Op Shop Adventures - Bentleigh

Centre Road, Bentleigh, where all the op shopping action is. This past Saturday we went adventuring to 5 op shops, 2 of which were in Centre Road (there are actually several along the same strip, but I've been to a couple of them before). The day was shaping up to be beautiful, weather wise, I just felt like everything was going to turn out awesomely.

So first up was...

Sacred Heat Mission

271 Centre Road Bentleigh

9557 0895

Mon - Sun 10am - 5pm

We were greeted first by baskets and suitcases waiting at the front door, all in wonderful condition, some filled with toys and others with linen for sale. 

Upon walking in the door there are so many things to look at, from books, to costumes, to linen and jewellery. 

Books for miles! Everything was so well organised, no rummaging through books, it was nice and easy to have a look at all the book spines and work out what we wanted. Justin ended up with a couple of books from here, no idea what they were, but he was happy!

  

In the centre of the store they have a couple of large storage racks full of glassware and crockery. I bought 4 large drinking glasses, and 2 nice little spotty mugs for work, at $1 each for the glasses, and $2 for the mugs. The glasses were a hit, so I think I might head back next weekend and buy a couple more.

 

I just loved how the store recycled everything to decorate the store, or organise and store their products. Above left is the way they organise ladies intimates, and on the right is the change rooms, which look like giant glass doors, covered by coffee bags! All in all, we left with 2 mugs, 4 glasses, 2 winter scarves, new shoes for Justin, a couple of books and a checkered jacket too. Everything was really well priced, and the staff were wonderful!

We left with smiles on our faces, and hope in our hearts! Off to Vinnies!

394 Centre Road, Bentleigh VIC 3204

(03) 9557 1002

Mon - Sun 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The store display that can be seen from the street was full of goodies when we went, but I completely forgot to take a photo, so here is the front table instead! A bit jumbled, but still full of fun things to look at. 

The store was reasonably busy which was nice to see, and it looked like there was a new volunteer working that day who was still learning the ropes. We wandered a little, having a look at all of the clothes on display, which were plentiful, but we didn't find much for us. I did however find an amazingly soft grey woollen scarf, so I had to have that (one can never have too many scarves).

 

The store had a great stock of winter coats, both natural and man made fibres at great prices ($8?!?!?) and fashion handbags of all sizes and styles. The handbags were a little hard to look through just because of how they were stored, but if you really  wanted to, you could work it out.

 

As is tradition at most Vinnies stores, they also had the 'Vintage' rack for $20 a pop. Some interesting designs I must say, none of them appealing to me though. They also had some great shoes for sale, sadly, none of them to fit my flippers. I was surprised however at their rather large selection of larger sizes. Look at all that gloriness! (That's a word, right?)

When we were paying for our goods, the lady at the register was so lovely! She was training, so it took her an extra minute or two to work everything out, but we chatted while she worked, and her boss was teaching her at the same time. It was so nice to see older people working and learning new things! 

Granted we didn't find much here, it was still a lovely store to visit.

We didn't find all of the op shops on Centre road, so will be heading out again in a couple of weeks to find the rest.

Love,

J xx

WTM: Yarra Valley Dairy

Sundays just scream country adventure to me, and my favourite country place is the Yarra Valley. Just far enough away from everything, yet close enough as well. It's about a 45 minute drive from my house, and just over an hour from Melbourne CBD. There are so many amazing wineries out here, as well as cafes, small boutiques and little nooks and crannies to explore.

One of my favourite places to visit is Yarra Valley Dairy. For no other reason than I love cheese. I mean, I really love cheese. If you love cheese, you really need to make the trip out here. 




Yarra Valley Dairy has both the cheese factory, which uses fresh cows and goats milk from neighbouring farms to make their delicious artisan cheeses, as well as their store front, where you could spend hours looking at all of the wonders on offer, tasting cheeses and wines, and sitting down to enjoy a ploughman's platter.



The staff are delightful and full of knowledge, rattling off information about all of the cheeses. For any tastings, you'll try about 6 different cheeses, including my favourite Juno (with juniper berries). Keep in mind though, the tastings are free for groups of less than 8, for groups of 8 or more, it's a $3 per person charge. Well worth it either way. 



Other things on offer around the store include things like: homewares, chocolate, sauces, jams, wine and bread. Most things are sourced from the local region, and they're high quality and delicious. Speaking of wine, they also have wine tastings on offer, with plenty of bottles to chose from.

  

We tried all of the cheese (even though we already knew and loved them) because who says no to free cheese from Yarra Valley Dairy? Had a bit of a wander and a look at all of the homewares, they have a new range of crockery including some amazing looking tea cups, as well as a few linen items like tea towels and aprons.



In the end though, we were there for the cheese, and the cheese is what we wanted. Between the 2 of us, we could have bought one of everything. We showed restraint though, and left with a Persian Fetta, House Cow, and a couple of Junos (because there just isn't enough for the two of us to share. Normal people yes, Alex and I, no.)



Oh, almost forgot! They also have pates and pies and other yummy treats!



Clearly we were excited about cheese! If you are going up to visit on a weekend, be prepared to find a full store, as it's quite popular. 



You can find them here:

Yarra Valley Dairy
70-80 McMeikans Road, Yerling
9739 1222

Lots of love!

J (and Alex I guess)

xx

WTM: Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery

Sunday was an amazingly beautiful day, and we just couldn't waste it being at home inside, so Alex and I thought it would be fitting to head out to the Yarra Valley and explore some of their most popular attractions. We went off to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery first to buy some of our favourite treats.



As you can see, it was a lovely day, so there were people everywhere. It's nice here, because the kids can play on the grass and run wild, while the parents can sit and relax with a picnic.



Of course, even though Alex isn't a tourist (not by the classic definition, she lives 10 minutes down the road), I had to make her take an awkward tourist photo. I think she did pretty well!

Because nothing says dorky tourist like an awkward photo with a giant fake chocolate bar.

If you've never been before, be prepared to be shocked. There is literally walls and shelves filled with chocolate, and 3 giant bowls of chocolate drops for you to try (we may have taken a couple more spoon fulls then they would have liked...). At the moment it's the Rocky Road Festival, which is running 1-31st May, and in celebration of this, they have 31 flavours of this Aussie classic in blocks, bars, truffles, ice creams and hot chocolates. 

  

They also have a truffle bar, where you can pick and choose your own truffle mix, in a box of 12 or 24. There are so many flavours it was so hard to decide! Some of my favourites were Peanut Butter, Marble Mint & Hazlenut Crunch.

There is a cafe in store so you can purchase your goodies and sit down to enjoy them, as well as other delicious treats like the Smokin' Salmon, Zen Duck and B.L.A.T. On a hot day, we recommend trying out the ice cream (free tastings!) which are house made decadent delights.

The store has free entry, and it open every day except Christmas day, from 9am-5pm. You can find them here:

35 Old Healsville Road (Cnr Melba Highway)

Yarra Glen, VIC

9730 2777

Love J xx