The shoes here are absolutely gorgeous, the kind of shoes you see in fancy magazines and really…read morewish you had. Sadly, my feet are too small to fit any of the shoes here and no matter how many shoe inserts I buy they still don't fit. Most shoes are around £60+ and they also do bags and belts which are quite pricey too. I did manage to find a beautiful waist belt for only £12 once though. The shop is very small and can get very busy which then becomes quite chaotic as there are shoe sizes flying in every direction from eager shoe fanatics. There's also a 50-50 split between the male and female shoes which is nice. I always go in for a browse, especially when it comes to sale time in the hope that I can find something that fits. Please Dune, start making smaller sizes! Although, maybe it's a good thing for my purse that I can't fit anything here.

Dune I have always imagined as a ladies shop, not for young people. So when I hit the age of around…read more20, I decided to go in. Big steps I know. Anyway, the staff were on me straight away, I seem to sense a hint of sales target. The poor souls, they were ever so helpful, and ran back and forth to get me sizes and colours. I felt so guilty, and definitely a little obliged to buy buy buy, which I didn't particularly want to do necessarily. Long story short, I left with a pair of boots that were on the sale for £70! Oh my god, I have to say these are probably some of my more recent and mose expensive purchases on footwear, excluding my ski boots. I am just glad they were boots, and not a strappy sandal, at least I feel as though I got more for my money.

For a real flavour of how Mackintosh and his wife Margaret McDonald so radically transformed the…read moreart scene, I would recommend a visit to The Tenement House in Garnethill (which will show you what Glasgow tenements were like in Victorian days) before coming here. It is near-impossible to imagine that this interior started out as a typical Glasgow tenement on nearby Southpark Avenue, such is the transformation that they wrought on it. Moving from the typical dark Stygian Victorian décor to this wonderful temple of light that they created was a quantum leap in interior design that still resonates even today. The actual house was demolished as it was thought to be unstable when the University were building next to it - however it turned out to be not as bad as was originally thought and could have been saved, which leaves the University in something of a questionable position to say the least. It is rather ironic then that this specially-built extension to the Hunterian Art Gallery, constructed solely to house the interiors of the Mackintosh house, is now in such a parlous state of disrepair itself that it is going to have to be dismantled and moved to the new Kelvin Hall museum extension where it is not going to enjoy the wonderful natural light and east-facing views that it currently has. Mackintosh's interiors are all about the light - how it can be introduced and channelled into the space. He installed extra windows in the south wall of the house and in the hallway used a mirror to spread the light around the otherwise dark wooden walls. Little arrays of square stained glass pieces (something of a Mackintosh trademark) catch your eye when the light is behind them. In the main living area, the transom in front of the bay window is dropped to just above head height, which seems very counter-intuitive until you see how this matches up with the height of the doors, the dropped picture rail, the new side window, and the opening knocked through to the back room (yes, this is not a modern idea!). It completely changes the proportions of the space and focuses the light where it is needed. The house contains the Mackintoshs' own furniture - all to their design of course - and there are some wonderfully quirky pieces, such as the small wooden chair with the heart- (or buttock-) shaped depression on the seat that looks so inviting. The large high-sided box chair (surely inspired by Orkney chairs) looks as though it would be very cosy on a draughty winter's day. I also loved his personal writing cabinet in the rear space, which with its doors open looks almost like a small Japanese lady in a kimono; Mackintosh, along with several other of his fellow artists, at the time, was heavily influenced by Japanese design that was just starting to make an appearance in the West. I could continue to wax lyrical about the Mackintosh house as I love it so much, but there is also the main Hunterian Art Gallery to consider. Personally I find this rather overshadowed by the Mackintosh house, yet it is a fine collection and there are some notable works by Rubens, Rembrandt and Chardin as well as the Scottish Colourists and Glasgow Boys. It also has the largest collection anywhere of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler. The Art Gallery is free, although they sometimes charge for special exhibitions, but there is a small charge (£5) for entry to the Mackintosh House. Get there early on a sunny morning (it opens at 10am, 11am on Sundays) for the best experience.

I visited today to see the excellent Ingenious Impressions, an exhibition of some of the earliest…read moreprinted books from the 1400s onwards. It's on until 21st June 2015 and I think I'll be back again because it was fascinating and there were so many books to look at. The University of Glasgow has an outstanding collection of paintings, books, artefacts and many many other things. Much of it is from William Hunter's collection hence the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum but there are many other collectors who have sold or gifted amazing things to the uni. And now we get to see it all FOR FREE! This is what blows me away about the art galleries and museums in this fine city. The Hunterian Art Gallery has a wonderful collection of paintings with many works by Whistler. I'm not very knowledgeable about Art History but I love wandering round here in the afternoon, it's peaceful and interesting. It doesn't attract many children or families in the way that Kelvingrove does so you can get around without dodging hectic toddlers! The Mackintosh House is a must see and they run regular short tours throughout the day. I would quite like to live in the White Room if that could be made possible?! The only thing I don't like about the Hunterian is that the building is a bit dated, I think it opened in the 80s and hasn't changed much since. Other than that it's a great place to visit if you're in the area and interested in art and painting.

Amazing old fashioned ironmongery shop right in the heart of the barras. Staff more than willing to…read morehelp you find what your looking for.

Shops with the word "pound" in the title always conjure horrible images. However, Poundland in…read moreClydebank is really handy for little bits and bobs you can't find anywhere else. Case in point; last Christmas I was looking for a nice ribbon to wrap my gifts with. I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere, until I popped into Poundland and found three metres of the nicest ribbon I had seen so far for only a pound. Poundland isn't one of those scabby pound shops filled with junk either. It is clean, brightly decorated and the staff are helpful. Oh dear, I've just realised I've turned into one of those people who go on about how great pound shops are. Next I'll be wearing tracksuit bottoms outdoors.

