Light Lunch at Rushbrooks

Well. a couple of weeks ago I had lunch with a friend at Rushbrooks in Pakington St, Geelong West.

It is a delightful cafe with a beautiful vintage theme. I have been here numerous times before and have always enjoyed it.

The thing that frustrates me about so many cafes and this is the same here is what to do upon entry. Do you just find a table? Do you wait to be seated?
We went to the counter and asked and they told us to find a seat and they'd bring out menu's. They were very quick to do so and they bought water and glasses out with having to be asked.
(I do like that)
We ordered and our coffees came out promptly. And they were so good...
I ordered Billy Bread with Lemon curd. It was delicious.

The presentation, the flavour and amount of curd were all pleasing.
We enjoyed it immensely and thought we'd have a second latte before we left. Leah enjoyed her second more, however my first was much nicer than my second. Which shows that different people have different tastes and a barista can make the world of difference. Same coffee machine, same beans, different barista, different taste.
In summary I would most surely recommend Rushbrooks.

Cafe Critic

I have always loved cafes and have worked in a few different ones over the years. I have a passion for customer service and a lovely coffee or tea  is so good for your soul.

Around August last year (2016) while out for dinner I commented on how much I missed working in hospitality, just a passing remark. About 6 weeks later I went out to have a chat with Sarah Chaney and the best place to find her was at the Little Teapot cafe (which was still under construction). I spent some time with her and tried to lend a hand over the next week getting it ready with them to open on 27th October.

God hears and answers and now I work at Little Teapot 4 to 5 days a week. If you are interested in knowing more have a read on our website.

So moving on, I have been over the last few months having lots of Lattes at lots of cafes checking out the opposition and learning from fellow cafe owners and staff.

I have decided to start to share my experiences while trying to be honest and fair to the places we visit.

I do have a couple of favorites which I highly recommend

Two Wrens Cafe, Address: 355 Torquay Rd, Grovedale VIC 3216

Euphoric Food Cafe Address: 3/1135 Surf Coast Hwy, Mount Duneed VIC 3216

Today we went for lunch to

Cafe Zoo Address: 23 High St, Drysdale VIC 3222

http://www.cafezoo.com.au/

So,,,,Our initial reaction

On walking into the Cafe was a little disappointing, it as our first visit and we went through to the counter area where there were a few people around (customers and staff) and while trying not to be impatient, remember I do work in this industry not one staff member while bustling around us made any sort of contact with us. There were 2 other ladies also wondering how you order and about the menu situation, they asked a young woman staff member. The advice as not graciously given.
I over heard her tell the other ladies that you order at the counter and that menus are on the tables.

We went and found a table and sat and read the menu..
The variety was good and soon enough we had chosen and ordered.

The coffee came out quickly which was lovely not to have to wait long. It was quite busy and you expect that it takes time to make your meal and to be able to sit and sip your coffee is restful.
Latte, well it wasn't great. I have not long given up sugar in my lattes however only from great ones. Today I added sugar. David even added sugar to his which he cut out early last year.
We sat chatted and enjoyed the atmosphere.

They have bottles of water to help yourself to and I was delighted that they have sparkling water on tap that I could purchase. Yes that was a very special highlight for me.

Now for our meal

I ordered the Breakfast Panini ( 2 eggs, 2 bacon rashes, cheese and relish) and it was amazing.
The flavours were so delicious. Just the right amount of everything.
Cooked to perfection and although I didn't need to as it was a good size serve I ate every morsel.
David ordered the breakfast Panini with a twist (take out the eggs and add tomato, avocado & baby spinach)
He enjoyed his however found the relish a little overpowering. He would have it again just omitting the relish

In summary, 
the overall experience wasn't as great as I had hoped due to the lack of initial contact. The person at the drink counter was lovely and the guy who served our meals great.
The tables are emptied and cleaned rapidly once people leave making way for next customers.
The tables were clean however had a sticky consistency which as annoying.
Temperature inside was comfortable.
The toilets were clean but the toilet floors a little grubby mainly due to water from the very small basin splashing onto the floor.

I had read some pretty harsh reviews on the facebook page and they were not my experience at all. You can never know the quantity of staff you will need day to day. You can be under staffed or over staffed as so much comes down to weather. They had enough staff but a couple didn't seem like they really wanted to be there or maybe didn't like their job. My thoughts are if you don't like people don't work in hospitality.


I will go back and I do recommend it.

Sewing

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I blogged.
Lots has been happening since November but his is just a quick post and I will ramble on next posting about the last few months.
I have decided not start to put my sewing things on since I am doing a bit lately and not scrapping as much.
This weekend David went away on the motor bike so I tool on a new project.
It had a few fiddly bits but I am very happy with the finished product.

