Beyond Canberra: Amazing Goulburn Op Shops

A girlfriend and I decided to drive to Goulburn for a day of giant concrete ewe spotting:

Note the gathering of locals on bikes!

Cruising the quaint streets with lovely old buildings:

And of course, OP SHOPPING! 

Firstly, because I am a super helpful person (and super modest ;) here is a list of the Goulburn op shops that I visited, and some reviews:

Australian Red Cross Clothing Shop

146 Auburn Street. Goulburn

Don’t bother with this place. They try to be “upmarket” and have prices to match, but not the goods. I saw several ‘Expression’ (Kmart brand) products with prices ranging from $15-$20. They were probably cheaper new! I didn’t see anything worthwhile, nothing retro/vintage, and the prices are sorely inflated. For example, $13 for a used straw beach hat (no brand name). In a town with so much competition, I’m not sure how this place survives. The only shop where neither of us bought a thing!

Big Heart (Mission Australia) Op Shop

Shop 2, 148-158 Sloane Street. Goulburn

This was my favourite oppy – so cheap and such amazing retro crockery. They charge by the kilo for clothing ($5 per kilo)- my friend found an amazing vintage skirt and it cost her... wait for it.... 70 cents! Crockery was priced between 50c and $5, and books are 5 for $2.

Salvation Army — Red Shield Family Store

123 Auburn Street, Goulburn

This place is reasonably priced with sale racks up the front (vintage blouses for $1 when I was there). They have a large range of crockery and bric a brac, which unfortunately is mostly unpriced. You are at the mercy of the staff member who makes up a price on the spot, which I find a bit frustrating. Definitely worth a look see and on the whole the prices are good.

Smith Family Store

Ellesmere Street, Goulburn

This place had the best retro/vintage stock of everywhere we visited. I picked up my stunning 80s dress for a vintage ball there for $12, marked down from $25. They have a really large range of clothing, with less bric a brac. Clothing prices range from $2 - $10, with vintage items up to $25.

St Vincent De Paul — Vinnie’s Centre

Central Arcade (opp. Post Office), Auburn St, Goulburn

Friendly staff and standard prices, mostly ranging from $3-$10 for clothing. They didn’t have much crockery or bric a brac in stock on my visit, it was mostly clothes. 

Trish’s Trash & Treasure

1 Fenwick Cres, Goulburn (entry from Bradley St)

From the outside, we expected this place to house mostly furniture but inside we were surprised and amazed at the treasures it holds. Plenty of crockery, a lot of it dusty and dirty and you need to sort through it all to find the gems... but find the gems we did! The prices are very reasonable – my tea set (tea/coffee pot, 4 mugs, sugar) was $5. The prices varied though- I was surprised to see that a vintage Willow tray in very poor condition was $20. My friend picked up some hand painted pie dishes for $2 apiece.

And now (drumroll please....) for the day's finds:

Handpainted baking dishes, $2 each. Lemon water jug, $1. Tea set + potholder, $5.

Coffee set (pots, mugs & sugar holder) $5, Tasmanian pottery teabag holder $2.

Mushroom jar $2, strange pottery piece 50c.

Pyrex 50c! Arcopal France bowl, 50c.

Vintage bag $3, Johnson Australia Pottery bowl 50c.

 Hens party / wedding gag g-strings, 50c each.

Yellow stripe water jug $1, Op shopping bag {>>

Lambada leather tote, $10

 Unusual felt & knitted framed picture, $3

 Vintage orange skirt, 70c!

The most spectacular find of the day is yet to be posted, it's an amazing 80's dress that I'll be wearing to a vintage ball very soon... I will post photos after the event!


Linking up to Sophie's Flea-market Finds and Apron Thrift Girl.

Gold Creek: Adore Tea & Canberra Bird Aviary

Today was a lovely sunny day, and we decided to spend it at Gold Creek in Nicholls. The first stop was Canberra Walk in Aviary. We had bought vouchers for $4 entry on Living Social. I must admit that at first I was skeptical that this place would be worth the usual $11 entry fee for adults, but I would highly recommend it and I will definitely return. There is a fantastic range of birds, and they are mostly very tame- climbing on your arm, shoulder etc. It's a real close and personal experience with Aussie wildlife, and would be perfect for any overseas visitors.

