What on Earth happened to Kmart since I was a kid? Whatever it is - it's a good thing. No wait, a…read moregreat thing! I had my school's swimming carnival on Wednesday. Tuesday evening was the prime time I decided to search for a green shirt to wear (school spirit and all). I left Kmart after a 15 minute trip (including parking) holding a $3 shirt. THREE DOLLARS. What. Even. So you want a bargain? Go to Kmart. Honestly. I don't even understand. I also bought my lady a pie machine for Christmas from there. I'm hoping she won't read this, but it was $12 and it's fantastic. So impressed. Kmart also has self serve checkouts for those who like, as well as normal checkouts. The staff on the door I've noticed are quite nice. There's also a Kmart Tyre and auto. If you weren't aware Kmart is actually in Toombul shopping centre, conveniently close to the undercover parking. If you've not been to Kmart for a while, as I hadn't, you really must take a look.

When it comes to shopping, Brisbane is always seen as the poor relative to Sydney. And it usually…read moreis. But the uber chic Level 1 Designer section David Jones is definitely equal to, if not better than its counterpart down south. Let me run through just a taster of the labels you can get your hands on here: Burberry, Paul Smith, Scanlan and Theodore, Easton Pearson, Willow, Romance is Borne, Sass and Bide, Camilla and, my fave, Thurley (note to parents: as the sales will be on by then, I'd love the one shouldered lurex top or the long sequinned necklace for my birthday!) The drawback - the expense makes your eyes water. So my tip to you is, browse now and make a note of what you want, then come back in sale season and rummage, rummage, rummage. It's worked for me many a time. Ladies, be strong, be determined and above all, keep looking until you find it!

When I was a young whipper snapper I remember going into the David Jones store in Sydney. It felt…read moreall fancy, and i'd marvel at the food markets they had in there too. And the cost! Well, DJs still goes for that fancy, up market look, and if their Brisbane store ever had food markets, they're long gone. This is a newish store in Queens Plaza, and it's still quite fancy. Multiple levels, I usually come in for clothes, or sometimes to check out the electrical stuff. They've scaled back on games, and I note that their electronics is just a Dick Smith now. The department stores of the past are long gone. Despite the up market vibe they go for, I've found they are quite often competitive with prices, so it's definitely worth checking out if you're shopping around for the best price.

Variety of sizes available and very much affordable. Located in the perfect area for shoppingread more

I love Big W. I like how it is conveniently placed above Woolworths. It has escalators and a lift…read moreif you have heavy bags. I wish they would make a security system so you could take their basket trolleys (which can't leave Big W) and supply you with regular trolleys to take down to Woolworths to shop there vice versa . I hate carrying bags. I had to buy a granny's trolley for this purpose. I wish they had a underground carpark or something because how are you gonna take your purchases home? I either have to walk far to my car or catch a cab from the cab rank which is thankfully nearby. There are buses and trains but the who wants to wait at a bus stop with all their things? Also buses can be unreliable. The train station is about a ten minute walk up the hill so no go for me. If they had more parking areas and let you take the basket trolleys into the food court I would buy more and heavier things. Unfortunately most things on the Big W website are unavailable to get delivered? Almost makes me wonder what's the point, except I suppose being able to see what they sell. Big store, lots of variety, good prices but not as dirt cheap as Kmart. I would give 5 stars if they didn't always run out of basket trolleys at Big W and Woolworths! Woolworths have regular metal trolleys but usually run out too with the annoying insert coin security system. I don't know how your expected to use the trolley and then catch a cab. How are you going to return the trolly to bay to get your $1/$2 back? Oh well. There are barely any lines at Big W unlike Woolworths and they have self service checkout there. Oh, and only spread over two levels, not three.

Im not entirely sure that i would have ever gone to spotlight on my own accord because as far as i…read morewas concerned it was a shop that sold cloth and sewing gear and that is something i have no interest in. I was however dragged their to buy bedding and pillows and was actually surprised at the size of the place. If you are looking for bedding towels and like me are impartial to designs and thread count then you cant go wrong with Spotlight. As well as all this they do have a party section which is something I am definitely taking advantage of for those fun but some times annoying dress up parties. All you need is a bit of creativity and with the huge amount of party supplies that they have. Its also fairly inexpensive and will be allot cheaper than buying or hiring a costume. I would just advise that when you go with your spouse you know what you are looking for because through personal experience you can end up staying there allot longer and buying allot of things you don't really need for the house.

