Went for Christmas Lunch and later for Afternoon Tea. The table was decorated nicer than anyplace…read morewe have been too. The food was great as usual. Can't go wrong here.

To be continued !!! ......... when did you need a booking for breakfast ??? ........ I thought it…read morewas a joke but no one was laughing. When you have this sort of attitude then long term it will fail. ....... ok .... I have calmed down now and am back to give two extra stars for the fantastic staff, awesome food, juices, coffee and friendly atmosphere. It's well worth a visit for a great breakfast experience...... I had the Color wheel which had so many yummy things ........ even had a kitchen sink in there somewhere. Hopefully the pics will tell a more colorful story.

I got the cutest little newborn onesie and greeting card here as a gift (both with koalas on the…read morefront, natch) for a great deal ($33 altogether) and was blown away by the great selection of locally designed baby clothes and toys. Some of it seemed a little pricey, but there is a healthy sale rack and the staff were wonderful, knowledgeable and efficient--I need more of my friends to get pregnant so I have an excuse to go back!

Looking for beautiful handmade candles. Then the perfect place to go to is shine candles on…read morePresident Avenue in Kogarah. The shop oozes personality and you have to go in and smell the different candles. They smell divine. All their candles are hand made to perfection and are made out of Soy instead of paraffin. So they are chemical free and environment friendly. Not only that they also last longer than paraffin candles. There are lots of different products like candle melts, mini jars, travel tins, votive and other accessories. They do custom made candles for special occasions like christenings and weddings. Shine candles also do candle parties which are really famous these days. The staff is friendly and are not pushy about what you should buy.

We ended up at Baby Bunting as my sister needed pampers for my niece. This is a box store that…read moreprovides all the necessary things required for babies. We ended up not only buying pampers but ended up buying a couple of other things including a walker so my niece can walk around in the house. The store looked relatively clean but their were no employees on the floor except the cash register. I guess parents know what they need and don't really need any guidance from the store employees. They have ample parking including garage parking. The store was packed with inventory and looked to be pretty busy with a line at check out. Once again only one check out counter was operating so looks like they are operating with a minimum base of employees. 4 star store for all the needs of your babies.

This new age store tucked away on George street in Parramatta has a good selection of jewellery,…read morebooks and incense. They also have psychic readings in store and some other interesting items that you'll find as you work your way around to the back end of the store, which opens up into another section of more books and crystals. My favourite items in store was definitely the pendulums on display, in particular the malachite ones and the large selection of incense in the middle of the store in between the two rooms.

It looks almost like a high-end store out of the 1950's. Immaculate décor, tidy shelves and…read moredisplays, and a fairly stuck up sales lady. The shop sells gifts, furniture, women's clothing and homewares, all very reminiscent of the 'old times'. Tablecloths with pretty floral patterns, A-line dresses, white ceramic trinkets, doilies, for the love of god. It's actually really cute. The colour schemes are great, I love the patterns they have, and they have some truly unique furniture pieces, the kind that you wouldn't expect to be factory-made. Intricate little vanities, white, ornate chests of drawers... that kind of thing. While any of this would look terribly out of my place in my living area, there are plenty who enjoy home décor of this sort, so if you're one of them, give it a look.

Loganberry Lane (which sounds like the street address for a character from Anne of Green Gables to…read moreme) is a lovely gift shop chock full of a huge range of clothing, accessories and homeware. While a little heavy on the scented candles for my taste, there's a whole room of babies clothes, toys and gifts for kids, and a smaller one out the back which has a range of women's cotton nightwear of the white and floaty variety. There's also some women's clothing, also mostly of cotton, including some brands like Boom Shankar that I have seen priced much more expensively elsewhere. There's the odd real bargain hiding in here, as well as a few local and handmade items, including a small range of locally produced fudge locked away in a coolbox.

Ah, how I love ModCons! Mostly because they sell these really cute little novelty bears... you get…read moreHannibal Lecter bears, Edward Scissorhands bears, and sometimes you even get really dirty bears, doing really dirty things! But it's adorable all the same, and I even have a friend who collects them. I also love Mod Cons because they sell really cool badges, and it was my go-to shop back when I used to cover my satchels in provocative/offensive badges. Apart from the cute bears, you can get all kinds of Harry Potter and Twilight merchandise (if you're into that), like bracelets, and rings, and necklaces and posters. There's also plenty of novelty items, like these adorable little voodoo-doll keychains, they're the best! They're also about $14, which I admit, sounds like a lot for a keychain, but you would understand if you saw them, they're the cutest things ever.The merchandise here is fairly reasonably priced, and there's always something new on the shelves. They even have some naughty board games! ;)

I didn't realize this was a Christian bookstore until some friends informed me. It is a clean,…read morebright, cheery store. Everything is laid out nicely, with various categories of books, Bibles, children's items, gifts, etc. There is even a small cafe with some beverages and treats to enjoy. Everyone I interacted with was friendly. The prices on some items were higher in equivalent dollars than what I could get them for in the states, but others were about the same. If I were living here, or had more suitcase room, I'd support this store on a regular basis!

Kooring Books is a Christian Bookstore/shop. It's at Henry Street which is a 10 minute walk from…read morePenrith Station (but they do have a parking site too). It not only sells books but CDs, stuff toys, stationary and even jewellery. The store is very bright and welcoming. The employees there are very friendly and can definitely help you out with any of your queries. It even has a small cafe inside the shop and a mini playground for the kids. The store itself is pretty big compared to a normal bookstore. Everything is organised and labelled so for example, if you're looking for Bibles, there is a Bible sign that you can't miss. There's also a toilet inside in case you need to go! If you think that you're going there from time to time then I suggest to be a member (for free) so that they can give you a membership card. It's pretty much like flybuys where you get points for every purchase. They can also send you a catalogue if you want to see what's on sale. Sometimes they even send you a job advertisement in case you would like to be part of the Koorong team. Definitely check it out! There's also a Koorong Store at Rydalmere and North Ryde in case Penrith is too far.