The Sunflower Blogger Award

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Sunflower award- Inner workings of a color lover

Errmagashh I got nominated for the sunflower blogger award guys!!!!!!! Thank you Detuke for thinking of me :D. The rules are fairly simple;

Share 11 facts about yourself

Answer the questions set by the blogger who nominated you

nominate 11 bloggers

set 7 questions for the nominated bloggers

I’ve recently moved and started school so it’s taken me a little while to get this post up but regular posting should resume shortly 🙂 and since I haven’t posted in a while expect something on Wednesday too!!! Amazing eh? Okay lets get into it. Brace yourselves, its about to be a long one.

11 Facts about me;

1. I’m the last child in my family

2. This “facts about me” portion is making me uncomfortable cause I feel like I don’t “know” me all of a sudden

3. I’m Nigerian, from Akwa Ibom to be specific and no this doesn’t mean I’m ibo. (Its funny how often I actually have to explain this).

4. I’m in my fourth year in University

5. I looooove arguing about social issues. It literally gives me a rush

6. I also love me some candyyy

7. I’m an introvert but I have my extroverted moments

8. I’m an arts and crafts lover. If I can make it, paint it, weave it, glue it or draw it I’m good. (This is also where my whole color lover thing comes in)

9. I love to read

10. I consider myself to be a pretty cheerful person

11. I love plays and I’ve written a couple myself 🙂

Questions Set for Me;

If you could represent any brand, which one would you choose and why?

Okay this is a tough one. I feel that all brands have their weaknesses but if I absolutely had to choose, I would say either Kelloggs or Toms. Kelloggs because its a nostalgic brand for me and if all the things on the back of the cereal boxes are true, they have a real commitment to effecting social and environmental change. I would say Toms because its a social enterprise. Basically a true commitment of a company to improving the lives of other people matters most to me.

What is one interesting thing you’ve learned from reading my blog?

I find the style posts amazing. and I’ve found out about a few fashion-oriented businesses through you so that’s awesome sauce!

Do you have a phobia?

YESSSSS!! HEIGHTS AND WATER!!! Both make me feel like I’m about to die. I may or may not have embarrassing stories regarding crying on a wonderland ride…maybe I do, maybe I don’t.

If you were offered an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would go to Italy. My only reason is that one of my favorite professors is Italian and he makes such a huge fuss about how amazing and beautiful Italy is so I would love to go just for the experience (on somebody else’s dime though)

What is something you’ve achieved that you’re most proud of?

Teaching myself to sew is something that I’m pretty proud of. Also, writing and directing my own plays would have to be way up there on my proud scale.

What is your dream job/career

I would like to work in an international organization and create policies that positively impact the lives of women and children in the global south.

Favorite post on Tuke’s Quest

I really liked your natural hair journey post. Firstly because I love reading natural hair stories and I also thought it was very story-like or to be a teeny bit bougie “it had great narrative flow”.

7 Questions I Set

1. What country are you in?

2. What inspired you to start blogging?

3. How would you describe your style?

4. What’s is your earliest memory?

5. What would you change about the world if you could?

6. What are your top three blogs?

7. What is your favorite post on my blog?

 

Yayyy Nomination time!

1. Afrolems

2. The Simple Sophisticate

3. 1Qfoodplatter

4. Vanille noire

5. How do you solve a problem like…

6. Black is my logo

7. Okay I don’t know who else to tag 😦

See you on Wednesday!!

‘fro Tales: As seen on youtube

Published on by maksu20139 Comments

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

2 and a half years natural and all I can say is…natural hair is not easy! Forget what you heard.

I think when people big chop and they are dealing with about an inch of kink they assume that natural hair is easier to manage but alas that is but a phase in the never ending hair journey and it gets more difficult as time goes on. Now this is not to discourage anybody who is thinking of going natural because as annoying as my hair is sometimes I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve had way more fun with my curls than I ever did with straight hair. Anyhow, in the course of my natural journey, I have had many mishaps that are fairly amusing to look back on. Today, I shall tell the tale of my very first flexi rod set 🙂

I would start by saying I never big-chopped so at some point in my super long transition, I had to get creative with blending my two textures. Bantu knot outs had always worked for me but I was craving a change. Of course as most naturals would do, I skipped off to youtube for guidance and after many videos I was certain that flexi rods were the bees-knees!

