The Cupcake Bakery QVB - You go ALL RIGHT!

What's girl time without a little too much sugar and midnight snacks?

With this thought in mind - and with Mum happily occupied at Planet Cake Cake School - I went on the hunt for "something nice" to share with her over coffee.

I was super excited to try and find Sparkle Cupcakery because I thought it was a cute concept - but a lot of the reviews were pretty uninspiring. They are the minimalist conception of cupcakes. Identically iced in white butter cream, and differentiated with a coloured Smartie. Boring!!

When I want cupcakes - I want pretty, I want imaginative - I want OTT! And I pretty much got all of that at The Cupcake Bakery.

Located in the thoroughfare of the Queen Victoria Building - I quite literally found them by accident and what a happy accident it was.

It took me a good 5 minutes of slack jawed staring before I finally decided on just two - Hummingbird and Tiramisu. I loved the fact that even though I was only buying 2 cupcakes, they giftwrapped them separately for me, and didn't charge me for the pleasure.

The cakes themselves were gorgeous. Light and luscious - the Hummingbird was actually Hummingbird cake. Not "just add water" cake mix with a different flavoured icing. I like that they went to the trouble to keep it authentic.

The Tiramisu was coffee flavoured cake and a light mascarpone frosting and dusted with chocolate shavings. So much effort, so muchly appreciated!

To be honest - we liked these cupcakes so much we went back the next day and got another one...

The Verdict: A really nice cupcakery that makes nicely different cupcakes.

Recommendations: Go with your hearts desire - we had four different ones and loved them all - by those odds, you can't really go wrong!

Contact: The Cupcake Bakery

Rockpool Bar & Grill - I am in AWE of you.

As a Sales Rep, I travel a lot and with the constant driving and hauling of luggage and laptops - it all takes its toll on my back.

Chiro: Well, sometimes back problems can start with a bad fall. Have you fallen over recently?
Me. Yes.
Chiro: Ahh... do you fall over much?
Me: Yes.
Chiro: Oh, Okay - do you fall hard?
Me: Yes.

I'm sure you get the picture. I have no co-ordination. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I don't think it's genetic - both my parents manage to walk small distances without skinning their knees and my brother played almost every competitive sport available to him. I think it's just me. *sigh*

Anyway... So when my Mum and I went to Sydney to cash in her birthday present - "Class 101 in Cupcake Making" at the divine Planet Cake - there were a few places we wanted to visit while we were there - and Rockpool Bar & Grill was top of our list.

The Oaks Sydney - I love you. Thats all I have to say.

Peking Duck Sausage Pizza with Hoisin Sauce and Julienne Cucumber

I've had many a night out where the company has been fabulous but the food has completely failed to hit the mark. So it was an odd occasion the other night, while in Sydney for a work conference - to have the people we were eating with ruin my night.

Maybe I'm just a spoilt brat. I lived overseas when the UK brought in it's no-smoking policy and arrived back home to Brisbane just in time for QLD to launch ours. So it was with complete horror that I sat down to dinner and watched 2 girls happily light up cigarettes over our Gourmet Pizzas.

Hotel Urban Sydney - The Run Down

Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to write this because I'm pretty grumpy - I tend to get that way when I'm hungry.

But as someone who travels alot - I wanted to get something off my chest. Hotels that don't think drive me insane. Yes Hotel Urban Sydney - today I'm talking about YOU.

So from a Grumpy Sales Rep - these are my top peeves.

Hotel Urban Sydney - How could 4 minutes ruin my day completely?

I'm tired. I'm cranky and I'm hungry. I'm still hungry.

After a nightmare trip to Sydney where our Virgin flight was nearly 3 hours late, we finally arrived at Hotel Urban, our sanity hinging completely on the fact that they had 24 hour room service.

After trudging up to my room, struggling to find the light switch in the dark and then tripping over my bags in my desperation to order dinner - I was flabbergasted when I called Room Service only to be told that the dinner menu finished at 11pm. Oh the Humanity - it was only 11:04pm.

All I wanted was a Club Sandwich with Chips - at this point I would have sold my first born for one - but I was told in no uncertain terms that the only option available was either a Ham, Cheese and Tomato Sandwich or Beef Lasagne. I settled on the H,C&T and politely asked for a side of Chips. No, sorry - these are not available on the late night menu. OMG - I nearly pulled my hair out. Out of sheer desperation for there not to be spit in my sandwich, I ground my teeth and accepted the fact that I was not going to get what I wanted - no matter how simple that request may be.