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. 

Saints Alive!

By Meghan of MNM's

Take 4 people.

 A mummy and a daddy.

And their mummy and daddy visiting from far, far away.

Make it Friday night. Seven thirty would be a good time.

Give them an easy-to-find car park right across the road. Which will surprise them no end given its Sevens night in Wellington and the city is heaving.

Give them a quiet area of the restaurant far away from the noise of the bar and a table by the window. It will have a view of the new waka to be unveiled at Sunday's Waitangi celebrations, and a cheeky outlook onto the big screen showing the Sevens.

Take some tempura lime and chilli prawns for starters.

Followed by 2 massive 400g prime rib steaks, a venison Wellington, and a fish,crayfish and scallop selection. Don't forget the shoestring fries with aioli.

Give them a break after dinner, to chat some more while they consider if there could possibly be room for dessert. They'll work out there's really not much so they'll just share one Boca Negra - chocolate fudge cake with Pinot Noir strawberries between them all.

What does all this add up to? A night they will never forget at Saint Johns Bar. They'll declare it the best meal they've had in ages. And they'll be right.

Oh and it's a Buy one Main, get one Main free in the local Entertainment book too!


St Johns Heineken Hotel
5 Cable Street
Wellington City
www.stjohnsbar.co.nz
04 801 8017

My Little Slice of Coffee Heaven

by Meghan of MNM's

I'm at Finc.

It's 8am.

Casual, funky decor. Tempting food for the tastebuds. Always the same order for me. I hand over my Keep Cup. Trim Latte. Takeaway. Supreme Fairtrade organic coffee? Even better. Quick and friendly service always with a smile.

Yesterday I began the usual routine.  Ferret in my bag for the Keep Cup. Then the wallet. Ah, where's  that wallet! More frantic searching......and then the dawning. Mental picture of my wallet at home on the kitchen counter. A horrible thought, would I have to go caffeine-free for the day?!!!!

But you know what? No wallet? No problem. I still got my coffee. I think they've seen me in there enough times to know I'll be back. Tomorrow. And the day after and the day after that.

I ♥ Finc.

Finc

122 Wakefield Street

04 499 2999

Opening hours:

Mon       7.30-3.00

Tue        7.30-6.00

Wed-Fri 7.30-9.00

Sat         9.00-9.00

Sun        9.00-5.00

Wellington Summer Festival

From Johanna at one girls thoughts on life

Are you lot all aware of the Summer Festival going on here in Wellington?

Every year my family attends at least 2 of these fantastic free events. 

On Saturday (just been) we headed to the sound shell at the botanic gardens complete with picnic baskets, warm jackets and home made hand cranked ice cream (to be served in waffle cones - mmm). 

It was a total blast. There were heaps of families with their wee babes dancing on the grass. Totally worth attending if you are in the area. 

We LOVED it. 


Wellington Summer Festival Calendar

Humble Pie - A Dish Served Best At Baobab

STORY BY MISS BONNIE OF THEBABYBUMP

So, after the enormous (and somewhat heated) array of feedback I got in response to my last blog on Baobab Cafe I stayed true to my word and popped on down to see what it was like for myself. And here, in front of you all, I bow my head in shame and say I was wrong, this is my first and last lesson in "doing my homework" before mouthing off. Somewhat. 


I wandered down to the cafe last Friday with a buggy clad bubs and my Mum in tow. Luckily it was a beautiful, sunny day so we didn't need to manoeuvre the buggy into the cafe and try to get it out of the way of passing waiters/patrons because logistically it just doesn't work. If you're buggying baby, make the most of the huge sheltered, sunny area outside or leave it out the front - don't try to shove the apparatus to the side of your inside table, there ain't no room and hey, that's fine.


We were greeted by a lovely gent working the coffee machine like a pro, just what I like to see. The great thing about Newtown? It's amazing coffee. And Baobab didn't disappoint. While we chose something to nibble on out of the decent (and seriously delicious) selection of cabinet food - I had a pumpkin muffin, Mum a date scone and both were so yummy I'm now drooling just thinking about them - a waitress approached the counter to take our orders. This was the only downfall. As lovely as the barista was (and the waiter that brought us our coffees), the girl behind the counter was just a bit.... meh. She didn't smile and wasn't really interested in being polite but you know what? Everything else was spot on so who am I to complain?!