I painstakingly prepped my hair the night before, spritzing with water, coating with shea butter and rolling like my youtubers were doing. Two hours and incredibly sore arms later I found my way to bed. Now all this suffering might have been better if I at least had a good night’s sleep. Alas, what they forgot to mention in all the videos I had watched was that those flexi-rods will stick painfully into my scalp and they would make me toss and turn all night. I just remember lying in bed trying to convince myself that beauty is pain and it would all be worthwhile when I have lush, bouncy curls in the morning.

I got out of bed (Can’t say I woke up because I never really slept) and took my precious time getting ready because I wanted to give my hair as much time a possible to set. Finally the moment of truth came. As I unrolled my first rod, it took everything in me not to cry. The one thing I have learned to fear the most about styling my natural hair happened…it did not dry. I stared at that section as it was slowly shrinking, willing it to magically transform into what I had seen on youtube. I slowly unraveled the rest of my hair and sat miserably staring at my reflection and trying to convince myself that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Some pieces had dried more than others so my hair was unevenly stretched not to mention the odd straight pieces that just didn’t know what to do with themselves. In hindsight, I should just have pulled it into a bun and wrapped it but I was still clinging to what could have been.

I stuck a flower in it and carried my hot mess out, albeit a little self-conscious. I managed to convince myself that it wasn’t so bad and a few of my friends (bless them) boosted my confidence with very careful compliments…”I love how you put the flower in, it really brings out your features”. Alas my delusion could only last so long, I was forced to come to terms with my hot mess when one of my friends thought it fitting to ask why I hadn’t done anything to my hair that day. I stared at him not really knowing what to say. If only he knew just how much I had actually done.

Moral of the story? I don’t know, It was just a really bad hair day :p

Something Borrowed…

Published on by maksu20137 Comments

Begin styling a midi skirt

This post is a classic case of “borrow borrow make me shine” (I don’t know if that really requires translation).

Being in Nigeria, with full access to my mum’s closet is absolute perfection! She has acculumated so many charming pieces and valuable resources over the years so naturally as her daughter, I think its my responsibility to give her possessions a whirl no? Well whether or not you agree with me, I did just that. My mom found this gorgeous fabric that she’s had since she graduated university and she hasn’t used it since, so I decided to help her by taking it off her hands :D. Surprise surprise…she also had a sewing machine (how amazing is this?? and how have I never known this?!). The minute I saw that fabric the first thing I thought was “Midi Skirt”and right after that I thought “I can’t afford to screw this up”. Now this wouldn’t be the first midi skirt I’ve made so maybe I was feeling a pinch too confident about my abilities but this skirt was w.o.r.k! The last midi skirt I made was an upcycle so I didn’t anticipate the challenges I might have making this from scratch. Basically, I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

Begin Midi back view

I started by measuring my waist and how long I wanted it to be. From that point on I felt like I was on an island with no map and only a picture of my destination. I knew what I wanted to get but I had no idea how to achieve it. In hindsight, planning might have helped me here. If I had done a teeny bit of research before starting I would have know to cut  the fabric to 3 times my waist size so when I added my pleats, I could achieve the fullness I wanted. I started off with something that looked like a pencil skirt gone wrong. Then I tried to make it more a-line but I only wrecked it more. It was only after research and lots of redone stitches that I managed to get it looking like this.

Begin Midi Skirt

For difficulty, I would rate it a 5/10, it was not my easiest project but it would have been a lot easier if I had started properly. Oh and while we’re on the topic of difficulty, I think I’m starting to really get the hang of zippers! It took me a few attempts but I managed to keep my invisible zipper relatively invisible 😀

Begin invisible zip

When I remake this skirt (note I did not say “if”), I will look into the slip stitch more seriously, I tried looking at a Pintrest picture tutorial when I was making this skirt. When that failed miserably, I decided to follow my heart and I managed to hem it somehow, not sure what that stitch is called but it did the job 😛 (the too-lazy-to-follow-the-pintrest-one stitch?)

