There's this bright pink sign catching your attention on Cascades Road, which immediately signals…read morethis is no mechanic shop along a busy industrial district. What a Girl Wants is a second hand store, but packed with top quality bits and pieces. There are bags, clothes, shoes, books, furniture and ornaments, all geared towards the classy women of East Auckland. I thoroughly enjoyed having a browse, and picked up a nice singlet for a whopping $2! It's next to a coffee place and also an antique store, so your vintage tastes can be quenched, along with a nice spot of coffee afterwards. You can just park on the gravel outside, which is really handy. The shop assistant was friendly enough, and the way things are set out is really eye catching. It's awesome to see some creative thought going into the layout of a thrift store, considering most of the time, you have to rummage to find anything particularly useful. Here, it's all on display, in order of size and product. Good stuff.

What a Girl Wants would be a solid four star shop if it weren't for the staff…read more The two times I've been in I've wanted to stay longer, they have some amazing bargains and a very well organised shop, and overall the quality of their stock is excellent. The problem is, the two ladies who work there were very, very loudly talking politics both times I went in. As there's a dance school directly above them, it's fair enough that they need to raise their voices a little to be heard. But maybe don't stand on opposite sides of the shop? Or don't go on loudly about how much you dislike beneficiary bludgers who just sit around all day doing nothing. I mean, you're running a second hand shop, people...perhaps put two and two together and come up with four?

The Hospice Shop outside Westfield Pakuranga was a dive bar called The White Horse for the longest…read moretime but has finally been renovated and turned into something worthwhile and useful - a really large store full of vintage, secondhand and retro clothing. Not to be confused with the Eastgate Christian Centre just up the road, the hospice store is pretty much clothing-bound (unlike it's everything under one roof competitor). While the average age of the Pakuranga area can sometimes feel like 65, the clothing on offer at the store is plentiful and for a range of different styles and ages. The usual over-running of Miller's shirts for older women is apparent, but so is the number of older women searching for these things! There's plenty for the op-shopping hipster in this place too so check it out.

Looking for a slice of Chinatown, but not actually in Chinatown? In Highland Park, which is…read morearguably one of the most Asian concentrated areas in Auckland, there's the Aviemore Star Village. It's packed with little Asian shops, bakeries, restaurants and convenience stores. I've enjoyed dinner at The Golden Fortune & Dessert at Rio Kitchen here, despite being one of few caucasians hanging around the place. What can I say? I'm just a little asian on the inside. There's only two things I dislike. 1) The place looks a bit run down and 2) It smells like fish. Perhaps it's imitating a slice of Tokyo or Beijing, but it's not that pleasant when you come from clean, green Auckland. Aside from that, it's a great place to come and experience a different way of life or culture. Depending on the shop, the hours here range from 8am-9pm, but they tend to be open for the full 7 days. So be sure to have a look when you have a sushi craving.

I once came in here for a quick look around with my sister and nephew. We wondered around for a bit…read moreand I was thinking all the furniture was very cool but there were no major bargains around so nothing for us to take home. We were about to walk out when my nephew spotted a little chair that he decided he absolutely must have. It was a small, green rocking chair. We asked how much it was and then, after realising it wasn't really in the budget we set off to leave. But we didn't make it out the door... the very friendly shop owner bounced over and knelt down to my nephews level and said "you know what, I think we might have one of those upstairs that's slightly damaged so we can't sell it... if I go up and find it you can take it home". Well I don't need to tell you how obviously happy this made the little boy. He pulled out his best manners and said thank you and we walked away with an awesome rocking chair! The only thing that was wrong with it was a small chip on the bottom - nothing major! Wonderful service and a good little experience here.

What I love about this place is that the staff are always so, so nice. I mean, obviously you have…read moreto have a certain sense of altruism to be working voluntarily at a hospice shop in the first place, but these ladies always seem to go above and beyond and they are super polite and chatty, so it always makes me feel good about spending my dollars here and rewarding these hardworking ladies instead of going to the similar shop down the road. In terms of the stock, I always often find goodies in here - whether it be books, clothes or trinkets, most of the time I walk away with something in hand. A little bit out of the CBD if you're a traveller, however if you're a local in the area then I would definitely say that this the best opportunity shop in the Glen Innes/ Glendowie/ St Heliers region by far.

Contract Bedding makes a whole lot of beds that get slapped with a fancy label and then sent off to…read moreshops to be sold by them. However, like most things, if you buy directly from the manufacturer, you can get a good quality product for much less. I would like you all to buy your beds from here, and here's why: they are a small family run business, and we need to keep those going. you can watch them make a bed, and they'll answer your questions about the process they have a couple of pretty cool dogs that hang out in the factory you can get a really good bed for about half the price of anywhere else they are good people: they gave us some free pillows and delivered our bed for free, pretty grouse. If that's not enough reasons for you to go there, I can't help you I'm afraid.

Our new couch just arrived this afternoon! I am so excited. We had been looking at couches at…read morequite a few places, and once we reached Sofa Plus, we stopped looking and cancelled all our previous plans. These guys know their stuff and are really passionate about the work they do. Yes, it's more expensive than the other couches we were looking at, but you can see the different in quality and craftsmanship and definitely in service. Plus a 10 year warranty! And, an excellent service bonus - they even took our old couches and redelivered them to our friends' house! I'm totally happy with our purchase, and would gladly recommend Sofa Plus to anyone.

Absolutely love Sofa Plus - they are passionate about providing the best possible quality and…read moreservice - and YES it is all NZ Made out of the best quality materials including wood, frames and coverings. Cut out the middle man and buy exactly what you want from the people that made it. I have two natural NZ leather sofas which have aged with absolute elegance - now 8 years old!!. Highly recommend without hesitation.

Take 2 is a recycled women's clothes boutique nestled down the end of Westpac Plaza. They carry a…read morelot of labelled clothing or interesting items/fabrics. It's sandwiched between beauty and nail parlors so is a good pop-into shop if you're waiting for your appointment. You usually only need a quick browse as it can be pretty hit and miss. When you hit, you hit. I once picked up a nice floral skirt that I still wear today for only $30. I'm starting to think that it was a once off though as I haven't had much luck since. Perhaps the regulars snap all the good items up as soon as they come out! It can be slightly pricey too, but I guess as the clothing selection in Orewa is so dismal they price how they like