MerilynReverie 02 - 2016 Resolutions

Howdy y'all?
It's been a while and seems like forever since the last post - which was last year!! 2015 is gone.

I took this week to think of things I would want to achieve this year. Not to pressure myself but put them down to act as reminders.

1. Get a solution for my stubborn hair
My hair is at it's 'stubbornest'. It's never been this hard to handle and I really regret the day I relaxed it which forced me to shave. Then I decided to grow it back. Now it's at an awkward stage. It's unproportional. I don't know how to handle it. But I'm not giving up on it yet. I'm employing some tricks I'm learning and I'll brief you when we get results. So we'll be talking hair a lot this year.

2. More turban experiments
If you follow me on social media then you've seen I love my turbans.. Every time I undo my hair, I tie turbans for a week or so before I get it braided again. My mum likes it but le mister doesn't. Lol.

3. Learn a few make up techniques
I think I'm the only one who knows the least about make up.. Face cream and lip gloss is all I do. I got to be all round and I'm aiming on learning every small detail about this sector. Posts on this coming soon too.

4. Learn on Nail Polish
To be honest, I can't give myself a proper manicure. Not only that, I don't apply polish that well. I can do a great job on the toes, but not that great on the fingers. I prefer to go without on the finger nails but I got to get this right!

5. Maximize on my closet
Styling can transform one outfit to fit different occasions. I've got lots of accessories and I want to maximize on using them. Scarves and necklaces. Earrings.. The whole lot. I'll do posts on this to help you maximize on yours as well.

6. Exercise
This must be the number one cliche resolution considering how many people mention it every beginning of the year. I'm just lazy on it. I've got a skipping rope. A bike and a neighborhood I could cycle in but all I do is sit and read novels all the while. I've got to plan my time well to accommodate all things. Amen.

7. Drop the stock take posts
I don't feel like they go with my blog and I just decided to discontinue them. I'll do any posts unrelated under this #MerilynReverie.

8. Wear heels more often
Yes. I'm a flats kind of girl. I last wore heels on Christmas day. They are gathering dust on the shoe shelf and I got to do something.

Bonus :
9.Keep supporting Manchester United. Enough said. See you on the style streets. Be smart. Be fashionable. Be classy.

The Style Chief.

Dressing for Travel

It's the Christmas season. The time when most people go on holiday. But getting your dressing all wrong from the time you leave the house could be a headache for you.

How do you dress up for the journey itself? 

1. Be fresh in the morning. 

A good night's rest means a lot on a traveling day and it has to be part of the preparation for the travel. Get your caffeine if that's what you do every morning as a change of routine will be bad for you. 

2. Light/Simple make up

 Go easy on the make up. You don't want to be feeling all uncomfortable as this could be a long and sweaty affair and minimal to zero visits to the bathroom to powder your nose, touch up the lipstick et cetera. Keep it easy and comfortable.

3. Light dressing

Forget the trench coats(in rain or in cold). Otherwise layer up on light sweaters and scarves that you take off easily ones it's hot. Light outfits occupy less space as well so if you are taking them off, they could easily fit into your handbag or carry on bag. Now envision trying to force a trench coat into a handbag.. Get the picture? Good.

Also let the clothing be loose. Tight ones get  a little uncomfortable after a while and our goal is to travel in as much comfort as we can.
Stick to dark colors when traveling. Black is especially good as it will hide spillages of any kind or marks or any crumbled spot. 

4. Low and light shoes

Go for ballet flats. Or better, go for sneakers. These will give your feet comfort as you wear them with socks to ensure minimum strain to your feet. They are also good in case you have to stand for a long time or have to wait at the terminus for hours (you never know. It's better to be prepared).

5. Accessories

Go easy on the earrings. If possible go for studs as opposed to dangling ones. These could get caught in your hair, clothes and will be a distraction and maybe a bother while you are trying to carry your bags. 

6. Hair

It would be best to keep your hair off your face. And tie it up if possible. Just to minimize interference. 

7. Essentials

Keep your essential stuff (phone, passport-if international, ticket, diary and other miscellaneous stuff) in your handbag. This is for easy and fast access in case those things are needed .You can keep your lip balm in here as well and leave space for the scarf and sweater mentioned up there.

Hope this is of help. Now done your sunglasses and walk with your head high. Wish you are relaxing Holiday.

As always,

MDA

Stock Take - November - 03

Howdy? Hope y'all are keeping warm because.. CT!! Can't Take!! (In Yandy Smith's voice). This cold is something else hunni. And the rain. I wish it would just rain during the night then a little sun comes out during the day. Sigh. If wishes were horses.

Let's kick off the stock take:

Reading : If you check my previous stock take post , I was super excited on landing an Evanovich book that morning. But later in the afternoon, I landed three more. THREE!!!!! Yes. I was skipping all over the road heading home.My week was great. I managed to read One for the Money, Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich and also finished on Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark. I'm currently reading Social Graces by Dixie Browning. This is the life. 

Watching: Normal TV programming. No time for extras especially with all these books.. Yes ma'am!

Googling : nothing. Face-booking and tweeting. Let's connect on social media here.

Drinking : Trying to improve on my water intake. 

Eating : Bae's fried beef. It's no surprise that he cooks better than me. And the love he puts into it. I cook more out of routine than to please. LOL. Hope he doesn't see this. 

SS03 - Types of Flats

"I cannot concentrate in flat shoes" - Victoria Beckham

Ahem!! We can. So ;

"I always wear flats because I can't walk in anything else" - Sadie Frost

Most of us love a good pair of flats.. Anything flat. Ballet, sandals, boots, as long as it is flat. Sigh, getting used to the comfort.

