My Style is one of two coffee and retail stores I've discovered in the Aspley area. This one is…read moresituated in the newly built Aspley Village and is pretty slick. The baristas are top notch and the overall presentation of My Style is very homely. Checking out the menu there isn't a meal there over the price of fifteen dollars and the cakes look ready to be fanged into. I ordered my flat white and it only took a few minutes to make up. With cup in hand, sitting on a well made drop, I walked though the retail section noticing that there are some good little gifts one could purchase for a friend or a loved one (as long as they're into that feminine presents). Definitely a place I'd go visit if I'm in the area. It's a joint that's well suited to the middle-aged woman with kids who wants a meet up with a friend.

What do you get for people who have everything? If you're not sure and you have some coffers to…read moresling hit up Renaissance Luxury Collections at Chermside Shopping Centre. The have all types of classic European designs from lamps to doll, from frames to pen sets. It's a store that has a class about it without being too demanding on the hip pocket. My parents who love this place and recommended me to go there when I was unsure of what for family friend's birthday. Looking around I had no idea of what to get but the sales manager Hao was a great help. She asked me about the person I was buying for and the money I had, tried to get me thinking on what my friend liked as collectables. Then finally we found a beautiful ink pen set with quill and pot. When he opened his present we was amazed and thankful and told me it was one of the most original gifts he had ever received.

This is a pretty crazy, quirky gift store that has a pretty even mix of stuff I love and stuff I…read morehate. I do love the stationary, the pens and some of the lamps. I hate the statues and find the dolls pretty freaky. A little hit and miss but the staff are lovely and they often have good sales, so definitely worth a look.

If there ever was a store that made me feel more like a…read morenerdy 12 year old again, it's Australian Geographic. Littered with fun odds and ends, me and my brother can easily spend an hour roaming up and down the aisles. This place is perfect for any budding scientist or explorer, and the toys on offer here manage to be both educational AND FUN. (I realize that I sound like a mom when I say that but it's true.) I love coming here for gifts and to peruse the various science kits on display. (The telescopes here are pretty boss as well.) ...This is also the store where I nearly bought a coin-sorter only to be conspiratory told by the staff ladies that the 5 and 10 cent slots don't work. (You gotta admire their honesty.) With a store handily located near the foodcourt, this place is well worth a gander when in the chermside megaplex.

Did you know that glow in the dark stars and planets are surprisingly a pain in the you know…read moreYelping what? I didn't. Until I had to actually find some for decorating my 3 year olds room. Here in the Australian Geographic shop is where you can buy a pack of glow in the dark plastic planets and stars for under $30 (still a rip off if you ask me seeing their just pieces of plastic), and buy 2 packs I did. They also sell things you can buy your older kids like Create Your Own Ant Farm kits and hermit crab habitats and what they truly do excel at are the bubble machines. Great for kids parties, the toddlers and babies are drawn to bubbles for some weird reason. Another thing you can buy here which is brilliant for birthday parties is a rubberised bowling set with 10 pins and a ball. Very hardy... you're looking at just over $50 but you can get quite a lot of use out of it when the kids are bigger. What don't they sell her, my son likes the little squishy balls that feel terribly disgusting, slimy and gooey but aren't. I'm sure you can imagine, you can find a lot here, gifts, telescopes. Kids love the place and guess what... so do I.