You would think a group of thirty-somethings would have had enough life experience by now to be able to have a sophisticated evening in without it ending in debauchery, so did we, sadly this was not the case for a night that will forever be known as red wine tsunami night. First, a glass got knocked over on the table, oops no problem, we can clean this. Second came the glass of red wine smashed on the carpet, followed by a “helpful” friend throwing tonic on it (“I totally read this somewhere” becoming the quote of the night) thus spreading it further.

The look I get from my friends when I order a soda is like I’ve just told them I’m joining a cult, but when they are done right, sodas can be just as elegant and full of flavour as any fancy cocktail, minus the hangover the next day.

I didn’t realise quite the importance of kitchen scales were until a friend and I tried to make cookies without a set, how hard can it be right? Well the results were in fact incredibly hard, these cookies could cut glass, so to prevent emergency dentist trips its it best to invest in some reliable scales. Salter have been the UK’s number one brand for a long time when it comes to weighing scales, with just shy of 260 years’ experience you know you will be in safe hands with a set of their scales.

Here’s a gift for those messy chefs out there, perfect for my partner who regularly leaves to hob and surrounding areas looking like a Jackson Pollock’s Studio, the Frywall helps to keep your simmering food, inside the pan where it belongs. Made from FDA compliant silicone and BPA free the Frywall’s can withstand temperatures of up to 450°F and come in five sizes, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13inchs and four colour options, Black, Red, Green and Orange.

Ironing is neither glamourous or exciting, but it doesn’t mean it should at least try to be, the Phoenix Copper Pro (using a name like this is a good place to start), uses a HyperGlide ceramic sole plate for smooth glide across you clothing. This copper-ceramic continuous steam iron has a load of features to help you get the ironing done as quickly and efficiently as possible, allowing you to get on with something far more exciting.

Once upon a time, if your friend offered you a coffee you were 100% guaranteed to end up with an instant coffee and hot water combo, possibly with milk that’s in date depending on the quality of your friends (I have been given squirty cream as a milk substitute before and this says a lot about my friendship group). These days you don’t have to rely on some soulless high street chain for your flat white or espresso doppio, you can make it in your own home where it is much more acceptable to drink coffee in your pants and you won’t look pretentious for worki

This little bundle provides you with both the AirRam 2 and Multi Handheld vacuum, starting with the upright Gtech, which claims to be their best cordless upright vacuum cleaner. Designed to glide effortlessly from carpets to hard-floors without the need to change the settings without tethering you to the wall, simply grab the AirRam and go.

A kettle might not seem like an important gadget in your house, but this unsung hero is quite often the first appliance you use in the morning, it can play a part when preparing meals and always gets switched on when guests come to call. Efficiency doesn’t have to mean dull and the Avvolta is anything but dull, it comes in three colours - Red, Black, White - and has transparent and opaque alternating resin rings that wrap around the outer body and produce a unique, quirky look (matching toasters available).

Sometimes we have an appliance in our midst for so long that we can no longer see the potential for change; we just accept its flaws as part of life, mostly because these things don’t really have a huge negative impact on our lives, they are just kind of annoying. However, new technology can iron out these imperfections, like how car keys have evolved from physical keys into remote sensors and how we can now pay for things with just a tap of a card.

This is the second mirror I have reviewed from Simplehuman and as I loved the first one I had high hopes for this model.  In all honesty I didn’t think there was much more that could be done to improve the last one, but I was wrong.