Best Massage I've Ever Had - Wayne Massage, Auckland

By Dexanix of Multi Tasking Mummy

This is a very very long overdue post, in fact it was only when I went to Auckland this weekend and planned (but failed due to time restraints) to go back while I was there, that I realised I never posted about it last time!

Photo from Wayne Massage's Facebook Page

On the 1st June, my husband and I were wandering towards Britomart with our 2 kids, and there was a shop frontage that jumped out at us, called "Wayne Massage". Now you can see from the photo above, that their massages start at $5, so we were more than a little sceptical, and kept walking. Wayne himself was standing outside giving out flyers, and as we took one, he came around behind my husband and started massaging his shoulders. Hubby is not always easily impressed, yet it was so good that hubby immediately agreed to a massage for both of us, and in we went.

Photo from Wayne Massage's Facebook Page

I sat down first and got a 20 minute massage. The lady who massaged me started in the front of the shop in a chair, then moved me to one of the private rooms where I could lie down and she could massage my back shoulders and neck properly.

I won't lie. It did hurt. A lot. But it was that good hurt, the kind you can tell is really doing something for all those knots in your body. 

Photo from Wayne Massage's Facebook Page

We were both so impressed! After often paying $60 for a 1 hour massage and still not feeling like a lot has been accomplished, both of us walked out of there refreshed, loosened up and ready for a nap, and all for only $20 each! It was just a shame that we then had to drive home to Tauranga afterwards!!

We were so disappointed that we missed out on another massage this weekend, especially as I see they now have a second branch, in the Elliott Street Atrium, which was directly across the road from our Hotel. Never mind. We will most definitely be back!!

Photo from Wayne Massage's Facebook Page

You can find Wayne Massage on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wayne-Massage/288787241209676

Best Western President Hotel - Auckland City

By Dexanix at Multi Tasking Mummy

Photo from Google Images

Our Family went up to Auckland for a couple of nights this weekend. I had front row tickets to the Designer Selection Fashion Show and NZ Fashion Week (oooerrrrr!)

We mulled it over for ages, then decided that even though hotel stays with an 8 month old teething baby and an almost 3 year old boy are rarely ever relaxing, we never get to go away, so we thought we would stay in a hotel for 2 nights, and make the most of it.

Photo from Google Images

After trawling Wotif.com for what seemed like hours, I chose the deal at Best Western President hotel on Victoria Street in Auckland City. The deal they had was $129 a night for a King Size bed and buffet breakfast daily for 2 people. I'm a big fan of Hotel breakfasts, so this was pretty exciting. Parking was $20 a night which brought our 2 night stay up to basically $300, so a big outing for a family who never goes anywhere!

Anyway, we arrived there on Friday afternoon and got checked in. I had seen photos on the website, it looked like a nice place, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving. I had a horrible feeling we were going to be let down, especially since their rating on Wotif was a self rated 3 stars.

Well, my worries were quickly proved wrong. It was a lovely hotel, all staff that we encountered were great, the room was bigger than we expected, had a view of The Atrium on Elliott, and the buffet breakfast was AWESOME. 

Nice bathroom

When we first arrived there was a problem with the air conditioning in our room, but we called Housekeeping and 2 staff members came up quickly and had it fixed straight away, and any staff we came into contact with throughout our stay were always lovely and more than helpful, and the very central location was perfect for us, and if we ever get to go away over night on our own, without the kids, that will probably be our choice of hotel.

The view from our Room

ProfessioNAIL, Westfield Pakuranga, Auckland

Review by Ms Kate from Mummybrain ~ The How-Not-To-Do-It Guide of Marriage Miscarriage Children Divorce Step-Children

I was lucky enough to be pampered, with a Mother's Day voucher that had been given to me by the kids, at a place called ProfessioNAIL.

My contact with them started with a phone call, made by me, about 9 o'clock in the morning. The phone was answered promptly, but there the good things stopped. The lady on the end of the phone couldn't speak English very well at all. I asked what the latest appointment of the day was. She replied 'whenever I liked'. So I asked how late they were open, and she seemed thoroughly confused. I asked if I could come at 8pm, knowing that the mall shut at 6pm, and was told I could. She then told me they didn't take appointments, that you just turn up.

