Chasing the Sunset

 There are only two things to say about this look:

1. 50 Shades of Grey.. and then some. About a month ago a friend of mine suggested that I put together an outfit comprised entirely of grey. Taadaa! As it turns out, yesterday’s weather (especially in the morning) matched perfectly with my outfit. Double points right there.

2. We literally did chase it. I picked up Jeff on my way home and as we were driving home, this beautiful sunset came out of nowhere! Needless to say, we literally started going off course to try and find a good spot where the sunset peeked through so we could take these pictures. There's nothing like the warmth of the sunset to add a little oomph to a picture. 

 Sweater - Forever 21; Top - Toi Market; Jeans - Toi Market; Flats - Makro; Bracelet - Maasai Market; Scarf - Mother's; Nail Polish -  Rimmel #330  and (glitter) Essence Time for Romance.

I've got some exciting news to share with you!! About a month ago I was approached by Makena Murungi who wanted to do a photo shoot and today I'm sooo excited to say that I have the honour of having this shoot! Makena is the lovely lady behind Red and Black Photography and she has such a great passion for photography. I can't wait to share the pictures from today with you! I spent hours and hours last night putting together my outfits, make-up, accessories, trying to figure out how to style my hair etc etc. Super duper excited - I feel like it's Christmas!

Happy Friday :)

Give It Your All

{Tangerine for a Tongue, anyone?} 

Hope you don't mind but today I want to share something a little personal with you. 

A few months ago I bought The Power and soon after The Magic, both books by Rhonda Byrne. I was in a place in life where I was "ok" but needed to be much more than just "ok". I needed to be happy, joyful even, and feel fulfilled. So I went for the self-help book route and wound up with a stack of feel-good literature. I'm not sure if you know what The Power and The Magic are about but Rhonda basically talks about gratitude and love being two of the key philosophies one can live by in life. A lot of times her books are summed up as being about positivity and attracting good things to your life - both of which are true - and I believe this is because of The Secret which was her first book and which became a huge phenomenon. But  in my humble opinion, I feel like the thread that holds together her message lies in the heart of two words: thank you. 

It's hard for me to summarise what I've learnt from reading her books but I'll try. Rhonda talks of gratitude being one the greatest and yet simplest ways to change your life.. and I believe her. I'm a walking testament of how gratitude can open doors, re-kindle relationships, uplift your spirit and change your life for the better. You see, we often assume that unless we get a raise, pass our exams, survive a bad accident etc, then there's nothing really to be grateful about. But there's 1,000,001 reasons to be grateful! Can you scratch that itch on your face? Can you smell the food that you're about to eat? Do you have access to this food easily? Do you have clean water to drink/brush your teeth with? Do you have 10 little toes? 10 fingers? Do you have a voice? Can you, at this moment, lift yourself off that seat/couch/bed and jump? Were you able to laugh at a joke you heard on radio? Did you get to the bakery in time to find they still had your favourite pastry? It's about saying thank you from the bottom of your heart and meaning it. It's about realising that you have so much to be grateful for and thanking God, Allah, Brahma, your mummy, the guy you buy your newspapers from, your boss, radio presenter, the baker... See where I'm going with this? 

Sometimes it gets really hard to keep this attitude going and God knows I struggle most Monday mornings but at the end of it all, I choose to be happy. I choose to realise the many things I'm blessed with and I choose to be grateful for them. I choose to focus on the positive even when the skies get rough. I'm giving it my all. 

