Seize the Yay

Welcome to our first FOUR WAY EPISODE on the show! At this point, my memory is so bad that it’s entirely possible we’ve done one before, so ignore me if I’m incorrect – I actually love it when you guys remember things better than I do!Anyway, I am so excited about our guests today – I was lucky enough to jump on their brand-new podcast recently and enjoyed it so much I had to turn the tables a week later. Of course, I’m talking about Tass aka Natassia - the founder of trailblazing beauty brand Conserving Beauty - and Sage, her Community and Partnerships Manager as well as right-hand woman. And since I was originally introduced to Tass by Ang, I thought she could join for the party and it was SO much fun.You’ll hear all about the pathYAYs that led the girls both together and into Conserving Beauty in the episode, but just in case you need an introduction to the brand, it’s the game changing water(less) beauty brand that I’ve been shouting about on socials for a while now. The one with the zero-waste make up wipes that not only so effectively remove make up from the face but also DISSOLVE COMPLETELY IN WATER with patented Insta Melt fabric technology leaving no waste or micro plastics behind? Yeah, that one.That’s just a taste of the incredible ways Conserving Beauty is focusing on their water, carbon and waste footprints with clear traceability through the supply chain without compromising on high quality products. And of course we all want to know how you actually bring an idea like that to life, let alone straight into the coveted shelves of Mecca before they’d even lauched… so listen in to find out!! I hope you enjoy as much as I did.FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CONSERVING BEAUTY+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back lovely yayborhood and happy International Women’s Day! I couldn’t think of a better guest to celebrate all that is wonderful and womanly than the incredible Sophie Walker from Australian Birth Stories. I suspect that many of you listeners are also among the literal millions in the Australian Birth Stories community but, in case you aren’t just yet, it is one of Australia’s most successful shows sharing honest stories of women navigating the journey to motherhood – a space where conversations, education and a safe place to share had long been missing.I always find it so alarming how little women often understand about their bodies and Sophie herself was originally inspired to create her community by her second birth experience during which she felt unable to make informed decisions and left with significant physical and emotional trauma. She has since shared over 350 diverse stories of pregnancy, birth and postpartum covering every scenario you could think of helping so many people feel more informed and empowered to have a positive birth experience.Once you dive into the wide world of childbirth, there is SO much to uncover and learn but of course there are 350 episodes and counting that you can tune into for those juicy details as well as Sophie’s brand new BOOK – the Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth – which you’ll also hear about in this episode. Here, I wanted to find out who Sophie is and what led her from a Masters in Public Health with no background in media to one of Australia’s most successful podcasts. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!GET SOPHIE'S BOOK HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back lovely people, what a week it’s been for the yayborhood!!! Nic aka Mr YAYvidson’s return to the show last week for a hilarious Valentine’s episode – thank you all so much for listening and for the cute littlee love notes… But even more excitingly, our first in real life event in over three years and it was EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN WE COULD HAVE IMAGINED. I won’t spend much time on it this week because we recorded some audio on the night and are putting it together for a proper debrief episode with Ang about the event next week, but I just wanted to quickly reiterate just how incredibly special it was and how grateful we are to everyone who came. There was so much laughter, beautiful tears, wonderful new friendships and memories for a lifetime. And we’re doing it all again this week in Sydney for another sold out event, which still blows my mind! So we’ll have the full reflection yays of our lives episode next week for you but for now we’ve got a fascinating guest who I can’t wait to share. I first heard of Ben Mcintosh when we joined my amazing management team at Day Management – should out to the Day family, we love you so much – and, along with nearly a million other people and counting, I very quickly wanted to know pretty much every detail about his life. He, like many others, has grown a loyal and engaged community and uses his platform to educate and positively impact others but unlike many others, it wasn’t born out of business, reality TV or nepotism – it’s through sharing his day-to-day life as a disability support worker. In very Seize the Yay fashion, Ben spent most of his life unsure of what he wanted to do dabbling in AFL and even going to college in the US for American Football but not really knowing what his passion was. Turns out, he had been building the perfect skills for a career in disability support work as a big brother to Grace, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Today you’ll hear the story of how he stumbled into doing it for work and found that feeling of purpose we always talk about when you forget what time it is or don’t feel like what you’re doing is a job. His content is so endearing, empowering and educational helping demystify so much about disability – I mean I’m really only friends with him for Grace, but let’s not tell him that. I found this one so fascinating and different, and hope you guys enjoy it too! I think it night have been his very first if not second podcast ever so make sure to tag him and share to encourage him to do it more!!!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Due to popular demand, Nic aka Mr YAYvidson is back on the show for a special Valentines Day anonymous Q&A. Hosted, of course, by Ang, this was an absolute CRACKER! Hope you enjoy as much has we did!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello lovely yayborhood and welcome to our second guest episode of the year. Continuing on our musical theme to kick off 2023, we’re chasing our classical singer, Josh Piterman, with a classical pianist, Van-Anh Nguyen, and one of the country’s very best at that!You might remember a few weeks ago, Ang and I were lucky enough to attend a Candlelight Concert where we cried our way through an hour of Van-Anh’s spine tingling renditions of Disney’s best and brightest accompanied by cellist, Aly Partridge. Well earlier that day, we actually recorded an episode too on how one actually goes from a musical childhood (which is not especially uncommon) to an internationally successful career, a deal with Universal Music, 11 albums, ARIA nominations and a dream life between LA and Australia (which is definitely less common!)You’ll hear quickly how much I loved getting into the nitty gritty details of life as a professional pianist – how do you train your fingers? Do you insure your hands? Can you play any song you hear? I could have sat with this incredible woman for hours and watched her play for many more. I’ll include some snippets of her playing on socials so you can experience her exceptional talent and unique ability to fuse Beethoven with Britney. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!>>>> Follow Van-Anh here!! <<<<<+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finally, our first #yaysofourlives episode for the year reflecting on last year, our hopes and dreams for this year and our usual crap in between!