Day time designers, night time crafters, do-it-yourself renovators and home decorators. If you're…read moreafter inspiration and ideas, give yourself about an hour to browse through Spotlight. While I love home decorations, I admit I'm a terrible DIY renovator. I hate sandpapering surfaces, painting walls, sewing curtains, in short anything that may cause perspiration. What I do like to do is buy cushions, candles and any sort of furnishings that may transform the room without any effort on my part. This is where Spotlight comes in. They have the A-Z of home decorations from already made curtains to cute toothbrush holders. For crafters, the Mt Gravatt Spotlight has a huge selection of supplies for quilting, embroidery, jewellery making, knitting and scrapbooking. It's bigger than Lincraft and Riots Art Supplies put together. Unfortunately, this has been at the expense of their sewing section which has been dramatically downsized in the past few years. They still stock a decent range of fabrics but only the most popular silks and satins are making the cut. If you can't nip down to Spotlight without the kids and hubby, never fear. There is an awesome helium balloon counter at the back of Spotlight. Just pick their favourite balloon design, the lovely staff on duty will fill it up with helium and you can shop in peace while your kids are entertained by shiny, nylon sharks, tigers and seahorses. The bonus is that these bobbing creatures act as beacons so that you don't have to worry about losing your kid in the maze which is Spotlight.

Great service and great quality items I would highly recommend shopping here…read more Is usually nice and quiet so it is usually a relaxing shopping trip

kmart has everything! customer service at counter and back desk is very helpful and polite.read more

Outstanding customer service from the lady working here. Unlike a lot of other discount stores,…read morethings were kept in a very orderly way, even though they were short on space. There were a tonne of options for travellers.

Another gem for craft enthusiasts, and anyone happy to poke around. A great number of good stock at…read morediscounted prices. The staff are helpful, and pleasant. I have been coming here for a long time. Their home decor and thoughtful gift lines are wonderful, if you are content to take your time. Storage, stationary and seasonal lines do change occasionally, basically their is good. Good place to explore, and discover more, of what you suddenly, think you must have? Enter at your own risk, and enjoy!

Target in Australia??? Yes. But WAIT . . . before all you Americans get too excited, this Target…read more(as well as other Target stores in Australia) aren't like their American counterparts. Typically, they're MUCH smaller, and sell primarily clothing. No groceries. No pharmacy. Etc. Another distinguishing factor is price. It's EXPENSIVE here!!! Target stores in the US are usually reasonably priced. Looks like we're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy . . .

So, this is sort of a Target, but it sort of isn't. American Targets have become giant superstores…read morewhere you can buy anything. This one inside a mall has two small-ish levels and sells mostly cheap clothes (no one in the U.S. goes to Target just for clothes now), and a few household items, entertainment options, and electronics. Moreover, they were out of the one thing I needed (adaptors to charge my American devices in these freaky diagonal Australian outlets). I will give them credit for pointing me to a place that had something, but I probably won't go back there to shop much.

Location, location, location. It's everything, right? Well, no. For me, this location is great…read more It's right near where I live - and because it's on airport drive it's never particularly busy. There's always people around, but not like going into a supermarket at 5pm when everyone is at the checkouts. The selling point of this Woolworth's is as Tenniele said in her review, is the trading hours. My only problem is actually remembering they're open. I mean, how often have I decided after 6 that I want something from Woolies on the weekend? Often (on account of my love for snacks). And you know what? They're open until 7pm. But that's just weekends. Weekdays they're until 10pm. TEN PEE EM! That's fantastic. Also the staff aren't intrusive, and it's a good sized Woolies so it has everything you need. Parking isn't difficult and it's not overcrowded. All in all a good woolies. I suppose the only thing that has stopped me from making it a 5 start shop is the fact that the staff aren't fantastic. They're not bad either though. So you know, if you're around near the airport I'd definitely make it your grocery store!

It's a bog standard woolies for the most part, although I did see a sign making a claim to some…read moresort of large steak, but beyond the sign, I saw no sign of it. That said, it is quite a large store, so they probably have whatever you need. The absolute best thing about this Woolies is its opening hours. Toombul Coles closes 9pm weekdays, 5pm Saturday and 4pm Sunday. A mighty bummer when you need something and didn't get to the shop earlier! No worries! Zoom out to 'Skygate', 'DFO', whatever you wanna call it, and Woolies is there for you. 24 hours! I'll admit, it's a bit out of the way, but it's not really that far. Watch the signs though, it's easy to end up in the wrong lane and on your way out to the airport, the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast.