Girls day out

On the 23rd we had a girls day out for my actual birthday with C, L, and S. I forgot to take photos so I've added links to most of the places if you want to see where we went.

We started out in Whatley Crescent in Maylands where we had a fossick in a second hand store that is closing down called Ivy Forado. They had lots of interesting old artefacts there, I almost purchased an old Japanese tea set, but resisted the temptation when I remembered I had no where to store it in my house. C purchased an Italian dinner set and S got a bundle of silver Apostle spoons for $1 each.

Next we visited a store called Chapels on Whately. We had a lovely morning tea there and I purchased the most amazingly gorgeous Tibetan woven blanket there with birthday money from C and S. It is about a metre wide and at least 2 metres long so I can recline on the sofa with it wrapped around my shoulder and still have it cover my toes.

I wish my camera would pick up the real life beauty of the colours

We wandered down the street after morning tea and popped in and out of all the little stores among them Smoult's Continental Deli which had a rather nice array of gourmet treats, a retro pop up shop (where I got a deck of mini Uno cards for Mr W and a small gift store that carried some really unique product lines... I just wish I could remember it's name. 
Next we visited Guildford where we popped into the Dutch Shop. We got lots of treats there including a bag of mini stroopie for Mr W and cookie mould for making speculaas cookies for me and some droste cocoa. I will definitely go back there for another visit. We also went into a gallery store called Stories on the Wall and met an artist there called Bonnie Atlan, she is about to have an exhibition at the store and invited us to come. When she handed us an invitation card we all immediately were drawn to the same image. No wonder we are all good friends. 

Can you pick which image we all loved? Click the image to make it larger.

After this we went across the train tracks to look at another really lovely store called Panache Living. They carry an eclectic mix of many gift-ware and clothing. I decided I needed hand cream (because my skin is so dry from all this cold weather) so I treated myself to a purse size tube of Mor Blood Orange. It is so lovely to use in winter because of its fresh citrus fragrance... I also purchased a tube of Marshmallow for C, Lychee Flower for L and Cassis Noir for S. The ladies at the store even took off the price labels and popped each tube into it's very own silver gift bag so they looked really special for the girls. Then we were starving so we drove around to Woodbridge house to have lunch by the river. It was a really lovely leisurely lunch. It was really hard to choose what to eat because everything on the menu sounded so tasty.

Mini Stroopie, AC Vinegar with Honey and Blanket

After that we got into the car again to check out the nougat factory in middle swan and then we stopped at the House of Honey where I picked up some creamed honey for my honey and some honey and apple cider vinegar. I got to taste test it and could feel its healthiness. Last stop for the day was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory . Just after we arrived a big tour coach came in and I needed to get out of there quick, there were lots of chocolate things to buy there (of course) but I had got enough treats for myself and my boys so we headed home.

When I got home I unloaded and distributed all the booty before getting back into the car to go to my Mum's for birthday dinner. Last year I didn't get a birthday cake for my birthday and while I haven't harped on about it... my Mum did tell me that me saying that everyone deserves a birthday cake stuck with her. So this year everyone made one. Miho and her kids made carrot and walnut cupcakes, DH and Mr W not only purchased a strawberry and cream gateaux but also made Banana and Vanilla cupcakes (yes two batches) and Mum baked a raspberry and almond flan.

I quite honestly say that we could not have fitted any more fun stuff into that day. The weather was cool but sunny almost all day (with not even a drop of rain - and we Winter babies appreciate a rain free birthday). Thankfully DH drove home and I was soon snoring my head off in bed.