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If you enjoy reading your horoscope as much as I do, you’ll love our stars special starting on page 22 this week. It’s our longest and most detailed ever for the year ahead, covering everything from love and relationships, career and money, and your biggest takeaway message for 2025. I’ll be cutting mine out and keeping it to look back on! As we approach Australia Day, we’re celebrating some of the country’s most nostalgic inventions, including Kath and Kim, which we’ve all binged and quote in the office on a weekly basis, and the Hills Hoist. Not just for hanging washing, but swinging around on as a kid! Let us know if any of the others hold special memories for you. Don’t miss your chance to subscribe or renew your…

My hens’ party left me broken – literally! Kurstan Buck, 23. Sitting with my nine bridesmaids, we chatted about my hens’ night. “Where would you like to go?” my maid of honour Maddison asked. “The beach,” I replied. It was January 2024, and I was getting married to my fiancé Grant in October of that year. We decided on a week in July for my hens’. “That will give me time to recover before the wedding,” I reasoned. My bridesmaids found a house on the beach, just as I’d requested. When the day came, I flew there with some of the girls, my mum, Terrie, and motherin-law, Becky. The others drove the eight hours there to take supplies and decorations. We arrived in the evening. “We’re going to stay in…

Shuffling behind the pram, I pushed my 18-month-old bub, Hannah, home. Can’t wait to put my feet up, I thought. It was 2022, I was 27 years old and seven months pregnant with my second. Unlike during my first pregnancy, I had leg cramps and muscle pains and I’d started waddling, which I put down to my baby bump. But then I became unsteady on my feet, even taking a few tumbles. It was worrying. When I told my fiancé Simon, 31, we agreed it was probably pregnancy-related, but I decided to see a doctor. “Just to be safe,” I said. A doc checked me over and, thankfully, gave me the all clear. As suspected, the pregnancy was causing it. Two months later, our second girl, Georgia, was born healthy…

Ice-cream waffle sandwiches SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS + 2 HOURS 40 MINS TO FREEZE 2 litres neapolitan ice-cream, softened slightly 8 rectangular waffles Icing sugar, to dust 4 strawberries, halved 1 Line a 21 x 10cm (base measurement) loaf pan with baking paper, extending paper at long sides for handles. Turn out ice-cream onto a chopping board. Carefully cut into 3 equal portions to separate flavours (white, strawberry and chocolate). Place each in a separate bowl. Spread strawberry 2 ice-cream into prepared pan evenly. Freeze 20 mins or until firm. Spread vanilla ice-cream over the strawberry layer evenly. Freeze 20 mins or until firm. Spread remaining chocolate ice-cream over vanilla layer evenly. Freeze 1 hour or until very firm. 3 Turn out. Cut into 4 rectangles same size as…

EDITORIAL Editorial Director Kate Kirsten, Editor Rachel Williams, Deputy Editor Kim Bonett, Art Director Fiona Parsons, Picture Editor Vanessa Mckenzie ARE MEDIA Chief Executive Officer Jane Huxley, Director of Sales Andrew Cook, Director of Content Sally Eagle, General Manager Entertainment Susan Armstrong, Commercial Brand Manager Jessica Ashworth, Director of Marketing Carly Bowra Subscription enquiries: Customer Service 136 116 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST) International +61 2 9692 3535 Email magshop@magshop.com.au Website www.magshop.com.au Advertising enquiries: advertising@aremedia.com.au Published by Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546), 54-58 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. ©2024. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without prior written permission. Take5 is a registered trade mark of Are Media. Use of trademark strictly prohibited. Licensing Inquiries: www.contentshop.com.au / syndication@aremedia.com.au Printed…

BLAKE’S TRANSITION Plastic surgery has changed my life but now I can’t stop Blake Butler, 26, Adelaide, SA. Scrolling through YouTube, I came across an account belonging to a man transitioning to be a woman. She called herself Gigi Gorgeous. Instantly curious, I clicked on the videos with my mouth agape. “This is me,” I whispered, shaking my head in awe. Just then, my mum, Trina, knocked on my door. “Blake, what’re you doing?” she asked. I quickly closed my iPad screen and smiled at her. “Nothing Mum,” I said sweetly. It was 2013 and I was 15. Throughout primary school, I’d grown up as a regular boy who enjoyed playing footy and PlayStation with my mates. It wasn’t until I started getting bullied in high school that I realised…

ARIES MAR 21-APR 20 LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS: This year, your focus will shift from being concerned about whether or not you’re meeting other people’s needs and onto whether or not your needs are being met. It’s about damn time! Love planet Venus going retrograde in March will inspire you to set clearer boundaries in your relationships and as a result, you will feel more secure and in control, rather than living by someone else’s rules. Singles will become more selective when searching for potential partners, while those in relationships will set firmer guidelines for your other half to follow. In turn, you should ask them to be open and honest with their own boundaries. CAREER & MONEY: Saturn, your career planet, is on a mad trajectory this year and as…

