Lunchtime is usually one of the busiest times of the day for any online shop, especially if the weather is bad or it's the run up to Christmas.

Between the hours of 12 noon and 2pm approximately, people in offices all around the country take out their tupperwares, sandwiches and credit cards and go shopping (without leaving their desks!) to the biggest shopping centre in the world: the internet.

Most of us buy online because it saves time and effort - it takes me just five minutes to order my shopping from the supermarket and I don't have to deal with a crowded shop or faff around with bags! But apart from the convenience aspect of online shopping, there is also a certain element of originality and uniqueness. Our high streets may be full of shops but they are all the same no matter where you go. There are not that many little boutiques selling stuff that is different and original - that is why I decided to set up Caradiaz in the first place.

So with the vast choice of online shops and the exciting prospect of being able to buy anything from anywhere in the world, the chances that your neighbour may wear the same dress as you at the next street party are really rather remote!

Happy shopping …oh, and enjoy your lunch!

Picture: PunchStock

One of the first things that I began looking into when I found out that I was pregnant earlier this year was clothes (quelle surprise!). I had noticed a few maternity brands in fashion magazines and friends of mine gladly recommended a few places too, so I typed a few names in Google and started bookmarking those with potential. However, that little exercise didn't last long because it turned out that actually I couldn't find that many clothes I liked the look of! Oh dear.....

But just before Easter I went to Spain to visit my family and do a few Caradiaz business meetings and was pleasantly surprised to find that, although the so-called maternity ranges were just as bad over there, some shops had quite a few clothing ranges in plus sizes which were actually beautifully cut and looked really rather nice. So I took my sister with me on a 'big' shopping spree and that's where most of my maternity wardrobe came from. Back in the UK, I bought also a couple of pieces from super-stylish, yummy mummy, on-line shop Isabella Oliver. Their maternity clothes look absolutely fabulous, I got their Autumn-Winter catalogue in the post a couple of weeks ago and could have easily gone mad buying stuff!

But, rather ironically, although I do actually run an on-line shop myself, when it comes to clothes, I'm just no good at buying on the internet. There is always something that doesn't fit quite right and, although most on-line shops have quite reasonable return policies these days, it's quite disappointing.

That is why we don't do things like rings at Caradiaz. In my opinion, when size does matter, you're better off going out to the shops and trying things on.

Picture courtesy of: Isabella Oliver

Earlier this week, I just about managed to make it to a trade fair in London, despite being in the last stages of my pregnancy.

We tend to do most of the Caradiaz buying abroad, not only because we can choose jewellery that is different from that sold in the UK, but also because it's a good excuse to travel! However, not having been able to fly for over a couple of months now, I decided to see what was new at Pure. I hadn't been for a couple of seasons and was pleased to see more European brands than usual, so I placed a couple of orders - all within budget - and after a yummy lunch at the Pizza Express around the corner, I made my way back to the office to start planning for the arrival of the merchandise as it looks like it will all happen shortly after my due date - how's that for 'maternity leave'?

The Caradiaz team was particularly busy today checking and packing a wholesale delivery for Red Direct, the mail-order shopping arm of the UK fashion magazine Red.

Negotiations started back in April this year, when we met with Red Direct's jewellery buying at their head office in London to show them our new arrivals and discuss the possibility of introducing some of these items in their catalogue for the following season. The meeting went well and ultimately the shopping editor chose the Manhattan necklace, a stylish multi-string beaded necklace featuring silver metal beads on black waxed cotton strings.

This is Caradiaz's third collaboration with Red Direct (we had two designs in the 2007 Spring catalogue and one in the 2007 Summer catalogue) and hopefully one as successful as the previous ones!

Manhattan necklace
Picture: Red Direct Autumn'08 catalogue

A few weeks ago I treated my husband (who also happens to be the Caradiaz IT Manager) to a posh meal for his birthday. The chosen venue: Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's.

We hadn't been there before and upon making that admission our waiter asked 'Are you excited to be here?', a comment that we actually thought a bit on the arrogant side... Once at our table, our waiter quickly proceeded to enquire about the special occasion that led to our visit - surely there could be no other reason for us to be there - so my poor husband then had to come clean and admit to his birthday, a response that of course satisfied our waiter very much - after all he was right, there was a special occasion involved - and made him shake my husband's hand enthusiastically saying 'congratulations'.

By now, we were really rather worried about the big fuss made around us when all we wanted to do was enjoy a nice meal. But thankfully, once we ordered and the food started to arrive, we were left to eat in peace and there we no more surprises ... well, until dessert time when our waiter brought to the table a kind of cupcake with a candle lit up on a plate decorated with the words 'happy birthday' written with chocolate. It was a nice touch and something a lot more inconspicuous than having the whole restaurant - including the Ambassador of El Salvador to Taiwan - singing 'happy birthday' to you, as it happened to me a couple of years ago during dinner at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taipei. But that's another story which I may tell you about some other time.

All in all, the experience at Claridge's wasn't too bad. We had a lovely meal, the food was gorgeous and we couldn't find anything that was 'out of season' on any of the three menus we were offered to choose from. Hang on, is this really the same chef that constantly advocates for keeping the menu simple in his tv show, Kitchen Nightmares?

Gordon Ramsay at the opening of his new restaurant in LA
Picture: www.wireimage.com