Outing 1: The not so Secret Garden, Shafto Lane, Oxfam

So if you found your way to the bottom of the page, you would see on the calender that yesterday was a day dedicated to finding the infamous (according to my boyfriend) Secret Garden Café and I must admit I was a little excited too.

I was in Perth early on my own and just knowing it was near Wolf Lane I decided to find it myself. The whole ‘Secret’ of it turned it into a welcomed challenge. So I set off out of the Perth underground and down Murray Street in the direction of Kings Park for - lets say 50-100 metres - and I see a sign outside a Lane off to my left saying ‘Tiger Tiger, Secret Garden’. I turn left and directly in front of me sit two cafes, one of which I was expecting to be lost for at least 20 minutes looking for.

Evana :1

Secret Garden: 0.

The menu looks inviting however, it is almost 2pm at this time and my boyfriend will not be in Perth until at least 2.45. So in order to kill some time I find my way onto Hay Street.

Jackpot.

I make my way into an unnamed shop selling books at half their price because of a closing down sale. Score myself 3 cookbooks,

-‘Fat Free Indian Cookery’ (because I have an unhealthy obsession with Indian food but find it hard to stomach the really oily stuff) .

- ‘180 Best-Ever Recipes for Vegetarians’ (because I was craving something sweet at the time and it has a wicked Apple Strudel recipe)

- ‘Vegie Food’ (one of those extremely thick and heavy cook books that you know you will never make at least half of the recipes in it  but if you can just perfect that Phad Thai or Vege Mousakka it will have all ‘bean’ worth it. (See what I did there).)

Made my way up to 78 Records which is still a favourite store of mine even though I know I can buy my music much cheaper. Stood in there a while battling with my head over whether to buy a ‘Whitest Boy Alive’ CD, refused and bought Frankie Magazine instead (I shall dedicate an entry just to Frankie later on down the line).

Then on to yesterdays ‘worth mentioning’.

Still with time to kill I notice a sign outside ‘Shafto Lane’. If you have been to Shafto Lane already and you know me, shame on you for not telling me! This lane has Jacksons, a gourmet burger bistro with amazing burgers- vege and meat, and best of all Pigeonhole.

I have known about Pigeonhole and its alternative, fun, and very stylish nature for a while now but actually walking in yesterday and seeing their Polaroid Film stock was a highlight. Pigeonhole’s products aren’t cheap (not burn a whole in your wallet expensive either) but they are beautiful, quirky and cool, and they are one of the only stockists of ‘The Impossible Project’s’ Polaroid film in Australia.

For anyone interested, for the Polaroid 600 its $44 for 8 sheets- as you could gather on my budget the Polaroid is only going to show up on special occasions from now on.

Moving onto the Oxfam shop- one of my favourite worldly shops. Oxfam on Hay sells so many beautiful things, homewares, jewellery, rugs, table cloths, ornaments, pots, bags and the list goes on and on. I have to mention their Tea range in there. These teas look and smell delicious and all their products are fair-trade!! Christmas is coming up people, go check it out.

After planning my purchases for the next 3 pays, my boyfriend makes his way into the city and we meet up as I direct him to the ‘almost impossible to find’ Secret Garden. Its 3:05 at this stage. The Secret Garden closes at 3.

Secret Garden: 1
Evana: 1

Until next time..