So turning up at 5.30pm, this lovely lady took me through, and speaking clear English asked me what I'd like done. I explained I had a voucher and no idea what I wanted done. She showed me various options, and I picked a French Manicure, a total value of $23NZ.

Sitting down, in a comfy seat, with nice soft music in the background, she started with tidying up my cuticles, this included a massage of my hands. It was very pleasant.
With nice little fans, to blow away the smell, down to nice smelling moisturising lotion, it was all very nice, until 15 minutes in, a vacuum cleaner was started up, and the place started to be cleaned. This included various towels and other washing being picked up from around me, chairs being moved around roughly to allow vacuum cleaner through, and the workers talking in really loud voices in their native tongue.
So that kind of ruined the nice relaxing atmosphere that had been there, and what I'd been looking forward too.

The end product was lovely however, and I'm really impressed with how nice it looks.

Sky City Convention Centre, Auckland

Review by Mr Spencer from Mummybrain ~ The How-Not-To-Do-It Guide of Marriage Miscarriage Children Divorce Step-Children

I spent the last three days in a conference at sky city with several thousand other delegates and try as I might I could not find fault with the facilities. Everything appeared to be flawlessly prepared and executed with care and professionalism. I was so impressed with the facilities that I felt I simply have to review them :)

Presentation Technology
The big screens, sound systems, projectors and lighting were perfectly suited to the purpose. I did not see any issues with hardware failures, not even as much as a "is this thing on?". I have a bit of history in this field but try as I might I couldn't find fault. The worst it got was when a presenter with a lapel microphone walked in front of a speaker, but the feedback was quickly caught and stopped before becoming a problem.

As a delegate I had no trouble seeing or hearing regardless of where I sat.

Service
There must have been dozens of service staff. Serving coffee, laying out and refilling buffets, cleaning messes, collecting dirty dishes, checking rooms were in order between sessions, maintaining security, looking after sound desks, cooking food, serving drinks and no doubt countless other things that I didn't even notice.

They were all well and consistently dressed, clean and tidy in their appearance and behaviour, polite and respectful, professional and generally just going out of their way to make everything work smoothly.

Branding
I don't know how much of this was done by the staff at sky city and how much was done by the company running the conference but even before you walked in the front door you knew you were in the right place. There were signs both static and digital everywhere. Finding rooms was easy and from the way everything looked you'd swear you were in the offices of the company rather than in a conference centre.


Food The food was amazing, it was different every day (with a few staples) and the quality was always exceptional. From simple things like coffee to the exquisite and varied lunch foods everything was done perfectly.

There was something for everyone including vegetarian options and even a separate vegetarian buffet. There were options for the diet conscious and the not so diet conscious (mmm chocolate cups).

Each day there was something different in a separate area, the first day was a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, the second there were chefs cooking in woks and on the last day there was a lolly bar where you could pick and mix bags of sweets.

There was always an abundance, food was restocked as frequently as required and few people were taking small helpings :)

Toilets
What goes in must come out :) The toilets were kept stocked with soap, hand towels etc and were always clean and tidy despite the hundreds of people using them every hour. 

Summary

Over all I found the whole experience very pleasant, 10/10 to Sky City :)

A meal of incredible inaccuracy - Dennys on Hobson Street, Auckland

By: The Spy at The Undercover Bloggers

So. Hubby, myself and our 22 month old boy hit Denny's on Hobson Street in Auckland, after going to "Walking With Dinosaurs" (An EXCELLENT SHOW, but that's another story!)

We have been to this and other Dennys Restaurants in the past and had both good and bad experiences, however it is usually quite good at this one.

I orderered a Hawaiian Chicken Roll meal, Hubby ordered a Mushroom Cheese Burger and for our boy we ordered a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Curly Fries (That's how the menu said that they come.)

So. What did we recieve? First the Manager came out with a plate with two pieces of ham and said he was sorry, but his cook had forgotten to put the ham in my roll. That was ok, mistakes happen. Then we realised Dex's Curly Fries were not curly fries but in fact normal fries (which were not very nice anyway).

And then. Yes. There was more.

Hubby bites into his Mushroom Cheese Burger only to find...... no mushroom. A tiny bit of cheese. He couldn't get the attention of any staff, and we didn't have one of the push buttons at our table that are at many others, so he had to go and wait at the counter while heaps of people were served/seated, while his meal got cold. Then when he finally gets to the counter and says what the problem is, the Manager says, get this, "Oh, well is it ok like that?... (after some silence) Oh, would you like me to get the mushrooms for it?" Well.. um. Yes Thanks, seeing as I ordered a mushroom cheese burger.