We will see the different types of flats we have:

1. Loafers: These are shoes that do not have lacing or any fastening system.

SS02 - Types of Heels

     “If you haven’t got it, fake it! Too short? Wear big high heels, but do practice walking!”

Victoria Beckham

Heels are a wardrobe essential. Most of y'all own a pair, pairs, many pairs or a loooott of pairs. Create that mental picture with me. 

On Victoria's quote, I say too tall, wear heels too. The walking bit is subject for another day. lol.

Let's see the different types of heels we have:

1. Kitten heels: These are low heeled shoes that provide comfort on top of fashion. They are great for occasions where you have to walk around a lot and for days when you don't need the extra height. 

2. Pumps : The most common for of heels hence being referred to as just high heels. They are narrow to the front and about 3 inches high.

3. Stilettos : Have a staggering heel heading to almost 7". Some have an added platform to aid in walking.. Leave this to the experts. 

Stock Take - October - 01

How soon is Christmas approaching?? Jeez. All I am waiting for is the rain since I can't stand the heat. Too much. But I don't want the El-nino. .sigh. Wish we had choices. 

Kicking off this month's stock take:

Reading: I have become a major fan of Janet Evanovich and I just read another book of hers Metro Girl and she did not disappoint at all. I love love love the way she makes women heroes.

Watching: The Haves and the HaveNots season 4, If loving you is wrong sn 1 and I can't wait to lay my hands on season 2 of blood sweat and heels later on today. Weekend set!!!

Stock Take - September - 01

            "Change can be scary, but you know what's scarier? Allowing Fear to stop you from Growing, Evolving and Progressing"  - Mandy Hale

A lot of change is about to happen in my life and my routine and a lot of things. I am scared of all the changes and this quote is all I needed to pick myself up and inject a triple dose of confidence to ensure that I grow, evolve and progress.

Kicking off this week's series:

Reading: The Cousins by Rona Jaffe. A book that focuses on cousins and their families and how their parents always emphasized on them living together an running family businesses and how the children finally married and scattered all over getting together only when necessary mostly during funerals. It also touches slightly on a spouse cheating on their partner and the partner retaliating on the same and realizing it's not worth it.

MDA WISHLIST

Everyone has those things that they really want and other people can't seem to really understand the obsession. BUT ... Never apologize for your obsessions.   As long as they hurt nobody.

Here are mine..

1. Speed Bike

This has been an obsession for a very long time. I can picture myself cruising at top speed all 'armored'  then stop and remove my helmet and flip my hair. Yes. That's my motivation towards achieving this goal.

I want a Kawasaki in green, grey or black and white. Can't choose. Can someone buy several 'bodies' of it and be changing once in a while?

Don't forget about the gear!!! Classic!!!!

2. Designer Bags

My love for handbags surpasses my love for any other accessory. A few years ago jewellery would have been taking this position; but after having lots of it and not feeling like all chunky this time, handbags win big time.

It takes a lot of saving for some of us to be able to afford the bags in designer(knock offs are plenty in the market) but we got to deal with the 'inspired' versions of the real stuff.

Looking to owning the YSL, LV, CC, Chloe, Givenchy, Dior, the list is endless.

Stock Take - August - 04

My birthday month is coming to an end. It's a surprise I did not eat lots of cake this month compared to other months.. But boy.. Did I gobble down those fries.. I need to get something healthy to eat in place of fries every time I have the urge to eat them.. For now watermelons do the trick but fries overpower them sometimes..

Kicking off the last stock take of the month.

Reading: This is a very interesting book. The setting is in Botswana and I like the way the writer describes scenes until you can picture them in your mind. This is the beauty of experiencing places without having to travel. The reading power. And more exciting is the fact that Nairobi is mentioned several as a very developed city. The book is "No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. It is a series of books and this is the first one so I am looking forward to getting my hands on the rest of them.

Stock Take - August - 03

Wassup good people!!

I traveled upcountry over the weekend to celebrate my sister's graduation party. It is always good to take it there where all the oldies and grand parents are. Seeing the joy on my grand pa's face when he says 'my grand child has been crowned' is the ultimate moment. People cherish graduants over there.

You can check my instagram for photos from the event.

Kicking off the stock take:

Reading: Supposed to kick off a new book today after the short break for newspapers. I got the book yesterday but unfortunately I have not been keen on getting the name well. My bad.

Watching: 2 broke girls. Been watching it for some time now. Getting to season 3 now and the sitcom is so hilarious.

Stock Take - July - 01

I have decided to create my own stock taking series just to tell you about the things happening in my life currently. And it will be weekly. Lol. It will improve as we go on. So kicking off today's post:

Reading: OMG!! I am currently reading Armed and Glamorous by Ellen Byerrum. This book is fantastic. I will soon do posts based on this. It has so much great fashion and the lead character is a fashion reporter with a newspaper article title 'Crime of Fashion'. Now, in my book loving excitement, I just bought a novel that I already have and already read, so if anyone of you wants a Jane Green novel, titled 'The Other Woman', contact me via my social media handles and we can talk about it.

Googling: Lol.. I am currently googling how to walk without getting dust on the back of your foot. But it has brought all things biblical. Anyone has a remedy on how to lift legs without carrying dust along?

To New Beginnings!!

Hello everyone,

It has taken me a while to finally push myself to pull down my previous blog and kick off with what I really wanted to do. I did not feel like it was taking the course I really wanted and I had to stop and think about it.

After a lot of soul searching, I decided to go the way I really wanted.

The Image Art is a blog where I will give overall image advice. On how to dress for occasions (must be easiest), carry yourself during occasions, what to wear with what, when etc.

I will also share a little about myself every now and then.

Keep it here as we are about to discover amazing things together.

PS: We can interact on social media and you can ask me any question fashion/style/overall-image-related and I will be glad to answer you.