Nicole

So far its perfect – I have read a lot of online reviews before decided on the BDB. I was considering the db, bambino plus, infuser, and the barista pro. The pro quickly dropped off my list because of…

the inbuilt grinder, it is convenient but personally dislike Breville grinder as I have a much better grinder at home. After reading all the reviews, the db seems to be a much better choice, but with a much higher price tag came with it. I have noticed Breville decided to stop selling the db on its own which is very annoying. Then I discovered Harvey Norman was still selling the standalone model, so bought it home. It is an amazing machine, I am not a barista but has some knowledge about making coffee, and took me a few days to dial in properly, but once thats done, it produces great coffee like some of my favorite cafes. Definitely miles better than my work coffee shop. I have the whole set up at home, and is it expensive to set up? yes it is, the machine cost $1k, my entry level grinder cost $600, plus other bits of accessories over the years, I would say its probably easily a $2k set up. But the joy and pleasure it provides us, well worth it. Need to be a bit patient with this machine as you learn how to make a great cup of espresso to your liking, and this is for someone who wants to invest in their coffee making skills, if you are after a easy complete no brainer, I would probably say maybe choose something else. BDB is not hard to use, I feel its something that is for consumer who wants a bit more control but still with a user friendly interface.

What I have also read about, is that this machine needs to have its o-ring replace/check at least once a year. Its a common thing when people report machine failure, not sure why Breville still havent fixed this, but my understanding is its a relatively simple procedure.

I finally found the one! – Have tried a lot of pillows. Mostly memory foam/ latex type. Used to use dentons for years and swear by it until they don’t work anymore. I swear they changed their pillows. But…

anyway I digress, so since then I have been on a hunt for a supportive pillow. High end and low end nothing works. Even those ones that has a lot of positive reviews and nothing works. The issue is pillows aren’t returnable so it’s really costly after so many tries. So somehow I came across this tempur on sale for $140 at David jones. I normally wouldn’t look at tempur because their pillow is over $300 and I draw the line at $250. Because if it doesn’t work it’s a lot of money to lose. So at $140 I decided I will give it a go. When it arrived I was worried because it felt so weird. My husband dubbed it as soft concrete. I laid my head on it and felt heavenly. I don’t know what but it’s soft and supportive at the same time. Apparently it’s for back sleepers this one but I am a side sleeper and no issues. First night it was the best night I have had for a while. I was also worry I might get some soreness due to some reviews but no, it’s comfort from the get go. It’s been a week and I love this pillow so very much, so much I am contemplating to buy a spare in case they stop making this. It’s not a pillow you can judge on touching it. It’s something you really need to sleep on it. I wish I find this earlier.

Easiest way to sell – Very responsive and professional, attempted to sell on ebay before and its slow and cumbersome, especially ebay is flooded with fake goods making genuine sells even harder. The…

team at lux it fwd makes the whole thing so much easier for sellers. Yes they take quite a large fee but if I added up all the ebay charges and hassle and have to go post myself, luc it fwd is actually very reasonable on their fees. Nothing bad to say and I will use their service again.

Professional piercing service – Got a second set of earlobe piercing at Chadstone VIC store, very professional service. A lot less traumatic than I did my first at a chemist using those gun things. Though after…

i got home and check their price list, a double using needle is $69.95 including jewellry. Yet i was charged $86.95... the only thing I got ‘extra’ was a 50ml aftercare spray. That means the spray is $17. Seems very excessive when most of these at chemist is about $6-7 a bottle, even if the ingredients are better i am not sure if its worth $17 a bottle. I know requesting specific persons attract extras but my appointment didnt even specify who i wanted (as i have never been before). I take that down as me didnt do the smarts and check the prices first, so if you go maybe confirm the prices with them first.

So easy and so powerful – I started green smoothies about 9 months ago and have been using a Kenwood blender which came as part of a food processor. Haven't used too many blenders in my life i thought that…

how the Kenwood behaved was just how a normal blender would including being very noisy and chewy smoothies. Then the Kenwood started to leak, and then one morning it just went everywhere and i didn't want to damage the base any further as still want to use the processor attachment with it. So decided to start shopping around. Asked a few people at work and someone vouched for the breville kinetic, then looked on product review and saw complaints (just like many others) and didn't want to part over $200 for a blender that gives me problem. Then a few searches later I came across Optimum, spend quite a while reading up about it and bite the bullet and ordered myself a 8200 (with $50 off promo code from couponation) despite wanting a 9400 but couldn't justify the cost. Then a day later i got an email for an offer to upgrade my order to 9400 with an additional $99! so i went and upgraded. Its only been a week so can't comment on longevity but performance so far has been amazing, didn't know a green smoothie can be this smooth no grit no seeds no chewy bits. The machine is less noisy than the old Kenwood but waaaay more powerful. I have done nut milk from it and its sooooo nice, frothy and smooth. So thoughtful Froothie also included a nut milk bag! Even husband was commenting on how much quieter this machine is compared to the Kenwood. Easy to use and easy to clean. It does look big on the bench but not as big as i originally thought however if you have little bench space you might like to put it away after each use. The blender is solid and sturdy and have tried frozen fruits in it and handled with no problem whatsoever, sometimes when i put quite a bit of hard fruits in i will need to use the stick to nudge things towards the blade but nothing major. Most of the time with a combo of spinach and frozen raspberries and frozen mango it will just do its own thing without my help. Loving this thing so far, I don't know how much better a vitamix is but really I think the 9400 does what i need it to do and more, my friend has a vitamix and it was well over $700 and I just could not afford that on a blender. I am sure though if i had bought the 8200 it will just do the jobs as nice, but now i have a 9400 i am just that tad happier getting what i wanted in the first place :) it surely didn't disappoint!

Edit to add - Nov 2019 After 3 years of daily use (only on blending smoothies and the occasional soup and nothing else), the blender finally had it and start making squeaky noises with a smell of burned motor. I immediately contacted their customer service and after about a week now they are saying I need to send the item back for inspection. Will have to pay $24 upfront to send it back, and will see what they say after. A bit disappointed now without a blender and with the product given me high hopes for a long lasting machine, considering i don't really blend anything else other than veg and fruit. Reading up all the reviews and seemed like the 3 year mark is when things start to die, I am now not so sure about the quality if it only last 3 years for the price, because my friends vitamix is still going strong...