I'm not the type of gal who knows her princess cut from her emerald cut and prior to being asked a…read moreVery Important Question, I didn't think much about rings and their design. A huge thanks has to go to Angie at Whitakers and her help in educating me on ring styles, designs, diamond cuts and quality and more. Whitakers, located on Darby Street, are well known in Newcastle and now I can see why. They focus primarily on custom design meaning your ring can be a combination of ideas. They work directly with the diamond merchants and jewelers to create a unique piece. The insight Angie gave my partner & I was invaluable and she put this nervous nelly at ease!

A really pretty little shop that offers a variety of different branded dresses. A cute environment…read moreto relax, browse the racks and hopefully find that gorgeous thing that will make you feel a million dollars. They also have a cute range of accessories to go with that perfect outfit. Have any problems and just chat to the owner who is super nice and will help you out.

Great people to deal with very helpful and professional would highly recommend to anyone.read more

A great location with frequently great exhibits. Well worth a visit.read more

Cute regional art gallery worth 30 mins of your time. The exhibitions change on a regular basis and…read moreit's free to visit. The exhibition when we went was called 'happiness' and it did indeed leave us feeling happy. The gallery is next to the lake so you can take a nice walk around after you've had your art fix.

Just say yes to High Tea With Mrs Woo every time. Why? Because if this dainty store on Darby St is…read moreany representation of someone named Mrs Woo (who I personally imagine to be like Lee Lee Chin's sister) then she's one cool cat you want to spend time with. Mrs Woo is actually the creation of three siblings who have opened this wonderful emporium of clothing, Mast Brothers chocolates, ceramics and complimentary knick knacks. It was one of the first places I made a beeline for on my first visit to Newcastle four years ago and it remains one of the first spots I stop at for a gander shortly after grabbing a coffee at Glee Roasters. The range isn't excessive and you won't spend hours trawling racks. But that's what I adore about it. They've done the curating for you and all that's left is beautiful things worthy of your attention. It's worth following their Instagram to get an idea of just what they're about.

It's a store full of some of my favourite internet finds. Kip&Co bedding, paddy wax candles, Mister…read moreMoss. Suffice to say it's a little slice of home heaven that got me giddy the moment I walked past on the Queen's Birthday public holiday. I made a mental note to return and earned more motivation upon learning they had 30% off Kip&Co this week. The stock is carefully curated and there's not great quantities of everything. To me, this is part of the charm and wonder of a store that stocks such niche Australian brands. The staff are as warm as the pops of neon colours across the ranges and were only too happy to put a few towels on hold for me til I could make it back to the store. They do sell online as well but why would you when you can grab a coffee from Glee Roasters and stroll down to the physical store and play in a world of homewares heaven?

I honestly love my second hand bookshops, though if you have been following my reviews you…read morecertainly know that already. This place was no different, and of course the staff were nothing short of awesome. They had plenty of books to browse, it it had that really musty feel about it that I love with some of these places. I guess if there was a gripe and that is that while the books were set out in genre, they didn't have any particular order within the genre, which meant that it was pretty difficult to browse the collection.

Lovely little community run cafe, library/book exchange with a bit of arts & craft on the side…read more Local, fair trade, organic coffee, cakes and such, real community vibe, and friendly people.