What does every girly night in need apart from a good soppy romantic comedy – ice cream of course!!!

For me, the best part about eating ice cream is the fact that you can have it straight from the tub. I don’t know why but it just seems to taste so much better, however if you feel that this method is a bit of a Bridget Jones tradgedy and want to go a bit more upmarket then I think this bowl and spoon combi is for you!!

The colours are bright, the spoon is unique and they are big enough to hold a fair few scoops of your favourite ice cream. Perhaps more style = less calories – yeah right!!

Choose from green, pink, orange or blue and part with just £22 at www.panik-design.com.

This year my friends have all going wild for cupcake birthday gifts, so I had to get in on the act. After some serious searching I found the little cupcake company on line.

There are plenty of selections to choose from, my personal favourites are from the signature collection. The vanilla sponge, irresistibly cute cupcakes can be decorated with pretty icings, frostings and sprinkles. Starting at £12.00 for a half a dozen of the little cupcakes from their selection, these tasty treats can make part of the perfect gift.

Visit www.thelittlecupcakecompany.co.uk to see what you would like to order for a gift or even a party, as they also cater for special occasions such as anniversaries or weddings.

Recently I can’t help but notice the hype surrounding the “Cabbage Soup Diet”. Just the other day I was moaning about my weight, when a colleague advised me to try it (she lost 7lbs on it in 7 days). I’m quite a sceptical person as previous experience has taught me so I looked into the diet further.

The diet is seven days long and consists of eating as much cabbage soup as you wish, as much fruit as you want except bananas, as many vegetables as you would like and a baked potato. There are other foods allowed sporadically but the previously mentioned are the mains. Although the diet looks incredibly bland, I hear great reviews, but be aware that this diet should only be done for 7 days at a time and that you should have at least 2 weeks of normal food after as this is very low in minerals, protein, vitamins and complex carbohydrates. For more information go to Caggage-Soup-Diet.com.

Selfridges have launched the UK’s first new generation wine bar called The Wonder Bar with a shop located alongside it in the Oxford Street store.

The sparkling new Wonder Bar is home to the Enomatic Wine System. This is a range of contemporary fridges with 52 different wines that can be stored for up to three weeks without being spoiled in any way. Customers can take pleasure in consuming a 125 ml glass starting at £3.45 and ranging up to £160.

You can either serve yourself or enjoy table service from wine experts who will be able to meet your exact needs. Compliment your wine with a selection of cheese or salmon boards from the food menu.

A lovely place to stop for a drink, The Wonder Bar and Wine Shop can be found on the ground floor of Selfridges, Oxford Street, London.

This week we’ve finally been having some sunshine to enjoy and I for one am making the most of it. In true British style I’ve been rolling up my trousers and baring my white legs as soon as the sun pops out from behind the clouds. I’m staying optimistic that the suns going to be around for the next few weeks so when I came across this Picnic Valise I just had to get it.

This weekend I plan to pack up a picnic, head off to the coast and enjoy a relaxing day in the warm sun. The best bit… I don’t have to worry about planning everything I’ll need for my picnic – I can just slide this picnic set into my car and head off early to miss the thousands of other motorists with the same idea.

Packed with two dinner plates, two bowls, two tumblers, two mugs, two sets of knives and forks, two teaspoons, two napkins and a dirty plates bag … what else could you need? Apart from a corkscrew perhaps?! Prepare the food the night before and you’ll be good to go. For only £24.95 this has to be an essential summer item.

You’ll probably forgive me for wondering who in the world would buy a hand-knitted 100% cotton jacket for their apple? But then I gave it some thought … I bring an apple to work every day and toss it in my bag without any care. When I come to eat it I often find it battered and bruised and therefore not what I’d call appealing. So imagine wrapping it up in its own little clothes to protect it– yes it might sound crazy to some but I’m now fully supporting apple jackets!

The design includes a cute yellow button and a green knitted leaf – how adorable! The designer, Jacqueline Dufresne, is from Canada – although it looks as though the website can ship internationally if you want to get one of these. The jacket’s also available in four different colours: pink, bright blue, white and off-white. What a fun little gift this would make too!

Available from Rose And Radish for $12.50.

How many times have you thrown a kitchen utensil into a drawer, closed it up and then completely forgotten where it is the next time you want to use it? Well I do this on a regular basis which is why I was so thrilled to find these Standz stand-up utensils by Tovolo. You can stand them up on your worktop so they’re always visible when you need to use them. If you don’t like things out on the worktop you could even dedicate a cupboard for all your stand-up tools.

Another great thing about these tools is they stop you from making such a mess on the worktop, instead of sticking it straight onto the surface you can simply stand it up and maintain a tidy surface while you continue to cook.

The variety of utensils is great, they have everything from whisks to cheese graters and spatulas to ice cream scoops. Check out the Tovolo website for further information.

NESCAFÉ and KRUPS have teamed up to bring Starbucks or Costa Coffee into your own home. If like me you have a thing for coffee you too will be placing your order at Amazon to see of it’s as good as it says it is. Whenever I hit the shops or am out for the day I look forward to my frothy cappuccino and a sit down in the local coffee shop, well now I don’t even have to go out.

The Dolce Gusto is a stylish multi-coffee capsule with four different varieties to choose from; espresso, latte macchiato, cappuccino and caffè lungo; friends will be so impressed when they come to your house – it will be just like they’re at a coffee shop!

Choose from a red, white or black and silver design whatever matches the style of your kitchen. If you’re new to making coffee don’t worry because the Dolce Gusto comes with a free starter pack containing a white cappuccino cup and saucer, a latte macchiato glass, recipe cards and instructions. Available at Amazon.co.uk.

There’s nothing quite like dunking a choccy biscuit into a hot cup of tea, it always tastes so much better when its warm and soft – especially when the chocolate melts in your mouth! Now there’s a reason to have a couple of biscuits with every cup of tea – this funky Dunker Mug. The mug has a biscuit compartment already built in so you’ll just have to slot a couple of biccies in whenever you make a cuppa.

If you’re like me and have endless cups of tea then this could be pretty dangerous for the waistline; think of the packets of biscuits you’ll get through each day! You can even choose between a left and right handed mug so you don’t have to compromise your dunking hand!

What a great little gift for the notorious ‘dunker’ in the office too – at £14.99 it’s not the cheapest mug around but but at least this design will save you washing up the plates you used to arrange the biscuits on!

Via Gadget Candy

We rarely write two posts in a row about food but I thought this Fruit Combo Rack deserved a mention! It’s a fun alternative to a standard fruit bowl and may even encourage the kids to eat more fruit – they won’t be able to walk past without touching this, it looks too tempting to play with! Not only does it look more interesting, but it also means the fruit’s more accessible and prevents it becoming easily bruised (as it often does at the bottom of the fruit bowl).

Pop it on the worktop to add a splash of colour to your kitchen too – it’s thin enough to not take up much space. At $19.98 it’s a tad more expensive than you’d expect to pay for a fruit holder, but worth it if you’re into kitchen gadgets that your friends and relatives aren’t likely to have!

Via Random Good Stuff