Handbag Mafia

One woman's thoughts, thrown awkwardly at the internet with reckless abandon and questionable aim.

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My waking thought on turning 40

My waking thought on turning 40

Fuck.

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Pete Evans: out of the (Facebook) frying pan and into the (dumpster) fire

Pete Evans: out of the (Facebook) frying pan and into the (dumpster) fire

Pete Evans: Activated Almonds to Alternative Health The first time I ever paid any attention to Pete Evans, it was when he’d done a “day in a plate” type interview and he spoke about “activated almonds”. I learned that these were almonds that were soaked and then dried. Wet nuts that became dry nuts. I found this hilarious, but over the intervening years he has gone from a bit of a joke to…

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The case for finding fun in 2020

The case for finding fun in 2020

Fun in 2020?

This year has been pretty shit. We don’t have the horrific death toll from Covid-19 that other countries have, but we still spent what felt like years in lockdown (decades, if you’re Victorian) Businesses closed and some haven’t and won’t open their doors again. Unemployment is huge, the economy has taken a massive hit and we’re still living under a cloud of anxiety. It’s not exactly…

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Pandemic Musings: A List

Pandemic Musings: A List

The Pandemic List

It’s a weird time, right? I feel like a lot of people, myself included, have adjusted to living with a constant baseline of high anxiety. It’s frightening and stressful. So, to amuse/distract  myself, I started this list in the notes app on my phone. Then I thought I’d publish it, listicle style, for your amusement/distraction.

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Taking Stock, mid 2020ish: A bunch of things I’ve been doing/thinking/feeling/eating etc.

A personal post

I remember a while ago, when personal blogging was at it’s peak. It wasn’t about promoting products or getting followers; it was about sharing stuff. Your thoughts, ideas, recipes, pictures and all that good stuff. A bunch of bloggers I followed would post regular “taking stock” updates. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but I think it was Pip Lincolne’s blog, Meet Me At Mike’s,…

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Photo Scavenger Hunt for Kids

#isolife

Life at home has had me bored. And I’m a grown-up, with internet access, streaming tv and movie services, shelves full of books plus access to my local library’s e-book collection. I can run myself a bath, do exercise, bake to my stomach’sheart’s content, day drink, shop online or any combination of the above! I am dabbling in DIY, trying out craft and getting my garden in shape. But I’m…

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Social Distance and the Feels (not a band name, but it should be)

Social Distance

Stay home, keep 1.5 metres from people of you do go out, avoid public transport if you can, try to work from home…

It’s a weird time full of fear and anxiety and FEELINGS and also BOREDOM. Are you feeling that way? I’m gonna go through some of my feelings, particularly about social distance and what we should do. It might help me sort them out. It might help you sort yours out. Or…

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Find A Toilet Paper Alternative In These Trying Times

Find A Toilet Paper Alternative In These Trying Times

The Toilet Paper Dystopia

We are currently living in an alternate reality where people are fighting it out over the humble bog roll. No one really knows why the prospect of a virus not unlike the flu is inspiring such desperation. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. We know we might be faced with a couple of weeks quarantine and that we will therefore require 17 rolled of TP per person, per…

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Hillsong Bushfire Appeal & the delete, delete, block manoeuvre

Hillsong Bushfire Appeal & the delete, delete, block manoeuvre

Australia: continent on fire

As I’m sure you know, we’ve got quite a a fire problem right now. It’s raging from Queensland right down the NSW coast and into Victoria and it’s horrendous. Homes and lives have been lost. An estimated half a million animals have perished. During the most dangerous times, people have been forced to wade into the ocean and wait it out. Communities have been devastated…

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Must-Read: Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer

Must-Read: Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer

Blogging buddies

One of the coolest things about blogging, for me, has been the people I’ve met while doing it. We’re a weird bunch- extroverts on the screen, we’re not afraid to spout opinions, have a whinge, make a convincing argument, share deeply personal stories and pics for a variety of reasons.

Does it translate in real life? In my experience, we’re often the most introverted of the…

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Buying a house is a journey of self discovery

Buying a house is a journey of self discovery

Buying a house

We bought our house around 18 months ago. I’d been a tenant for many years and to say I was glad to see the back of landlords and property managers would be a vast understatement. Buying a house was a big dream realised; no more uncertainty, no more leases, no more dodgy repairs, no more fighting with agents at the end of lease to get my bond returned. In my own home, I couldso many

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A Life Lived "Ostomistically"

A Life Lived “Ostomistically”

Talya

A few years ago, through blogging, I became mates with an awesome woman called Talya Goding. Talya was juggling multiple medical conditions, a situation she handled with a rare mixture of raw honesty, strength, vulnerability and grace. She shared her story of living with an ostomy and her cancer story through her blog, Feeling Ostomistic. She even used her experiences to help and support…

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Do something for Mother’s Day, FFS

Do something for Mother’s Day, FFS. Don't pretend it's an ordinary day if it means something to your partner.

The impending disappointment that is Mother’s Day

Over the past week or so, the posts and discussions in the various Facebook groups I’m in has narrowed down on today. Not in anticipation of macaroni necklaces and candles from the school Mother’s Day stall, either. Not even in a laughing, what-weird-shit-will-my-family-buy kind of way either. There’s been the expected talk about how hard Mother’s…

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Pregnant? Protect Yo Self! (and baby too!)

Pregnant? Protect Yo Self! (and baby too!) Good news about #vaccines during pregnancy!

Whooping Cough and Babies

Some stories hit the news and never really leave our collective memories. There are many, but a couple of names will always make my heart clench whenever I read them. Those names are Dana McCaffreyand Riley Hughes. Both babies were only a few weeks old when they died, several years apart, as a result of contracting whooping cough (pertussis). If their names bring a tear…

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Is Chiropractic Care for Babies a good idea?

Is Chiropractic Care for Babies a good idea?

Baby got back (pain)

After the birth of my youngest, my back was a bit of a mess. It was after my first baby, too, but the second one really took the biscuit. I had trouble with it early on in the pregnancy, with ligament pain. It escalated from there. By the time I hit the 41 week mark, I was in real trouble with pelvic girdle problems that meant even getting out of bed was a nightmare.

During…

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The year of no apologies

The year of no apologies

Resolution thingies

I’m not a big one for New Year’s resolutions, or setting intentions or even picking a word or mantra.

Sometimes, however, I set somethingfor myself. I’m not strict about it and I don’t usually make it something terribly difficult. One year it was to get myself to the dentist and I did it. Go me! Another was to stop calling everyone “guys” because, you know, some people aren’t…

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Don't Put That in Your Vagina!

Don’t Put That in Your Vagina!

Don’t Put That in Your Vagina- A List

Who knew there was a need for another list? If you’d told me that I could potentially have a series on my hands when I first wrote about not putting weird things in your vagina, I’d have laughed. Actually, I thought the vagina steaming and jade eggs would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.

via GIPHY

And here we are again.

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