Monthly Archives: November 2015

Style and Fashion

Title is still work in progress: all suggestions welcome!

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Quite laterally, I cannot settle for a name for this article as my mind keeps pushing and pulling me back and forth on different ideas. Seventies look with a modern twist, a story of brown on navy, or simply settle for the re-emergence of the turtleneck? At best none of those titles even come close to telling the full story and at worst, well they just don’t make sense by themselves.

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You know what, I’m just going to carry on describing the look and leave you all to come up with Continue reading Title is still work in progress: all suggestions welcome! →

Travel

Beautiful Architecture – C F HIM in Istanbul

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I promised two weeks ago I would share my experiences in Istanbul with you but have not been able to do so until now. I apologise for the delay and hope its worth the wait.

Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) in all its beauty with a blue sky backdrop. This architectural beauty also holds great historical significance as it connects Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. It was once a church, then converted to a mosque, and now a museum. one of my fav monuments in the city

I will be sharing my experiences of Istanbul in two parts. The first article (this one) will look at this city’s architecture, where the second article will explore food, hospitality and the people.

First of all, whenever I talk about architecture in Europe, there are two main cities I benchmark my idea of beautiful architecture from which are Barcelona and Prague. I know other European cities have beautiful architecture as well, but the above two left a lasting impression on my mind for so many reasons. You can check out articles of my Prague experience here and here. But anyway, this article is about Istanbul so let me reel it in a bit before I get carried away with talking about other cities. Oh and the fact that Istanbul is not even in the European union is probably a good enough reason for me not to compare but anyway, moving on.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue mosque) was built from 1609 to 1616 during the rule of Ahmed 1. This mosque caused an uproar within the muslim world when it was built with six minarets matching the great mosque in Mecca. The uproar prompted the Sultan to order a seventh minaret to be built in the Mecca as a gift. The blue most is opposite Hagia Sophia with less than four minutes walk between them

Ok, basically I have heard so many things about Istanbul from different people who gave good reviews about this city. At this point, you would think it’s a no brainer for me to just pick up my suitcase and head out there right? Well guess what, that’s exactly what I did. Apart from the little scare I got after seeing on telly the tragic occurrence of the Ankara bombing on the 10th of October, there was no stopping me from travelling to Istanbul. As with many of the places I travel to for the first time, I did not know much about Istanbul. In fact, I know so little that I couldn’t have told you more than 10 facts about this city. Shocking right? Well wait until you hear my big confession. Continue reading Beautiful Architecture – C F HIM in Istanbul →

Style and Fashion, Uncategorized

Beauty and Brains – Three cheers for success!

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Before i go any further, i just want to advise you in advance that this post is very personal. Thought i would take a little break from the usual and celebrate the success of my sister and model, Jennifer for not only completing her masters degree but also in outshining everyone in her course! This beauty and brains was able to do us all proud by completing, with distinction, which warranted a prize as she was the only student to achieve such a feat.

It was a beautiful moment for the entire family to hear her name called up on that stage and see her confidently walk across to collect her degree.

If there is one person that deserved a distinction, it would be Jennifer, she burned the midnight oil night after night persevering for her dream. If i am completely honest, this came as no surprise to the family as this young woman has a history of doing very well academically. However, one never gets used to that amazing feeling you get when you see your sister souring and reaching her full potential.

Anyway, let me not bore you with a lengthy article. Please help me in congratulating Jennifer on applying herself diligently with one of many gifts given to her by God.

Oh and please forgive me for the image quality. I struggled with the lens i used on that day.

Once again, well done Jennifer. Many congratulations to you and your friends!

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Pre-graduation ceremony shots
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Pre-graduation ceremony shots
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Pre-graduation ceremony shots. #Family
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This is what happiness looks like
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Pre-graduation ceremony shots

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Style and Fashion

Sunday best – 3

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Hello and thanks for stopping by to read my blog. If it is your first time here, I recommend you browse through as many articles as possible to get a feel of what my blog is all about. And if you know friends and family who might be interested in my work, please feel free to share this blog with them and encourage them to subscribe. I appreciate every one of you who come by daily, weekly or even monthly to check out my work. Your support is highly appreciated.

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This article is the last of the three-part series I started some weeks ago called “Sunday best”. If you missed the first two, may I encourage you to go back and read first one here and  then the second here so the whole piece makes more sense.

Last week, I did a short video piece for a car company (which I hope to share with you all when it comes out) and one of the questions I was asked was “what does style mean to you?”. This question is not unusual to me as a style blogger but for the first time, I was forced to think deeper what style means to me as I face the camera to give my take on this. I gave my usual answer which is that my style is a way of bringing out some of what’s on the inside for the world to see.

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My style is purposeful and is driven by some of my character traits and evidently subtly challenges everyone around on how I wish to be addressed and related to without me having to say a word. This peaked the curiosity of my interviewer as his eyes narrowed and gently nodded in affirmation as if to say “I have not heard anyone put it this way before so please tell me more”.

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Before I knew it, I found myself talking about temples and their significance from a Christian perspective. A temple as I understand is a place of worship to God which automatically make one very important. A brick and mortar temple is distinctive and different when compared to other buildings. It is cared for and looked after very well by cleaning and decorating it beautifully as is evident with cathedrals. The physical structure of a temple is big, bold and has intricate details not usually found on other buildings. In other words, a temple is purposefully built with precision and care to such an extent that you don’t need to be told it is a temple. A temple stands out.

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I guess you know what I am going to say next right? Yep, I compared my style to the temple scenario. In fact, Continue reading Sunday best – 3 →