Okay, it's only my little local shopping centre, but I'm quite fond of old Fairfield Gardens. It's…read morevery small, as shopping centres go, but surprisingly useful and always seems to have what I need. In addition to the classic supermarket, pharmacy, bottle shop and cafés, there's important services like a post office, cheapie shop, doctor's surgery and a computer repair shop. But the things I REALLY love about this place are the things you don't find at every (especially small!) shopping centre: the library, op shop and fruit shop. I would like my local to be a little bigger - one glaring omission is a shoe repair place (I would patronage the heck out of that!) but it's pretty great and never crowded!

Not bad - there is the bus stop right out front, a post office that is open Saturdays, a $2 shop,…read moremassage, sports store, travel, real estate, Coles, cafes, bakery, Lifeline (op shop), fashion stores and knick knack stores. The only thing really missing is a butcher and fruiterer. You can get quite a bit done here. There is a pizza store and liquor store just a walk across the carpark.

The thing that really grabbed me about this place is that they actually have a section where there…read moreare market stalls. Look, honestly, shopping centres really don't come anywhere close to the charm of the main street, but they do have a purpose. Like many of the Westfields, you pretty much know what you are going to get here, though the issue that I had was that sometimes getting out in certain directions (such as a direction that doesn't involve the bus stop) requires you to maneuver your way through a car park, so yes, this place really isn't all that pedestrian friendly.

Garden City's not my local, but every now and then we drive there for a change of scenery. It's big…read moreand busy and has a different feel to some of the other Westfield's in Brisbane. Take the piazza area, for example; Dicey Riley's in the afternoons and evenings is always buzzing with loud and happy people taking in the afternoon sun in the beer garden; Toscani's al fresco dining is doing a roaring trade and the cinema is attracting a crowd. Inside, there are some places we don't see in the other centres, small one-off clothing boutiques and jewellery stores, and big box retailers like Toys R Us, so yep, Garden City's worth a visit every now and then just to keep up and make sure we're not missing out on anything.

Fairly modern and new shopping centre. Quite small but still offers a Jimmy Rods barber, Zarraffas…read moreCoffee, Woolworths, Gold Class Nail Salon, Akebono Sushi, Oxley Family Medical Centre, Golden Casket Newsagency, BWS, Flight Centre, Priceline Pharmacy. Fish Depot, Smart Dollar, Commonwealth Bank, Network Video & Black Milk Coffee. It's fantastic for grocery shopping and there are always free parking spaces, I love it!

'Ello chaps! Queen…read moreStreet Mall is a marquee tourist and shopping area of downtown Brisbane. It extends from George Street to Edward Street with more than 700 retailers. Many of them include the kitschy tourist shops. NOTE: Don't assume all of the stores are the same. Some may have the very same products, but even at different prices. It's worth the while to browse around first and then actually make your purchases. Other stores include shoe stores, clothing, jewelry, and odds and ends. It does seem as though Queen Street Mall may have seen better days, although it is buzzing. It's better than a typical American shopping mall, although it is not a five star high end shopping plaza, making it very affordable for most shoppers. Reportedly there were 26 million visitors to Queen Street Mall last year. Overall I give Queen Street Mall four stars out of five.

I probably go to the Queen Street Mall too often. At some level, I feel lame for not exploring…read moreother options or areas. However, it's just too easy. It's well located and has just about everything one could want. There's food, drinks, movies, food, drinks, clothes, mobile phones, banks, etc, etc, etc. The current construction is a bit annoying, but it's hard to knock improvements being made. The result is a bit of a bottleneck with the huge crowds walking around on weekends. This is a problem when you walk faster than basically any other human in existence and are incredibly impatient. So, it's probably more of a problem just for people like me, which thankfully, I don't believe can be found in abundance. I like that there is often music and the people watching is tremendous.

We went to Timezone (my friend and I). We had a splendid time. We aura farmed by collected cards…read morefrom the wizard of oz ticket maxing machine. The staff were lovely and were always happy to help when our numerous cards got stuck. This games was esoteric and presented an ephemeral enjoyment before we left. The value was amazing, we accumulated over 1400 just from today and spent barely any money at all Overall and amazing trip and would highly recommend. Here are some photos

Great shop but worse carpark to get out...took 20 minutes to get out of carpark which as long as I…read morespent in the shops..doesn't make you want to come back to shopping centre.

