Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts

April 29, 2013

Highlights from Sydney

I have been a bit lapse with my Sydney posts, so I'll condense the highlights for you into one post of places that a worth a visit or things that are worth seeing.

Day One

Bondi is a beautiful area, famous for its beach and sexy TV lifeguards. We did keep our eyes pealed for them on the Friday morning but alas didn't see any. We did however visit an amazing breakfast place called Lamrock Cafe, which is well worth the visit. Meals are very reasonably priced and the food is delicious. I ordered the big breakfast and my plate came inundated with beautiful, buttery mushrooms. My only suggestion would be to sit inside because it gets very windy outside.


The rest of day one was taken up by my friend's wedding and beautiful view from L'Aqua Restaurant of Darling Harbour.

Day Two

As you can see day two was very wet but a girlfriend of mine was thankfully very keen to hit up the shops with me. Our first port of call was Topshop. I had always loved the store in the UK, so I was very keen to visit but a little underwhelmed with my experience there. It's not quite what I remember it being in the UK.

A trip to Sydney is never complete for me without visiting the decadent Queen Victoria Building. I love this place! It has such beautiful design inside, not to mention Haigs and my mother's favourite kitchen discounter, 'Victoria's Basement'.


I also have to admire the shop windows outside the Queen Victoria Building. This was just one from Camper. The colours seemed quite appropriate seeing as Anzac Day was the following week.


My next stop was The Strand Building, also across the road from the Queen Victoria Building. It houses my favourite bookshop in Australia, the Kinokuniya Bookstore. It seems to contain large sections of every possible genre, including Manga. The building also seemed to house a vending machine for Havaianas. I feel Brisbane is somewhat missing out here. Where is our Havaianas vending machine? What if my heels accidentally break while out? I actually got to see someone using the machine just before I took a picture.


Manly was the meeting point for the afternoon and quite pleasant once the rain cleared up. The only unpleasant thing about it was the ferry ride over and back, which was quite choppy. The ferry was almost perpendicular at one point - it's never a good thing when you can only see water in front of the boat and no boat!

I was quite happy with my Manly find for the afternoon, which turned out to be a patisserie owned by Adriano Zumbo. It was almost a hidey-hole in the wall and you wouldn't know it was there if you didn't see the tiny sign above the cut out wall. Hubby and I took our macarons home on the plane and devoured them. The flavours are quite unusual but still work really well together. One example is salted butter popcorn.

Whilst I was happy with my macaron find, my first experience of Max Brenner made Manly all the more sweeter (literally). The queue was still huge (nothing unlike Brisbane) but the white hot chocolate purchased for the ferry ride back was well worth it.

Day Three

Our hotel was right used to Paddy's markets, which is now known as Market City. Hubby and I ventured out of our hotel to find breakfast there but were sadly disappointed. The markets were nothing like to ones here at Kelvin Grove, where you can purchase fresh baked goods. Instead we stumbled upon a backpackers breakfast spot, right near our hotel and were quite surprised by the quality of the food and the price. The place was called the Wake Up Bar. Here's a photo of my banana, cinnamon and maple syrup pancake breakfast - yum!

I think I'm noticing a trend in the things I'm eating, hmm. Can you tell this pregnant lady has a sweet tooth at the moment?




November 1, 2012

Five for Friday

I am stealing the idea of my good friends from Style from the Suburban Intellect blog and giving you five things of interest for your Friday.

1. Cuteness

This adorable Koala Joey made it to page 3 of the courier mail today. Click here to read the full article.

Image from The Courier Mail

2. The Intouchables
A fantastic French film that has made it into mainsteam cinema. It is based on a true story of a friendship that develops between a French aristocrat (who is a quadriplegic) and the man he hires to be his carer. Watch the trailer below.


3. A Classy Summer Spritzer
I was introduced to the concept of Verjuice combined with soda water last weekend and love the idea. Not only does it taste great but it's non-alcoholic, if you're stuck driving for the day. Kids can also feel like grown ups drinking this. Mixed portions work out to be a bit like cordial but the cordial is replaced with Verjuice. 

4. Movember
It's official, movember has begun! Show your support for prostate cancer and facial hair. Read more about this great cause on the official movember site.


5. That Shop

I discovered That Shop, as what I assume is a pop up store next to the Pearl Cafe at Woolloongabba last weekend. I'd love to buy some of their dresses when I have a bit of money.

