Have you heard the expression, "match made in heaven"?…read more On my last rendezvous in Fortitude Valley, quickly become Brisbane's Mecca for exceptional coffee. I was taken back by the smooth taste of flat white order that may have come about by accident. I asked for an almond flat white, since I wasn't too excited about the soy milk on-hand. Now, I am putting my reputation as a coffee snob and caffeine addict on the line with this next comment...but! " I believe with all my heart that Black Star (Rev - Espresso) Coffee and almond milk hand crafted by the lovely young lady barista at Foundry Records, is the bomb, hands down the best in Brisbane".

From the owner: Foundry Records and Cafe are Brisbane's local dealers in caffeine and vinyl (records not the old…read morefloors from Auntie Tracey's kitchen). We think there is nothing greater in this world then losing yourself in the immersion of your favourite record. To take this to the next level, do this while you slowly sip on some of the best coffee in the world. We love music and all things music, but there isn't enough time in the day for all of it. So, we have become avid lovers of the magic powers of the little brown bean that delivers the finer things in life.

Had a lot of books to donate found Cystic Fibrosis shop and looking forward to donating them here…read morewent today and was disappointed by one of the staff he just said put them up here no help whatsoever and started going through them throwing them which was not nice, and then another older gentleman came with a trolley and helped us. He was lovely and excited to see we had some music books as he said we don't get many of them. We had also sorted them into their genre and none were torn and dirty. So disappointed by what we saw. Yes I have worked as a volunteer so I do know what is exceptable and not. A lot of them were brand new. I just hope they are going to help people less fortunate than us. Just sad to see how these were handled.

Really good pricing on cook books and others and what a great experience it was it was like going…read morebonkers in a candy shop I meant what an enjoyable experience from Kate richardson

Airport coffee. Airport prices. You all know what I'm talking about. Low quality black gold and…read moreoften burnt taste for inflated prices that you submit to out of supply and demand. Well, when flying Qantas from Brisbane you no longer need to be raked over hot coals for a meager coffee, thanks to the newly opened Watermark Books. They've been open only two or three weeks and as well as supplying you with a decent range of books and stationary to keep you entertained once in flight, there's a café kiosk pouring Campos Coffee at standard café prices ($3.60 for a small coffee) as well as a small selection of cakes, quiches and muffins. And the real bonus, kids? Their long communal tables situated mid-store. Set your phone up as a hotspot, pop up that laptop or iPad, order your coffee of choice and enjoy a peaceful power work session before your flight departs.

Pleasant place to hang out and wait for your flight. Campos…read morecoffee, books and cake are present so happy place for me. I'm partial to Campos that's what drew me in initially. Book cafes are also a love of mine so I thought I'd give it a go. Coffee was fine, not the best I've ever had but totally drinkable. Got a caramel tart which while diabetes-inducing was pretty good. My coffee came with a tiny choc chip cookie on the rim (free things will win me over no matter the scale!) - so cute! Service was good and friendly - the guy who served me was pleasant despite still being at work at 5pm on a Friday afternoon. Sat. Ate. Caffienated. Paged through books I had no intention of buying.... Not a bad way to wait around for my flight!

Gametraders is one of my favourite stores at Chermside, as they often get in retro video game…read moreconsoles such as the Nintendo 64, the Gamecube, the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. They also have a large selection of video games for older consoles. You should definitely avoid Gametraders if you have an addiction for Pop! Vinyl Figures, as they sell hundreds of them, in addition to merchandise for franchises including Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Doctor Who and Star Wars. They also have a large selection of board games and card games, many of which you would not find at most toy and department stores. Gametraders also sells comic books, anime DVDs / Blu-ray's, a small selection of clothing and various video game / TV show props, which would be perfect for cosplay. You will often be able to find items that Gametraders are selling for less online, though they offer convenience and a unique retail experience, which EB Games is finally catching on to, with the launch of their new Zing Pop Culture stores.

Video games are expensive - and don't really have anything to do with videos anymore now I think…read moreabout it. Gamestraders has a very clever model based around letting you trade in your old games to help offset of that brand new $100 game YOU HAVE TO HAVE RIGHT NOW. Other game stores do this too, but Gamestraders seems to be a bit more generous with their refund. Don't get me wrong, they then turn around and sell your traded in game for heaps more than they paid you, and it's pure profit (they only have to pay the manufacturer for new games so selling second hand games is heaps more lucrative than selling new). There's a decent range, and parents and partners can feel slightly better about watching their loved one trade in that game that cost a fortune just a week ago (trust me, you never really go back and play a game once you've finished it).

Whatever band I've been in, we've always ended up rehearsing at Via Studios. Its one of the most…read morecentral spaces where band members from all parts of Brisbane can come together, jam out, or practice. There are ten room at Via, all air conditioned and professionally sound proofed. It's very rare to hear any noise spill from rooms next to yours and if does its probably someone has left a door open. Each room is also stocked with high-end PA systems, microphones and leads. If you wish to record one of your sessions call in and they'll work on setting something up for you. Via staff are very approachable and technically savvy and will try their best to help you if any issues occur with your own equipment. Via has made sure that they have stocked up on enough basic hardware to aid when strings breaks, batteries run out or the when the bassist has forgotten his leads. Because, as we know 90% of musicians are starved, Via has a small range of chips, lollies and drinks at cheap prices that even the most skint of singers can afford. After rehearsal is done you can pay an extra charge to store your good on site as the studio has a 24 hour monitored security system. For $17.50 an hour or $50 for a block of four, Via, with its in house equipment, easy locality and good rooms is worth every note.

It makes sense to me that an op shop represents the area it's in. Clayfield has something of a…read morereputation for being a hoity-toity sort of area, and so doesn't it make perfect sense that it's Vinnies sells more boutique items than bargain? Clayfield Vinnies has even gone to the lengths to arrange it's shop in a similar vein to a boutique store. You're not going to find stuff piled upon stuff here. Everything is orderly, skirts with skirts, cups with cups, the red clothes flow into the pink and then the purple... It's quite well presented and easily navigable. If the shops' appearance didn't signal upmarket to you, then the formal dress section should have. So should the design tags on some of the clothes you're browsing through. It was such a satisfying visit. I was bent over with the weight of the clothes I was carrying to the dressing rooms. There is so much great stock in here! The best part is that it's reasonably priced. If it's a designer piece, you'll pay a little more than the standard prices, but not much more. They've got five rooms of wares to sell, so put aside a little bit of time to go in there. Men might be pleasantly surprised by what they'll find in the men's section/room. Clayfield Vinnies doesn't really have much to offer in the way of homewares, but there is a small shrine per se, paying homage to more classical op shops with their mountains of tupperware strewn across the shop. What an unexpected find this op shop was. Because I was in Clayfield, I assumed that I wasn't in prime op shopping territory. As I left the store holding a new assymetrical linen brown skirt ($4) in one hand and little black dress ($6) in the other, I realised I was wrong.

This Vinnies rocks!…read more After a tour of Northside op-shops, this little spot was a stand out. The store was really well laid-out and organised with care and thought. The staff clearly knew what they were doing and took pride in their work. We picked up a few items and found the prices fair, especially compared to some of the bigger op-shops we later visited. We were also surprised with the music selection playing; the usual 97.3FM was cast aside in favour of Triple J, which the older ladies didn't seem to mind. Perhaps this is just a sign of suave staff who know their market. I like to think they exclaimed once we'd left and switched it over to a classics station.