y aunty once told me about her old boss and the unusual gift registry she had on her 50th birthday. She asked each of her friends to give her what they were currently into for a birthday present. For example a book they’d recently read, a TV series they were addicted to, a CD of their favourite songs, a voucher to a great new restaurant they’d discovered. It was such a great way to get to know her friends again and to discover new things she wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
It inspired me to start a new segment of reader recommendations. I often run surveys to get more information on the Smagglets, like how old you are or if you have kids or not, but this time I want to know what your obsessions are. So each month, I’m going to ask you for your top 3 recommendations from that month. It can be anything; a vegetable that’s been a staple in your weeknight dinners, a new workout that you’re loving or a fabulous app that’s changed your life. I’d love to hear about it!
Here are my top picks for May:
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1. Maybelline Baby Lips in Berry Crush
I grabbed one of these while doing my grocery shopping about a month ago for no real reason other than I forgot my lip gloss . I know it may appear to be just another slightly fancy Chap Stick/Lip Smacker variation but I’m completely addicted. I just bought my second one yesterday after ploughing through the first one in just a few weeks. It smells delicious, is ACTUALLY soothing for your lips and gives that perfect pouty just-spent-four-hours-pashing-the-pants-off-my-lover look. I’ve tried some of the other flavours and they just aren’t as magical as Berry Crush. It cost me about $4 so I highly recommend that you sneakily pop one in the trolley the next time you’re at the supermarket. A girl never can have too much lip gloss.
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2. Wireless Sports Headphones
Mr Smaggle and I have very different schedules which means that he’s often up late at night while I’m trying to sleep and I’m up at the crack of dawn trying to start my day while he’s getting his beauty rest. I like to listen to the news or music while I get ready in the morning, not to mention watching Dr Who while I’m running on the treadmill and no one wants to be woken by a screeching Dalek at 6am. We decided to invest in some wireless bluetooth sports headphones, so I can wear them around the house while I’m doing my make-up and packing my lunch without disturbing Mr Smaggle with my early morning musical theatre playlist. We did heaps of research because some brands have bad feedback or don’t sync properly and managed to grab the Avantree Jogger Pro from Amazon for around $50. The JayBird BlueBuds are also meant to be great but a bit more pricey. These are a game changer for people work on different time schedules.
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3. The Comeback
Do you remember when Friends ended and they did the spin off show Joey and it was terrible? Well this is a mockumentary style show called The Comeback about a TV star called Valerie Cherish who was a huge hit in the 80s. It’s basically a show about a reality show about a washed up TV star making a come back… on a different show. There’s lots of layers here but it makes more sense if you just watch it. Lisa Kudrow’s performance is amazing. It’s the perfect mix of cringe-inducing, endearing, hilarious and heartbreaking. As a massive Friends fan I have an odd sense of pride after watching this. Kudrow proves she is so much more than the dippy one trick pony everyone thought she was in the 90s. Oh also if you’re interested in more ex-Friends star, piss take, spin-off type shows Episodes is fantastic. It stars Matt Le Blanc playing Matt Le Blanc with plenty of references to how utterly shite Joey was. Brilliant stuff, both of them.
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Melbourne Bonus
The sushi counter at Woolworths on Smith Street
This sounds like a weird one but I freaking love that I can have fresh sushi any time I like and it’s just a 5 minute walk away. A few months ago my local Woolies built a sushi counter and they have people who make sushi fresh onsite everyday. They have this amazing cooked tuna roll with crunchy bits on it that’s to die for and they sell packs of inari (sweet tofu wrapped rice) which I adore. It’s slightly cheaper than regular sushi and I can quickly grab it with my groceries if I’m feeling a bit too lazy to cook.
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Tell me… what are your top 3 recommendations from May? A product? A restaurant? A television show? What made May rock for you?
I know it’s already June but I was a touch late on May and I didn’t want to miss out on everyone’s May recommendations.