 Image from That Shop


May 9, 2012

Melbourne in May

Day 1 - Yarra Wineries & the Dandenong Region

I was lucky enough to spent the long weekend in Melbourne and its beautiful surrounding countryside. Instead of my normal Melbourne shopping trip, I decided to do something a little different this time and hire a car to explore the Yarra and Dandenong Region, which turned out to be quite pretty in Autumn, as you will see from the photos below. I also learnt a lot about my independence on the Friday by myself and how determined and strong I can be...no matter how lost I get :).

 Kangaroo Grounds Memorial Tower Lookout
The Perfect Wedding Setting at the Fergusson Winery

Yering Station - the oldest winery in the area

 Domaine Chandon and its famous sparkling
 Skyhigh at the top of Mount Dandenong - well worth the $5 entry

Day 2- Brunswick Street, Chadstone & Carlton

With my sister meeting a friend for breakfast, I once again tested my independence and ordered breakfast for one at a restaurant. It actually didn't feel too bad and the meal was amazing. We then picked up my sister's other bridesmaids and explored Chadstone, where we saw George from Masterchef Australia whilst dining at Koko Black. Following our Chadstone outing, we had a nice Pasta meal in a restaurant off Lygon Street, followed by ordering takeaway desserts from Brunetti. 

 Green Eggs and Ham does exist on Brunswick Street

 One of my favourite haunts - Brunetti
Day 3 - City & Chapel Street

With no shopping success at Chadstone, we shopped for bridesmaid dresses in the city, followed by Chapel Street. This included stops along the way at Little Cupcakes and Ganache Chocolate. We managed to find the perfect dresses in a Chapel Street store, before going out to dinner at Cumulus but after a drink at the Sofitel's Atrium Bar.


 Little Cupcakes store, Degraves Street
 Street Art in the city

 Cocktails at the Atrium Bar, at the Sofitel

   Shared Plate at Cumulus

April 30, 2012

Magical Melbourne

It's not too often that I get the chance to travel outside my own state these days, so I must admit I am very thankful to my husband for giving me the heads up to visit Melbourne this weekend and go bridesmaid shopping with my sister (for her wedding). I am also secretly relishing the opportunity to explore the state.

  Photo courtesty of Wikipaedia

Melbourne has always been a sister city to Brisbane for me and I know if I were ever to move away from Brisbane, it would be to live and work in Melbourne. There's just something I like about its culture, arts and the people. Hubby was a Victorian too, maybe there's something in that. It reminds me a lot of London, where I have lived previously. You must admit their tourism ads are also quite intriguing and catchy, do you remember 'Run, Rabbit Run' or this ad....  



Places I intend to visit for the first time this trip:
- Brighton (always wanted to see the famous changing sheds)
- Some of the Yarra wineries e.g. Domaine Chandon, De Bartolini and The Yering
- A Dandenong garden or two e.g. Cloudehill and the National Rhododendron Garden
- The Prahan and Brunswick Markets (I've heard great things)
- Zara (yay for it coming to Melbourne)

My Favourite Haunts:
- Brunetti's in Croydon
- Chapel Street in South Yarra
- Docklands
- Southbank
- Acland Street in St. Kilda

Other possible places to visit:
- The Berlin Bar
- Laneways with graffiti art (always love the great photos they make)
- The Croft Institute
- Chadstone Shopping Centre
- Cheltenham DFO

Melbournites, do you have anymore suggestions? Is there anything in or around Melbourne that I should see this weekend?

April 28, 2012

A New Wintergarden for Brisbane

I got my first glimpe of the new Wintergarden in Brisbane yesterday. I personally think the facade looks amazing but I'll let you be the judge of that. It reminds me of a mix between Federation Square and China's Birdnest stadium.


The interior displays are also quite creative.



March 9, 2012

My VIP Pigeon Pass has Arrived

Yesterday was an exciting day. I received my VIP Pigeon pass from the Good Guide in the mail. This pass acts a bit like an Entertainment Book in that it allows you to get discounts with various restaurants, cafes and entertainment venues in Brisbane. It's normally over $100 annually but after filling in a survey, I got it for free.

It was also a good day to buy cheap DVDs from WOW's closing down sales. I managed to get all of the below for $34.28 Whilst the news is correct in that discounts aren't as good as they could be yet, there are still some good bargains to be had...you just have to look for them.

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