Fallen from Grace

Graduation Day 

by Johanna over at One Girl's Thoughts on Life

I woke up on monday morning with a really bad headache. I got up and got ready for work and headed off. On my arrival at work I finished off all the important and urgent tasks just before the brick mason on the roof started drilling away - my cue to go home. I drove home and tucked myself up into bed with the intention of dozing away my aching temples. Not much sleep happened, my brain was whirring away - typical eh. 

I got up around lunchtime and had something to eat and a cup of tea. At 2pm I made sure my make up looked ok and laid out my graduation clothes ready for later on in the afternoon. 

At 2.30 I headed into town to 'Fallen from Grace'  where I had an appointment at 3pm. I arrived at 2.45. 

A few months earlier I had purchased a voucher for Fallen from Grace from Groupy

WELLINGTON: $99 for the "Have It Your Way" Hair Package including Cut, Style, 12 Foils or a Semi-Permanent Colour, Head Massage and More at Fallen From Grace! (valued at $235)

Includes a consultation, wash and head massage, your choice of 12 foils or a semi-permanent colour, cut, style and blow-wave, plus a voucher for $30 off your next service at Fallen From Grace. Read more HERE

 

On my arrival I was greated by the lovely girl at the desk who gave me a consultation sheet to fill out. She then showed me to my chair and supplied me with a stack of trashy magazines and a tall glass of juice. 

My hairdresser Lauren showed up about 10 minutes late. She greeted me with a smile and 'robed me up'. We chatted about Graduation and I told her that I needed to be done and dusted by 5pm to give me time to nip home and get changed with enough time to get to the town hall. She assured me that this would be fine. We also discussed my hair extensions that I won a couple of months ago. I had called in advance to check if the salon could dye them for me to match my hair and again I was assured that this was fine and yes there was enough time to do both my hair and the extensions before my graduation. 

Lauren was very chirpy and chatted away whilst she put in my foils then while my head marinaded she sat down on the couch for a yarn with her brother. When my timer went off she came back and checked my hair then went off to start dying my hair extensions leaving me sitting in the chair. I was eventually rinsed of, I think had a treatment put in (no head massage) and then left in the sink for almost half an hour - super uncomfortable. Again Lauren went away to do hair extensions. 

She came and got me, semi dried my hair just with her fingers and the blow dryer then back to do extensions. In this time my hair finished drying naturally with a big kink in it. Again I was left sitting in my chair. 

I reminded Lauren that I had to be out by 5pm (it was 4.38). At 5.05pm I went out back to Lauren and said that i'd go home and changed/get ready and come back if I could. I zoomed across town in rush hour traffic with my petrol light on. Got changed in about 4 seconds flat and zoomed back again in traffic. I only had time to run in, say i'd be back tomorrow to sort everything out and go straight to graduation with half done hair that had a big kink in it. Not the long flowing glossy hair I imagined with my new hair extensions in.

I was SO SO BUMMED. I had bought this voucher specially as a graduation treat, looked forward to it for weeks and envisioned having this fun long full hair for my graduation pics. 

Once I arrived at the town hall (after a good cry in the car of course) I headed to the bathroom, borrowed bobby pins from a girl in there and tried to improve my appearance. I ended up with a bun at the nape of my neck - something I wear everyday, nothing special.

I didnt have time to take  any photos before the ceremony and my family (coming from the Kapiti Coast) arrived after all of the graduates had been seated so the only pictures taken were by the photographer who takes the picture of each person walking across the stage and then one with the certificate. These will be available in a few days on the website. My Dad took a few from his seat too (I must get those off him).

After the ceremony I gave my robes back (this was the instruction given by the company who hired them to us). Mum, Dad, Joseph and Sharyn (lovely family friend) came back to my flat where Mum laid out a scrummy spread of gormet pizza, danishes, grainwaves, old fashioned lemonade and strawberry champagne. I was given some beautiful wee gifts - flowers, perfume and some darling drawer liners. The family and Sharyn stayed for about 45 minutes then had to depart because Joseph had a 5am start in the morning. I cleaned up and tucked up into bed. 

The whole night felt so ruined for me by my bad experience at the hair dresser. 

The next day I carefully thought through my plan of attack in going back to Fallen from Grace. I had a great pep talk fromNicole who offered to come in and be my guard dog (she's gorgeous).I went in at 2.30pm and sat down with Lauren to talk about the day before. 

• I was firm
• I was assertive
• I was kind
• I made it clear that I would not be paying

• She was apologetic
• She was helpful
• She was lovely
• She did not charge

I asked if she would like the opportunity to fix the situation or would she like to give me a refund. She took the opportunity. (When I feel ripped off or let down I like to give the opportunity to remedy the situation otherwise I just come across as a cow - I like to think that if I were the one in the wrong I would be given the chance to make things right).