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back, lovely yayborhood! Oh my goodness me, it is not settling into my brain that it’s 2023.... let alone the end of January! We had the loveliest break, but we’re BACK IN A BIG WAY and have such an exciting year planned – our first IRL event is already booked in for the 16th Feb now that we have Ang back on board properly so stay tuned for more details.On that note, you’ll be getting a dose of #yaysofourlives every fortnight and in next week’s episode we’ll follow up on Ang’s HUGE revelations from her Q&A, our reflections on last year, hopes and dreams for this year – all that "new year, new me" jazz. But for now, we have our first guest episode for the year and as you’ll hear we are SO lucky to have access to this incredible voice as it’s a precious one!We are starting the year on a musical note, with the incredible Josh Piterman – musical theatre performer and classical crossover artist who also just happens to be – at this very moment - the actual Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. During my research, I read an older article where Josh was asked his biggest dream in the industry and it was to play the Phantom – nobody will be surprised that the way his pathYAY has developed makes me so very happy!But even more true to seize the yay form is that he didn’t even fancy himself a career in the arts until later than you’d expect, had a few diversions in his career along the way including opening a fitness studio and so much more before finding his ultimate yay (and if you’ve heard him sing, you’ll know he’s exactly where he’s meant to be). I found it so fascinating to hear all about what it actually takes to sing professionally, protect your voice, train for shows and all that jazz so I hope you enjoy as much as I do.>>>> Follow JOSH here!! <<<<<+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO 2023, LOVELY YAYBORHOOD!!For various reasons, we didn't release this straight after Ang's Anonymous Q&A Part I as originally mentioned - we wanted to release it when we were together (it will probably become clear why when you listen) and have only just reunited after our travels. So thank you, again, for your patience and I hope you had a beautiful break and holidays yourselves!This year, we are so excited to have Ang on board properly, so there's already SO much more in the works (in a much more organised and structured fashion). Cannot WAIT for everything we have in store for you - in the meantime, hope you enjoy!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re sick of the Antarctica content, this week we’re back to our regular programming with one of the loveliest, most well-adjusted and inspiring humans - you know those people you speak to and they just have SUCH a good head on their shoulders you want to be around them more? And I didn’t realise this until after we finished recording but we have the SAME BIRTHDAY just a year apart, so it was always going to be love at first chat for me especially having followed her from afar for so many years.I’m talking of course about Alyssa Healy, a superstar Australian cricketer who joined us from Mumbai in India where she is currently CAPTAINING the Australian women’s T20 team. The things she has achieved in her career to date are far too many to list here but right back from the early days when she was the first girl to play among boys in the private schools' competition, Alyssa has continued to change cricket both women’s and men’s since then. Just one of many records she has set, in April this year she nabbed the highest-ever score in a World Cup final, usurping Adam Gilchrist's previous record of 149 runs in 2007 and Ricky Ponting’s of 140 in 2003. But the most amazing part about Alyssa is how humble she is about these achievements and her impact on the sport, her reluctance to even compare men’s and women’s performances and the perspective she has on life (and yay) beyond cricket itself. I’ll let you hear the rest from Alyssa herself, but even if you have no interest in cricket, I think you’ll love her as much as I do! Ladies and gentleman, Alyssa Healy!!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dear Diary recap of Antarctica with Ang... Next up is Ang's Anonymous Q&A so don't forget to send us your questions!!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beautiful people, I am finally back from the great white continent and am genuinely speechless. The yay involved with every moment in Antarctica was absolutely indescribable!!! Although, as per usual, when I say “there are no words” I follow with a million words so you’ll be getting bombarded with reflections and feelings in due course - I’m sitting down with Ang this week to unload and that will be coming your way very soon. Thank you so much for your patience by the way during the repeated breaks we’ve had this year to allow for travel and chaos and the general rollercoaster now turned polar-coaster of this year! To keep you going in the meantime, I was so lucky to interview many of the incredible Intrepid crew and passengers on the Ocean Endeavour during our travels and will compile all the audio eventually - there were so many fascinating pathways that expanded my mind over and over. But I recorded one very special full episode with someone whose story made me tear up and whose passion project I am desperate to share as far and wide as possible. I gravitated towards Martin Cohen immediately because, if anyone on board qualified as the team penguinologist, it’s him (although his expertise is much broader as an overall wildlife biologist - and yes, he’s had drinks with one David Attenborough in his time). But as time went on, I also heard the most heartwarming and heart wrenching story behind the scenes and I hope you are as moved as I was. I won’t give you any hints as it’s so much more beautiful told by Martin himself, but I WILL include links below so you can support the beautiful project he’s embarked on that you’ll hear all about. I’m sure many of you will be as passionate as I have become about helping him spread the word and hope the yayborhood can get behind him. Excuse the background noise the ship was pretty loud but it gives you a taste of the adventure.. Ladies and gentleman, Martin Cohen…. GET YOUR COPY OF PADDY O MELON HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't forget, bad sleep is such a nay to yay but Emma Sleep has given the AU and NZ yayborhood up to 60% OFF their world-class mattress engineering and award-winning affordable comfort!!!Just use SEIZETHEYAY below:SHOP EMMA SLEEP HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a pretty busy time lately, but in the days I was in Melbourne, I was so lucky to catch the legendary Rob Mills to record an episode in celebration of his brand new book, Putting on a Show!!! I only got my advance copy 24 hours beforehand and thought I’d give it a quick once over to prepare then go back to read it in more detail afterwards, but I could. not. put. it. down!!!It’s such a fabulous (and much needed) exploration of the average Aussie bloke, our shifting and sometimes distorted perceptions of masculinity with Rob’s beautiful knack for storytelling and personal anecdotes weaved throughout. There’s a reason this man has been so successful in showbiz – he is warm, witty, vulnerable, honest, and open minded all of which comes through in the book.I’ll let him tell you more about it himself, but we also get to cover the parts of his pathYAY that you might not have heard as much about between the Australian Idol and Paris Hilton related headlines. You know I love getting into all the chapters we know much less about, and Rob was very obliging and a joy to listen to. I also definitely