Look, this place is cosy and inviting, more like a guest house or staying at your grandma's county home than a motel. The rooms are wrapped around this two-story house and decorated basically as you'd expect from my first sentence. Our party booked out the entire accommodation and each room was completely different. Our room had a very large bed, DVD player, tiny balcony and a large spa bath. The room itself was quite small but comfortable.

The views from this second-storey room were spectacular and the gardens are wonderful. We watched kangaroos hopping around beneath our window and a lovely sunset or two.

The bride and groom stayed in the Summerhouse Spa Suite and I must say my room was nicer! The Summerhouse is far too big for what is inside it and the decor/furniture is pretty blah! It would not be on my shortlist for my wedding night, however it is very reasonably priced and a very good size for getting the bridal party ready pre-wedding. You could easily get half a dozen bridesmaids ready in the room. I'd recommend booking it pre-wedding but staying somewhere top-notch on your wedding night!

The continental buffet breakfast put on in the morning was simple but more than satisfactory. The small dining area reminds me of where I've eaten in backpacker hostels rather than any dining room I've encountered in a motel or hotel but it has a nice view of the gardens and serves its purpose.

Willow Tree Estate, though hardly luxurious or impressive, is actually one of those places I'd recommend spending at least one afternoon in, cuddled up on your bed reading a book or maybe strolling around the grounds. People probably don't spend much time in their accommodation in this "touring" region but this is one place where I think you'll miss the finer touches if you don't take the time to look.

Even if you're not into cake decorating (or even baking), UI guarantee you will be tempted to buy a few of the unexpected when you visit this treasure trove!

I'm sure there are far more exciting cake shops around but not locally; the closest you will get is the local Spotlight store which really doesn't cut it.

Baking is not my passion but when making a special cake for my daughter's birthday, Cake Decorating Central is a must-visit, even if it is merely the right-sized cake board I am after.

Before leaving, I generally will walk out with a few things I didn't know I needed and would have taken mental-notes on which sugar-art/fondant decorations I'd like to purchase to top future cakes. One day I might actually even buy some ;)

If there's something you're looking for to make that special cake, check these guys out. The internet may be your only other option but it is really good to walk into a shop and see these things close up and you may just find their prices are much more reasonable than you expected. I bought things here which I truly expected to be cheaper online (but weren't)

It had been a few years since my last visit to City Extra but the memory of their tiramisu was calling and hey, it was afternoon tea time, after all.

I will never forget my first tiramisu here at City Extra (yum!) but I also remember my second one here (it did NOT live up to the memory). I took the punt after reading their reasonably-priced dessert menu and ordered the tiramisu again. Now I remember why I was disappointed the second time...I had shared it with my husband and it was tiny (we need the opposite of the CAPS LOCK here, people!!) Okay, so it's not that tiny but for the price paid, and considering you are sitting here looking at the Sydney Harbour Bridge while you eat it, you'd like a little more bang for your buck!! Thankfully this time I was only sharing with a two year old who was happy just to get my soggy choc wafer tube (and I didn't miss that flaccid bickie anyway!) My husband was dining with us, however, and he was none too pleased to discover my milkshake and tiny-misu cost just under $20. I pointed out that his coffee cost almost as much as my milkshake so I argued I at least made a better choice from the drink menu than he. His scones with jam and cream were a pretty large serving, however I could recommend some places at The Rocks if it's Devonshire Tea you're after!

The tiramisu was nice enough but I've had heaps better and I've cooked heaps better and with substance, too.

Still, there were a few items on that dessert menu that really tempted me. I just must must must remember next time to lay that tiramisu to rest and get me a pavlova instead!

Having booked a relative bargain package upon purchasing a voucher through Scoopon or Groupon (or somewhere), and noticing Tuscany Wine Estate is no stranger to the coupon world (hey, you can even book your Tuscany wedding with a Scoopon voucher!), we did not expect great things from Tuscany so were pleasantly surprised.

Sure, the accommodation was a little tired and the decor just one step up from a motor-inn, but our Olive Grove room had all the amenities we needed and a lovely view to boot (we could step out onto a little patio and venture further onto the lawns where the kangaroos grazed in the late afternoon).

Only after check-out did we notice the chocolates that were included in our package were missing (oops!). We took advantage of meal discounts to eat in The Mill, their main restaurant (with such small serves, I was glad we didn't pay full price) but found the Brokenback Bar was more to our liking. The service in the onsite Binnorie Dairy Cheese Factory was unpleasant however I wouldn't associate the dairy with the accommodation.

There was a blackout the first evening we stayed there and the little torch on our keyring made me wonder whether this was a common occurrence. It was definitely an inconvenience considering I was in the middle of a shower and had to give myself a pre-wedding manicure in the middle of the night when the lights finally turned back on (not so fun to go to sleep with wet nail polish!) No compensation was offered to make up for the inconvenience - a coffee at the bar or a bottle of wine from the onsite winery would have been a nice touch, guys!

