My husband and I have visited the Elm Haus cafe twice, and both times we were delighted with the food quality, service and atmosphere. The food is simple but impeccably prepared and presented. We can highly recommend their Devonshire tea, potato wedges, chicken pie and burgers. The best thing about the Elm Haus is the homely and quirky decor. The interior resembles an old church, with gorgeous wood paneling and vaulted ceilings. There are comfortable couches inside, as well as tables outside on the leafy deck. You can play a game of chess or simply examine the odd assortment of collectables, curios and artworks that are on display. The quirky atmosphere somewhat resembles that of the Three Monkeys coffee and tea house in West End. Like the Three Monkeys, the Elm Haus is somewhere you can easily relax and while away a couple of lazy hours without any effort at all. Highly recommended!

We booked in for some family shots using the PixiFoto voucher from the Bounty Bag. The voucher gave us a free sitting and 10x13 inch photo (which we didn't get to choose - it was the first photo taken). The photographer was quite professional and our photos were reasonable, but we did feel rushed through. There were a lot of other families also getting their portraits done, they were running late, and the 45 minutes we were supposed to get in the studio was more like 20 minutes. The worst thing was the extortionate costs - the cheapest photo you could buy was $80 for a 8x10 inch, and the packages started at $380 - too much for our budget. We ended up buying the two best individual shots, but wished that the photographer had taken a bit more time to discover and capture our son's personality, instead of just taking standard poses. If I go again, I'll probably just get the free shot next time!

Approximate cost: $Packages from $380

I first dined at Red Door Chinese Restaurant for a hen's party, and have been back quite a few times for takeaway since moving to the area. The restaurant offers a good selection of Chinese dishes at reasonable prices. The menu is quite extensive, but mainly consists of the standard Chinese dishes. The service is efficient and friendly. The dining area is modern and clean, but small and basic.

Approximate cost: $10-12

Blue Cat Fine Chocolates is a delightful boutique chocolate shop in Brisbane city that I stumbled on by accident. It sells some of the best handmade chocolates in Brisbane. You can select individual chocolates yourself and pay by weight, or choose a beautiful pre-packed gift box. The chocolates aren't cheap, but they're worth it for a classy gift or an occasional indulgence.

Kim Khanh is a BYO Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant located in Darra. We have bought takeaway there for years, and dined in a few times as well. The food is good and very reasonably priced. The indoor dining area is large, and is suitable for big family groups. The restaurant is popular with the local Vietnamese community, and is always very busy around Chinese New Year. The service is very friendly, and we've often received nice little freebies, such as free cans of drink with our takeaway order. The menu is long but mainly consists of the standard Chinese and Vietnamese dishes.

Approximate cost: $10-12

Red Chilli Thai is our local Thai takeaway restaurant, and is located in the Forest Lake shopping centre. We've been there quite a few times since moving to the area - usually for takeaway, but occasionally to dine-in - and have never been disappointed. The menu is pretty standard, but the dishes are affordable and well executed. The service is generally quick and efficient. None of the dishes contain added MSG.

Approximate cost: $12-15

Babies Galore Loganholme is a great store if you're after quality baby products and friendly service. The everyday prices are a bit higher than some other stores, but the storewide sales held a few times a year usually ofter 10-30% off all products and are worth checking out. The Loganholme store is large and well organised, and has a good selection of products to browse through, including nursery furniture and manchester, maternity products and toys. The staff are fantastic - when my nappy bag broke after a few months of use, they exchanged it for me with no fuss. Babies Galore also have a great website that allows you to browse and purchase online.

This is my favourite Thai restaurant in Brisbane. The food is fantastic, and the service is usually very efficient. I highly recommend the banquets - they are delicious and fantastic value.

My husband and I have dined at Woodfires once. It seems very popular as a family restaurant. It was very noisy, and we ended up with the worst table in the place as we didn't have a booking. Because of the name, we were expecting some great woodfired pizzas, but the selection of pizzas was quite small and not particularly exciting. The food was okay, but overall our experience was pretty ordinary and we haven't been back since. For a great range of (cheap) pizzas, try the Pizza Caffe at the University of Queensland. They have a pizza for every letter of the alphabet, and the toppings are unusual and very tasty.

I have been to this store a few times for nursery items. I go back because it is the closest store of its type and the prices are not bad (you used to be able to print off a 10% discount voucher from the website, but I'm not sure whether that's still available). I have found the service to be pretty average, and the reductions on floor stock are not particularly impressive (they insisted that I could only get 10% off a floor stock change table, even though it was damaged and I already had a 10% coupon which I could have used for brand new stock).