Pretty little dresses. Insanely classic necklaces and…read morebracelets. Shoes to match the outfit. Nail polish to match the shoes. Bags to match the dress. I could go on. Ever since the big revamp a fair few years ago now, Sportsgirl has successfully catered to the older women. No longer the teeny bopper shop, this place can now compete with the big wigs in my opinion, even Witchery and FCUK. But without the crazy prices... well okay, sometimes still the crazy prices, but for the crazy hot dress! The boom boom boom let's go back to my room dress if you catch my drift... is worth every pretty penny you've worked so hard to put in your pocket. I really love the new layout too, the walk through robe I call it... with the pretty clothes in the front, the jewellery and accessories in the middle and the bargains and change rooms towards the back. Love the shoes love the clothes and love the nail polish and I absolutely (Yelp!) adore the bags.

Sportgirl is one of Australia's first home grown boutiques. From it's humble beginnings on Swanston…read moreSt Melbourne in 1948, to being all over Australia, it really has grown to be one of Australia's favourite womens retail store and rightly so! Queenslands very own Sportsgirl flagship store opened up right on Brissy's Queen Street and it's still going strong. With it's high ceilings, retro yet modern fit-out, it's not hard to see why many young women flock to this store to get their staple seasonal pieces. What I love about this store is the encouraging shopping ambience. The interesting light fixtures provide nice soft lighting making it a relaxing store to shop in. On the other hand, the bright colours from the clothes make a good contrast. The store layout is easy to navigate through, with the new items right in the front, accessories lining the sides of the shop and all the sale items towards the back. Even on busy days there's enough space to move around. Customer service here has always been good and the girls really have an eye for fashion.

Previously available only the odd shop, Surafina has now opened the doors to their flagship store…read morein Paddington. As it houses a gorgeous collection of quality clothes, I would expect nothing less than the beautifully designed and decorated store that attracts every female passerby. Even though I was drawn in myself, I was still rather intimidated by the lone saleswoman sitting in the store skimming her high fashion magazine. The clothes are a mix of those that you often see in slightly higher priced stores like this; some beautiful pieces made of stunning material that make me wish I was happy to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a dress for Saturday night, with other pieces that make me sure there is some sort of fashion conspiracy to see just how far they can push those willing.

Kmart Tyre & Auto strategically set up shop right next door to the shopping centre. This is one the…read moremain reasons why I like this Kmart Tyre & Auto in Mt Ommaney. Although I had to bring the car in quite early, 7am, I had some coffee and waited until the shops opened at 9am. I was able to run all my errands in Mt Ommaney Centre as my car was being serviced. This was the best part. Customer service is good and feels personal. They were friendly and clearly explained everything to me. This is one of the most convenient places I've ever had my car serviced at and I absolutely loved it.

I've taken my car here three times now and I couldn't be happier with these guys. I like the way…read morethat the quote is clearly explained before you book it, the way they call you and let you know if they've found anything extra and the way they treat everyone with professional courtesy. I bought tyres from here and they send you a reminder email for a free check and rotation. The Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre is quite a friendly little place to shop as well.

Think, the Crazy Clarks of books. Think, the Dollars & Sense of books... what the…read more They have invented it. All Books 4 Less are basically just that, everything in the store is usually $10 or less. Most books go for $5 and you can grab a bit of a bargain too, like Nigella Lawson's cookbook, other recipe books and autobiographies and fictions... all for cheap. You usually would walk past this place thinking it's one of those fill in shops that don't last long. Well this one is an actual shop. For books, puzzles and other bookshop have or have nots, it's pretty cheap. My only complaint is that, it feels like it only sells not so great books (but it sells some pretty good ones too!). It probably wouldn't be the place you go to find a specific book because the range is pretty general. You can always find a cheap colour in book for your kids though, and that's where i'm at these days anyway.

As for shopping centres this place is a bit of a local scene. Don't travel out of your way for…read morespecialty shopping. You'll probably find what you need, but if you're out and about for a day of shopping, skip Capalaba and head to Carindale! It's about 15 minutes drive away. There's a few cool franchises around if you're hungry, the cinema is close by. It's a good local shopping village if you're nearby. Oh and if you do shop regularly get a "My capalaba rewards card"- see concierge and earn points to spend around the shopping centre.

In the eastern suburbs the biggest 'regional' centres, as they are deemed, are Carindale and Garden…read moreCity. After that, the shopping centres in the surrounding suburbs are a step down in terms of size and variety. I like Capalaba Central if I'm not up for a great, big, day of shopping. It's got quite a nice mix of retailers and it's quick and easy to get around.

I am lucky to get a sneer from the from the disinterested gatekeeper/checkout chick. Usual over…read moremarked up toys and lubes geared more towards men's needs but not exclusively. Play area left me feeling dirty and not in a good way. Could use some TLC and an education on playroom ethics for the creepy perv that kept turning up at every corner.

Capalaba Park Shopping Centre is a sub-regional centre in the eastern 'burbs. This means it's…read morebigger than some of the smaller centres, which have around 50-60 shops but smaller than the regional ones, like Carindale, which have about a bazillion. Capalaba Park has 110 shops, which is fairly respectable and you'd hope you could find something to satisfy the shopaholic within here. I usually can and like it because I can almost always find a parking spot straight away and the centre's quite well laid out. The food court's not bad and there's a Target, Coles, Woolies and K-Mart, plus lots of specialty shops.

This store is basically a smaller version of Granny May's, without the intimidating dark colour…read morescheme and sickening dirty gifts. The brightly lit, more child-friendly version offers a variety of gifts and cards. The prices are pretty great as well, with a rack of greeting cards out the front boasting the friendly cost of one dollar. This stood out as a particularly great feature to me; I find it hard to fathom how card company's can summon the nerve to charge up to six dollars for a simple card, especially when they don't even come with tacky music or pop-up features. The staff were lovely here, very helpful and kind. The store is small so the selection on offer is not enormous, but it might be a good place to start if you're searching blindly for a present.