An outstanding function spot, this beautiful establishment, sits at the end of Queen Street in…read moreNorthcote point. The views are so stunning and as the sun sets it becomes a dream come true. The huge chandelier lights up the room, and as the floor is built in tiers, you look out on our beautiful city, and your heart beats away to a happy tune. I was excited to attend a recent charity event called TASTE that had Peter Gordon as a guest speaker. The guest list was down at around two hundred plus guests, and the staff and surroundings catered for us all to perfection. The main bar situated at the entrance was large enough to hold the guests happily, along with a few extra bars dotted around the different floors. The food served for this event was simply buffet champagne ham, and some artisan breads, which I thought was very tasty. The lavish decor, makes The Wharf a fabulous location for weddings, birthdays and big corporate events. The bathrooms located down the spiral stairs under the main area, are gorgeous. I was very pleased with the staff working at the Wharf, very warm and bubbly. I hope to be back for another event soon, as my night was really enjoyable.

Sue Cameron from Floral Stylist is another friend we used for our wedding. She "got" my theme…read moreimmediately and her price was fantastic. She specialises in on-trend styling, flowers and botanicals for weddings, corporate spaces and events and can do whatever style you want or take charge and create a theme from scratch. More than a florist, she sources props and decorations to enhance your design and give it the "wow" factor. She was so lovely to work with and made the whole process of our wedding flowers easy. When I walked into our wedding reception I was blown away at how amazing everything looked and how much thought had been put in. She took my ideas and extended them to a place I hadn't even imagined which is exactly what you want. You don't realise it at the time but being able to trust in the things you delegate when planning a wedding is crucial and Sue totally nailed it. The arrangements were utterly beautiful and really made the day and in fact, watching the flowers die was really hard. Boohoo.

I think I may have just found my new favourite gift shop - introducing Matchbox Studios!…read more Matchbox Studios originally started up in Wellington three years ago, where they are a large art and crafts store plus an art gallery. I recently discovered them on Instagram and saw that they were opening a store in St Kevins Arcade on K'Road (full of exciting things). I was so thrilled because it is a seriously awesome shop! It is a haven for all things colourful, whether it be art, jewellery, stationery, books, candles or homewares! I loved everything I came across in Matchbox, but here is a taste of what you might find: - Funky colourful cards (for example the Koala dressed in a Hawaiian shirt) - Range of art prints, including skulls (yay!), famous people, grumpy cat, etc. - The Beatles tea bags (check out the picture!) - Candles and soaps (all with very nice scents) and - Colourful cups, straws, plates and napkins - perfect for picnics or parties at home, plus so much more! The shop assistant was friendly and she was really happy when I signed up to their mailing list. How could I not - everything at Matchbox is fabulous and fun! So, if you need a gift or want to decorate your room with bright colours, then I highly recommend you visit Matchbox Studios today - I am sure you won't be disappointed!

If you are ever invited to an event, a wedding or a corporate function at Mantells make sure you…read moreseize that invitation and enjoy one of the best function venues in Auckland. You are welcomed through the heavy, blue-black curtains into a pristine entrance and immaculate white bar. Polished floors and huge geometric spaces dominate the rest of the venue, each sectioned off as needed for your event. We made good use of the outdoor courtyard that backs onto Auckland Harbour (with it's own bar) and the wide divans beneath the marquee. Mantells is made to dazzle your guest, the sharp edges of the venue smoothed by the genuine staff service and warmed in the glow of gas fireplaces.

I went to this venue last night for an industry event and spent the whole night trying to come up…read morewith an excuse to hire it out myself; this place is amazing. From what I've heard it's usually a wedding venue, which kind of lets you know it's pretty swanky. Nestled in between the boat yards in Westhaven, Mantells on the Water is yet another reason to visit the awesomely awesome Wynyard Quarter. Looking out over Waitemata Harbour with the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge and a drink in hand is not a bad way to spend an evening. There is a real sense of relaxed kiwi vibes combined with super stylish decor. Wooden floors, high ceilings and industrial lighting give off a New York loft feel, combine that with the large outdoor area and you've got a close to perfect venue! Yummy drinks, knowledgeable staff and reeallllyyyy tasty snacks - that's my kinda night!

Location and views alone are 5-stars. Booked my trip back in December. To gain more airline points,…read moreI booked the hotel through the airline portal. After reviewing the map of the Auckland central business district (CBD) and where the Sky Tower was, I knew I wanted to stay by the harbor, with a view and reasonably priced. That's when I came across M Social Viaduct Harbor. From Google Maps and looking at YouTube videos, the hotel was in the midst of it all. My first encounter with them was a few weeks earlier when I learned that M Socials last check-in time was midnight. Unfortunately, because my flight was schedule to land at 9:45 pm, having to get through customs and waiting for Uber, we'd be cutting it close. So I emailed M Social and they assured me that we could check-in after midnight, no rush since they knew how long customs could take. What a relief. When we got there, a little after 11 pm, I was told our room was upgraded to the 12th floor which is the highest floor. I was told "The harbor view is great up there." And it is!!! All the rooms face the harbor and all rooms have a view!!! The higher you are the better the view. And when we got to our room, we had a signed card from the employees along with Easter candy because I didn't realize it was Easter weekend when I booked our flights. The room was clean with modern and youthful aesthetic. And the price? I can't believe it is one of the least expensive hotels along the harbor. It was between $129 - $189/night. Of course, Weekends are higher price. And, laundry is free. We just had to pay for laundry detergent. No dryer sheets in Auckland, though. People in NZ said I had an American accent. But they're the ones with accents... lol. Auckland is also a melting pot. The front staff were mainly Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese. So they had their native accent along with the English accent. But everyone was so kind to us. And they have a restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night socializing. Although we only had apps and drinks, the food was really good and non-alcoholic drinks were refreshing. As much as I want to gatekeep M Social, I also want to praise the staff members and hope everyone can enjoy your time staying at this wonderful establishment.

