Lovely Lilacs

The lilacs are in full bloom in my yard.  Love the sweet fragrance they give off!

Bursting Blooms

Our crab apple tree has finally bloomed!  I love these blossoms so much that I had a picture made into a canvas print last year.   It has been a very late spring here where I live.  We have had lots of rain and farmers have had a tough time getting their crops in. 

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

My family has enjoyed this pudding cake for the last few years I've been making it.  It is a dessert that always disappears quickly!  It can be served warm or cold and goes perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

Ingredients
1st Layer
2 cups chopped rhubarb

2nd Layer
1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. margarine
1/2 cup milk

3rd Layer
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2/3 cup boiling water

Directions
1.  Cover bottom of a 8" or 9" square pan with rhubarb.  You could also use a deep dish pie pan.
2.  Mix 1/3 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla.  Cut in margarine.  Add milk and stir to combine.  Pour on top of fruit.  (If mixture is too thick to pour, add a little more milk).
3.  Mix 1/2 cup sugar with cornstarch.  Sprinkle over mixture in pan.
4.  Pour boiling water on top of entire mixture.
5.  Bake at 375F for 45 minutes.

Rhubarb Muffins

Rhubarb season is on now where I live.  Yay!!  I love baking with rhubarb.  I dusted off my recipes and pulled out this one for rhubarb muffins.  They have a cinnamon sugar topping that makes them extra special.

Rhubarb Muffins

Ingredients for Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups chopped rhubarb

Ingredients for Crumb Topping

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. margarine, melted 

Directions

1.  Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.

2.  Combine wet ingredients in another bowl: egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.

3.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir till combined.

4.  Fold in rhubarb.

5.  Fill muffin liners (I used regular liners but next time I would use the tall liners with high sides as the crumb topping spreads onto pan).

6.  Combine crumb topping ingredients: sugar, cinnamon, margarine.

7.  Sprinkle muffins with crumb topping.

8.  Bake at 375F for about 18-20 minutes.

I was able to get 17 muffins by filling the liners about 3/4 full.  

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Hydrating Care Moisturizer

I found this to be a great moisturizer for my skin. I tend to have oily skin which is very acne prone. I have to be careful not to use moisturizers that are too rich or creamy. This moisturizer has a light, silky texture. It is more of a lotion than a cream which is perfect for my skin type.

The moisturizer absorbed quickly into my skin and did not leave a greasy or sticky residue. My skin had a matte finish to it and was not shiny at all like some moisturizers. My skin felt soft and smooth after application.  This product is unscented which is great for those sensitive to scents.

This product kept my skin hydrated all day and did not aggravate my oily skin. I did notice that I had three small, red, almost pimple like spots appear on my skin while using this moisturizer. They never developed into anything more and disappeared in a day or so. I can't be sure it was from the moisturizer as they may have developed anyway. Nonetheless, I had no further issues with continued use.

Overall, this is a moisturizer I am happy to recommend and add to my skin care routine. 

I received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Amazing Deal at Rexall

I found an amazing deal at Rexall drug store while shopping yesterday.  I found these 2 cans of Gillette Series shave gel marked down to $2.14 in the clearance section.  In addition, on each can was a store coupon for $2.00 off.  So each can came out to just 14 cents!  What a fantastic find!

I love shopping the clearance section at Rexall.  I have found some great deals over the years. Just last year one of my local Rexall's had monitors like blood pressure monitors and oxygen saturation monitors marked down to just $1 from an original price of over $100. 

Do you shop the clearance section at Rexall?  What is the best deal you have found?

got 2b Volumaniac Mousse

This mousse really holds your style for hours!  I have a slight curl to my hair and often times I will use gel on my towel dried hair to bring out the curl. Having this mousse to test, I used it in place of my usual gel. I applied it to my hair and scrunched my hair to increase the curls. I found that it held a curl in my hair all day long.

I really liked the smell of this mousse. To me it reminded me of the scent of apples. It was a very fresh and fruity scent. I did have some trouble depressing the nozzle to dispense the product. I couldn't just use my index finger to press down on the nozzle, very little product came out this way. I had to use the palm of my hand to dispense the mousse and apply a lot of pressure. Maybe it was just my can that had this issue?  Nonetheless, it did take a lot of effort to get the mousse out of the can!

At the end of the day my hair still looked great and my hair looked curlier than if I just used my gel. I didn't find the mousse added a huge amount of volume as I would expect from a volumizing product. But that's OK, my hair still looked great.

When I went to comb out my hair I could tell the mousse had a really firm hold. I struggled a bit to comb out my hair and lost a number of hairs in the process! Overall, I enjoyed this mousse and will probably use it in place of my usual hair gel to achieve and hold the curly look I want.

I received this product free of charge from ChickAdvisor for review purposes.  #gotitfree