The back outside area was divine - perfect for Mums, babies, kids, everyone! The food, as previously stated, was absolutely mouthwatering and the coffee was to die for. Mum had a chai latte and was overly pleased to find out they make their own chai syrup with real cinnamon and peppercorns. The chai even came garnished with a whole cinnamon stick!


So despite the OK service from one of the staff members (which quickly paled in comparison), the whole experience was fantastic. Gorgeous surroundings, superb coffee and amazing food. I wasn't able to get an idea on how they are with babies but as long as you use your initiative as you would at any other cafe and keep baby related paraphernalia out of the way and keep bubs in a cafe friendly manner I assume that they're spot on. 


I eat my (previous) words and highly recommend this lovely little cafe. So pop the little one in the buggy and mosey on down there to soak up some sun and devour some decent nosh.


PS. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so couldn't take some much deserved pictures so you'll have to let your imagination do the wandering.


Baobab Cafe
152 Riddiford Street,
Newtown, Wellington
Website

Above & Beyond Nice at Newtown Post Office

BY MISS BONNIE OF THE BABY BUMP 

Baby Daddy, the wee peanut and I are nearing moving day and thought we'd have a big clean out of our clothes and sell what we could on Trade Me. After quite a few successful auctions I bundled up all our things and trucked on down to the post office in Newtown.

Quite clearly I've been hiding under a rock for, well, forever and had no idea that it was incredibly super expensive to send packages. Living in the stone ages, I charged a mere $3.00 of all my successful Trade Me auctionees for a fast post delivery. I had just enough money in my wee purse to pay this amount and this amount only. Boy did I short change myself!

Oblivious to the embarrassment I was about to suffer at the head of a 20 strong line of customers I grabbed the $1.45 parcel envelopes, shoved various clothes in and started scrawling away names and addresses thinking I'd gotten myself quite the bargain. $1.45 to send a package! Yippee! Well, we can all see where this is headed, can't we?

It took until a couple of the packages had been weighed and stickers stuck on their front that my heart sunk and I got that prickly feeling and thought to myself, oh crud. It's $1.45 for the envelopes only. In between the lady behind the counter's lovely comments about my wee bubs propped on my hip I weakly asked "Um, so you add the postage price onto the envelope? And how much is each one?" I recoiled in horror when she told me the average price of each parcel and how much the total was and I honestly felt like I was going to cry. I was going to sob and weep and bang my fists in front of all these people waiting (im)patiently behind me.


So I said to Kumari (the lovely lady behind the counter who was about to become my new favourite person) that I'd made a huge mistake and I wasn't sure if I could pay for them all. As my face went beet red and I was wracking my brains for ways I could get out of this hideous predicament, she said "Look, just this once, I'll send them all and why don't you pay for what you can now and you can come back and pay for the rest by the end of the week."


Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. Really, really? I asked. Now I thought I was going to cry for the sheer loveliness of it all! And after much assurance on her part that no, she wouldn't get into trouble as she was the one who makes the decisions and yes, she trusted me to come back and pay (I insisted on leaving my name and number for her peace of mind) I paid for what I could and promised to be back in tomorrow first thing with the money owed. 


Now I'm not saying pop on down Newtown post shop with no money and a package but I was just blown away by the compassion of this wonderful woman. Not only did she send all my parcels but also insisted that next time I send Trade Me things to come see her and she'd find me the best deal on postage she could. Now that's what I call customer service.


And you know what? The amazing service I was provided almost makes up for the fact that I completely short changed myself by about $20. Almost. But not quite.

Carlucci Land: More than Mini-Golf

STORY BY SARAH OF CATCHING THE MAGIC (CHEZ LEE)
Carlucci Land, in Happy Valley, Wellington is so much more than mini-golf. Created with love, passion and vision this mini-golf is a work of art. Artist, Carl Gifford, is the man behind the magic. Scrap and rocks have been transformed into sculptures. Kiwis, spiders and dragonflies hide around each corner. River stones tower up and boulders entice children to climb on them.
We stopped in for an impromptu visit and I wish I’d taken the decent camera with me. It is a photographers dream with so many captivating scenes, sculptures and angles. I made do with my phone camera and tried to capture a little of the magic. It is a fantasy world for children and we were greeted with such a friendly welcome.