We'd consider staying at Tuscany again, if the price was right, but with so many options in the Hunter Valley, I'd feel like I was missing out on discovering a real gem if I stayed at Tuscany each time I visited. Tuscany is not the attraction, just a place to rest your head.

It had been a long time since my last visit to this upmarket "steak house" and as soon as I was invited, I was on their website checking out their menu, which is very heavy on the salad/pasta/seafood for a bar and grill. I had read great reviews about their salads and pastas so went for one of each and was not disappointed. I was very impressed with the size of my Green Bean, Strawberry, Pistachio and Persian Fetta Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette ($17 at a fancy-ish restaurant would usually buy half this much!) and satisfied with an entree sized Spicy Chicken Fettuccine, though usually I'd go for the main version. Their desserts look fantastic and enticing at only $15 a pop. Too bad dinner didn't lead to a third course this time :( I can't wait to go back to try the Sticky Date Pudding and Harrington Affogato Mocha.

The service was average. There was one mix up but no big deal. We were there for an hour or two after finishing our mains and were only approached once to order more, which I appreciate (better than feeling pressure to order more or feeling like we're being kicked out) but I guess they could have approached us at least once more to see if we wanted more drinks.

We've had the Wednesday half price burger special here twice recently - the first time was sooo good that we just had to return next time we were in the area. In fact, we made sure we were heading out that way on a Wednesday just for the bargain burgers!

Unfortunately the second time did not wow and when comparing the yummy sweet chilli chicken burger of our first experience to the average one of our second visit, it actually made the second burger taste like crap (but I can assure you it was only by comparison). It was school holidays, so perhaps they were a little out of their depth but everything was out of sorts, perhaps the most disappointing was that the usual crispy battered onions rings were soggy/chewy.

Still, if we're in the area again on a Wednesday, we'll give them another go. And of course, there's Mustang Spur just down the road at Macarthur Square (same menu).

Approximate cost: $8.50

I'm still trying to find a good doctor in the area. In the meantime we've been going to this medical centre. Some doctors seem better than others. I think we've been lumped with the "trainee" a few times. He was not at all confident, didn't know how to examine a toddler, had to look everything up and even had to call reception for info on something! I have little faith in a doctor who doesn't trust himself!

I've since seen a more experienced doctor there who is more like the doctors of yore. A friend of mine has seen a couple of other doctors there, one of whom she quite likes but the other she found to be awful. I guess this picking a doctor business is a trial-and-error game.

On another note, a nurse at this clinic made a pretty obvious error in my daughter's notes which also makes me doubt I will be calling this "our" surgery for long. I feel a bit like a "number" there. I doubt any of the staff there even remember my face.

I finally got to try this place recently and was pleased that I could try just as much or as little as I wanted! Judging by the potty-sized yoghurt cups (okay, I exaggerate), they obviously want to give you every opportunity to spend a small fortune (which you easily could at these prices!) I conservatively served up about five flavours and was very impressed with their taste and quality.

I'm not sure how often I'd be in the market for frozen yoghurt, particularly while up the far end of this shopping centre, but I look forward to sampling more of their concoctions. Yum!

My family had a portrait session at Starshots recently and were very impressed with the Starshots experience. We have twice been photographed by a similar company in Campbelltown and were both blown away by the difference between the two companies. The difference purely came down to the customer service and friendly attitudes of the staff. Sure, it's all part of the game but I would rather hand my money over to these delightful people than others if given the choice. They had tricks up their sleeve for getting young children to cooperate which is more than I can say for their competitor! I was also much happier with the makeup at Starshots!

Having said that, their prices are substantially higher than the competitor and the competitor is not cheap! Still, Starshots publishes their prices on their website which I love them for!

If you are considering a photoshoot with a Starshots, I recommend you book with their Penrith store, particularly if you are taking young children along.

Unless you do a little research, you'd be forgiven for thinking Glitz n Glamour was one of the only options for family photography in the Campbelltown area. It turns out you can buy entire packages including 10-30 digital photos from a number of local photographers for the cost of a single photo session and one print from GnG. Still, GnG appear to offer "the complete package" since they have the photographer, the studio and hair/makeup service at the one location.

If you're after just one or two posed shots to mount on your wall then I'd say, sure, give GnG a go but if you're after an album of prints or you find it hard to whittle your photo options down to a few then this place is not for you unless you have a small fortune to part with!

We had our photos taken here recently and while their prices had dropped from our last experience with GnG, we were still looking at about $200 for the smallest print available. Unlike on our previous visit, I found the makeup to actually make me look like I had a disformity (it didn't look like this in the mirror but my goodness, what a hideous beast I looked back at me from the photos!) Of course, you aren't committed to actually buy any shots so my ugly head saved me a pretty penny and helped me whittle the photos down to about half a dozen nice ones.

If you have any ideas of how you'd like the shot to turn out, bring some samples with you otherwise expect to go through the stock-standard poses. Even the "candid" photos are posed so try to relax or your stiff posture may ruin an otherwise beautiful image.

I guess I'd use GnG again for "glamour" type shots and couple shots but I'd try a different route for family sessions before giving them another go.