Any bakery that has good tasting sausage rolls at a fair price will always be popular with me. Birkdale Bakery is no exception to this rule. At $2.50 their cheese and bacon sausage roll was extremely tasty and exceptionally well priced. Plain sausage rolls retail for $2.40. The bakery offers a range of pies, most of which cost $4.20 each, and include plain, beef and bacon, potato and chunky steak varieties.

Hot ham and cheese pesto scrolls are sold, together with cheese and bacon rolls, children's snow cones, marshmellows and cookies. The bread varieties include high top, Vienna, cobbs, French sticks, wholemeal and rolls. Deserts include apple slice, caramel slice and mud cake. A good variety of cold drinks are sold, together with tea and coffee. The staff are friendly and obliging and dining is available outside the store.

Approximate cost: $2.50

With a fair complexion and a family history of melanoma, undertaking a regular skin cancer check is vitally important. Having moved to a new district I sought a friend's advice on appropriate clinics in the area. She immediately suggested Skin Scan and told me that she had regularly used them over a number of years. Upon attending Skin Scan I was very pleased to have followed my friend's suggestion.

Located opposite the new Capalaba Spotlight, Skin Scan is easy to find and has parking out the front dedicated exclusively to the practice. I was able to arrange an appointment at a convenient time in less than a week from my phone call and the consultation was bulk billed. Taking somewhat less than 15 minutes, the scan was undertaken with the latest technology, dermoscopy, which is a special microscope which allows the doctor to see underneath the skin. All images are enlarged on a screen for the patient to view. The whole process was painless and efficient and I even left the surgery with free samples of sunscreen and other skin care products. I'll definitely be using Skin Scan for next year's skin cancer check.

Approximate cost: $Bulk billed

Laurie Evans Real Estate is an independent real estate agent in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Established since 1978 they have three offices at Beerwah, Landsborough and Glass House Mountains. I rented a property through them for four years and found the staff to be exceptionally professional and attentive to both the needs of tenants and landlords. I highly recommend their services.

On a visit to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland last week I decided to check out a couple of new shops in Landsborough, a small village where I'd previously lived. Upon seeing the sign "African Escapes" I expected to enter a travel agency. I was incredibly surprised, therefore, to stumble upon an International Gourmet Foods, Crafts & Gifts shop.

Tastefully decorated, this interesting store stocks food from South Africa, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, America, and Italy, amongst others. They also proudly stock Britton gourmet, Brookfarm, Tar 10, Pukara Estate, Alpine Berry Farm, Australian Harvest, Suzanne Quarter and more. If you're in need of inspiration for some international cooking, or after an ingredient not ordinarily found in basic supermarkets, then African Escapes is well worth a visit.

My introduction to scrapbooking came via my secondary school students. Although I'd vaguely heard of this craft, I'd never been interested enough to further investigate. That is, until students started presenting absolutely fabulous assignments done in this format. I was knocked over and keen to learn more. I had the opportunity for a little "hands on" experience during end of year craft activities, although I must say that the end product could nowhere near as good as the students'.

Ever since, I've been keen to learn more with the aim of honing my very limited artistic skills. On a recent visit to the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands I was pleased to stumble upon Joybells Scrapbooking at Landsborough. Self proclaimed as the Sunshine Coasts' latest paper craft store, Joybells is a pleasure to visit. Clearly mindful of the distracting effects of young children to their shopping mothers, Joybells even provides a children's play area. Scattered throughout the store are completed examples of scrapbooking works of art. I don't profess to know anything at all about the most popular scrapbooking products, however Joybells claim to be the largest stockist in Qld of Jenni Bowlin Studios. They also sell 7Gypsies, Basic Grey, Making Memories – including Vintage Jewellry, My Minds Eye, Prima Flowers and papers, Bo Bunny, Martha Stewart and a plethora of other brands. Products can also be bought on line at their website.

A scrapbooking table is set out at the back of the store and at the time of my visit the sales assistant to busily creating yet another art work. Joybells also run learn to scrapbooking classes in a shop two doors down. I left the store with cardboard in hand and determined to give Scrapbooking another go.

