Maria's Gaga: Easy Like Sunday Morning

I think it's about time for another blog post. I've had both a busy and quiet weekend all in one. It was my boyfriend's 21st birthday on Friday so I took the weekend off and we've had 48hrs full of friends, take away pizza, sharades, swanky dinners and long lie-ins. This is where I feel I have to mention the superb Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge - stunning seafood, succulent meat and even better service.

It's unfortunate that I've had a stonking cold all weekend so we haven't managed to do all the things we had wanted to (namely some Christmas shopping) but I've actually enjoyed the nothing-ness of our days for a change.

Anyway, since I couldn't actually go shopping, I thought I'd do a mini gift guide of the type of things I'll be buying for my loved ones this year.

Family

Wallet - £270 Mulberry (Although this is secretly on my wish list)

Aftershave - £36 Molten Brown

Cashmere jumper - £49.90 Uniqlo

Manolo's New Shoes - £24.95. I have this book and it's just full of the most vibrant, beautiful Manolo Blahnik illustrations.

Rose gold bracelet - £81 (Also on my wish list)

Panelled shoe - £85 Dune

Friends

Hand cream trio - £20 L'Occitane

Hand bag charm - £25 Links of London

Anthracite pashmina - £23.20 Marks and Spencer

Friends book by Edward Monkton - £4.99 Campusgifts.com. We have an Edward Monkton book on our coffee table and pretty much everyone who comes round picks it up and reads it. The witty anecdotes are a real talking point.