did that thing where I want to cover SO MUCH all at once – perhaps I shouldn't have read the book in quite so much detail beforehand – so, I probably jump about a bit crazily but hopefully you enjoy nonetheless. CW: Just a quick content warning we do touch on mental health and suicide briefly so listener discretion is advised.BUY THE BOOK - PUTTING ON A SHOW + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, I am SO excited about today’s episode. You’ve probably heard me say before that one of the coolest parts of having a podcast is having audio evidence of how you felt at a particular point in your life to look back on, but being able to do that with our guests as well when they return for a reunion is even more special.Today, after nearly FOUR YEARS since we first recorded, the incredible Laura Henshaw and Steph Smith jumped on again to celebrate the second round of their Keep It Cleaner Tour (which I’m so thrilled to be MCing again). When we first recorded in December 2018, Keep It Cleaner had just started, so catching up on how far the girls and both of our communities have come was the greatest!I got to meet some of you at the first stop in Adelaide last weekend and I can’t say how much it meant to be hugging in person again and hopefully there’ll be some more of you in Auckland then Perth. Also I'm so sorry to anyone here who hasn’t been able to listen on Apple Podcasts for the past two or so episodes - we’re working through that glitch and hopefully it’ll be fixed shortly. I hope your October is off to a wonderful start, and that this helps you KIC off with a solid dose of yay! Welcome back to the show, Steph and Laura… GET TICKETS TO KICTOUR + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood we’re back into our regular recording schedule and I’m SO pumped to have an epic guest for our first episode back. I had the privilege of sitting down with D'Leanne Lewis, a real estate mogul and star of Luxe Listings Sydney – many of you have probably already binged the first two seasons showing the ins and outs of one of the most cutthroat real estate markets in the world (and some seriously insane properties) and Season 3 is NOW available on Prime Video from today September 30.D'Leanne is a powerhouse in so many ways – not only is she widely considered one of Australia’s leading real estate agents with 30 years of experience under her belt, she was also a single working mother of two at the time of recording and in the week since then has become a mother of THREE at 50 years old!!! But in what you know is my favourite kind of pathyay, she never expected to become a celebrity real estate agent or TV show star… In fact, she spent her earlier years in Johannesburg before moving to Blacktown Sydney and had never heard of Double Bay until she applied for a PA job she saw in the newspaper with Laing + Simmons as a 20 year old. Now, she is a part owner and on the board of Laing + Simmons and absolutely tearing it up on our screens… I’ll let her tell you the rest but what an incredible pathYAY from Blacktown to Bondi and beyond!!! Don’t forget to tune into the show from today on Prime Video!WATCH LUXE LISTINGS SEASON 3 HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LISTEN TO FEASTPOD HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to September lovely yayborhood you made it through winter I hope you’re excited to come out of hiberyaytion! And I can’t think of a better story to help you spring into spring than this one. Today’s guest epitomises the idea of seizing your yay having walked away from a booming career not only to take a new direction but to LITERALLY QUIT HER JOB ALTOGETHER, BUY A BOAT, LEARN TO SAIL IT AND THEN TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD ON IT!!! Yep, Kristina Costalos and her pilot partner, John Tilley, packed up their lives in 2021 after Melbourne’s third lockdown, used their savings to buy a yacht, learnt to sail it with no prior experience and took the actual plunge. You might recognise Kristina from her extensive career as a news reporter covering some incredible stories across states and networks, but may not have realised the extent of her sea change! You know I’m a HUGE fan of people trying out things they’ve never before and making big, scary leaps in their life so I ADORED picking Kristina’s brains about this epic journey. Perhaps your new season might not bring about a change this big but hopefully it sparks something within you to go after that thing you’ve been dreaming about! I hope you enjoy as much as I did!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am so excited about today’s episode, it’s a very special one on adoption following our anonymous Q&A. Some of you may remember I was at an event recently and was partnered with a legend named Matt Purcell from Sydney who I’d never met before and somehow we figured out we were not only both adopted and both from South Korea… but from the SAME orphanage around the very same time!I often talk about my adoption but rarely with someone with the same unique cultural story and this was so special to realise things about how I felt that I didn’t even know myself. And to hear Matt’s perspective now that he has his own biological children blew my mind! He’s also got an amazing business and career pathYAY as well which you’ll hear all about but I’ll let you all hear it from the man himself. I hope you enjoy listening and that we answered all your questions from the anonymous Q&A but feel free to submit any more that you have. Introducing, Matt Purcell… FOLLOW MATT HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!WATCH THIRTEEN LIVES ON PRIME VIDEOSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, I hope you’re surviving the final weeks of Winter - I can’t believe how fast the year is going, but I’m so excited we’re inching closer to Spring! Thank you for all the lovely feedback on the past few weeks of episodes and the anonymous Q&A – I’m so glad last week’s fertility and IVF episode helped some of you, wasn’t Erin just an amazing woman?The adoption episode is coming to you next week, but speaking of incredible women, I’ve squeezed another amazing story in between this week. I heard about today’s guest through her brother who happens to be our editor here at Seize the Yay – HUGE shout out to Sam Blacker at the Podcast Butler if anyone needs anything audio related – he is literally a LIFE SAVER and one of my favourite people, so it's no surprise that his sister Aimee is just as much of a legend. Aimee Blacker started out as a paediatric occupational therapist even after not actually knowing what occupational therapy was until she finished high school. She’s one of those amazing examples of not really knowing where you want to end up meaning you’re open-minded enough to stumble upon where you were supposed to end up all along. She is the Co-founder and Director of Surfing the Spectrum, a not-for-profit Surf Therapy initiative working to positively impact the lives of families, and their children with Autism. In anticipation of their next fundraiser this Saturday 20th August, I just had to scream from the rooftops about the transformative work she and her team are doing so I hope you are as inspired and moved as I am.Raffle Tickets: https://surfingthespectrum.rallyup.com/surfnturfraffle Donate/buy event tickets: https://surf-n-turf.raisely.com/ The website: www.surfingthespectrum.org + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!WATCH THIRTEEN LIVES ON PRIME VIDEOSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, today’s guest is special for so many different reasons not least because we were born just three days apart and have so much in common. You’ll hear me say I think we’d be dear friends if we lived in the same city, and I’ve admired this amazing woman for