So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU: Dad, Mum, Jeff, Amani, Mondy, Aisha, Cecilia, Makena, Mary, HollyMay, Mez, Miss D, Blanche-Rue, Harlem Green, Sharleena, Rhiannon, Destiny, Angie, ABOP, Joyce, Anita, Neema, Ahlam, Paula, Joanzy, Kaloki, Hellen, Aneicy, Mwende, Marion, Rhoda, Tony, Gathoni, Thabiso, Babra, Lasophia, Katherine, Grant, Lucija, Remy, Alicia, Clara, T, Amanda, Laura, Nik, Marella, Krystin, Carmen, Linda, V., Anca, Alejandro, Joanna, ATW, Jelisaveta, The Girl at First Avenue, Kylee, Katarzyna, Heidi, Liz, Patience, Chi-Chi, Maphi, Psychelin, Fabrizia, Mrs. B., Christy, Aida, Adele, Funmilayo, Jasmine, Leney, Brandon, Amber, Buse, Jessica, Leslie, Lucie, Bri, Antashe, Alda, Sarah, Jillian, Christine, Juli, Adelinne, Chic Etoile, Melina, Lameoderocks, Nty n J, Ahn, Monica, Lacquer Factor, Mrs. G., Auste, Ashesela, Catherine, Sophie, Romi, Taylor, Faith, Jennifer, Ylenia, Sabo, Lilz, Iona-Carmen, Missy, His Little Lady, Silvia, Babybluez, Feenkus, Joyce Posas, Paolira, Will, Michelle, Bri, Katherine, Style and Beautie, Tegan, Silhouette, Keshi, Yolandaas, Alice, Sophie, Allison, Aida, Jackie, WaNganga, Neema, Brasilian_Babe, Maria,  Ekas, ElusiveBabe, Barbylicious, Wacherah, Buse, Plurielle, Caroline, Lolita, Fiona, Rochelle, Irene, Abby, Joanne, @Wairauka, @SonnieRox, @StephKammy, @WangShe, @MikeNjoro, @RasKimzy, @Edcigovi, @Nguhi M, @IceIce baby, @rare_herbs, @tesskeshi, Aurea, David, Imelda, Ian, Janet, Beverly, Ndindi, Gatere, Ed, Jacinta, Adeleide, Sheila, Maxi, Julianne, Rosalia, Stephanie, Steven, Kobi, Njeri, James, Lyzz, Kimani, Ng'endo, Bella, Miring'u, Alice, Njoki, Nyokabi, Lisa, Rosem-marie, June-Claire, Naweed, Dianna, Shar Lynn, Adah, Caroline, Marion Sidi, Jolie, Lucy, Kimberly, Namboka, Marjorie, Renee, Susan, Jandy, Kui, Mfalme, Faith, Ivy, Alaka, Kiki, Kate, Muriithi, Affa, Abba, Mercy, Pru, Mwireyia and all those who prefer to remain anonymous.

Thank you so much for your kind words, support, comments, suggestions, emails, likes, re-tweets, shares and time!! I appreciate it very much.

Now for the casual outfit:

White Vest - Meltz; Chambray - Forever New; Skirt - Market in Mombasa; Shoes - Bata; Crossbody bag - Kariokor Market; Watch - dad's old watch; Cuff - Gift; Maasai Necklace - Olorgesaile; Studs - Mr. Price.

Happy Hump Day friends!

Give it your all

:)

Nina in all her Cuteness

Meet Nina, the kid who I am absolutely and unapologetically obsessed with.

My brother put it best when he asked “How is it that she’s stayed cute for this long?” I myself don’t know the answer to this but I think it has to do with the fact that under all that cuteness lies a diva that would give Kimora Lee a run for her money. You’d think that after countless visits, diaper changes, sleepovers etc that she’d finally love and accept me but nooo... Not this cutie. She makes climbing Mt. Everest look like a walk in the park.

Now, because of her cute but stubborn self, I tend to get a little nervous whenever I’m around her. Wanna know how we get from this to THIS? 

Here’s the step by step breakdown.

Step 1: When you spot her across the field from you, yell with all you’ve got: “NINA RUN INTO MY ARMS SO I CAN PROTECT YOU FROM *ISEMBELE!!!”

Step 2: Stay strong. Just because she looks right at you then turns and walks the other away doesn’t mean you should give up. Remember, Mt. Everest.

Step 3: Think quick. Promise to let her play with your camera! That should do it.. In moments like this, there’s no room for logical negotiations.

Step 4: Once you’ve finally coaxed her into taking a picture with you, unleash the eager beaver inside you and try to make her laugh so that you can get that Kodak moment. I would suggest pretending to bite at her chubby, oh so delicious cheeks.

Step 5: Watch, in horror, as your plan goes haywire. Apparently the whole pretend cheek-biting thing doesn’t quite kick it with her.

Step 6: Kodak Moment.

