A THING FOR CIRCLES AND FRANCE
I am sitting here jamming to TLC station on Pandora. Soothing old school jams just make me feel all warm and cozy. They also feel me with nostalgia. Ever heard an old school song and wondered where you were the first time you heard it? I do that all the time. What would the world be without music? I shudder at the thought.
Talking about feeling warm and cozy, the jackets, coats, scarves, hats, and tights have literally taken over. Feels like winter already. Lately, I have been making a beeline dash towards anything that has circles, or polka like patterns. It’s my obsession of the moment. I can’t seem to help myself. I went through my last two posts and they all had a little circle involved. For this post, the skirt and scarf makes that obsession very obvious.
I read a delightful book a couple weeks ago entitled
“How to be Parisan wherever you are *** Love, Style and Bad Habits” By Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Sophie Mas, and Caroline de Maigret
I say delightful because I couldn’t help laughing out loud while going through the pages. The four are dear friends WHO… (I am about to go on a whole review on the book which should be on the reads section but I digress) share their perspectives on what it really means to be Parisienne. I found out about the book through Leandra Medine’s blog The Manrepeller.
Since obsessions are the major topic of discussion today, I"ll admit that I'm beyond with obsessed with anything Coco Chanel. The Madame! My other obsession is Haute Couture, am always on Style.com (having the front row seat in pajamas and a nice bowl of oatmeal) ready for the images of the Haute Couture garments when couture season starts.
France, I am coming for you, you just wait!
Hang on, am getting to the main story.
Notice anything I’m talking about today is somehow related to France. Hence, “having a thing”…might I add that I love French fries, French ki… no? Ok!
With all this talk about Coco, French books, Haute couture, fries….. I had to grab a little something that screams all things French. A scarf and a beret!
A beret is a cap that was first worn in the 19th century by local peasants in France. As of the 1920s, both men and women adopted it as a fashion statement. Today, most military, police units and other organizations worldwide rock their berets. Ralph Lauren, a major iconic American house showcases berets front and center in its runway shows. And as of 2014, and never tardy for any party (beret or otherwise) I embraced it as a go to cap of choice. :)
(SIDEBAR: Oh! Pandora has me nodding my head to "Waterfalls!" Listen to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to.......)
Hope you are all doing ok, I have been staying warm after catching a cold a couple weeks ago. I am feeling so much better and back to my regular scheduled program. Anyone excited about the festive season? I know I am…
So what are you currenlty obsessed with? A new shoe? Pumpkin spiced Latte? A new fragrance or man?..... Dish it all out!
Thanks for stopping by.
Photo Cred: Kimnation
KITENGE PRINT DRESS
Another year has gone by!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, 2ND YEAR ANNEVARSARY!!
Anneconventional just keeps on keeping on!! I am beyond thrilled!!!
At the end of my posts I always end by saying thank you, to you my reader. Knowing that someone’s out there being inspired, checking out my videos, thanks to Kenyanvibe.com or cracking up at some of my experiences fills me with joy. This year has not been as seamless as I thought it would be but that’s life. Things are bound to be unpredictable. Despite the uncertainty, today I will celebrate turning two.
In celebration of year two, I wanted to grab a nice double chocolate chip muffin from Whole foods and call it a day. Then I remembered my commitment to eating errrr better, plus being a bridesmaid in my cousins’ wedding, which is in a few months, put things into perspective. I found myself looking at flowers* and figured, I can’t eat those, right? They would look better on my nightstand. As I was waiting for someone to come and help me figure out what to pick and such, out came a petite lady and the first thing she asked was,
“Is that a kitenge print dress?”
Why yes it is, I replied. She went on ahead and told me she had lived in Zambia for a couple of years working in the Peace Corps. That’s how she had identified it. I told her she had given me a title for my new post then she went further did a pretty job arranging the tulips and hydrangeas for my mini celebration. She even added a ribbon! I figured might as well use them as accessories. Thank you Susanah!!
