Tray of the Week, No. 4
🍪 A Snack I’m Romanticising.
🛋️ A Tab I Bookmarked in a Moment of Weakness.
💳 A Thought That Won’t Leave My Head.
🎧 Something I Binged Like It Was A Sport.
😰 A Follow-On From Last Week’s Micro-Spiral.
How to Wake Up Without Crying.
This week’s Soft Stack explores, tools and rituals for making your mornings as bearable as possible. Because waking up is already hard enough. Might as well soften the blow.
A Laundromat Lesson In Gender Dynamics
Every Sunday, like clockwork, I transform into a budget economist with one mission: secure eight one-dollar coins for my apartment complex’s washer and dryer. And every Sunday, I find myself playing emotional roulette at the checkout. If I get a female cashier, she hands over the coins like I’ve asked for a plastic bag. ⋆✿ No drama ✿⋆. If it’s a male cashier? Suddenly, I’m hearing my own Dry July response echoed back at me: “I’ll try… but I can’t promise anything”.
Tray of the Week, No. 3
📧 An app I kept revisiting (like a toxic ex).
👝 An Item I received that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
🐨 A new app I downloaded.
😰 A micro-spiral.
🗒️ A poem I wrote in my notes app.
From Broke to Better this EOFY.
Since this week’s Dispatch covered financial glow-ups and sweet ATO refunds, this Soft Stack round-up focuses on tools, resources, and small indulgences that align with that “from broke to better” energy. I may be hopelessly delulu, but I have a financial solulu.
From Overdraft to Overachiever (with a little help from the ATO).
A year ago, I was $8,000 in debt, living paycheque to paycheque, caught in a dopamine-depleted cycle of impulse purchases and weekly overdrafts. Each week, I’d repay what I owed from the week before, instantly putting my next week’s spending in the red before it had even begun.
Cafeteria Crush: Rommy de Bommy
In the ever-evolving world of fashion, where haute couture meets pure whimsy, Rommy de Bommy is in a league of her own. If you’ve ever dreamed of carrying a croissant on your arm or accessorising with a bowtie that looks like a perfectly iced donut (which, honestly, why wouldn’t you?), then welcome to the deliciously surreal world of Rommy de Bommy.
Tray of the Week, No. 2
📱 An app I tried (and un-tried).
😾 An item I touched that touched back (violently).
👖 Pants I can’t shut up about.
🖥 A tab I have no business being in.
😱 A micro-spiral.
The “Soft Capitalism Starter Kit”.
For when you're trying to build wealth, but gently. No Wolf of Wall Street energy here. Just good habits, tidy apps, and the occasional oat latte.
He Smiled, Then He Bit Me.
I’m on my weekend morning walk, trying to undo the junk food I inhaled the night before, when a cat appears. Affectionate. Sultry. It follows me down the street, brushing up against anything and everything with full-body flirtation.
Melbourne: Where the Coffee’s Pretentious and So Am I.
Oh Melbourne! It only took me 13 years of Sydney-siding to see you for the very first time. How I lived in Sydney for that long without having already made the visit is beyond me – admittedly I get very caught up in the day to day to grind which dissuades me from taking holidays or anything that deviates from the norm… suffice to say; Melbourne was brilliant. Not in the way that everyone had chalked it up to be, but in a way that was equally brilliant to me.
Tray of the Week, No. 1
📱 An app I deleted (again).
🖥️ A tab I can’t close.
🧸 An object I touched and put back down.
💭 A shower thought.
💌 A semi-romantic thought.
Tools for Feeling Regulated (and Still Kinda Stylish).
Trading chaos for calm, here’s a stack of digital tools, objects, and rituals helping me stay regulated, focused, and unbothered (or at least less bothered than I was last week).
I Thought I Wanted to Be Special. Turns Out I Just Want to Feel Good.
Somewhere between reaching my mid-30s and booking in more routine skin checks, something in me shifted. I used to chase things that looked impressive: the title, the chaos, the story-worthy version of my life. Now I crave low-stimulation workdays, quiet moments with my own thoughts (or a podcast), and a skincare routine that doesn’t involve the internet watching me get ready.