many years from afar.Like many of our guests, you may have first heard about Erin Holland as Miss World Australia 2013 but there is so much more depth and detail to her pathYAY that somehow flies under the radar. For example, she not only has an incredible voice she’s actually a classically trained soprano singer, graduated with a Bachelor of Classical Voice from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music is also qualified in clarinet, music theory, jazz, tap and initially dreamt of being on Broadway.Also like many guests, she hasn’t ended up exactly where she expected but is seizing all her yay in presenting, TV, ambassadorships and the coolest role ever with the Pakistan Super League – her experience working in such a different culture deserves a WHOLE separate episode (which I actually think we’ll do next time she’s over there). But, as promised in the anonymous Q&A episode, it’s her journey with fertility and IVF that we’re here for today.This is one of the only podcasts Erin has done on the topic since first opening up earlier in the year about her challenges with conceiving and the IVF process and I am so honoured she shares so openly and honestly about what it’s involved physically, mentally and emotionally. I’ll let you hear the rest from her, but I hope you learn as much as I did.FOLLOW ERIN HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!WATCH THIRTEEN LIVES ON PRIME VIDEOSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m so excited to introduce you to Anna Podolsky for so many reasons – the parallels in parts of our stories, her amazing business because the products are actually incredible but also because her work involves floofy puppies and that’s just the biggest yay of all. After immigrating from the Ukraine, Anna has been a successful professional gymnast, an international management consultant with the prestigious Bain & Co around the world and now founder of a booming pet food start up, Lyka Petfood, changing puppers’ lives from the inside out.She has some fascinating insights about the influence of immigrant parents on choosing your pathway, living and working overseas and a shared passion for languages, and starting a business when you stumble upon a gap in the market then grow to an empire of over 100 staff and counting. She is humble, intelligent and so interesting and I hope you enjoy as much as I did.Anna has also generously given the yayborhood 20% off your first Lyka box if you’re keen to try it out which Paul highly recommends!!! Click below!VISIT LYKA'S WEBSITE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you for your patience, yayborhood!! We're finally BACK after an unexpected break. I was so anal about having enough episodes pre-recorded to avoid any down time on the show while we were on the honeymoon but then ended up losing my voice as soon as we got back! It lingered much longer than I would have liked, so had to take a break anyway - really appreciate you waiting so patiently!We had originally planned for this #yaysofourlives episode to cover the post-honeymoon reflections and some new yayborhood watch items, but I randomly did a little anonymous Q&A on socials over the weekend (you may have seen this new thing going around) and ended up with a lot of overspill. I count myself very lucky that you all ask such genuinely curious, kind and respectful questions (thank you all for being so lovely) and ended up with more than I could answer adequately on Insta, so I thought we'd finish those off in an episode then do an Egypt debrief next time.In true Sarah style, I didn't even finish those off but got through 4/6 broader topics and this was one of my favourite "reflection episodes" to date - the questions were so thought provoking. I was going to just monologue, but Ang makes everything so much more fun and she brought much more depth to the responses adding her own insights as well.I've listed the questions and grouped double ups IN THIS POST (it was too long to write here) that we did get to in this particular episode in order below, so you can skip ahead to yours if you want to (there are a few I've answered before but still get asked, so if you've heard it before just skip past). I'll also list the ones we'll cover next week and hopefully you find some interesting nuggets in there too.Again, so grateful for the beautiful yayborhood you've all grown into - you are such a joy to create this show for and give me so many opportunities for growth and introspection. Hope you're all having a wonderful week and are seizing your yay!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few things feel as special as absolutely frothing one of our guests and everything they do, then hearing that they’ve been listening to the podcast themselves for years. And I feel even more privileged to have today’s guest on the show because she doesn’t do these very often (and in fact didn’t even reveal herself as the founder of her business until 8 months after its explosive launch onto the scene!)That’s just one of the many examples of Samantha Brett blazing her own trail – I found this chat such an invigorating reminder that someone out there is always looking for exactly what you have to offer even if it doesn’t already exist or nobody else is doing it. And it turns out ALL of us were looking for and NEEDING exactly what she has to offer with her award-winning, world-leading Naked Sundays SPF skincare.If you’re in the demographic of this podcast you’ve probably already heard if Naked Sundays but if not – it’ll change your life (or at the very least your skin). In a country where melanoma rates are among the highest in the world, Samantha has changed the way the most at-risk but most reluctant demographic relates to SPF creating WORLD first, high performance, multi-purpose, chemist-formulated products.She explains them best herself, but imagine sunscreen without the whiteness, stickiness and clogging of the skin and I can’t not mention the hydrating glow mist that allows you to reapply ON TOP of your make up INVISIBLY while setting not interrupting it!!!! AND this has all happened only recently with an ENTIRE career in news reporting and column writing beforehand – talk about a pathYAY! I’ll stop before I gush too much, but I hope you are as blown away by this one as I am.CHECK OUT NAKED SUNDAYS HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I doubt there are many of you listening who haven’t drooled once or twice over Chris Hemsworth’s body before... I mean, you’re only human right? WELL, you may NOT have realised you were actually drooling over our GUEST for this week – yep, I’m thrilled to have Chris’ legendary body double and professional stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton on the show this week.Bobby has worked on many major Hollywood blockbuster films including Thor, The Avengers, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Mission Impossible, Star Wars, as well as hit TV show, Game of Thrones earning him a host of awards including 8 SAG AWARDS and 2 EMMYS. You know I love having all sorts of pathways on the show and we all see stunt doubles ALL the time but I’ve never really thought about how you actually become one, so this one was a BLAST!It kind of makes sense that Bobby’s beginnings were in gymnastics starting as young as four building up to becoming a Gold Medalist for Great Britain and competing all around the world – a career interesting and multi-faceted in itself that you’ll hear about. PLUS Bobby isn’t just a pretty face slash body, he’s also just THIS WEEK releasing his first children’s picture book - The Adventures of Eddie and Flip Boy. He’ll tell you more about it himself, so introducing…. Bobby Holland Hanton!GET THE ADVENTURES OF EDDIE AND FLIP BOY HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is