A tip: a bowl of apple is included with the entry fee. For $1 extra, you can buy a bowl of live mealworms. Bub loved these and so did the birds (for different reasons of course...LOL). Such a novelty and great fun!

My favourite birdie photos:

Up close and personal

Rainbow Lorikeet chowing down on a live mealworm

I think they were eating bugs off each other, but this is still cute

A grass finch (and now I understand why they're called grass finches!)

 Stunning stunning colours

Hmmm is this camera edible too?

Next stop was Adore Tea, a pretty tea house with a wide range of flavoured teas. I love the outdoor setting (and there's an almost enclosed kids playground that you can see from the tables, which is perfect for keeping little ones entertained), and it has a super cute but overpriced giftshop with a range of teapots and accessories. In terms of the cuisine, we had the hot chocolate (which was disappointing- it just tasted like regular hot choc, whereas I would have expected proper melted Belgian chocolate or something delicious and gourmet) and the Chai vanilla tea (yummy). We also shared the white chocolate mudcake, which was cold from refrigeration, didn't taste fresh and was pretty average. Next time I'll go with the scones!

White choc mudcake, at least it looks delicious!

Some of Adore Tea's cutsey wares

2 cup samplers which I bought for 95c each - they have these for most of their range

Finally, no visit to Gold Creek is complete without checking out the Lolly Shoppe. There is something magical about wall to wall candies, it reminds me of my childhood and all things sweet!

You gotta get you a... 'Stache

I have decided to make 'You gotta get you a' a regular feature of my blog. Whenever I come across weird / unusual / funny / useless products, I will post for your enjoyment :-)

You gotta get you a Bikestache:

"You and your bike are one, united in the belief that you own the road. Want to up your righteous together-itude? Well, only one thing can help, the most dominant force in the universe: the mustache. So complete the transformation from man into machine with the Bikestache."

You gotta get you a Carstache:

"Carstache: The Global Leader in Automotive Facial Hair"

You gotta get you a Carlashes:

 

If carlashes aren't enough, you can also buy crystal eyeliner (above). Flutter your carlashes and turn heads...

You gotta get you a Babystache:

Source: Alexander Crispin (from his Babystaches photography series)

Source: Readymade - includes a DIY mustache pacifier guide ... must see

"Before owning the pacifier this baby was nothing but a bag of tears and drool. Now he wrestles bears, runs a multi-million dollar company and is a hit with the ladies. He still loves pacifiers though."

Liptember, Frocktober, Movember....

I donate quite a bit of money to charity, and I admire the work that most charities do. But is it just me, or are charities getting so creative and proactive in their marketing, that it’s getting a bit overwhelming?

This year to date, I have donated to friends who participated in the following, or participated myself:

• Live Below the Line (donated to a group of colleagues who participated)
• 40 Hour Famine (colleagues again)
• RSPCA Paws walk (another colleague)
• City to Surf, Sydney (donated to a big group of friends)
• Canberra Fun Run (for the Heart Foundation) (a smaller group of friends)
• Jump rope for heart (colleagues’ children)
• Cupcake day for RSPCA (workplace initiative, these were yummy)
• Daffodil Day (I must admit I love this one, there’s nothing like buying a bunch of pretty daffodils to brighten ones day - a friend did the selling)
• Girls night in for cancer, in the form of a potluck dinner & donation (attended, friend organised)
• Perth stair climb (donated to friend who participated)
• Relay for Life (donated to friends)
• Red Cross Collection (donated to friend who was collecting)
• St Vincent De Paul CEO Sleep out (workplace initiative which I donated to)
• The Great Shave (a friend shaved her head, of course I supported her)
• Various charity quiz nights, a charity lunch (for Unicef I think it was) and probably more that I’m forgetting.

