**Apologies to those reading this by email; I wrote the post and then forgot to schedule it, so you’ll be reading this on a Monday! If you’re not subscribed to the email then you can do so here.

1) Top tip: never watch Channel 4’s Supervet on the same day that you’ve had to drop your dog off at the pet hospital. Oh my God, I cried more than I have for months! There was this little Bulldog puppy and it had to be put down and the owners were in absolute pieces and I was bawling for about a full five minutes! Phew. I don’t think that pregnancy hormones mix well with dramatic, heart-rending television programmes. I had burst into tears already that day, when I dropped Dexter off at the vets, because the lady in the waiting room had just had her cat put down and was weeping into a hanky. I wanted to give her a cuddle but then I just loss all sense of self-control and started to cry and had to run out and sit in the car. I am avoiding potentially emotional situations for the rest of my pregnancy. (You can keep up with my pregnancy diary here.) I have a full eight weeks to go yet, so it may prove difficult, but I’m thinking that if I avoid all television that hasn’t been pre-approved (ie I’ve read the synopsis or blurb or whatever it is) and only read happy books….

2) Talking of books, I found myself being incredibly irritated by the ending of Simon Mawer’s The Girl Who Fell From The Sky. Look away now if you’re currently reading it or about to read it (if you’re not then you can find it here online), but for those who have finished it: WHAT THE HELL? What was going on with the ending? I didn’t sit through hours of tense espionage and radio-parts-hidden-in-fannies for that kind of ending! I was bitterly disappointed. I kind of knew that something abrupt and bad was on the cards, but it was all just such an anticlimax. I almost threw my Kindle across the room in frustration. If you’ve read it then let me know what you thought – the rest of the book was top-notch, I was totally absorbed. My new book for this week is Elizabeth is Missing; came highly recommended but I’m only three pages in so I haven’t read enough to comment on it yet! If you want to read along with me then you can find the book at Amazon here.

3) I’ve been a little bit slow with getting my post recently, so I’ve probably missed the boat with this one, but I really liked this “Super Hero” edition subscription box from Parisian brand My Little Box. They do beauty boxes with a difference; each one has a theme or “guest host” and includes a selection of carefully curated non-beauty items as well as a little cloth bag filled with skin, makeup and body treats. It all looks very stylised and cute and I can see why the service has become so popular – it’s more of a lifestyle box than a beauty box.

Some of the things that come through aren’t really my particular cup of tea (what do I do with sheets of stickers now that I don’t have school books to cover?) but then I’m not sure whether I’m slightly out of the age range, at 34. There’s no denying, though, that My Little Box are doing something a bit different and they seem to have built up a really strong identity which can’t be the easiest thing to achieve in the overpopulated beauty box market. Everything is so carefully planned and “on brand”: beautiful web photography, gorgeous product illustrations and a dedicated magazine with interesting content. You can find out more about the My Little Box service here.