After a false start in January, February was my "take two". Work projects took off, the textbooks lobbed for the first trimester of another year of study and we were busy with family birthdays and getting the most out of these last weeks of summer.

I reckon we did okay at making the most of the summer but colder, darker mornings signal what's to come. Cooler weather will mean longer sessions in the garden on the weekends, cosy jumpers and steaming hot cups of chai. I'm ready. Are you?

IN FEBRUARY:

I WENT TO... There wasn't even a day trip to speak of, but we did take friends for a spin around our favourite haunts close to home. It's always so good to see your hood through the eyes of visitors. We're pretty lucky to live where we do.

I ATE... There was a fair amount of celebration eating this month, the highlight being dinner out at new-ish pasta bar, Young Barons, at Woy Woy. This is not your average, everyday pasta bar, this is pasta made fresh every day and tossed with flavours that hug a spaghetti. As an extra bonus, the gelato and sorbet choices are made in house too.

Young Barons is a special treat restaurant though. If you want something a little less fancy, try the $10 masala dosa across the road at Epinard. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cafe that doesn't really sell the delicious Indian fare on the menu, but it you've been hankering an authentic dosa or butter chicken, this is the place.

I OP SHOPPED... A few choice finds have come my way this past month. A cute 1960s basket, cook books, knitting patterns, printed linen tea-towels from the 1970s (in mint condition) and a silk Jimmy Pike scarf. It's the same pattern as this one, in a different colourway.

I MADE... Nothing. There'll be little time for making now that the study is back on. Sigh.

I READ... I squeezed in one last summer read before the textbooks lobbed. I was sorry to learn The Naturalist's Daughter was a work of fiction. I so wanted the story to be true. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you'll enjoy this. It's a fast and easy read, and very satisfying.