I hope you are enjoying the change of seasons. I sure am! I confess I'm more than a little apprehensive about the onset of summer, winter-and-cold-loving weirdo that I am. But earlier this week Melbourne turned on spring in a major way, and I was undone. All that sunshine, and the scent of jasmine in the air, and tiny droplets of humidity on my skin, and birds going CRAZY, and pink buds on the fruit trees, and green buds on the big trees, and coconut cream on my skin, and fun summer hats, and and and…

Spring has seduced me.

Recently I discovered a footpath that wound all the way from the end of my street to the Melbourne Zoo. So on Tuesday Madeleine and I followed said path, and met some dear friends for a couple of hours of exploring among the beasties. We climbed elephant sculptures, hunted an elusive tiger, wolfed down fried rice and made wishes upon seahorses (ok that was just me. But people do that, right?). Madeleine attempted to blow raspberries but only succeeded in generating a river of drool. Points for trying, my darling. I possibly subjected my daughter to years of future therapy by dressing the both of us semi-matching, in polka dots, though I swear that wasn't on purpose.

Just as we went to leave, I discovered my sweet friend had stashed a bag of home grown lemons into the bottom of Madeleine's pram for us. What shall I make? Do you think this souffle recipe would be too tricky?

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ps. Have you missed me? It is entirely possible that I possess a completely unrealistic idea of my place in your online life. But you may or may not have noticed that this blog has been down for the past week. And for two weeks before that, all subscription links were lost. Thanks to the help of Brandi, things are almost back to normal. So in case you're interested, here's what you missed:

* Granted * Lately, on instagram * Made in Melbourne (Etsy!) * Dear friend * On dads and daughters * Little thoughts

* And on iVillage: The truth about what future mothers should know * And on Happiness Is: That day