So far, this summer is shaping up to be an absolutely blissful antidote to the last two summers.

The horrendous humidity and torrential downpours, interspersed with weeks of 40 degree days that typified the summers of '09 and '10 made me utterly miserable and frankly, dreading this summer.

But the perfectly balmy 24 – 26 degrees we seem to hover around (with the exception of last week's heatwave) in Melbourne keeps me in a perpetual good mood.

There are a few other things that put a smile on my face today.

Like this flower given to me by a little old man while I was waiting for coffee.

He popped his head through the cafe's walk-up window and called me over, then handed me this hibiscus he'd obviously picked on his walk.

Totally made my day.

***

It's also thrilling to find another local cafe with good coffee, in an area brimming with hipster cafes selling the kind of milky concoctions you'd expect from Starbucks.

And amazingly under $3.00 for a small (that's not a small).

Bonus points for being organic and fairtrade.

Ahh, so Things White People Like…

***

One of the unexpected benefits of the endless stream of technology that comes into our home is the awesome silica that's sometimes packed with them.

I can't bring myself to cut it open and add it to the rest of my collection just yet.

***

I'm loving rediscovering actual bricks and mortar bookstores. Especially when they're within walking distance from home.

It's great to save a tonne of money buying from Book Depository, Abe Books, Amazon et al.

But there's no way shopping for books online offers anything like the wonderful experience of an actual bookstore. I love the smell of the printed page, the way time seems to slow down while you wander from shelf to shelf and genre to genre, picking up and browsing through books simply because of their beautiful and intriguing covers.

I just joined another book club which will discuss A Game of Thrones in early Feb, so I needed to get a start asap. Book Depository has been getting progressively slower in their delivery times, and losing their relevance for me as a result.

Thank goodness for a local Readings store because this is not a short book.

***

On our walk back from the bookstore last night, Mr K stopped for an icecream and scoffed at me when I snatched the lid before he threw it in the bin.

I like entering competitions, and have won enough over the years to know it's worthwhile.

I won a pair of boardshorts. Well, I would never wear the Roxy ones, so I chose the Quiksilvers for him. Hopefully they arrive before our trip to Thailand in Feb.

Fingers crossed for the Jeep too!

***

I must be on a lucky streak because I also received these three gorgeous green nailpolishes from Jaztee's blog giveaway.

Thank you SO much, Jaz. I can't wait to try these for my very next manicure.

From left to right, they're Kleancolor Holiday Jingle, China Glaze Holly-day and China Glaze Glittering Garland.

Must go out and buy a lottery ticket, and hope this winning comes in threes!

***

Before I start on Game of Thrones, I want to finish the book I'm reading for my first book club.

I found this hard to get into for the first couple of chapters, but now I'm really enjoying it.

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, and each one unfolds into the next character's story, weaving a thread through multiple lives and multiple angles.

It's not really clear whether it will all tie up into one narrative, but I'm really enjoying the journey anyway.

***

Do you love those painted tin cups as much as me?

I have a black one already that I use to store makeup brushes when I'm not using it as a vase, but I wanted one for the bathroom.

This is the not particularly attractive plastic one I've had in there until now. I've had enough glass and ceramic ones slip out of wet hands and smash in the sink to know I need something unbreakable.

I hate drinking out of plastic, so I can't believe I've put up with it for so long.

I couldn't decide between the blue and turquoise cups, though, so because they were on sale I bought both.

I'll just rotate them when I get bored.

***

Tonight I finally – FINALLY – got back on my bike.

My poor bike has been neglected on our back deck for far, far too long and I haven't ridden it for a couple of years.

I need to lose 7 kilos to get back to my natural weight – the one my body seems to stabilise at and is obviously my healthiest weight – and the best way for me is to ride my bike 3 to 4 times a week.

That and cut out eating rubbish, of course.

It's really as simple as that for me. No need for diets or boot camps or gyms.

When I ride regularly – for an hour – the weight just falls off.

I'm going to try to walk for 20 mins each morning and ride after the sun's lost its heat in the evenings at least 3 times a week.

I actually feel I look my best when I'm 2 kilos under my plateau weight, so I'll be working a bit harder for that.

It feels so, so good to be exercising again.

***

I really need to get the sleep sorted out too if I'm going to be getting up for walks though!

Goodnight

xx Kiki

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