 Stay tuned for more episodes of “How to Get Nina to love you”

Nina, I love you more than your diva self will ever know!!

*Isembele - a mystical creature that I’ll have tell you more about later. 

p.s.: I won tickets to watch Total Recall at the IMAX cinemas this weekend!!! 

Thank you Easy FM! 

Y'all are the bombdiggity. 

Travelling Light

Happy Monday folks!! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

I spent mine up country with family :)

This is what I wore for what should ideally have been a 2hr journey but for one reason or another, ended up being an 8hr affair. Yes, 8 hours. 

But fun is along the way, right? 

Blouse - Forever New; Tights - Mr. Price; Shoes - Bata; Crossbody bag - New Look; Necklace - Mr. Price; Bracelet &  Watch - Gift; Earrings - My mama's.

 I got these tights last week from Mr. Price on sale for almost a third of the original price! Love how they've got two different textures to them which makes them a little less ordinary. My brother hates them though - he can't stand how shiny they look and more than once he tried to compare them to aluminium foil or something ridiculous like that. Sucker. He had to stare at them all day. muhahaha! I love these bad boys and will be pulling them out often so Jeff, if I were you I'd invest in some sunglasses. 

{At my grandad's farm becoming one with the bananas}

I have an interesting story for you about Isembele, a mystical creature that lives in my grandad's farm. But that deserves a whole other post dedicated purely to all its awesomeness. 

Until then, stay warm. 

Chillin' in Crochet

I’d like to start by saying that twice now, the weather man/woman has been on point with his/her forecast. You and your awesomeness deserve a shout out in this post!

This outfit and the pictures taken were inspired by Wendy Nguyen from Wendy's Lookbook. There aren’t too many bloggers that take my breath away like she does. It’s not just how she puts together her outfits but it’s also her aura and beautiful spirit which shines through every single post! Love her. 

 Crotched top – Westlands market; Jeans – Toi Market; Sunglasses – Aldo; Wedges – Jet; Bracelet – Gift; Rings – Edgars; Earrings – Maasai Market; Belt – Mr. Price; Bag – vendor who had a stall at The Mall, Westlands.

 I’ve never been a fan of the middle parting but thought I’d try something new today. There’s a kind of edginess I’ve always associated with parting your hair straight down the middle which I believe goes well with the outfit.

 To me, this look is very easy, breezy and beautiful (Cover Girl, anyone? Only ANTM fans will feel me here..) Because the colour of the top and jeans are very neutral, it brings some freshness to the outfit that screams summer! I chose to add accessories which had one thing in common – gold accents. The buckle on my belt and shoes, hardware on the bag and my earrings all had gold touches which complimented each other pretty well.

I’d like to say a special thanks to my brother who, despite being on holiday, woke up bright and early to take these pictures of me as well as the one from yesterday’s post! You and the weather man are like my favourite people right now. 

Happy weekend friends!!

A Stepford Wife Kinda Morning

Yesterday I discovered this amazing thing called the weather forecast. You would think that by living in the 21^st century where everything is digital and literally at the tips of your fingers, I would have known by now that I should check the weather forecast before picking my outfit but nooo. Why would I want to make life easy for myself? Where’s the fun in that?

Seriously guys, I feel a little dumb here. I don’t always pick out my outfit the night before but last night I did and for the first time ever I checked out the weather forecast which, trust me, made life sooo much easier.  I now have a new found respect for meteorologists.  

 Today I’m channelling the Stepford Wife. I feel like being really domestic, taking care of my husband (for the record, I am neither married nor do I have a boyfriend, but still) and baking something. It’s funny how one’s outfit can sort of change their demeanour and overall mood.  

 I watched a tutorial last night on how to do a top bun and decided to try it out today!

 I had so much fun taking these pictures! Kept twirling and making faces and lucky for me, my brother wasn’t in much of a hurry so he kept clicking away.

 Skirt – Market in Mombasa; Tank top – Gift; Cropped sweater – Lost and Found (long story); Shoes – Thrift store in Australia; Belt and Earrings – Mr. Price; Necklace - Kariokor Market; Lipstick - Loreal Pink Grapefruit.

Happy Thursday folks!!