But to my surprise (and delight), I recently stumbled across these prints by Emily Isles, a designer and illustrator based in Edinburgh, whose Italian Inventions range will soon be hanging on my walls. Beautiful and affordable, you can buy these prints and others by visiting Emily’s online shop.

If you love your bed as much as I do, then I’m sure you will have stumbled across (or spent hours lusting over) And So To Bed’s collection of luxury handmade beds. As much as I love my current bed, if I could swap it for any other, it would be the Versailles Silver Leaf bed. I’ve coveted this bedroom must-have for as long as I can remember. All I need to do now is find a property large enough for it to look at its best – in Large Emperor size of course!

And so To Bed also has a range of equally beautiful bedroom furniture, and the sort of bedding that demands duvet days make it to the top of your to-do list.

I’d like to coin a new phrase. Based on my love of soup – I eat soup every day – I think it’s only fair that I refer to myself as a soupie. Now, let’s see if we can make ‘soupie’ catch on – I know I’m not the only one!

A walk in the cold winter sun left me needing to thaw out. Although choice wouldn’t be the first word I’d have used to describe my kitchen cupboards yesterday, I knew there was enough to create something warm and delicious, with the help of some kale, bacon, cannellini beans and pearl barley. And that’s the beauty of soup, you can take it as far as your imagination will carry you, or in my case, it helped to turn precious little into a heart-warming meal.

Broth-like in consistency, the bacon in this soup adds a delicious saltiness to this dish, whilst the kale adds a hint of spice. Here’s what you’ll need to make this winter-warmer:

New eateries come onto the Edinburgh food scene regularly. Some get a better reception than others, and in the case of The Pantry, I would like to extend only the warmest of welcomes. To open a new restaurant in a part of the city that is already fairly saturated with eateries, you have to be confident you can hold your own. And The Pantry has done just that, as it has quickly become the place to eat locally.

Since The Pantry opened last December, I have visited for breakfast, lunch and dinner and have waxed lyrical about each and every meal. So I thought it was about time I gave it what it deserves – a glowing review.

We felt victorious on our most recent visit – I always get that feeling when I pinch the last table in a great restaurant. On the other hand, the menu left me feeling torn, as there were simply too many delicious sounding dishes. In the end, I decided to indulge with crunchy, cheesy macaroni with a hint of truffle (£7.90). It was perfect. A beautifully crisp topping gave way to a delicious cheese sauce and well cooked pasta. A winning dish for a cold winter’s day. I asked for some chips on the side of my macaroni, as if previous trips to The Pantry had taught me anything, it’s that it serves truly amazing proper chips that are fat and chunky and everything a chip should be. Regardless of what you choose from the impressive menu, make sure you get some chips on the side.

Rob couldn’t see past the hake sandwich and chips (£9.00). Wedges of freshly baked white bread gave way to a crispy batter and perfectly cooked fish. A side salad and chips accompanied this dish – he shares my view on how great they are. We washed all of this down with Cuddybridge apple juice, a locally sourced product that is pressed within days of reaching customer’s thirsty mouths.

We were too full for anything sweet, but The Pantry has a great range of cakes and treats, and a good range of herbal teas. Skimmed milk is also on the menu – a bonus point for when I’m in need of a skinny latte.

I’m pretty sure I’ve sold The Pantry to you, so all you need to do now is go along there yourselves and enjoy the delicious fare.

What do you think? My favourite picture is of the beautiful yellow and purple flowers – it reassured me that spring is on its way, and the dark mornings will soon be a thing of the past. All in all, it was a very good Sunday.

My love affair with coffee literally runs through my veins – it’s a daily ritual for us Italians. As for chocolate, although I don’t have it every day, it is something I adore in every guise, whether it be cake, biscuit or in a cup topped with cream and marshmallows. For me, Lent is more about proving a point that I can give up something I love, rather than gain from the religious significance. What I will say is that my abstinence hasn’t yet started, but already I wish it was over. Wish me luck – I’m going to need it.

After delving a little further into what this company offers, I started to get carried away. No longer did I desire just a  fitted wardrobe, but a deluxe walk-in wardrobe, with all manner of fittings to effortlessly display my clothes and shoes. Maybe one day, I’ll have the space to have something as versatile as the enviable walk-in above.

A Marks & Spencer Dine in for Two for £10 meal. There is a preconception that when you write about food every meal involves hours of preparation, followed by even more time cooking. Whilst at times this is true, there are occasions when I want to come home and have something that I can put in the oven, and enjoy my wine by the fire, rather than juggling four different pots on the boil.

This weekend, taking recent events into account, we really couldn’t think of a better excuse than to let Marks & Spencer do the work for us. The highlight was this delicious Chocolate and Raspberry Truffle Bake. This mouth-watering dessert was incredibly moreish – the gooey chocolate and raspberry was the perfect balance of sweet and sharp. The rest of the meal was equally tasty, but this pudding most definitely stood out.

As long as Marks & Spencer continues doing this wonderful dinner deal, I will keep having to look for excuses to have a Saturday night in.