Every time we visit there’s a new sculpture or some development to further add to the appeal.

There are plans for a coffee machine to be installed and once that’s in place, Carlucci Land will be bustling with visitors who will want to linger for much more than the mini-golf. The water fall flowing down to the outdoor seating area makes for a very scenic and atmospheric spot for a cuppa.

We had a fun game (well Alice and I watched – with Alice tasting random stones, trying to eat the golf ball and climbing on the sculptures). It’s great to go to a mini-golf place not JUST for the golf. The sculptures are what make it for me. It’s wonderful to see so much ‘junk’ turned into art – very, very inspiring.

From Mini Golf, to Stone Masonry, to Cherished "junk" - Check out what Carlucci Land has to offer!

Ph: 04 383 7054 or 04 971 8618 (after hours)

Fax 04 971 8618

281 Happy Valley Road
Happy Valley, Wellington
EFTPOS AVAILABLE

A new take on the Tugboat

Story by Meghan from MNM's

Parade Cafe has always been one of Wellington's most iconic cafes, packed to the rafters every weekend.
And yet across the street sat the Tugboat on the Bay, one of the strangest restaurants. The Tugboat was never really be sure what it was trying to be, a tourist trap, a high-class eatery, a unique dining experience. In my opinion, it failed to really succeed at all of these.

So when the Parade Cafe had to move out of its neat 2-storey old house that was squished between the ever-advancing apartment developments to make room for yet another development, it was with intrigue I heard that Parade was going to 'take on the Tugboat'.

Today we tried it out for the first time (it only re-opened last month). I called to book a table and the man who answered replied 'Well we don't take bookings during the day, but when are you coming?' I gave him our information and he said 'OK, no worries we'll book one for you'. Big tick.

We arrived and were shown straight to our table, upstairs in the bow of the boat. There's also two function rooms you can hire, one was about perfect for 40 people and you can hire out for $100. And apparently there is a function room for 250! down in the bowels of the ship.

There are some lovely nooks and crannies dotted all over the boat, booths near the counter, smaller wooden tables in the stern with a conservatory feel all covered in glass, as well as our quiet escape up in the bow. There were also some tables outside (but not for a day like today!). I was also impressed with how spacious it seemed, and it didn't feel as if you were sitting on top of each other to eat (which cafes have a tendency to do to pack in as many tables as possible). Two gas fires also provided a real cosy feel on a typical windy spring day for Wellington. Big tick.

We ordered  a caesar salad, pancakes with bacon and banana, corn fritters, and a kids fish n chips. Boy the food was mighty quick considering it was a weekend lunchtime and the place was packed. Big tick. There was a decent size highchair for the lil dude, who was quite happy sampling all our fare and playing to the crowds (a table of three behind us who said goodbye and waved to him as they left).

Not long before we left, Piri Weepu came and sat at the table next to us. I must admit I was so blissfully ignorant that I had to be informed by the rest of our table who it was. I was too busy admiring the decor and soaking up the experience. Poor guy then broke his leg 8 hours later, not a great end to his weekend!

Anyhow I digress. The makeover the Tugboat has been waiting for is complete, and a complete success too.

Parade Cafe, we will be back! Big tick.

Parade Cafe

Freyberg Lagoon

Oriental Parade

Ph: 04 939 8517

Website: http://www.paradecafe.co.nz/

A Bad Day at Baobab Cafe (Wellington)

STORY BY CAITLIN FROM THEBABYBUMP

A dear friend of mine sent me an email the other day ranting and raving over the treatment Jessica, a buddy of hers got when lunching in Baobab Cafe a week or so ago. Having read it and growing understandably more grizzly with each sentence, I got in touch with Jessica to get the full story and here it is, straight from the horses (I use the word horse figuratively, of course) mouth:

I went into Baobab last Friday morning with my 7 month old daughter Ava to meet two friends from my Mothers Network Group and their daughters aged 4.5 months and 8 months. We grabbed a table and moved our buggies out of the way so they weren't blocking any of the other tables or the aisles. The owner immediately came up and said that as the cafe was small our buggies were rather a pain and could we move them outside. All three of us were using them at the time so clearly we couldn't and moved them well out of the way instead.