Unbeknownst to many is that Gladstone- Annerley Road, the forgettable stretch of road that connects…read moreWest End to Annerley, is in fact home to a few of Brisbane's hot spots. Its Vintage Darling is such a place. Its Vintage Darling is a particularly charming store, but because it's placed on a main road, it often gets missed by car go-ers. It's quite an unassuming place, and there's not many quick and easy parking spots if you do catch a glimpse of it. It's young owner has gone to great lengths to make the décor resemble an era long gone. She is powdered and picture perfect, not a hair out of place. Everything in the store is immaculately presented. You do not frantically rummage through her store, you peruse. While you're browsing, you can also ask for a organic free trade coffee ($3), which will be made in the 'kitschenette'. When you find something you like and you're testing out your new found dream threads, the owner jumps right in there with her own two cents worth. It's like serendipitously finding a new trusted fashionista sister to shop with. Yes, she wants you to buy her wears, but I truly believe she also wants you to walk out with something sensational. What's more is that Its Vintage Darling has become an irregular venue for live music as well. Sometimes a live music 'sale' day will happen, which will make you think all of your christmases have come at once. Bring a fair wad of cash with you. It's not an overly expensive vintage store (some op shops in the area have similar prices but the stock here is much better), but you might want to have more dosh in your pocket because there are just so many pretties in store.

Sip on a fresh, hot latte while browsing racks of dresses and reading vintage magazines (10 tips on…read morebeing a good housewife!)? Sign me up. It's Vintage Darling is one of my fave vintage shops. Not only is the name fun to say (It's vintage, dahling) but the staff are sweet, friendly and make a mean cappuccino. It's Vintage Darling has a lovely tiny retro kitchen and coffee machine, as well as a bit of lounge and outdoor seating so you can get a caffeine hit while browsing the retro-wares. There's usually a good range of 80s and 90s grunge, quite a bit of men's stock and on occasion, a lovely 50s or 60s dress. I got a divine 40s gown from there once, and for under $100, so they are well-priced. But best of all is the bargain bins - there are treasures to be found if you're willing to dig and most are under $10. Check it out!

The most ridiculous shopping centre layout I've been in , it was slightly better before the…read morerenovations

A part of me was going to suggest that this was a small shopping centre, but that is probably…read moreunrating this particular place somewhat namely because it does happen to be a decent size, it just doesn't happen to be anywhere near as big as some of the suburban megamalls happen to be. Mind you, having a train station underneath sort of helps it out somewhat, namely because you don't have to walk all that far to get there, but it isn't anywhere near as great as others I have visited.

The love of Carindale (like all the biggest stars, it's only known by one name) has been handed…read moredown through the generations of my family. My Mum passed down her passion for this place to me and my sister in law - and now we're handing down the pleasure to my 3 year old niece, Olivia (who loves it) and 14 month old Renzo (distinctly unimpressed). So why does this slightly ugly (from the outside) building inspire so much devotion in the female members of my family? Well, for those times we can't be bothered traipsing into town, Carindale pretty much has everything we could need. Except, perhaps, a chic cocktail bar. But I live in hope. Myer, David Jones, Sportsgirl, Dotti, Portmans, Witchery, cinemas, grocery stores, mobile phone shops, sports stores...it's like a one-stop-shopping-utopia for all our needs. With carpet. Yep, to this day, it's the only Westfield I've been in that has carpet. It's not particularly nice and occasionally gives you static attacks but I kinda like that it gives Carindale a strangely unusual USP. Even my friends in London laugh at my Carindale obsession (I've recently relocated back home after a lengthy stint living in London). Every email they send me usually starts with "so, how many times have you been to Carindale this week?" (I don't usually answer as I'm slightly ashamed that sometimes it's so often I feel I should take a sleeping bag and just move in). As Westfields go (and there's a gazillion of them in Brisneyland) this is not the biggest (yet) but it soon will be. I'm positively giddy at the fact they're spending $300m making it even more ginormous. For me! According to the website, it's due for completion in late 2012 and "will include a new parallel mall over two levels, a new full-line Coles supermarket, a relocated larger-format Target and a new dining precinct. Plus approximately 120 new stores including a range of Australian and international designers." Readers, dreams can come true.