We had planned to stay for dessert but after them getting 3/3 meals wrong, we figured there wasn't a lot of point, as we were bound to get the wrong thing. So we went up to the counter, paid our bill and left, with no apology for the amazing lack of ability to manage even one correct meal at a table.

Needless to say, that's us done with Denny's in the CBD. Except maybe for their Oreo Shakes/Sundaes as those are still usually pretty good!

The Parenting Place

By Simone at Greatfun4kids

I love the Parenting Place.

Great coffee. Delicious food. Super cheap prices (cheaper than McCafe).
So reasonable in fact that almost every time I go there I have to double check the order....

~ Did you get the kids hot chocolate? The giant gluten free choc chip cookie? The walnut caramel slice? {drool} Oh what about trim chai latte? You got all of it? Oh wow. $11.00 for all that??? Fab.

There are toys for the kids to play with and stacks of space to spread out and run around.
Even a giant touch screen they can do "painting" or play games on.
The walls are covered with words reflecting the values of the place.


Then there's this beautiful rocking horse...

...handcrafted by legendary parenting guru and founder of Parents Inc himself, Ian Grant. Can you believe it? Amazing. He's a grandad you know.

And I got shake hands with Ian!
He was right there at the cafe eating lunch with someone ;last week when I was in there.
I waited til he was finished and then i bowled on up to him and shook his hand.
Thank you for everything you guys do, I said.
And I told him, oh I am writing for the magazine... did you read my stories?
And that he said, yes Mary and I loved them. Thank you so much for contributing.
*grin*

And then he talked to me about... his grandchildren.
It's easy to see they are never far from his heart.
The Parenting Place is run by people who love kids. And families.

The Parenting Place is more than just a cafe. They have family coaches. And parenting workshops on every parenting topic you can imagine. With legends like Diane Levy taking them.
In the resource centre are all kinds of books and parenting staples like the My Story boxes. The Red Plate. And a wall of "Hot Tips" leaflets...

Sibling Rivalry. Holding a Family Meeting. Ways to Teach Your Children Values.

Those are just the ones I grabbed and stashed in my handbag.

They also have a cool website with webinars, tips and online resources.
So even if you live outside of Auckland you can still visit the Parenting Place online here. You'll just have to make your own coffee.

The Cafe {and resource centre}is located at 300 Great South Rd, Greenlane.

Meet you there for coffee sometime?

................

The Parenting Place
300 Great South Road
Greenlane, Auckland
PH: 09 524 0025
EMAIL: info@parentsinc.org.nz
Website

Open Monday - Friday
Office and bookshop 8.30am to 5.00pm
Cafe 8.30am - 3.00pm

The Best of the Best - Waiheke Wineries

Story by Miss Bonnie

The "inside vines" with paper bags protecting little gems 

of deliciousness from the birds.... all the more for me!

Post New Years Nick, Little Red and I had the blissful opportunity of staying on Waiheke for a week with the in-laws. It was utterly superb. The weather was balmy, the ocean was inviting and the food (and wine!) was to die for. We schmoozed along to two vineyards while on the island and they were both absolutely fantastic, so much so that as soon as I set foot on Waiheke again I'll be up there lounging in the sun before you can say "Vino, please!"

The view from our table (pictures don't do it justice)



So the first on the list was Stonyridge Winery which was just down the road from our bach. The cafe is huge with comfortable and spacious seating and a beautiful decked area off to the side. Our table was right on the cusp of cafe and vineyard and had gorgeous views down to their lawn (perfect for the kiddies!) which is populated with olive trees and sunflowers and the sprawling vines beyond.

We started with a Fallen Angel Chardonnay from which the grapes are grown elsewhere but the wine is produced at the vineyard. The Chardonnay (and the Sauvignon Blanc which we followed on with) were both stunning and, oh heck, don't even get me started on the food!


Gorgeous sunflowers



Nick had a steak which he has since dubbed "the best steak he's ever eaten" (this coming from a man who loves his steak), the others shared tapas plates which were brimming with delicious olives, salmon, oysters, cured meats, and fresh, melt-in-your mouth bread (just to name a few things) and I had a chicken dish which was, to quote Nick, the best chicken I've ever eaten. Baked and served on bok choy with cashews, baby onions and a tomato and coriander salsa. AMAZING. 'Nuff said.

