opera House and laugh with Stephen Fry, but they most importantly support and celebrate the very best of British talent in the film industry. In a market saturated with huge Hollywood hits, I love how the BAFTAs provide special recognition for homegrown excellence - seeing films like The Selfish Giant be nominated in the same categories as colossal box office successes like Gravity really is fantastic. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing more inspiring than seeing the British film industry shine on such a global platform.

#100happydays : DAYS 31-40

So, here's another 10 happy days!