Men’s Health Week from the 13th to the 19th June and every year we dedicate a specific episode to the conversation. Like most international or national awareness weeks, the health and wellness of men and boys and their specific needs are important every week and not just right now, but it always helps to have gentle reminders, especially for topics that can carry by stigma, tradition or shame.We’ve had some amazing conversations with fabulous guests about the changing social conceptions of masculinity, the biggest challenges for men’s mental health and how we can better support our boys earlier on in life. And I can’t think of anyone better to continue those chats this year than clinical psychologist, leading men’s mental health researcher AND Director of Mental Health Training at Movember, Dr Zac Seidler.Zac is the ultimate advocate for better understanding men’s mental health and masculinity dedicating his career to helping reduce the staggering rate of male suicide worldwide. I loved hearing how he approaches this passion from all directions continuing to see patients one on one, research academically AND work at an executive level at Movember.He’s got a million things going on so I feel very lucky he has shared his wisdom and passion with the yayborhood. Content warning - We do discuss mental health and suicide in some depth, so please do take care and I’ve listed some resources below – please never hesitate to reach out for help.PLEASE REACH OUT IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING:Lifeline 13 11 14Beyondblue+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our final guest for the Finders SEEKers miniseries is none other than SEEK’s very own Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand – Kendra Banks. And we are SO lucky to benefit not only from her insider tips on taking advantage of the Great Job Boom, but also her personal wisdom on pivoting gleaned through an incredibly diverse and exciting career. With a BA from Yale in Economics and Maths followed by a Masters in Euro Politics, Kendra – like many of us – has ended up in places she never expected spanning industries, roles and even continents across the US, UK, Denmark and Australia. She is the perfect example of how rewarding the INTRAPreneurial pathyay can be working with huge companies from McKinsey to Oxfam and Tesco to moving down under for Coles before her current role with SEEK. Like all our guests for Finders SEEKers, I feel very lucky to give the yayborhood access to such incredible tips on taking advantage of the Great Job Boom and hope it’s sparked something for some of you along the way. We’d love to follow laong if any of you do take the leap this year so please keep the messages coming! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, I hope your June is going well so far. In case you need it, a little reminder of last week’s quote of the yay – if you aren’t where you thought you’d be as we approach the middle of the year (which as always, has crept up outrageously quickly), it is impossible to fall behind in your own life as your pathway is on its own timetable. From my conversations over the past few weeks, a lot of us are still feeling a bit of an emotional hangover from the past few years but are quite hard on ourselves about letting it show now that there’s a bit more normality in life. If that’s you, stop that right now – you’ve been through a lot and it takes time to restore your sense of balance…Speaking of balance, today’s episode is a bit of a hybrid between #yaysofourlives and a regular interview - it started as one to spread awareness of an important yayborhood movement but then morphed into the other because our guest’s pathyay is interesting in itself. It’s a little heavier than our normal episodes so just a little content warning – we do discuss domestic violence and other content that may be triggering or disturbing so please take care and there’s a list of resources below.It's structured a little differently because there was so much to cover and I thought I’d play around a bit to make sure we highlighted the most important stuff. As you know, we are all about lightness and finding joy but also feel it’s important to acknowledge the facets of life that might obstruct your ability to do so, so that nobody feels alone or so that a resource might reach one person who needs it who might not otherwise have had that information.To that end, I am honoured to introduce you to our guest for today – the National Director of White Ribbon Australia, Allan Ball. You know I love to follow people’s pathyays, and Alan has certainly had an interesting one. We talk all things White Ribbon, as well as his journey from early beginnings as a school counsellor to working across rural communities, the NDIS, LGBTQIA+ organisations and youths struggling with drug abuse. So, there’s a little bit of lots of things, but a lot of very important things too.MORE INFO ON THE WHITE RIBBON TAX APPEAL HERESome resources should you need them: If you are in immediate danger - please call 000 for Police and Ambulance help. 1800RESPECT - 1800 737 732 - This is a 24-hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Lifeline - 13 11 14 - Anyone across Australia experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide can call 13 11 14, or text 0477 13 11 14 at night (6pm-midnight AEDT). Someone will help put you in contact with a crisis service in your state or territory. Kids Help Line - 1800 551 800 - Free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25 in Australia. Men's Referral Service - 1300 766 491 - This service from No to Violence offers assistance, information and counselling to help men who use family violence. + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, I am so excited about today’s guest – if you follow me, you’ll already know how much I admire her talents and if you follow her those talents will need absolutely no introduction. On the off chance you don’t, however, you’ve still probably seen her work without realising it draped on some of the nation’s biggest names (although, to be fair, she is in her own right one of the nation’s biggest names and an absolute icon of style).Even if you do already know of Effie Kats, I’m honoured to share a bit more about the wonderful woman behind the immaculately polished exterior – although you’d never expect it, we have bonded many a time over the crushing weight of impostor syndrome, perceived failure and burn out. And yet, she is one of the most successful, hard-working, trail blazing women in the business shaping our perception of style with her eponymous made to measure label, Effie Kats, and its ready to wear sister, Bayse Brand.I LOVE that Effie learnt the trade in her family's workroom, alongside her father and grandmother who have over 40 years experience in the industry which you will hear all about in the episode. You may also know Effie from her first business, Zachary Label, which she launched at just 23 and which has a story of its own with so many themes we love to talk about on the show. I love knowing this woman and hope you enjoy getting to know her a bit better too! And if you don’t have Effie Kats or Bayse Brand in your wardrobe get on that stat!!!