Sexy 6: the feedback-is-a-gift edition

Welcome to the Sexy 6 edition of my Babble newsletter where I share with you the six things I want to pash this week.

1. This colour combo

I don’t want you to think that the Sexy 6 is always about buying new things because Cosi Livs and also landfill. I do like to buy things and tell you about them. That’s how the Sexy 6 was born but sometimes it’s just about something that sparks inspiration.

This fresh colour combination I saw in a photo of actor, Greta Lee made me swoon and immediately think of what I own in pale pink and khaki that I could smash together into an outfit. I went to Pinterest and did a search for ‘pink/olive' so I could get a few more ideas to share and now I have a fun new thing to try this week when I’m getting dressed.

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2. This excellent argy-bargy

One of my favourite things to do is work out what I think by arguing with my co-hosts on Mamamia Outloud and this week we had a doozy. Jessie is in Ireland for a mate’s wedding so Holly and I rolled up our sleeves and went at it while guest co-host Em Vernem munched imaginary popcorn and watched us passionately fight about beauty standards. I argued that the body positive mantra of “everyone is beautiful'“ is a well-meaning form of gas-lighting because it denies the existence and impact of beauty standards that the culture hammers us with: from Facetune to filters to the Kardashians Using Factune And Filters. Holly’s perspective is that we should just tell beauty standards to get stuffed. I love arguing with her about this. Have a listen………

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3. This choc chip cookie recipe

Biscuits and ice-cream (together! why not!) are two of my favourite food groups and there’s something so self-care-y about making yourself a batch of choc-chip cookies. This is a tik-tok recipe and it’s excellent.

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4. This upright steamer

I think I may have a steamer problem. My gateway drug was a small hand-held steamer because I don’t iron and this seemed like a more fun and less cumbersome alternative. It was! Because before buying it, I had been using either my hair straightener or my hairdryer (both work in an emergency - just hold the dryer in one hand and pull the fabric taut in the other, usually while already wearing it).
I’m also pretty comfortable with wearing my clothes wrinkled - as commenters on my Instagram never get tired of pointing out because FEEDBACK IS A GIFT.
Soon after my little steamer, I decided to upgrade to a larger one but when we were on tour for Outloud, we had these upright steamers backstage and I was smitten. I bought one a couple of weeks ago from Amazon and I love it so much I could hump it like a randy dog. That’s me on the left, steaming all my winter jumpers that I’ve just pulled out of my wardrobe and hand-washed. I found this same one on sale from Myer for $150 if you’re interested. Takes up more room than a hand-held one, obviously, but it’s even easier to use.

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5. This new couch

I need to change my surroundings at work pretty regularly to stay focused so a few weeks ago I decided my office needed to be a ‘soft’ space rather than having a desk or meeting table in it. Most of the furniture at Mamamia HQ is from Fantastic Furniture - and that’s where I bought this 3-seater couch from. The day after it arrived, someone pointed out to me I was dressing like my couch which really wasn’t something I expected but I don’t hate it. The colour is called “whiskey” but it’s more like a burnt orange.

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6. This bit of wisdom

At first, this advice seems a bit disappointing as far as motivational quotes go. But it’s actually profound. Nobody alive can escape hurt or grief or hardship. Every single one of us will struggle sometimes, regardless of beauty, fame or privilege (see: Jlo). So I take this quote from Joan Rivers in two ways. The first is that time and distance from a terrible thing always helps. And so does getting older. As women, we have so much internalised angst about aging (beauty standards! see! I win, Holly!), that we often overlook the wisdom aging brings. We give less fucks, we care less what others think and we become more resilient. I see that in the women around me, many of whom are going through all manner of trials right now.

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NOT AT ALL SEXY…

I’ve been sick in bed for what feels like 100 years but is really just a few days. I’d been fighting something off for a while but on Wednesday, it got me and I had to cancel two days of No Filter interviews and take to my bed like a Jane Austen character and I’ve been there ever since. Because I have asthma and I’ve been around people with bronchitis and pneumonia, I went to the Dr for a swab and so she could listen to my chest and the results just came back: influenza A! I’m already starting to feel better, good thing I had a flu shot so it was far milder than it could have been. Take care out there and cough into your elbow.