My daughter Ava started having a little cry so I picked her up, gave her a cuddle and put her dummy in. She cried for about 2 minutes and the owner came over again and the resulting conversation went something like this (not word for word of course, but you get the gist) ....

Owner: You're really going to have to leave. Your baby has been crying for ages and people are leaving because of you. Everyone is staring at you. If your baby is crying you need to take her out of the cafe. You can take her for a walk and come back if you want but you can't stay here, you're annoying the other patrons.

Me: We'll leave, but we won't be coming back... ever!

Owner: I have a baby too you know, but you can't just let them cry in a cafe. It's very irresponsible and it's causing the other people to leave. You need to take the baby away now.

Me: OK that's fine, you can stop now. You've said more than enough and we're leaving.

Owner: Irresponsible blah blah blah, annoying other patrons blah blah blah.

And so we left. On the way out I apologised to the two tables next to us for disturbing them and both said they hadn't been disturbed in the slightest! I was really upset and was in tears by the time we got outside, it was sad because I used to go there all the time and know the staff well who are all really lovely - they always said hello to Ava and she always had a smile for them! Good food, good coffee, good staff. Shame about the owner....

Needless to say, I most definitely won't be blessing them with my patronage. I understand the buggy thing, or would if they were blocking the way of passing waiters. I also understand the crying thing, but not when bubs has been crying for all of two minutes and it's not bothering the other patrons. 

Does this mean that when the woman at the table next to me is shrieking with laughter to the point my ears are bleeding I can complain and you'll ask her to leave? Or when the straggly haired hippies sitting outside puffing away on their fags are blowing their smoke through the doors and windows right into my face I can have a whinge and you'll ask them to get out? I think you'll find the answer is no.


Even if I asked, they wouldn't be shown the door. So why then, when no one even complains about an innocent crying baby is this Mama asked to leave? Unfair, I say, and unjust.


The worst thing is, Jessica (offended mother) left a wee note of displeasure on Baobab's Facebook page which was promptly deleted. Ashamed, much?


EDITOR'S NOTE: Miss Cait did a follow-up story on Baobab HERE in response to the feedback about this initial story. Good on you Miss Cait. And can we please use/leave a NAME when we give our opinion in future, rather than being ANONYMOUS. Thanks!


Baobab Cafe
152 Riddiford Street,
Newtown, Wellington
Website

Theatrics at Te Papa

STORY FROM MEGHAN AT MNM's.

Last week we took our UK family to Te Papa. I'm always proud to show off our national museum to visitors, being as rich in culture and history as it is. And the best part of all, it's completely FREE! There is so much for children to see and do at the four discovery centres that you can easily wile away several hours without even realising it. Here's what captured our imaginations:

We wrote a message and added it to the hundreds of other ecological messages making a giant kakapo.
Crawled inside the whale's heart and experienced the echo of its chambers.
Wondered at how light pumice was.

In Love with Karori Park

Story from Meghan at MNM's

Why have I not been there before! Apparently it's Wellington's largest sports field with an awesome stretch of lush green grass, and it was given a major upgrade by the council in 2007. The park is nestled in the heart of Karori, amid surrounding hills and mountains which add picturesque beauty to the place.

From In love with Karori Park

The two half-mile tracks that run side by side along the periphery of the park invite joggers, brisk walkers and children on bicycles to do a round while others can enjoy the bright green field. The park's ample parking space, cafe, children's play area and restrooms contribute to making this place ideal for an outing.

Huckleberry Fun

Story from Meghan of MNM's.

We'd heard really good things about Huckleberry Cafe, which opened a few months ago, and is only a few minutes drive from our place in the suburb of Northland, Wellington. One of our good friends works there, and the cafe is a real welcome addition to the little shopping village in Northland, which has never had a proper cafe until now.

A Jewel in the Crown: Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli

STORY FROM SARAH (CHEZ LEE).

Lyall Bay in Wellington wasn't quite the same when a devastating fire struck the Maranui Cafe and surf life-saving club (which has since reopened - yah!). Thankfully Havana coffee, wholesome food, jams and quality ice-cream weren't lacking in the bay for long as 'Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli', owned by the Maranui crew, opened to fill the gap and the deli continues to thrive.