Then I got asked to join Frocktober. While I like frocks very much, and this idea is particularly cute, I feel like I am being asked for donations from every side, and it’s getting a bit much. I don’t want to be the person who is bugging others to sponsor me, when they are no doubt in a similar situation… 

 In September, you can do Liptember- wear lipstick for women's mental health. In October, it’s Frocktober. In November, it’s Movember. A few of the boys at work have organised to do this (and it IS pretty cool, it’s always amusing to see people growing a mo!). Then there’s the telemarketers (I am on the do not call list, but they still call) and the door knockers, who I just cannot say no to. 

I feel terrible about feeling overwhelmed, and I very rarely refuse to donate… but goodness me, the pressure is intense! I think that instead of donating, if I had the time (which I do not at the moment), I would prefer to volunteer. I have always loved the Starlight Foundation kids’ room at Princess Margaret Children’s Hospital in Perth, where you can brighten the lives of very sick children and their families. One day I hope to be able to make a long term commitment to volunteering there. I have also in the past volunteered for the cerebral palsy association, which is another worthwhile cause – disability services are so underfunded and these hospices or schools can really make a difference to the children who attend them, and definitely their families.

I have also done quite a bit of volunteer work overseas. In Costa Rica it was a ‘paid’ volunteering trip (through ISV), where we paid ISV to organise for us to go and work with endangered turtles. I don’t think I got much out of the experience, it seemed that the volunteers were more of a hindrance than a help to the scientists doing the conservation work... the only contribution we were really making was in the form of payment to our host families (for board and lodging), a supplement to their meagre incomes which reduces the risk they will resort to poaching turtle eggs.

Then there was the school in India for underprivileged children that I taught at. The students were slum children who would not have gotten an education otherwise. They were not the poorest of the poor (these children have to scavenge, work or beg and can’t take any time out for schooling), but many of the children’s families were making a sacrifice to allow their kids to attend the school. Although the families incurred no costs (the children lived at the school and were given full board, donated clothes etc.), they were losing a source of labour. I’m not talking about child labour in sweatshops necessarily, but children working with their parents (selling newspapers or flowers on the street, farming) or doing childcare or domestic duties so that their parents can be out and working.

Very few of the children who attended to school would stay long enough to graduate, because eventually they would be called home to help out there. It made me wonder whether the few years of schooling that the children were getting would really improve or make any difference to their lives in the long term.

Working at the school was a worthwhile experience, although when you see the extent of the social disadvantage in India, and the tiny impact that a disproportionately large amount of resources are making at one organisation, it’s tempting to just let economic progress take its course. This sense of disillusionment explains why I prefer to donate to Australian based charities, especially those that engage in medical research and could really make a difference (to people all over the world) in the long run.

Do you support any specific charities? Or have any strong views on the work that charities do?

Asos Midseason Sale: My Picks Under $35

TFNC Tropical Print Draped One Shoulder Dress $74.36 -NOW $24.79

ASOS Midi Dress in Colour Block $90.89- NOW $26.44

Motel Big Lily Celeste Sleeveless Shirt Dress $69.41- NOW $29.75

ASOS Floral Pleated Blouse $49.58 - NOW $24.79

ASOS Hooded Jacket with Open Back $57.84- NOW $28.92

ASOS Floral Printed Tie Neck Blouse $49.58 -NOW $24.79

ASOS Chiffon Maxi Dress with Lace Detailing in Floral Print $82.63- NOW $33.05

ASOS MIKEY Polka Dot Slipper Shoes $49.58 -NOW $29.75

Oasis Amber toecap ballet flat $57.84 - NOW $34.70

ASOS Pussy Bow Dress with Spot Collar $66.10 -NOW $36.35 [Almost under $35 ;)]

Wal G Striped Top RRP $33.05 - NOW $23.14
 

Ella Doran Tiny Photographic Flower Umbrella RRP $33.05 - NOW $19.83

Nishe Printed Frill Side Floral Shorts $62.80 - NOW $18.18

ASOS Stretch Lace Headband With Pastel Flowers $13.22 - NOW $4.96

Picks from the whole sale range (with no budget constraints) to come soon :)