So my second visit to Fallen from Grace consisted of:

• My extensions dyed 3 times (they just wouldn't match my colour - she offered to continue trying, i'm going to return them to the seller)
• A treatment
• Further foils
• Head massage
• Magazines purcahsed for my reading pleasure
• Music (I got to chose the music on the player,Adele thanks)
• A fancy cut
• A 45 min blow wave
• Asked if I was happy, was there anything else i'd like?

Lauren was just so lovely on day 2 and I really felt like she went all out to make up for the disaster of the previous day. So Fallen from Grace may have err well fallen from grace but made a rather impressive recovery.

I'll probably go back. 

Robert Harris Should be Embarrassed

STORY BY THE FRUSTRATED FOOD CRITIC

The dreaded tomato sauce swizzle!

Where did the cream go?

::Robert Harris Cafe, Katikati::

I live in Katikati. Where is that, you may say? Just 20 - 30 minutes north of Tauranga. A retirement town full of creative people. Most only see the main street, which is the State Highway that you zoom along on your way from Aucks to Tauranga or the Mount for your summer holiday. But there is way more to Kati than meets the eye. We have a few cafes, but if you want a cafe break on your way through, dont stop at the Robert Harris!

I like to critique cafes and restaurants in the Tauranga/Katikati area, so here is my critique of this cafe. I don't always have negative critiques, but today I'm serving one up.

I also like to critique the way people serve tea. Coffee is everywhere, but there is also an art to serving up a great cup of tea.

I have given this cafe so many chances but I have to say it would be one of the worst in Katikati, foremost for service and then the food. Why go? Well, sadly its the only cafe that is open 7 days in the main street of Katikati, so if you want to go somewhere for Sunday lunch its the most obvious place. It has an awesome location right on SH2 with an inviting outdoor area out the front. Other family members have eaten here and found it lacking. The main problem being with the service. The counter staff always seem new and don't know alot. The waitresses are very untrained, leaning over customers and getting orders confused.

One of my pet peeves with staff is their lack of initiative in suggestions to customers. I ordered the pumpkin frittata out of the cabinet. I also wanted a cake and ordered the carrot cake muffin and a cup of tea. She DID ask if I wanted cream with my cake, and I said YES, thank you very much, but she did not ask if I wanted salad with my frittata.

Soon after sitting down she arrived with the cup of tea. I said I wanted it with my muffin, which was after my frittata. She said I should have asked! So, she left and came back with the Frittata which arrived as pictured above. I honestly expected it to come with a salad. No-one asked me if I wanted salad and if I had been asked I would have said yes. However, this is how it arrived.....with a really classy swizzle of tomato sauce on the side!!!!! Amazing. I was there again just this last Sunday and gladly did not eat a thing, but watched a friends lovely chicken and feta filo wrap and salad arrive with the dreaded tomato sauce swizzle on the side! Firstly.....who eats tomato sauce with chicken? let alone chicken done in a nice filo wrap! What are they thinking? A nice sweet balsamic glaze would be so much more acceptable. Needless to say, my friend ate his wrap and salad and left the tomato swizzle to rot!

Ive sat there with another friend who just wouldn't finish his lunch because he said it was awful!
Finally, my carrot cake muffin arrived.......without the cream......completely naked, with a cup of
tea. My husband pointed out the lack of cream which I had asked for but I just plain couldn't be bothered asking for it. The cake was dry and unimpressive.

I don't think I will set foot in this cafe again and I will not recommend it to anyone.

The times I have been there in the past I have also had bad service, received salad with no dressing and had to ask for some, so I think I've pretty much had it with Robert Harris, Katikati.

Tea: Always arrives in a coffee cup.....what more can I say.

Positives:There is food there.

Negatives:Ive pretty much covered it above but to summarise, bad service, tacky bland food, tomato sauce with everything!

FFC Rating: Presentation - bad
Taste - average
Size - small
Service - bad
Venue - average
Tea - average

Not-So-Shiny Crystal Mountain

STORY BY SIMONE FROM GREATFUN4KIDS

Ahhh boo. I thought I would be writing a post today about another great place to take your family. My neighbour raved about this place called Crystal Mountain in West Auckland. have you heard of it? I hadn't but it turns out that it's in the Entertainment Book (the mecca of all Discount coupon books).

Today the weather looked fine, if a little windy, maybe a day for a visit to Crystal Mountain??
I looked up the website and it looked like FUN. They call it a Theme Park. It has a roller coaster, train rides, bungy trampoline, a farmyard, panning-for-crystals and a cafe with playground. What parent doesn't love those?