recommended

Carolina | especially their brioche french toast with stewed summer fruit, mascarpone and mint. An old shoe repair shop reinvented as a cafe on Nicholson St, East Brunswick.

IQ84 | Murakami's new 3 volume-fiction piece. In paper form it comes as a massive 1000 page hard back brick. Not easy on your arms, hands or hips when reading. Go the ereader version if you can.

Hibiki-an | for beautiful Japanese green tea. Nothing available in Australia compares to what they have on offer through their online shop. Try their sencha range. The sencha karigane is very good.

Holly Throsby. Especially her album 'Team'.

in the heat:

| cold cherries straight from the fridge

| Maggie Beer's Quince & Bitter Almond ice cream

| gin & tonics with slices of lemon or lime and lots of ice

something fresh, something green

A new colourway, a re-work of an old favourite, something fresh: three pots of tea, fresh, that is!

My dentist inquired as to whether I drink a lot of green tea. What's a lot? I asked. Apparently I have a slight green tinge to my teeth which they can remove when I get my teeth cleaned there. I like to think green tea is worth the green tinged grin. Do I have any supporters?

Have you saved the 18th December to head on down to Harvest Xmas Market? Hope so. Should be full of goodness + craftiness.