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, welcome to June!!! And welcome back to #yaysofourlives after a few weeks of Ang and I taking turns cancelling because of what we like to call "PLEH" (as well as some pretty jam packed schedules). You'll hear all about what "PLEH" means and why it's become such a crucial part of our friendship in the episode (and hopefully it helps you in some way too as I suspect we're not the only ones feeling it right now). And if you are, you couldn't get a more perfect #quoteoftheyay than this - "it is impossible to fall behind in your own life because your pathway is on its own timetable".I saw this one the other day when I was in the middle of beating myself up for how randomly we've been serving up the yays lately - very unstructured in order and frequency - but realised I can't actually be falling behind because the only person imposing deadlines or expectations on the schedule is me. Especially given the middle of the year has crept up so quickly, I thought some of you might also be thinking critical thoughts about where you thought you'd be by now and need the reminder that where you are is just perfect. As per usual, there's also a lot of crackpot nonsense in between but it seems you guys quite enjoy that! Don't miss the Easter egg either and shoot us your DMs when you hear it. Hope you're all seizing your yay x+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm so excited to present our next miniseries in partnership with SEEK. It has brought so much yay to mix up the format and zoom in on particular facets of seizing your yay, so allow me to introduce Finders, SEEKers.You've all heard me rave on and on about how life unravels in many different chapters and how the most uncomfortable, scary changes in our lives are usually the most transformative and exciting. One of the many silver linings of an otherwise undesirable few years is the opportunity to clear the slate of habit and obligation to actively SEEK those changes you've always dreamed of.And there truly is NO better time than now with more jobs around than ever before but less applications per job ad driven by a shortage of candidates. The Great Job Boom is upon us and yet 45% of Aussies are worried their skills and resume won't stack up against other Aussies...So in Finders, SEEKers, we have a host of amazing guests from coaches to intrapreneurs to help kick those nays to the curb and turn them into yays by making your next move.Our third guest for the miniseries is someone I hadn’t met before the show but who I’m incredibly grateful to have connected with. You’ll hear pretty quickly in the episode how much her unique way of articulating human behaviours around challenge and change blew me away and I can see why she is so good at unlocking the greatest potential and power in others.Brooke Taylor is a highly sought-after career coach helping over 3000 women globally to heal what she calls their Success Wound and find their greater purpose, so we are very lucky to have her here giving you basically a one-on-one session in your ears. She also brings to her work the depth of her own INTRApreneurial experience at Google where she had a hugely successfully career winning the Google Global Sales Award – I’ve always wanted to have a google employee on the show – and now she’s come the full circle including Google as a client along with the likes of Uber, Amazon, McKinsey and other industry leaders.For anyone interested in Brooke’s coaching, you can apply for an intro call at www.brooketaylorcoaching.com/contact Follow Brooke on insta at @brookevtaylorThe number one question Brooke gets asked by women she coaches is how to get "un-stuck" in their careers, meaning how to create clarity on what their next big move is. She's generously created a free worksheet to help conscious female leaders get instant career clarity and take action towards a new vision in their career and life. Find it at www.brooketaylorcoaching.com/unstuck+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm so excited to present our next miniseries in partnership with SEEK. It has brought so much yay to mix up the format and zoom in on particular facets of seizing your yay, so allow me to introduce Finders, SEEKers.You've all heard me rave on and on about how life unravels in many different chapters and how the most uncomfortable, scary changes in our lives are usually the most transformative and exciting. One of the many silver linings of an otherwise undesirable few years is the opportunity to clear the slate of habit and obligation to actively SEEK those changes you've always dreamed of.And there truly is NO better time than now with more jobs around than ever before but less applications per job ad driven by a shortage of candidates. The Great Job Boom is upon us and yet 45% of Aussies are worried their skills and resume won't stack up against other Aussies...So in Finders, SEEKers, we have a host of amazing guests from coaches to intrapreneurs to help kick those nays to the curb and turn them into yays by making your next move.I could not be more excited about today’s guest as she is not only one of my dearest friends but also the PERFECT example of an intrapreneur who has repeatedly embraced the beauty of change. She is also the EXQUISITE bride from this past weekend (if any of you were watching on socials) who you may have caught smashing plates in true Greek style – she is nothing if not extra and I love her to bits for it.Ekaterini (Kat) Karabatos and I met at our selective entry high school, MacRob, and shared the hilarious dichotomy between our very nerdy academic selves and station hanging wild child tendencies. She also went on to do Law/Arts at Monash but unlike me stayed within the law to pave an incredibly success career but not without its own pivots.She is a BRILLIANT employment lawyer who has worked her way through several HUGE jumps between corporate and in-house, Sydney and Melbourne, and is literally on the cusp of another big change so couldn’t be more perfect for fellow SEEKers of change to hear right now. She brings SO much yay to my life so I hope you love her as much as I do.+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm so excited to present our next miniseries in partnership with SEEK. It has brought so much yay to mix up the format and zoom in on particular facets of seizing your yay, so allow me to introduce Finders, SEEKers.You've all heard me rave on and on about how life unravels in many different chapters and how the most uncomfortable, scary changes in our lives are usually the most transformative and exciting. One of the many silver linings of an otherwise undesirable few years is the opportunity to clear the slate of habit and obligation to actively SEEK those changes you've always dreamed of.And there truly is NO better time than now with more jobs around than ever before but less applications per job ad driven by a shortage of candidates. The Great Job Boom is upon us and yet 45% of Aussies are worried their skills and resume won't stack up against other Aussies...So in Finders, SEEKers, we have a host of amazing guests from coaches to intrapreneurs to help kick those nays to the curb and turn them into yays by making your next move. I'm thrilled to welcome our very first guest, Kemi Nekvapil, who returns to the show for the second time and how lucky we are to have her again...Go back to episode 50 to hear her full back story, but to recap, Kemi embodies the idea of the non-linear pathway spending her childhood with five different foster families with as many different careers covering stage and TV acting, professional baking and yoga teaching. All before finding her calling as a speaker, coach and author of two brilliant books – The Gift of Asking and, published only recently, Power.Consider yourselves lucky yayborhood to have an hour of Kemi’s time, her coaching is highly sought after and if you’ve ever been considering making a change towards seizing your yay, she’s the woman you need to hear from...FOLLOW KEMI HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Continued from part 1...Thank you so much to everyone who submitted questions for the annual birthday Q&A episode and then waited patiently for basically a MONTH while it kept getting pushed back. The spicy cough turned into a very rude and longer-lasting cold that wreaked absolute havoc on my voice box meaning we had to postpone about ten times before finally sitting down to record.If Ang and I are a little hectic when we record virtually, the Galentines Day episode proved that we're pure chaos when we record in person and this episode was no exception. We did this on a particularly delirious weekend after weeks without seeing each other, so you're literally sitting in on us catching up on everything that happened since the last dose of #yaysofourlives.True to form, we rambled on for about an hour and a half (I don't even remember what about) so I split this into a two-parter for something a little different this week. It also happened to be a very ideas-heavy catch up where we float some SUPER exciting ideas for the yayborhood over the coming months and we NEED YOUR FEEDBACK.You'll understand when you hear it, but if you're interested in the P&P session or have a relevant bike story PLEASE send us a DM or email. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! Part two coming shortly...+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted questions for the annual birthday Q&A episode and then waited patiently for basically a MONTH while it kept getting pushed back. The spicy cough turned into a very rude and longer-lasting cold that wreaked absolute havoc on my voice box meaning we had to postpone about ten times before finally sitting down to record.If Ang and I are a little hectic when we record virtually, the Galentines Day episode proved that we're pure chaos when we record in person and this episode was no exception. We did this on a particularly delirious weekend after weeks without seeing each other, so you're literally sitting in on us catching up on everything that happened since the last dose of #yaysofourlives. True to form, we rambled on for about an hour and a half (I don't even remember what about) so I split this into a two-parter for something a little different this week. It also happened to be a very ideas-heavy catch up where we float some SUPER exciting ideas for the yayborhood over the coming months and we NEED YOUR FEEDBACK. You'll understand when you hear it, but if you're interested in the P&P session or have a relevant bike story PLEASE send us a DM or email. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! Part two coming shortly...+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hope you had an amazing Easter break and thank you to everyone who submitted questions for our very belated birthday Q&A. As you can hear, I recovered from the spicy cough but somehow caught a cold straight after and still sound like a man, so we delayed it AGAIN which means if you have any extra questions or good news stories for the episode shoot them over this week and we’ll eventually get around to recording it.In the meantime, I’ve got a ZINGER today for you that I recorded when I sounded much nicer from someone I’ve admired and learnt from for a while now and whose brain I feel very lucky to pick. Today’s guest is the perfect example of the many things at school that we often felt like we’d never find useful in real life, but who has proven that wrong bringing science to the wild world of beauty.You may know her as Lab Muffin but Michelle Wong is far from a lab rat bringing her credentials (ie a chemistry PhD) to explain what works and what doesn’t in the world of beauty and cosmetics. Think of all the intimidating ingredient names and jargon in the beauty world and Michelle has probably demystified all of them in an approachable, easy to understand way in one of her videos or posts gaining her a booming audience around the world.Michelle is also a fellow lover of Aussie success story, Bondi Sands, and we run through some of our favourite SCIENCE-BACKED goodies from the new Everyday Skincare range. I hope you learn as much as I did!FOLLOW MICHELLE HERETRY THE BONDI SANDS EVERYDAY SKINCARE RANGE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, the spicy cough finally caught up with me but thank goodness I squeezed this one in earlier so I could get it to you before Easter. Today’s guest epitomises everything that gets me excited about life and its many twists and turns plus she's even more special because she was nomi-yay-ted by someone in the yayborhood.So first off, very big thank you to the lovely Emily de Wiljes for listening to the show and for taking the time to submit this beautiful story. I probably wouldn’t have discovered our guest without you, so I LOVE encouraging you all to whistleblow in the best way possible so that we can shine a light on yayborhood heroes like today's.Introducing, Alison Gordon who has one of the coolest collection of careers I’ve encountered and is a wonderful reminder of the unexpected ways your dots can connect. From starting out in the Army to becoming an Antarctic and Arctic expedition leader, a surprise connection between Antarctica and maggots then led her into eco-friendly and sustainable dog food.Every moment of this conversation had me absolutely captivated - Alison is humble, funny and infinitely clever and it was a lovely change to know very little about her before our chat and get to learn everything for the first time along with you guys. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did...CHECK OUT FEED FOR THOUGHT HERE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a week late due to the spicy cough finally catching up with me, but here's the final instalment of Casta-yays for this Blood vs Water season with SOLE SURVIVOR, MARK WALES!!!!So bloody proud of this legendary human and what a joy to sit down and go through some of the behind the scenes reflections of his game with him. Thank you so much to those who submitted questions too, we got through a bunch of them and I wanted to ask a few of them myself. Such a full circle moment having only met Mark when he fell in love with my dear friend Sammy during their first season together, so to watch them play this round as a couple and shine so bright was EPIC! >>> Follow Mark here <<<See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a whirlwind few weeks it’s been – I can’t believe it’s already April and I don’t know about you guys but I’m counting down until the Easter break to catch up with myself again. It’s been SO delightful to work with real life people in the flesh and travel around again – of course I’ve gotten overexcited as usual and episodes have been dropping all over the shop between Survivor, #yaysofourlives and the regular schedule BUT I hope it's been keeping things fresh and you on your toes.I couldn’t be more excited to be back to our regular programming this week with a guest with whom many of us have fallen in love from afar. I didn’t intend it this way but it’s funny how things work out – we recorded this the day after his birthday and a few days before mine AND we’re releasing it now during World Autism Awareness Month kicking off with United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day just days ago on April 2.Yep, I’m SO thrilled to have Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum star, Michael Theo joining us this week. You might remember Ang and I recommended this brilliant show in a #yaysofourlives episode – it’s a wholesome and uplifting docuseries following seven young neurodiverse adults as they explore the wild world of dating.Michael in particular captured hearts all over the world with his passion for finding his person and constant zingers making his way even onto the Ellen Show and drawing guests on his own podcast Mr A+ like stars from his favourite TV show (and mine, Brooklyn 99). Having only been told about his autism diagnosis at 13 years old, Michael sees his neurodiversity as a gift not a burden and in listening today, I hope you see why…FOLLOW MICHAEL HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched right up until Monday 22nd March. SO thrilled to have my love Samantha Gash join us for a SUPER juicy chat about all things strategy, sacrifice and survival!FOLLOW SAMANTHA HERE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My goodness it's been a big few weeks and my brain is a little scattered trying to catch up (which you might hear in the episode - I fumbled my way through this one a bit). But we’re back with our regular programming and I’m delighted to have the beautiful Anna Robards here just days after the launch of her very first business.You might know Anna from Australia’s first ever season of The Bachelor which screened, get this – TEN YEARS AGO THIS YEAR – or SAS Australia which is screening right now. Having never had a proper boyfriend, Anna was originally signed up for Batchie by a friend but left with her now husband and baby daddy, Tim Robards, who was our FIFTH GUEST ever on the show and they’ve both come so far in the past decade.Anna is, however, so much more than a TV star starting out a successful criminal lawyer, a chapter of her career that she only just closed officially last year. Despite shooting to fame in the very early days of social media, you’ll hear what a strong and balanced head Anna has on her shoulders meaning much of her real life over the past decade has stayed private.You’ll get to know her a little better here and the pathyay that led her into launching INTU WELLNESS debuting with a Sleep & Skin Renewal – a new super powder and the perfect nightcap to target those over-stimulated multi-taskers who want to wake up reenergised and with hydrated, youthful-looking skin. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!FOLLOW ANNA HERECHECK OUT INTU WELLNESS HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We recorded this one a few weeks ago, then I didn't have signal in South Australia unexpectedly so I couldn't upload this episode until now. Neither of us really remember what we talked about (plus so much more has happened in the past two weeks), but hope it brings you some yay anyway!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you follow me on social media as well as listening along, you might have noticed one Steve Gela (aka Steve Gelagotis) popping up more and more recently. I literally met this beautiful human only a few weeks ago through our mutual friend Khanh – a now regular on the show - but he’s just one of those people whose warmth and genuineness wraps you up in a big hug of safety and calmness, so that you want to be around him as much as possible… WHICH makes him the EXACT person I’d want by my side in an emergency, so luckily for Melbourne at least, Steve’s pathyay led him into paramedicine and you all KNOW how long I’ve wanted to get a paramedic on the show. In fact, you might have even seen him already on Nine’s series Paramedics cruising around town just saving lives left right and centre and keeping cool as a cucumber in the process.As always, a dive into the chapters before paramedicine reveals Steve’s pathway started elsewhere reminding us that it sometimes takes a little while to find your jam. I also loved being able to explore the nuts and bolts of a job we all know of but often know little about in terms of the day to day. Steve is also a passionate dog mum, lover of the dancefloor which we’ve shared more than a few times already and my new BFF who I can’t rave about enough – I hope you love him as much as I do!FOLLOW STEVE HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched right up until Sunday 27th Feb when the two tribes finally merged. SO thrilled to have my love Khanh Ong join us for this episode, but also SO bummed that it's because his Blood vs Water journey has come to a blindsided end... DONATE TO KHANH'S RICE AND BEANS CHALLENGE FOR MINUS18YOUTHSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have been busting to share this week’s episode with you guys and if you’ve run into me at all since I met Gabe and Adam last December, I have probably already talked your ear off about them. I was lucky enough to meet this lovely couple during my very quick trip to LA as we were on the same shoot together and had a lovely whirlwind few days as a trio. You can probably tell that meeting new people and hearing all about their lives is one of my very favourite things and these two are so fascinating both separately and together, but our time as a trio was short. So, you and me both are hearing all the finer details for the first time and after this chat, I loved them even more.With Gabe being born without limbs and adopted from Sao Paolo Brazil to Utah and both Gabe and Adam growing up in the Mormon faith which came into conflict with their sexuality, these two bring such unique and interesting perspectives to this chat on finding yourself and your yay. Then the story of the finding each OTHER is a beautiful one, with their wedding taking place just before we met launching Gabe into global Tiktok fame and consequently a whole new career. I’ll let them tell you the rest themselves - they are wise beyond their young years with such beautiful messages about self-acceptance, embracing your uniqueness and building a strong relationship. I hope you are as inspired and delighted by them as I am.FOLLOW GABE ON TIKTOK HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched right up until episode 9. SO thrilled to have the wonderful Amy Ong join us for this episode, give her a follow here.AMY'S JEWELLERY LABEL, VANAOCSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Somehow, between the 385725938 episodes we've done together, it seems Ang and I have never properly explained how we met!! So, we thought that'd make the perfect #yaysofourlives episode for Valentine's Day in honour of ALL the different kinds of love we can celebrate on Feb 14, including the love between friends. We eventually make it to a few other random yayborhood watch good news stories plus a voice memo from one of our lovely listeners about the Gardiner Brothers story from a few weeks ago (which we LOVE, keep those coming!) Happy Valentines Day, everyone!+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been such a fun few weeks easing back in with a few doses of #yaysofourlives for you, but we’re finally back with our first full interview guest for the year and I couldn’t think of a more perfect guest than Briony Benjamin. I read Briony’s book, Life is Tough, But So Are You, when it came out in August last year and again just before this interview and both times, for different reasons, it was exactly what I needed to find my yay again and I hope this chat is the same for some of you too – it’s like she looked into the future and covered off every topic that’s relevant to the world right now.Her pathyay to her dream job as Executive Producer at Mamamia.com.au epitomises everything we love to talk about here taking twists and turns through drama teaching in London to a commerce degree then a second degree in film and TV after that. But it was finding out she had cancer all through her body while working in that role that really messed up her vision board. I don’t feel I can do justice to her journey without reading the full book out here, but I trust that by the end of this you’ll read it yourself as well as watching her short video 'You Only Get One Life' that went viral, touching millions including myself. Everything Briony shares about how to wade your way through tough times is painfully relevant to the pandemic and I feel so lucky to be able to share it with the yayborhood at a time where we all probably need a little reminder that, in Briony’s words, you can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter.WATCH BRIONY'S VIDEO HERE+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.