I love Westfield Carindale! I don't think, from memory, I've ever visited and not enjoyed the…read moreexperience. I bypass three other closer, smaller shopping complexes and drive straight to Carindale. Took my kids, now 40 and 37, often and now take my grandchildren. I love the renovations, major stores and specialty shops. The parents' rooms are always clean and well appointed. Love the Event cinemas. Plenty of great coffee shops. Late night Christmas shopping is always a favourite time for me. Thanks Westfield Carindale.

Handmade High Street throws together some really great local crafters and creators of all things…read morepretty and fun. The first things that caught my eye was a crocheted rose-shaped brooch with quite a few other similar ones to keep it company. I found delight in the handmade jewellery and recycled accessories including hairpins made out of old buttons and old teacups being transformed into candle holders, which is something I would never have thought to do. They also had one of the very lovely dresses that is so identifiable as one of Rachel Burke's I Make My Day projects, which is surrounded by a mountain of handmade things to choose from like tin earrings and very flamboyant floral hairbands that are just gorgeous. I was most impressed with earrings that were fashioned out of origami designs. Some of the things in here are so original and it's so nice to see support for local crafters. One of the back shelves advertises renting a space in the store so other artists can sell their wares. As I was walking out I laughed out loud at the cute new spin on bottle top jewellery when I saw bottle tops printed with vintage pictures and resold as necklaces. I think that's a really cute and unique idea. Another item Handmade High Street currently sells is a product by Reclaimed Records, who make old records into new products like notepads and use only recycled paper. A recycled record notepad will set you back $45 but hey, you are paying for an old record. I like what this place has going on. They've got some really great pieces and I see a lot of potential for the artists who showcase their wares here.

Kath Chownston, one of three brains behind Handmade High Street, said that she wanted to provide a…read morespace for artists and craftspeople to easily sell their wares. Markets are often exhausting, subject to the elements, and aren't a very reliable way to get the money coming in if you're selling your goods in this fashion. The internet is a great way to get your stuff out there, but still, she went one further and opened a store- for the good of everyone! For her, for the people who rent space in her store, for the person who happens to pop in for a look and take away something local and unique. For the interested artist or craftsperson- the way the rent system works at Handmade High Street works is that there are small 'cubes' (shelving space) that are $20 per month. If you do larger scale work, clothing for example, and you have a rack that you'd like to have in store, it might cost you around $200 per month. The rental price is subject to how big and how much of the work there is, and whereabouts you want it placed in the store. There's some great stuff there too. The beads by Patti Pennisi made me want for the ocean, the glass work of Cairo Made That was gorgeous, and I couldn't help but want to take home some scented soy wax melts by Lisa Macnab. There's not the tired repeat of like works in there either; there's great diversity. Go in and support a new local business that supports it's locals. Handmade High Street. Remember that name.

When this shopping plaza got renovated a few years ago, I was fearful it would become as popular as…read moreWestfield Garden City. This would be bad for two reasons. Firstly, at the time I was working in a pharmacy here so the last thing I wanted was more customers without an increase to my wage. Secondly, I loved being able to do my grocery shopping or even browse for gifts peacefully and without the queues. Thankfully, the renovations did not lead to a huge influx of customers, merely making the entire shopping experience more pleasant with its new, clean fit out and better car park facilities. For all your practical shopping requirements, there's a Woolworths, Target Terry White Chemist, post office and a medical centre. There's also a JP available here on Wednesday afternoons between 4pm -6pm. The shopping centre does lack specialty shops so it's not a great place to buy gifts. However this is a great place to take your kids because they have a lot of those toddler rides that take $1 or $2 coins. I learnt the hard way that toddlers just like to play in these things. They don't necessarily care for the ride. Having inserted $2 into a small car, I was a bit disappointed that my nephew was just as happy to chug along pretending to drive and didn't even notice when the time expired and the car had stopped vibrating. Keep this shopping plaza in mind the next time you need to run errands or around the Christmas season when you just want to avoid the crowds.