Bella Villa - Villa Di Oro Beechworth
Who isn’t overdue for that weekend away with friends, and who hasn’t fantasised about sharing a rustic European-styled villa? Villa di Oro has the ambience of rural Italy and there’s no crossing the International Date Line to get there.

Food Bites - Yarra Valley Pasta
Lisa cuts a striking presence. Tall and elegant, she is the epitome of urban chic, although she admits to being a Healesville girl, born and bred. It’s not surprising that Lisa took out the title of Miss Healesville Showgirl when she was just 18 years old and, as part of the prize, refined her deportment skills with a modelling course at Melbourne’s Suzan Johnston, before continuing on at the agency as an instructor.

Now Try This - Barwidgee Lavender Product Range
In this rush-rush world, there’s something to be said for feeling calm because, unfortunately, it’s a sensation that is alien to most of us. That’s where Barwidgee Lavender steps into the picture, championing the soothing properties of a delicate flower that has been prized in perfumery and medicinal circles since ancient times.

‘We use organic bases for all our products, so the end result is the ultimate in skin care… guaranteed to make you feel good!’ says Jo from Barwidgee

Launceston Confidential
Launceston is a city hell-bent on playing cultural catch-up. Everywhere you look there’s evidence of a burgeoning café lifestyle, a renaissance of ‘inner-city’ living, and among the locals, a friendly desire to out-compete Hobart in terms of chic. To experience all this, a starting point is The Lido Boutique Apartments, accommodation that falls a little outside of the square.

Tremonti Fine Gems and Jewellery
Karin Tremonti is someone who doesn’t mind being called a ‘stoner’. In fact, she’d go so far as to describe herself as a ‘gemstone maniac’ or even a ‘stone addict’. ‘My husband is the same, but he’s worse because that’s the only thing that he does,’ she says of her partner-in-crime Mark Tremonti, who is Director of the International Coloured Gemstone Association, although more familiar to gem consumers as The Opal Hunter on The Gem Shopping Network (think Steve Irwin without the dangerous animals).