Little Italy 23

[BananaGio]

Siamo qua!

Ciao! I am only still here because DD is being swum. Ah the luxury of an extra hour in the pm!

Sounds good Sput. I'm also impressed with the organisation already in place,especially as you'll all no doubt remember my American friend in Bologna being shouted at (literally) by the doctor she saw when it was thought her son might be on the autism spectrum "Ma! Signora! Chi le ha insegnato quella parola?????"

I do like Photobox very much. It's Vistafeckingprint that irritates me. Vistaprint is like a Ryanair flight. They start off telling you it will cost you £2,99 and at the end you pay £30.

Giveitago- photobox for photo calendars and suchlike (very good for grandparents and other doting rellies) If you join quidco as well, and go to photobox through them you get masses of cashback too. Btw, congrats on the job, hadn't seen that bit! What will yu be doing?

I've just been trying to buy cheap Clarins for my Mum for Christmas from Fragrance Direct (recommended by MN!) but site is too slow to load so am going to ebay instead for a bit.

Well done sput - sounds very promising.

Buch - Thanks re photobox - will certainly look at it - nonna needs a bit of present this christmas and see if I can get something for sil. Will I get cashback via quidco if in UK

Buch - job means I'll be on a third of my old salary pro rata - however given my age and two career breaks -PLUS the recession I'm hoping for an easy ride - ie very little stress and some extra money for us. Most importantly, I want to leave work at just after 5pm and not have to think about work (noting I'm in London and have done the 16 hour day line managing a team with all the shitty politics thing). Then it's a good deal.

Yep - dh runs a restaurant. Don't get excited- I never go there. Reason being I don't have time plus alot of the wifes of the managers (it's a small successful london chain - 4 branches only ) used to go all the time with their mates without paying and the big owner thought it a bit of an issue so this owner loves me as I'm never there. Big owner loves me and wants me to go but I would have never allowed dh in my office so I think I shouldn't go and sit in his workplace (not that I'd have the time anyhow). See my drift? Sad, though, it's bloody excellent authentic quality Southern Italian food. A real gem of a place if you're in the know in north London. I send all Italians there and they're not disappointed. But I don't get the benefit from it!

But hopefully will get the aforementioned christmas lunch out of it.

I'm happy with christmas arrangements - but our flat is small and with 8 guests will we have any room for a christmas tree?

sounds good Sput, keep us posted.
Franca you need a good Marks to appreciate it. The one near my parents is hideous and stuck circa 1976. The huge one in Manchester was fab though. Not a fan of womens clothes there but love their kids stuff and their underwear. And the food of course.
Giveitago your Christmas sounds fab! Not least because you are not cooking. Bliss.

I think we have been very lucky really, this is a very new thing here, according to the doctor who referred us it is not publicly funded either, though I think they are working on that, and they have big private sponsors. So we are doubly lucky to have insurance which will (hopefully) pay for most of it if necessary.
Apparently it's not publicly funded in the UK either, except if you fight tooth and nail for it.

How do you work the quidco thing Buch? I tried to register once a couple of years ago but you had to be UK resident. Did it change?

what's quidco? Off to put the dc to bed. They are wasting time with bayblades.

Gio, I know, my local M&S was on the small size and not paritcularly attractive.

Sorry, keep posting before time.

Sputnik, let us know how it goes, it is really great that there is such a good scheme nearby.

Giveitago: wow, the restaurant sounds fab!

am having a lovely evening planning what books am going to get for my Kindle when DP follows instructions and buys me one for Xmas. I plan on spending 2 weeks playing with it and not moving from my sofa apart from going to get yet more food (to celebrate all the weight I am going to lose on WW y'know)

Thanks Franca :) It is also not too far to drive from our house, big plus!

You know, I have tried but I have only ever been able to wear M&S knickers. Something about the great British bum! Not keen on the clothes myself, but the kids stuff seems good, and DH gets non-iron shirts from there which means a) no ironing is done here, and b) relatives always know what to buy him for xmas.

Oh wow, you are getting a kindle???!!!! Wow . I've fallen in love with a friend's ipad...