Grapes picked straight from the vine - bliss!

On top of all this, the staff were fantastic - courteous, friendly, prompt and well educated on the wines, food and history of the vineyard. Upon asking our waitress what the paper bags were for that hung from the vines within the restaurant we were told they were to stop birds from flying in and she reached up and pulled four bunches down for us to snack on. Apologies if I'm starting to sound like a broken record but they were the most delicious grapes I've ever eaten - they were like passionfruit, feijoa and gooseberries all mixed into one sweet little bit of mush. Delish!

The next vineyard on our must visit list was Passage Rock after we'd been told that a writer for the New York Times had declared their pizzas "the best in the world". Even the winery themselves boast their 12 inches of scrumptiousness as "world famous on Waiheke". And I'm not one to turn down a good pizza so off we went.

Well, what else can I say other than that the place is like heaven on earth? It was a super hot day so we were grateful to be seated at an outside table under the shade of a giant umbrella. But for those seeking the comfort of the indoors the restaurant itself is large, spacious and cool and opens out onto a patio and a lawn which has more seating and a swing ball set for the kids right next to rows and rows of vibrant vines. The outskirts of the eatery are adorned in beautiful wildflowers and there's even a pond and a wee footbridge.

 The most delish pizza in the world!

The service, as at Stonyridge, was impeccable as was the wine (I had a Rose and Nick a Riesling). But! Let's get to the important part - the world famous pizzas! Well, the New York Times was right on the money, my pizza was by far the best I had ever tasted. I had the vegetarian pizza (sounds boring, right? But no!) which, on top of a perfectly crispy base, was stacked with aubergine, olives, roast capsicum and pumpkin, artichoke, courgette, feta and mozzarella with a garnish of rocket and basil. Nick had the chicken pizza which I didn't try but given the speed with which he wolfed it down, I reckon it was pretty darn good.

 Our vinos. Red was on the waters (sober driver and all that)

Beautiful wildflowers

 So there you have it, two fab vineyards on the beautiful island of Waiheke. I highly recommend both - everything was superb and best of all they're both kid friendly, yippee!

Stonyridge Winery Waiheke Island - Website

Passge Rock Winery Waiheke Island - Website

Become Someone's Angel

BY SIMONE AT GREATFUN4KIDS

We have just returned from a photo-scavenger hunt around town to benefit Auckland City Mission.

Seeing as Christmas is the season of giving and there's nothing I hate more than spoilt selfish brats, I figured it would benefit us all to give some things to those less fortunate than us.

So I went online to Auckland City Mission to find out about donating stuff and came across this cool thing:

Become Someone's Angel

Take photos of yourself (and others) and upload onto the City Mission Facebook Page. Their Sponsor will donate $5 to them for each photo uploaded!

Fun in the City for free that benefits someone else... what more could you want?

So I printed out a list of where the Angel Wings are dotted around the place, packed up a bag of munchies, some silly hats and off we went.

First we called into the Mission to drop of some bags and boxes of things we no longer need, but that have plenty of life left in them. The kids helped sort the stuff out, take it in and hand it over. I wanted them to be part of the giving.

Then we tried to find some wings to pose in front of.

One grinchy store (Global Dive) had taken the wings down. Boo. It spoilt their Window Display.

There were six of us in the van, so a photo each in front of the Wings at Wellington St Dairy ($30 for the Mission) and another at TVNZ (right by the front entrance) - another $30 for them.

Scrag was starting to "lose it" then so we gave up after just two photo locations. But it was fun. And all for a good cause. And it helped focus the kids on Giving and those who don't have the luxuries we take for granted.

So If you're at a loose end in Auckland go looking for some Angel Wings and snap some pics, then upload them to the Mission's Facebook Page.

Merry Christmas!
xx

Motat Nights Christmas Lights

BY SIMONE FROM GREATFUN4KIDS

I love finding cool (inexpensive) things to do as a family around Christmas, and this year Motat is putting on something pretty cute.

Motat Nights, Christmas Lights is in Motat's Victorian Village (entry is a gold coin donation through the service gate on the Speedway side). Plenty of Free parking on that side street.