It's located in a very convenient location to a bunch of shopping and the viaduct. No one was by…read morethe hotel door to help us with luggage and when we checked in, the staff members seemed distracted while checking us in. The room is clean and bright. The gym is quite small and had one broken treadmill that didn't have a sign so I'm not sure if staff are aware of it. Our rooms didn't include breakfast, but we were excited to try it. We ended up disappointed because the hostess gave us two menus and told us to sit anywhere. There's prices for a la carte and buffet and we opted for the buffet and just went up to get food. A staff member stopped us and asked if we were doing the buffet and then told us she'd bring us the bill so we could sign our room. It felt like maybe a staff member should have brought us to our seat and asked us what we wanted to prevent being stopped at the food counter and having guest and staff play a guessing game. The breakfast selection is mediocre. Another table was sat and the staff member who stopped us was quick to go to their table and explain the menu choices to them so I'm not sure if it's a lack of consistency or if they need more staff during the breakfast shift because it seemed like it was just her and the hostess working. Staff was also slow to clear tables.

I am not a health food fan. Anyone who knows me knows that. I love real food, tasty food. But every…read morenow and again, one of these new-fangled health food places gets to me. Bowl and Arrow did just that the other day. Tucked into a corner of the new Orakei shopping centre, it serves bowls of porridge, granola and frozen smoothie (but strangely not bowls of coffee). The 'six pack' smoothie is made of pineapple, mint, spinach, avocado and banana and it's delicious. I even felt fitter after eating it. So I had another.

We came here for a presentation of the Opera "La Cenerentola" and a pre-show talk as well this…read moremonth. I found the Center to be very clean and modern in style. The staff were friendly enough and everything there seemed to be well organized. The seats in the auditorium were comfortable enough to sit for a while and the acoustics were fine. My biggest problem was with direction. It happened to be raining and we had to walk around the entire building to find the entrance. There weren't many signs displayed and I found the ones that were posted not to be helpful. The floor-plan is very open and so our talk was overshadowed and a bit interrupted by a musical event happening on another floor. The event itself was fine, however I was tempted to use an emergency exit as we had front row seats and it seemed to take much longer than usual for people to exit the auditorium. Now that I have a better idea of the layout, I would be willing to attend another event here.

Since this place got renovated within the last year, it's pretty snazzy. All the seating redone,…read moreceiling and side panels redone. Can't say if I've noticed much of the acoustic difference. But this place is pretty nice to have an event (show, talk, theatre, performance). I love the foyer area upstairs. There's a cafe and just outside on the steps you can chill and people-watch in the Aotea Square which is alive most times of the year.

OK everyone; here's the reason parties sometimes are a dud; it's not because you're a bad host or…read moreyour friends are dull; it's because the lighting isn't right. Mostly, it's too bright, but occasionally it's too dim and nobody can see who they're talking to. Too bright and people will want to get away from it. If you want to sort your party lighting out, go to Party Direct, where you can hire everything you might need, including a LIGHT UP DANCE FLOOR. Yes. Pretty exciting right? These guys are also super helpful; I needed to hire some lights urgently, and they not only gave me a great price, they also pulled stuff out in the middle of moving warehouses. That's impressive; I can imagine most people would have just said it was too much trouble.

I've always been a fan of mobile farms. As a child the best birthday parties, in my opinion, were…read morealways those where Ronald MacDonald mobile farms and pony rides were the central focus. Even as an adult, my love of these mobile farms has remained intact. A few weeks ago there was a Market Day in Ponsonby, and in the front of the Pumpkin Patch store on Ponsonby Road was Farmer Paul and his mobile pets. I was ecstatic. An enclosure had been erected in the store and there was literally about 30 or 40 animals in it. Rabbits, guinea pigs and rat everywhere! And, one of the rabbits was enormous. Bonnie, the Flemish giant rabbit was super cuddly and you had to hold her like a baby she was so heavy! Farmer Paul himself was a classic 'kiwi bloke' - hat, singlet, stubbies and gumboots, and he and his partner Tracey were great with both the animals and the kids who happily crowded around the enclosure and petted the animals. I would recommend Farmer Paul and his Mobile Pets and Pony Rides not only for littlies birthday parties, but also school fairs and community markets. The whole experience was brilliant!