Advantages: Makes excellent espresso, cappuccino and latte coffee Disadvantages: Needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly
I've never been particularly keen on drinking coffee at work - the options usually consisting of either a mug of the instant variety made with water boiled in a disgustingly furred-up kettle, or a paper cup of brown-coloured hot liquid dispensed by a temperamental vending machine - so it was with some relief when I began a new job last year to learn that there was an espresso machine at my disposal, with which to make a cup of 'real' coffee whenever I wanted one. I wouldn't term myself a coffee snob by any means, but I'm a firm believer that there's no competition between the genuine article and its powdered or granular equivalent, despite what the Kenco lady in the television commercials would have us believe.
NAMING THE BABY
Our machine, the quaintly-named Baby Dose, is made by the Italian company Gaggia, one of the world ...
Advantages: three-in-one playpen, fireguard and room divider Disadvantages: takes a while to convert from one thing to the other
Well, you might not think so, but Leah certainly did - she objected strongly to ever sitting in her playpen and playing for more than about two minutes. A playpen was one of those things I thought I would never actually use - and although I don't use it often, it's a very useful thing to have when you have a mobile baby and you need to answer the door, put the washing out, or just need two minutes to get on with something.
What's a Babydan?
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It's a large, hexagonal metal playpen made of six sections. They divide into two lots of three, and can be "folded" like a zizag, allowing you to make whatever shape you like (useful for cordoning off an awkward area of a large room.) One of the sections functions as the door to the playpen, or can be used as a separate stairgate. The playpen has a comfortable blue ...
Advantages: A very good read Disadvantages: Need to read other books in series if you want some things clarified
themselves out and you can't help but like Becky - she comes across as very funny and likeable. There are very funny situations in the book, which made me laugh out loud, look out for the part when she is at a baby show and pretends that she has a baby in the pram, or when she pretends that she is in labour early so that she can visit Venetia.
There were parts that I was confused about in the book. Quite early on it made it clear that Jess was Becky's long lost half-sister, and that she'd been looking for her - although it did not elaborate on the relationship or how Jess came about to be lost. The writer (Sophie Kinsella) has written other books in this series, though, such as Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic Abroad, and Shopaholic and Sister, so it is possible it is the feature of the latter book. So, really you need to read the other ...
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