This is the dress. 

I was going to make it in a plain fabric and then found this at Lincraft when I wasn't supposed to be shopping. 

(always the way isn't it)

It is my first peplum I've made and the detail on the bodice and the the pleats on the sleeves make it just that little bit prettier.  I also put n invisible zip in and am please with the finish. 

All in all I'm a happy girl today. 

Where Has The Time Gone

Well it's been so long since I have posted anything on here.
I haven't scrapped for months and have been so caught up I haven't even posted a note.
I packed up my scrap room at the end of August to paint it out, as Geoff, Georgi and Charlie have come to live. So David and I now reside in the Bungalow.
It is small but we are so at home there. So far so good.
This is a layout I did the last time I blogged but hadn't uploaded it.
I love this photo.
It's of Greg & Meggie at Geoff & Georgi's wedding.

So that was months ago and this week I went to visit my friend Al and we scrapped.
The first one is a photo I took while in India. It was when Megan & I went to Fisherman's Cove Resort for a quick but wonderful break.
I took many photo's of this beautiful little girl by the pool. hanks to the zoom lens no one was the wiser.
Bit crooked the uploaded but I'm okay with that. Hope you are too?

Then this is a layout of Poppy (David) with Charlie on the motor bike. 

So if you had have asked me half way through the year I would have said I'd get 60 to 70 layouts done this year. Now I am hoping to get 52 done. Next year I'll do better. It's not 52 layouts for the year for me, it's at least one per week. I missed many weeks and my goodness I have not been the same without it. 

Scrapping is therapy. I hope to post again next week. 

Oh, by the way I have been making my wheat bags through out the year and at time for days on end. It sounds like an excuse, it's not. Just letting everyone know I have wheat bags if anyone wants them for Christmas presents. 

Vow Renewal

Okay this layout was done 1 months ago but I hadn't loaded it up. I have not scrapped for 4 weeks but I hope to get a layout or 2 done this afternoon. I had a beautiful young girl Tomoe, stay with us for a week and I did spend a day in the craft room to make her a gift while she was here but I don't class it as part of my challenge and then Steve who work for us was away so I did some extra work and there goes the 4 weeks. 

This layout is a photo from 5 years ago wen David and I renewed our wedding vows. 

I love this photo. Don't we look so happy. xx

Here is a photo of Tomoe at the good bye party.

This is her gift I made her.

Okay so I hope I'm back on track.

See you soon. 

Another week of 6

I had an enjoyable week of scrapping with many of many scrapping family. On Sunday night I did a layout while dinner was cooking. David was in charge of dinner in between racing on the PlayStation. Then I had Georgi here on Monday and also with my friend Sue Stent and her daughter Jacqui. Tuesday night Dani, Amy and Sarah came over. Then on Thursday Paige, my young friend from over the road came.

So this is how you get 6 pages done in 1 week. 

Layout one. My daring Grandson once again is my focus. Awesome photo that Jamie Boon took. So are the photos in layout 2.

Layout 2 is also Charlie. I have used some scrabble tiles from an old game that my friend Al Hannah allowed me have went we went shopping and found one game. Needed 2 so we didn't have to fight over this one. No fighting she graciously let me have it. Thanks Al, you're awesome.

Okay layout 3 are my men. Husband and 2 sons. Boy oh boy, do I love these fella's. This is a photo I took the day of Geoff & Georgi's wedding.

I love the tag that looks like wood grain. Kaisercraft clear stamp. Oh once again thanks Al for the idea.  Oh and it's called scrap booking so the scrap I used in this is the work FAMILY, I cut it out of the newspaper.

Layout 4 is my oh my goodness layout. I started it weeks ago, pulled it apart, started again, pulled it apart and started again. Now the finished product is here. David and his BMW.

Layout 5 I love. This is one of my most favorite photos I took in India. Don't ask me why cause I can't answer, I just love it. The buttons on the bottom are from My mother-in-laws button collection that I was blessed to inherent. The bangles are from the 100's I bought in India. The bottom corner is a rub on which I highlighted with Kaisercraft pearls.

Layout 6 is Me and Donna at my brother brother Geoff's wedding. Sadly we lost Geoff in 1980. Loved him then and always will. I was mature enough to wear white shoes however I am envious of Donna's red ones.

Well, what a week. Don't think it'll happen again this week but who knows.

Sari Shopping

This week I have just one layout and it's of a fun day when I went to visit Megan in Chennai.

I stood out there with my white skin and blond hair and even with the sari didn't look like I belonged. 

I made the flower at the top of the page and the ribbon with buttons at the bottom myself. It was fun combining my love of sewing and fabric with my love of scrap booking.