With the many up’s and down I faced making this skirt I was reminded that this is what I signed up for when I decided to teach myself to sew. I signed up for trial and error, for hours spent redoing one seemingly simple thing, and of course for the absolute pride I feel when I’m done. It’s frustrating sometimes but its always worth it.

I decided to maintain the theme of “out of mama’s closet” and took her old sunglasses (which I intend to own), her scarf, and her book to accessorize this look. The humidity also lent me a ton of volume so as I said in the beginning…borrow borrow make me shine 🙂  Begin something borrowed

pictures by Willyverse

Bloggerversary!!

Published on by maksu20135 Comments

Third time's the charm: Begin

So a year ago today I finally picked up enough pluck to publish my first post (btw alliteration game on point or nah?). Blogging this year has been a truly amazing experience so I thought I’d look back at a few of my favorite posts and talk a bit more about them :). Alrighty then, lets get started…

5. Skirting about with the magic of patterns

This makes it to my top 5 cause I truly love that fabric and I have gotten considerable use out of that skirt. I remember how giddy I was about making my own patterns. I haven’t really made many patterns since then but it’s still something that I would love to do.  I’m also thinking about making another pencil skirt, hopefully a year’s worth of practice would produce an even better skirt 😀

4. Old land New Vibes

This is a fairly recent post but I thoroughly enjoyed writing it! I had been reading naijahusband‘s blog right before I wrote it which is probably why it felt so conversational for me. I felt like that post truly captured how I feel about Nigeria most times; a little upset at the way things are done but truly in love with the country all the same.

3. Third time’s the charm

The victory I felt when I wrote this post is hard to describe. After many (well two is a lot) failed and miserable attempts at making this, I felt nothing but overwhelming pride that I had succeeded. I suppose what makes a great post for me is the depth of emotion I feel when I’m writing it, because for all the posts in this list, I love them because I love the way they made me feel.

2. How does one tame a ‘fro

This was another post that I absolutely enjoyed writing. My hair has been a really big part of my life in the last two and a half years and it has taught me many things. Loving myself has been one major thing but my hair has also taught me some practical things. For example; learning when to quit because not everything is for you, sometimes its better to just let go of one thing and find what really works for you.

and finally….*cue drum roll*

1. Think Responsibly

I remember sending this post to my sister because I was worried I sounded too angry. I’m so glad I posted it though, it is everything I have felt about the education system for a while and I am grateful for a platform like this that allows me say exactly how I feel without the pressure to sound too formal or intellectual.

I would like to thank everybody who has encouraged me to keep writing, sewing and thinking. Thank you for all the likes, shares and comments. I truly appreciate every single one…Here’s to another year of colorful blogging! 🙂

Old land, New Vibes

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My summer in Nigeria so far

 

Begin- Old Land New Vibes

Hey y’all!! So I’ve been in Nigeria for a couple of weeks now and I’m very content so far 🙂

My first week was plagued with jet lag of life but I wasn’t too bothered about that. My days have generally been easy, sleep, go to driving school, visit a friend or run an errand or two, nothing too exhausting and it feels great! All those all-nighters of last year have melted off and I feel well-rested and happy. This happens every time I come back…an air of absolute chill that I never noticed before overcomes me. Well a good 60% of that chill is cause I’m being fed round the clock. Speaking of food, can we just take a second to appreciate the absolute delight that is my mum’s food? Living with a food blogger is -pass out with glee after every meal- amazing.

With every amazing point however,  there are a few things that still shock/annoy/confuse me.

1) Peeing men.  This is something that I shocks me every single time! I always wonder if I just never noticed before or if more men are just choosing to pee on the side of the road. This is how the scenario plays out most times for me;

me: *sitting in traffic and staring blankly out the window*

Mr pees-a-lot: *strolls to the most public place possible, and starts to pee

me :*notices Mr pees-a-lot and looks away for his dignity’s sake

Mr pees-a-lot: *possibly even carrying on a conversation at this point zips up and walks away like nothing ever happened.