Actually, I think I bought a bag once in M&S, of which I was incredibly proud (like 17 quids or something). It wasn't the biggest fashion moment of my life, I suppose. Ds was only a few months old, and I walked the E. streets, pushing a buggy, wearing a very warm (and unstylish) hooded coat from H&M (which I wore until we went back to Italy, usually way into May ) and with an amazingly small bag, hanging form the buggy's handles. Where I kept nappipes etc I can't remember.

I want a kindle too! I am so over paper books cluttering the place up (heretic!)

Sputnik

can you mn with a kindle?

Aparently it does have a web browser.
I thought it was for reading books only.
Another reason to want one then!

I'd love an ipad, but it's never going to happen

I thought about the ipad but the expense plus fact I think will be easier to have a kindle on the beach means have decided on that.
is cider vinegar the same as aceto di mele foodies?

Congratulations Giveitago!

Sputnik, that sound like a really good programme. Let us know how it goes.

I love M&S. I buy their knickers for the whole family their. Clothes are hit and miss.
Oh I want an ipad so much! Not going to get it tho.
I still love the clutter of paper book.

I can see the mothers at ds school complaining about povero Matteo not getting 10!
Stuck in london this weekend because have a conference at work . And working in reading today

Gio, I say this with no authority but I think it is. That is what I use anyway.

I use my UK address/bank details for Quidco so possibly it's not available if you are (technically ) Uk resident? Photobox give you something like a whopping 20% cashback. In the last month, with orders for Boden/Book People and Photobox I've had almost £30 cashback. It'll never make me rich, but my aim is to keep building it up and get all next year's Christmas prezzies from the money. What is hard is to remember before doing any online shopping to log into Quidco and use their link to get to the site first. You even get a minute amount of cashback for ebay purchases, but I never remember that. Someone on here recommended TopCashback (or something) instead, as with Quidco the first £5 you get goes to Quidco fees, but I started with them and it's easy so I've stuck with them.

M and S is hit and miss with clothes. But when it's good it's fab. I get all my work trousers from there. I am a M and S size 10 long. I am not anyone else'sso I know where I am with Marks!

Speaking of online shopping 20% off L'Occitane today and tomorrow only NOEL20 at the checkout.

Giveitago- I think you are right about the job....comes a time when you just can't do those kind of hours any more I guess. I do long hours when I'm in the UK in the summer- on the train at 7.15, back in the evening at about 6.30 but I'm at my mum's, who is cooking, cleaning and ironing for me as well as looking after dd. If I did those hours and then had to do the mum stuff as well, it would be impossible. (or I'd need a live-in housemaid, which isn't going to happen lol)

I'm off to L'occitane!

I LOST ALL MY WORK ON PHOTOBOX AGAIN!!!! I think I may try snapfish or Vistaprint as I literally cannot take it anymore. Or buy everyone socks instead.

M&S - I used to go to the flagship store in MArble Arch in London which is their biggest one I think, and it's always very sparkly at Xmas. The house section was particularly good.

Banana, aceto di mele will work instead of cider vinegar - it does not taste like the one I used ot get in the UK but it's close enough. I think this may be Xmas pudding weekend Chez Minerva; I feel I am already late and DH is getting worried about the distinct lack of xmas pudding and mince pies in the house.

Thanks EC and Minerva. While you are around- what are mixed pepper berries and all spice berries?????? Want to do some Delia pickles but have fallen at the first hurdle by not understanding recipe.
Buch just signed up for Quidco. Gutted didnt do it before I spent a fortune online.
Windows rattling here with storm che pallllllle!

Mixed pepper is when you get black red and green pepper in the same jar, if you can't find that you can probably get them seperately. All spice, no idea if you can find it here, I got it in the UK back in the day when I used to pickle stuff a lot. Try Castroni maybe?

Just had another mega bargain via Quidco- Body Shop, if you buy 5 items (no minimum spend) plus a bag for life canvas shopper for £2.50 you get 30% off and 15% cashback with Quidco and if you spend over £25 you get a free body butter worth £12.

In short, I had stuff to the value of £65, for which I paid £43 and I got a freebie and will get 15% cashback as well. COde to apply is BAGIT

Minerva- how is that happening??? When I did some more cards for dd yesterday, all my old stuff was still there as well. There must be a blip somewhere. My Vistaprint cards for dd's class (photo of her being a snow angel last Christmas) just arrived and are rather nice. (if a bit Ryanairy pricewise!)