There’s something about the start of a long weekend that just calls for putting on your best cape before stepping out for the day.

My job as the mum in the situation was to not crush that ambition on a particularly wet and grey winter’s morning while still being true to my mum priorities.  Behold this Batman cape poking out from the neck of a sensible zip up polar fleece sweater.  Compromise is a beautiful thing.

The cape went for a swish at breakfast and then onwards to our local health food grocer.  It was a bittersweet visit because the store store will be closing at the end of the month.  I believe Harris Farm will be moving in soon after so watch my Instagram for our breathless first visit / comparison to Whole Foods….

My caped crusader and I stopped by the Harry Hartog bookstore in Bondi Junction after lunch.  I’m embarrassed that it’s taken me this long to visit.  It really is a celebration of the written word and of all those varied people who adore reading.  Stepping in store is like wondering into a favourite aunt or uncle’s study.  There are leather chairs to ease into, quirky stuffed toys and models atop upcycled shelves and tables full of literary finds.  I finally bought Preschooler SSG a copy of Mem Fox’s latest book ‘I’m Austrlian Too’ as well as another book to add to his airport / plane themed collection.

In Daiso Bondi Junction news, I can report that there are high stock levels of my favouite bobby pins.  They’ve got superior hold and grip, are virtually indestructible and come in practical, solid cases rather than on cards which I find a bit fidgetty to use one handed.  Because it’s always one handed and slightly awkward whenever I try to pin my hair into an updo.

If you have a preschooler who loves a bit of craft and you’re looking for something a bit different that’s also not too hard to clean up after, these High Bounce Ball Kits ($19.95 at the Australian Geographic Store) are worth a look.

All you basically do is assemble ball moulds and fill them with the included glow in the dark crystals.

The moulds then get submerged on cold water for a minute before being allowed to set for another three.

You then open the mould and prise out your very own bouncy ball.

This is just a few from our collection that I’m housing in a zip lock bag for the moment because I don’t really want any to escape across the floor and get tripped over.  They might be glow in the dark but I still (after all these years of being a num) don’t always look down at the ground in front of me as I walk around the house.  

There’s also been some wet weather baking.  Today’s recipe was Sally’s Easy Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake.  I actually made mine using strawberry jam.

Sally has this genius idea where you mix your jam with some of the cake batter to create a more defined swirl.  

I haven’t had the best luck with pound cakes in the past but Sally’s recipe rocks.  It makes a very moist cake.  I’m still not convinced about the almond essence but that could be because I ate the cake straight out of the oven.  The almond flavour may tone down a bit in a cold or room temperature cake.  One technical point is that I found that my cake browned very early so I had to cover it in foil halfway through baking.  It’s got a pretty thick crust as you can see so my oven was too hot to start with as well.  I set it to 180C so will use a slightly lower temperature the next time I make this recipe.