WHY??? I suppose when nature calls and all that good stuff but WHY??? why on the side of the road where everybody can see you? Why aren’t you more discreet sir?

2) Nigerian road users. I say road users because whether they’re in a Jeep, on an Okada (bike) or a pedestrian, Nigerian road users are a truly reckless group. Firstly, what is a lane? A lane is simply a suggestion on Nigerian roads, some people would much rather stay smack in the middle of the road and then abuse you for trying to overtake them. Secondly, crossing an expressway? not dangerous at all :). Go on, run across a four lane road with your entire family cause…why not? Finally Okada drivers and your Keke Maruwa (Three wheeled thingybobs) cousins, the road belongs to you, because if it doesn’t I don’t understand your need to threaten everybody else’s existence.

3). Customer Service. Okay this one annoys me and confuses me at the same time. I call the customer service line to resolve an issue I’m having  and somehow I end up being yelled at. Or the cheerful waitress who found it just as funny as we did that half the things on the menu were not available. Or of course the delightful sales girls who are eternally irritated at the presence of customers in the store, especially customers who ask questions about the product.

Despite my many grievances and frustrations with this country, something about it still makes me happy. Maybe its cause this is where my family is and so it will always feel like home, or maybe it’s because as much as these things annoy you they make you laugh even just a little bit. Whatever it is, Nigeria has a texture to it that makes me feel something that is pretty difficult to explain. There is so much content in this country that is just sitting there waiting to inspire you. *Speaking of inspiration I need ideas for a play so if you think of something please leave it in the comments.* It took me leaving the country to see its potential because when you live in Nigeria  its too easy to get caught up in the redundancy of your daily hustle. Sitting in pointless traffic for 3hrs would suck the zeal out of anybody. Anyhow I’m excited for my next few weeks :D…just taking each day as it comes and trying to enjoy every minute of my stay.

I’d also like to know some of your grievances with where you live 😀 so feel free to leave a comment.

 

Picture by Willyverse

Living through filters.

Published on by maksu20132 Comments

I’m done.

I’m soo ready to start my holiday and not have to deal with assessments for a while.

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he said something that I have been mulling over for a few days now. He said that in this social media age more and more people are starting to live their lives through filters. This means that people are no longer being genuine with what they post on the internet and they are constantly trying to keep up with the characters they have created. For example if you always have pictures of you being “sexy” you feel the need to maintain that “ooo I’m bad and I don’t care what you say” persona. (except you kinda do or you wouldn’t have posted it for people to comment on)

The problem with this is that you may not necessarily be that person that people perceive you to be on the internet.  Of course if people think you’re a perfectly responsible member of society who is also very fun, attractive and drama free, its a little difficult to see what could be wrong with that. BUT in the event that the above description does not fit you perfectly, it could be hard to open up to people. You could find yourself stuck with the burden of maintaining everyone’s expectations of your perfection and seeing as you’re not perfect you obviously do not have the time for such tom foolery. You should be spending all of that energy working on yourself instead of pretending to have it all together.

I don’t know if this need to live a double life was created by social media or if social media has only come to fan the flames of an existing problem. Maybe the internet gives us a place to mask our insecurities and hide from the vulnerability that comes with everyone knowing your flaws.It may  very well be impossible to be entirely transparent on the internet because what you post is simply a moment in your 24hr day and in that fact there would always be bias. I suppose what I am suggesting is that we teach ourselves to live real lives when we are away from the internet. We need to have genuine conversations and vulnerability. I believe that there’s more to every individual than what they post on the internet. We all need to act like it…

#nofilter 🙂

You Mad Bruh?

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Heyyyo

In second year, introduction to Equity Studies I had a reading that still moves me till this day. Unfortunately I do not remember the title of this article or who the author was but the gist of the reading was that the author was often labeled as the “angry black woman” and she felt that people in social justice and human rights advocacy weren’t angry enough because in her opinion anger was the very thing that ignites change.