Every Saturday and Sunday night from now until Christmas, 8pm til late the Victorian Village is alive with twinkle lights and fun.



The Blacksmith is forging stuff in his smithy.

A sweetmaker is making his sweets. Giant lollipops, super candy canes. You can even have a go making them yourself. For $2 each. Oh and they are delicious.

There's mulled wine for sale. The spicey smell nearly knocks you over; it's so strong it will take you all night to drink it. If you're driving you'd better share it with a friend. Best not take the risk, that stuff is potent.

There are staff dressed up in Victorian garb wandering around striking up conversation, initiating old-fashioned games. Like stilt-walking, horseshoes, tug-o-war and sack races. Make sure you're there before the sun sets, it gets hard to see after dark.

 

The brass band plays on the green and the twinkle lights twinkle as your kid cries for another $2 hand-made lollipop and your baby begs for mulled wine... It's lots of fun and very sweet.

Just the thing for a Christmas family night out.

MOTAT

Great North Road, Western Springs Auckland

Website: http://www.motat.org.nz/

Delish Cupcakes Review

By Mon of Delissimon

At the beginning of my diagnosis this little shop opened up in Forrest Hill and I've been getting daily Facebook updates on the daily flavours and events of the shop. I salivate everytime. Today for example their flavours for sale are banoffee, choc raspberry, vanilla filled with passionfruit, vanilla stawberry, caramel, choc bomb and JAFA. Sounds delish yeah?


This little shop is Delish Cupcakes.

I heard about these ladies last year when my dad went to the Auckland Food Show and came across the Delish Cupcakes stall. Their progress has been from friends who bake and decorate fantastic cupcakes together to actually opening up a beautiful shop with different flavours everyday. So I thought it was high time to get myself up to Forrest Hill to try them out.
And I wasn't disappointed.

I bought a chocolate with chocolate ganache cupcake and my niece Zara chose a lemon raspberry. Both came in these adorable wee boxes so they wouldn't get squished. The chocolate had a beautiful rich ganache with a lovely moist chocolate cake, and the lemon raspberry had a lemon curd filling with a creamy, sweet and slightly tangy raspberry buttercream which was absolutely delicious (I got to try both, as we left them in the car and forgot about them in our hurry to get Zara to the airport, so she missed out on eating her one....lucky me!). These gals know how to please a fussy cupcake lover like me!

Delish Cupcakes cater for weddings, birthdays, corporate functions, baby showers etc and you can even order online.

So if you are in the area - - then I suggest you pop in and have a squiz and try out a cupcake and a coffee. They also have a range of decorating products if you are inspired to go home and try decorating your own!

Delish Cupcakes
Shop 4, 14-16 Raines Ave, Forrest Hill, Auckland
Open Mon - Fri, 08:00 - 16:30; Sat 09:00 - 16:00
Website: http://www.delishcupcakes.co.nz/

TXT-A-Coffee!

Now you can TXT us your order at 022 694 3159
Name/Coffee/Time - use T for trim, S for soy, L for large.
eg. Fiona L T latte 5 mins

 

Laser Fun at Megazone

BY DASH FROM MY SPORTY LIFE

Megazone is cool. It's like being like a Jedi apprentice. When you go there you shoot people with laser guns, but they aren't real. They make a noise and are pretend. And they count up your points how many times you get hit.

You can go there for a birthday party or just to have a game with your freinds. You have to be seven years old to play.

I have been there four times now for my freinds birthday parties. It's really fun. The best bit is when you destroy the other team's base. You run through tunnels and hide and try not to get hit. If you get hit it counts down 10 seconds before you can shoot again, but you don't lose points.

Ponsonby

Mt Wellington

I've been to parties at Ponsonby Megazone and Mt Wellington. I like the Ponsonby one best, cos the points work better. Ponsonby is the coolest one. But Mt Wellington has got bumper cars.

I'm going to have my birthday party there next month when I turn eight. I am allowed eight freinds plus my dad and my grandma, so we get a discount for ten people.

My party is going to be Star Wars, cos thats my favourite movie. Feel the Force!!!

{This story was told to Simone by Dash Who really wanted to be an Undercover Blogger}

Megazone (Laser tag)

Website with all information, prices and locations...

LOCATIONS:

North Island: Ponsonby, NorthShore, Mt Wellington, Hamilton

South Island: Christchurch