My Weekend: Pebbles Hooper

Restaurant and lodge The Oyster Inn on Waiheke island. Picture / Babiche Martens

Pebbles Hooper. Picture / Greg Bowker

Pebbles Hooper likes to make the most of her spare time, between creating her

signature quirky prints

and co-editing the

Herald on Sunday

's gossip column

Spy

. When Hooper's "feeling fancy", she spends her weekends at some of Auckland's top spots, catching up with friends and relaxing at home with Dr Phil. "Dr Phil shows give me great pleasure when I have time on my hands," says the illustrator turned gossip writer. Take a look at a few of her weekend favourites.

Mornings... The avocado salad at Dizengoff in Ponsonby, baguettes at Petit Bocal in Sandringham with Dad, or the sticky coconut rice at L'Oeuf in Mt Roskill. I don't really brunch but if I did, those would be my choice.

Trying... I'm pretty lucky; I've tried everywhere I've heard about. I'm too impatient to wait around to be taken somewhere and Instagram posts get me envious. Places like The Oyster Inn had me travelling to Waiheke straight away when it opened because I'd heard such good things about it.

Loving... There are so many places I love to go. Picking one is hard so I would say for breakfast my pick would be L'Oeuf, lunch would be Dizengoff and dinner would be either Sidart (if I'm being fancy) or SPQR or Chop Chop for noodles with my boyfriend and have a big sleep afterwards.

Evenings... A typical Saturday night could go either way. Could be having dinner with friends in Ponsonby or in Britomart, could be at a movie in town and then eating Moustache cookies afterwards around the corner, or just cooking at home watching bad TV or making my boyfriend watch Dr Phil with me.

Drinking... I don't really drink so I love restaurants and bars with options for people like me. Bedford Soda in Ponsonby Central is pretty delicious for their mocktails because they're delicious and make me feel pretty fancy. SPQR is also another favorite because their menu just never fails to deliver.

Dining... Obviously SPQR for everything on the menu especially the eggplant, but I also love Coco's Cantina and Orphans Kitchen. The Coco's polenta chips will be the death of me, and the ceviche at Orphans Kitchen is pretty divine.

Shopping... I don't do much shopping, but Scotties is always dangerous, as well as Miss Crabb. All the jewellery by Zora Bell Boyd at Wunderkammer in Ponsonby is pretty detrimental to the bank account because I love beautiful things.

- VIVA