KATH & KIM They were noice, they were different, they were unusual. No two TV characters have made an impact on the Australian psyche quite like Kath Day-Knight and her deadbeat daughter Kim. They taught us about pash rash, welcome mats, muffin tops and dud roots. They were fashion icons, dressed in the best Fountain Gate Shopping Centre had to offer, and always came out looking like hornbags… even if they did spray tan the wrong half of their bodies. Kath & Kim only gave us timeless episodes like the one where Kath – and her great-hunk-of-spunk Kel – spend their honeymoon at the airport after their mystery flight was cancelled. The show attracted a who’s who of Australian guest stars including, Dame Edna, the Wiggles and Kylie Minogue, as…

Pork meatball salad SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 20 MINS 500g pork mince 1 bunch coriander, roots, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved ¼ cup Thai red curry paste ¼ cup dried breadcrumbs 1 tbsp vegetable oil 150g dried rice vermicelli noodles, soaked, drained 1 cup shredded wombok 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved 6 long green onions, thinly sliced ¼ cup mint leaves, plus extra to serve ¼ cup chopped peanuts ½ cup Vietnamese salad dressing Prawn crackers, to serve 1 In a bowl, combine pork mince, coriander roots and stems, curry paste and breadcrumbs. Using 1 tbsp mixture at a time, roll into balls. Arrange on a tray. Chill 10 mins. 2 In a large frying pan, heat oil on medium. Cook meatballs, turning, 8-10 mins until cooked through.…

I couldn’t understand why I was feeling so unwell Joanne Ferneyhough, 44. I let myself into the house and gasped, seeing a trail of flickering lights leading up the stairs. “What’s going on here?” I said, following them. Walking into my bedroom, my eyes filled with tears, reading the words Will You Marry Me? written in rose petals on the bed. “Oh, Thomas,” I gushed as he appeared beside me. “This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done.” It was 2015, and we’d been together for just over a year after meeting online, not long after I’d divorced my first husband. I loved Thomas, and he was amazing with my two children, but it hadn’t always been plain sailing. He could be quite jealous and always wanted to…

As the mercury climbs, most of us fall into two categories: those who live for summer, and those who’ll spend the next couple of months telling you they’re more of a winter person. Regardless of which side you fall, there’s little doubt that summer affects us all. We break down the good, the bad, and the sweltering! PRO YOU MIGHT BE MORE CREATIVE Got a masterpiece you’ve been wanting to get started on? Now’s the time to go for it! Studies show that warm environments encourage creative thinking. There’s also evidence to suggest that warm weather encourages us to be more collaborative, but cooler temps help us to stay alert during repetitive tasks. In a German study, women performed better at maths and verbal tests when placed in a warm…

Carol Whitfield, 54, Melbourne, Vic. The last song on Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black album came to an end, so I started it over again. This woman is incredible, I thought. It was 2013 and I was discovering Amy Winehouse for the first time. Sadly, by this point she’d been dead for two years, after passing away in July 2011 of alcohol poisoning. Since childhood, I’d been involved in musical theatre and recently I’d wanted to put on a show doing impressions of different female artists, like Barbra Streisand, Carole King and Karen Carpenter. That’s when Amy Winehouse had come to mind and, as I listened to her music and studied her background, I fell in love. This woman needs her own show, I thought. I decided then and there…

My pub’s pay it forward scheme is keeping truckies fed Priscilla Meli, 46, Torrens Creek, Qld. A customer sat at my bar shaking his head. “Our poor truckies in Australia are doing it tough,” he said. He explained he’d stopped to help another driver fix his vehicle. The bloke told him he only had $200 for food on his trip from Townsville to Perth, but offered him half as a way of saying thanks for helping. “But how was he going to feed himself for four days on a hundred bucks?” the customer said. “Geez, that’s terrible,” I replied. I’d been running the Oasis Exchange Hotel in Torrens Creek, Qld, for over a year, and lots of truckies came through. We always offered them free showers and a hearty meal.…

Mixed greens in oyster sauce SERVES 4 PREP 10 MINS COOK 5 MINS 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, sliced 2 long red chillies, sliced 1 bunch Chinese broccoli, trimmed, chopped 1 bunch choy sum, washed, trimmed, cut into 3cm lengths 10 oyster mushrooms, sliced ¼ cup oyster sauce 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 In a wok or large frying pan, heat oil on high. Stir-fry garlic and chilli 1 min. Remove from pan. Add vegetables. Stir-fry mins. 2 Toss sauces through. Stir-fry 30 secs. Serve sprinkled with garlic and chilli. Fried rice SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS + CHILLING COOK 10 MINS 1 ½ cups long-grain rice, rinsed 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry 2 tsp sesame oil 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp peanut…

AQUARIUS Jan 21 – Feb 19 In a year where the pressure is on, it’s time to prioritise your wellbeing. Reassess your daily routines, ditch what drains you, and lean into habits that support your mind, body, and soul. Small shifts now will lead to big transformations later. ★ This is your time to choose balance over burnout. TAURUS Apr 21 – May 21 Important realisations are on the way this week. You might even receive news that changes everything. All you need to do is remember that thoughts become things so choose good thoughts! ★ Also remember, least said soonest mended. LEO July 24 – Aug 23 This month’s Full Moon highlights your Rest and Retreat Zone, urging you to slow down and recharge. You might feel a bit…