Home - HandbagMafia

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 billion 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 and left without power or communications lines. As expected, just about everyone not directly effected is looking for a way to help.

You can give to WIRES or adopt a koala, give to the Red Cross, donate to the Rural Fire Service or the Country Fire Authority or even support fundraising initiatives like this one, to help fire-impacted First Nations communities. You can craft items to help injured wildlife. Some people are organising care packages for fire fighters. There’s always the helpers, right? And apparently, you can donate to the Hillsong Bushfire Appeal.

View this post on Instagram

Mum sent me these pics today of this little dude who was rescued from the bushfires close to them. Bushfires have burned 75% of koala habitats around their region near Port Macquarie where over 350 koalas have perished in the fires. #helpthirstykoalasdevestatedbyrecentfirescampaign continues to accept donations now at over 1.3MM which is being used in the local koala hospital and for further breeding rehabilitation projects. #australia #thisisaustralia #koalas #koalabushfires #love #loveanimals **photographer unknown**

A post shared by BABE AUSTRALIA (@babeaustraliaofficial) on Nov 23, 2019 at 2:53pm PST

Like it? Share it!

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 or 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 extroverts and just need ~~wine~~ time to loosen up. But it’s so much easier when you meet someone you’ve already connected with online. So many people I’ve met through blogging have become real-life mates; we’ve solved the world’s problems while propping up a bar, had weekends away and are always only a click or two away when we need each other. We’ve held each other (literally and figuratively) through grief, stress, health scares and more.

And now, I have to tell you about Bec.

Like it? Share it!

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 could so many things without anyone else’s permission.

Knock down walls, paint, hang pictures, change stuff around, install things, remove things- whatever the hell I want!

via GIPHY

But home ownership is a funny thing and you learn a bit about yourself along the way.

Like it? Share it!

Talya Goding

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 other young people going through similar struggles.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Feeling Ostomistic (@feelingostomistic) on Mar 10, 2019 at 3:43am PDT

The sweet, kind, generous, hilarious friend that would make it her business to tell me about crazy vagina products or hit me up with blogger goss. And yesterday morning, I learned that she had passed away in her sleep.

Like it? Share it!