Approximate cost: $From $1.00

As the only General Store and Takeaway in this small Sunshine Coast Hinterland village, Beerburrum General Store & Takeaway is an integral part of the community. Pin boards outside of the store are adorned with local notices - items for sale, lost animals, and community events. Aside from selling a selection of grocery lines and drinks, the Store has an extensive takeaway menu.

The General Store sells a wide variety of sandwiches, rolls, salads, and wraps, together with hot food such as hamburgers, seafood, chicken, chips, spring rolls, corn jacks, chicko rolls, pluto pups, crumbed sausages, dim sims, potato scallops, hash browns, kabana, pork riblets, lasagne topper, gravy rissole, herb & garlic rissole, bacon & cheese topper, home made sausage rolls and pies. They also serve breakfast, tea, coffee and milk shakes. Over the years I've eaten at Beerburrum General Store on a number of occasions and have always found the takeaway most agreeable.

Even when I was young I was never much one for night clubs so it was with much surprise that I found myself at one for the first time in probably close to 15 years. What facilitated this adventure to The Vinyl Room was my school's 30th Anniversary reunion and the desire by a few to party on afterwards.

I have to admit to having had a great time and luckily didn't feel at all like a "fish out of water" because much of the crowd was as old, if not older, than myself. I particularly liked the retro outfitting of the room and especially the vinyl records, for which I have a very fond affection. Next time I'm in Sydney and with friends who want to party on I'll have no hesitation to head off to The Vinyl Room again.

Thanks to a review on WOMO I discovered this fantastic online book, music, games, toys and movies store. Postage is absolutely free and dispatch of items is usually between 6 and 12 days. This is a little longer than some other on-line stores, however the sheer variety of titles and excellent prices far outweigh this slight inconvenience.

I've been collecting Classic Series Doctor Who DVDs and have found The Nile to have the most extensive collection with many titles that can't even be found at the ABC Shop. I recently purchased The Two Doctors and it cost only $15.84. With each delivery you receive a voucher to receive 5% off your next order. I've already worked out what previously unavailable title I'll be purchasing.

My only criticism is that the DVD I received did not come with the usual plastic wrapping and nor did it have the standard BBC Doctor Who collection catologue inside the DVD cover. This may be a one off and I'm sure to see soon if this is how all of their DVDs come.

Approximate cost: $15.84.

I find it hard to resist the temptation to enter each and every produce store I come upon. Years of living on acreage stocked with sheep, horses and chooks during times of drought has left me with an ingrained urge to explore these intriguing businesses. Although now living again in a remote and rural like location, the acres may be gone but not the chooks. I can always be certain, therefore, to walk out of a produce store brandishing something for my ever expanding clutch of poultry.

It was with much delight, therefore, that I last week discovered this new 7 month old business in Beerburrum. Previously the large premises had housed a second hand and antique store, however now it's piled high with produce. I was immediately drawn to the poultry section and was knocked over to find a poultry feeder for $7.00. I've presently got 15 chicks and it's becoming increasingly difficult for them all to fit around the solitary feeder in their pen. I'd been looking around for an additional feeder but was shocked by the prices of ones I'd looked at in the Redlands area produce stores. One place was asking $35.00 for the very same feeder! It goes without saying that I immediately picked one up, and only wish now that I'd also bought another poultry waterer which was available at a similar price. When I told the proprietor how cheap his prices were he concurred and indicated that the produce businesses outside of Caboolture were selling the same product for three times as much. On my next visit to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland I'll be paying Beerburrum Produce another visit without doubt.

Approximate cost: $7.00

I was pleasantly surprised to discover this gorgeous new store when I visited the Sunshine Coast Hinterland last week. Opposite the Beerburrum State School and next door to the Post Office you'll find the unusually named Aransisari. When last I was in Beerburrum the business here was a second hand bookshop. New books, together with a splendid variety of gifts, can be found at Aranisari.

Aranisari specialize in eastern style spiritual items and gifts. You'll find a nice variety of clothes, polished stones, incense, candles and a myriad of other items. Particularly impressive was the corner of the store with orange items only. Unfortunately these must be part of the proprietors collection and weren't for sale.

When next you travel down the Steve Irwin Way give yourself a treat and turn off at the Beerburrum/Caboolture exit. Only a hundred metres or so away, and just over the railway bridge, you'll find this excellent new business.

Approximate cost: $From $1.00