Oh yes! I know there’s the huge change that I haven’t talked about yet. I decided to cut all my hair. All of it! The last time I did this was probably five years ago. My family and friends have seen me with this look before so it does not come as a surprise. I just have to get through the first day of exclamations.
I remember vividly walking into JR’s barbershop and telling him, I want to have my hair cut.My friend Q was with me at the time, she did'nt want to miss the experience. JR got everything set up and with no time I was on that chair, ready for my haircut. Q had grabbed her phone ready to record the on goings.
It was surreal at first and unknowingly, JR had swiveled the chair around from the mirror so I couldn’t see what he was doing. All I heard was the buzzing of the razor on my head. It sounded like a swarm of bees. Q and another gent were sitting on the chairs by the wall seeing my bald do come to life, while I calmly sat down as clumps of hair fell down on the black neocape awaiting for the big reveal. When JR was done, he swiveled the chair back and TADAAAHH!! My head felt light as a feather considering the massive braids I had previously. I touched my head in awe and broke out into a huge grin. Perfect!
When JR mentioned it was twelve dollars for the service. Q almost fell out of her chair, and all I could do was gape! WOW! Super Perfect!
Photo Cred: Kimnation
For today’s look I wore a kitenge print dress, with cut-outs on the sides, high-heeled sandals and navy coat. You should have seen the look on my face when I grabbed the coat as an after thought. It’s raining already and temperatures are dropping faster than a ball thrown up in the air. Goodness!!
This journey has been awesome so far, and am discovering so much along the way like, it's not about waiting for extraordinary opportunities. It’s being able to seize common occasions and making them extraordinary. So thank you my dear reader, for walking with me this two years, and as the journey continues, I trust you will stick along for the ride. Great things are on the way.
Have a great day.
NIGHT
Am starting to fall in love with night photography. Soft light, warm colors, blurred lines; the pictures seem to have some serious intensity. The perfect lighting works well for pictures, that’s why I take most of mine during the day. Lighting, angles, and compositions are a few things I started learning as I got pictures taken for this blog. A very interesting never-ending learning process.
Attempting to stay casually fabulous in this chilly weather, I donned my camel coat, skinny jeans, really thick socks and ankle boats. I was heading out for a movie then cocktails later on with Kez and Q.
Photo Cred: Kez Kez
I believe in staying positive no matter what life throws at you. Never go a day without laughter. Live, laugh, love.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
NO TRESPASSING
Happy Wednesday!!!
Keziah and I were running errands in the county and we spotted this beautiful barn on someone’s property. We decide to drive in the property and sneak in some pictures. There was a chance we might get kicked out but……we decided to seize the day!!! LOL
We spotted an elderly gentleman walking about the field and Keziah proceeded to ask him if its ok to take pictures of his barn, permission was granted!!!
We were so excited about this barn! It had shovels, bales of hay, wheelbarrows, and not forgetting the wagon. A few cows and goats would have given us an idyllic country backdrop. The true definition of country meets city. After taking the pictures, we went back to say thanks to the kind gentleman whose name is Mr. John Roberts. We shared some of the pictures that Kez had taken and according to him, his family used the wagon back in 1918; it was their main source of transportation. He hails from a family of farmers and after chatting for a few minutes, we drove off with some history on his life and garnered an invite back to take more pictures!!
For every post, there is always a story behind it, some are too hilarious, and others just down right embarrassing. I tend to meet some fascinating people during some of these posts and there’s never a dull moment behind the scenes.
Am rocking a very comfortable casual look today pairing my favorite jeans with a printed sweater. I then threw in a coat and for some pop of color, the orange suede heels.
Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by. :)
BLUE COAT + PRINTED PANTS
Happy March everyone, spring is right around the corner, yay!!! The warm weather will be upon us and I can hardly wait!!! Am so eager to put the coats back in the closet and embrace the warm sun...
I have had the printed HM pants for a while now but nothing to pair them with. I snagged the print sweater from Duro Oluwo's collection for JC Penny which just came out. Duro Oluwo is a Nigerian-born, London based Fashion designer whom a huge fan off. I paired the look with a blue coat and strawberry pumps from Zara.
Thanks for stopping by...