Good old Poundland, always a trooper if you're looking for wrapping paper or gift bags which can be…read moreas much as £5 elsewhere, £1 will do me fine thanks very much. I think the name says it all really, items all priced at a pound and therefore I feel it needs to be judged for what it is, it's not Harrods, so I'm amazed why so many people turn their noses up at these shops, it's not as if they're trying to be something they're not. The items they sell are a pound so big deal if some of it's tat? It can actually be quite amusing looking at some of the items they stock, such as crazy multi coloured feather dusters and £1 DVDs. I saw one a while ago that was a Halloween DVD and the stories were "House on The Haunted Hill" and "The Skeletons" oooohhh, they looked as though they were made by some lonely old guy with his home video camera. I kind of regret not buying it as I'm sure the comedy factor would have been awesome. I usually get really into the spirit of Halloween and Poundland is great for decorations, they have all sorts of things and I even noticed they had some rubbery severed limbs last year which looked hilarious. This is the same for Christmas party decorations and things for Birthday parties, especially if you have children you can get party bags and goodies to fill them with here. Overall, Poundland stocks the kind of items you would expect but it's not all tat in this shop and for household goods and party accessories this is a great shout.

Free to enter, this is a very disappointing gallery save for the architecture. Spread across four…read morefloors the permanent collection is low-impact while July's special exhibit was a single piece with limited appeal. It may be worth a look if nearby, but definitely not worth going out of one's way for.

A historic building with four floors. Wide variety of contemporary art; and free. There's also a…read morelibrary where there's places to sit and read. Figure about 45 minutes for the art. I was told the exhibits change over time; so I won't talk about specifics.

It's an update, with the same rating, but with the addition of a smily face at the end (you'll…read moresee). So the clothes pile was dwindling and most of the gear I had was coughing it's last cough and crawling away to die in the secret male clothing graveyard. Required was a hoody and dress shirt. Nothing fancy. Just something that said 'cool' without saying 'Dad trying to look cool'. For the life of me, I never expected to walk in here and find what I was looking for. But walk in and find something that I was looking for I did! With a hoody purchased for around 20 earth pounds and a heavy well made white dress shirt for a discounted 8, I left a happy and confused bunny. :) (there's the smiley!)

I used to shop at Burtons quite often but have noticed the way they put the security tags on to the…read moreclothes make them look like seconds. After a few washes there is a visible hole at the back. One good thing here it that they have a juke box in the men's department. Most of the staff are more interested in getting you to sign up to their store cart that is a con than selling you what you originally wanted. I bought a t-shirt when l was there last time and sent it back after one wash the whole pattern went of and l was offered no exchange or a refund of the £22.00 that l paid but a voucher for £10 l have not shopped at burtons since or ever intend to.

Generally speaking I'm not a huge fan of stalls that sit in the middle of shopping centres. I think…read moreit's because the sales staff tend to appear as if from nowhere and badger you into looking at their tat. It's a bit like being on holiday in one of those places in Spain that's like Britain but sunny and with more British people in it. Slightly rape-y looking men grab you and demand you buy one of their fake Rolex watches. I remember standing in the Braehead Shopping Centre a few months ago waiting to meet a friend and a lady from one such stall put a wig on my head and said, "You buy wig. Head look better now." Ummm, no thanks. I feel I am digressing. My point is that Magnolia is a small jewellery stall which sits in the middle of the Braehead Shopping Centre (near M&S) but it is delightful and not at all tatty and/or rape-y. The sales staff are friendly and helpful but at the same time give you the time and space to browse at your leisure without feeling pressured into a sale. Magnolia specialise in sterling silver jewellery but my favourite pieces are the ones with silver and gold elements mixed together. Last week I treated myself to a cute little silver necklace with a gold and silver heart pendant for a very reasonable £32. Magnolia sells a variety of styles of jewellery to suit all tastes. There's everything from subtle everyday pieces to big colourful costume items. If like me, your skin is sensitive to nickel and you can't wear jewellery from places like Topshop and River Island then somewhere like Magnolia is perfect. All their jewellery is sterling silver or gold-filled. I recently purchased a pair of silver hooped earrings with gold decorative beads for £13 (yet another treat for myself!) Go to somewhere like Topshop and you can expect to pay more than that for some earrings made from metal components similar to what you'd find in a can of baked beans! If that's not enough the company slogan is "Sparkle Up Your Day"! I know I'm a sucker but how adorable is that?! I've attached photos of the earrings and necklace I bought to give you an idea of what you can expect to find at this great little stall.

This store appears to be named after the countless cuddly soft toy dogs it stocks rather than the…read morelittle stuffed dinosaur from Noel Edmond's Swap Shop. I really want to give this place a good review as it is a small local business but unfortunately it is not my cup of tea at all. In my opinion, the stock is tacky and overpriced. However, the fact it is still going strong in the centre of Helensburgh shows it is popular with locals.

Being the apparent antithesis of Maureen M - if we were superheroes, she would be "21st Century…read moreGrrll" and I would be "The Clutter Nutter" - I avenge anything that reminds me of my gran. And since my gran was synonymous with tacky nicknacks and harkbacks to the interwar era, I like this shop. Full of cuddly toys, posh, collectable bears in a Steiff style and various other bits and bobs, it's one to go birthday shopping in. It reminds me of a mini Papyrus (of Glasgow fame) that exists in Helensburgh. They get a lot of the same stock in and is full to burst with fox pendants, owl cushions and anything for the consumer who has a penchant for retro wares. Dinky, cute store with a cool shopkeeper - glad this place is still in business!