Now as somebody who has trouble staying angry even when I know I should I found this idea particularly moving. Not being angry often means people take advantage of you, they don’t make an effort to remain on your good side, they are not respectful of the things that offend you because they know you will let it go and carry on like nothing is wrong. For these reasons you need to be angry and you need to be explicit about your anger. Being passive aggressive will get you nowhere.People aren’t mind readers and they surely wouldn’t know that you’re upset if you carry on masking it with loaded statements and subliminal messages. Be verbal, be expressive, let the world know without a shadow of doubt that you’re angry. Bask in it.

Here’s where things get tricky however, I don’t feel that you should speak in anger. With biblical support (James 1: vs 19-20) I can say that speaking in anger will not edify you. In your anger you say things that you may not really mean, you will be hurtful and cutting, you will burn more than you heal. So what is a girl to do? You can’t ignore your anger and you shouldn’t speak in anger so it seems like you’re pretty stuck. Except you’re not.

What I have come to understand is that we need to learn to use our anger. Using your anger means that you detach yourself from the heat of it and channel that energy to effect positive change. This means unpacking your anger. Ask yourself a few key questions; why am I angry? am I justified in my anger? what can be done about it? Often times, I discredit my anger on the second question because I try to think of why the other party would have acted as they did and its usually more difficult to stay angry when I do that because I realize how imperfect we all are and how I could have acted similarly. This should however not stop me from acting. Just because we are all imperfect doesn’t make everything okay. Sometimes we need to be called out on our imperfections in order to grow.

Basically, whether you are upset at a situation or a person you need to use your anger to create the change you want to see. That change may start in you or it may come as a result of you speaking about it. I wish I remember who the article was by just so I could re-read it and fully appreciate the wisdom in that piece. Nevertheless it caused me to think and consequently learn.

Third time’s the charm

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How to make a romper

Third time's the charm :Begin

Hey guys! So you remember that Aaliyah song;  “try again”? I was sitting in front of my sewing machine a couple of weeks ago and this song had never been truer. After two failed attempts at making a romper daddy Lord has delivered me!!! My first attempt resulted in my patterned shorts, my second attempt failed so woefully I didn’t have the heart to take pictures but well well, third time’s the charm dearies 😀 ( I need to stop watching once upon a time).

Third time's the charm Begin

I did a number of things differently this time around but what made the biggest difference was the fabric choice. I made this with double knit fabric which has plenty of stretch. I also made the top very roomy to account for the issues I had the first time around. Finally, I tried to make it “high-waisted’ because I have realized that shorts without waistbands just don’t quite get to my waist, then again maybe I’m just doing something wrong.

Begin Romper

The difficulty of this project, taking into account that I only got it right on my third try is an 8/10. This specific romper however was not as challenging, possibly cause I had done it a couple of times before.The only thing I would change is the way the back hangs. I think I might have been a little too generous with the fabric on top. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to match up the stripes. I also decided to cuff the bottom because hemming this fabric made it spread all weird for some reason.Third times the charm: Begin

 

All in all I was very satisfied. I shall now live in this romper and my kimono for the rest of summer.

Third time's the charm: Begin

I took advantage of the first hot day in a long long time and went to the park with my brother.Got some delicious Vitamin d in.

Third time's the charm: Begin

Pictures by Willyverse

Friday Night

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Showered, changed, sitting in bed…

 

There’s something about Friday night that makes me not want to do squat. My hair is only half finished but I can’t be bothered right now. I certainly don’t feel like studying, as a matter of fact anything “productive” just seems too much right now. I was hoping to come up with something profound to say, something that I would read months from today, maybe years down the line and say “mehn I’m good”, but I simply can’t be bothered. I just want simplicity tonight.

Tonight reminds me of a painting I did a while back.

Friday Nights- Begin

It really didn’t have some deep meaning, it was just fun to do and it made me feel good. I didn’t have to explain it, in fact an explanation would have soiled it. Tainted it with pretentious depth. I guess this Friday night is one to be alone with my thoughts. The utter randomness of this post probably testifies to that.

I’d probably paint my nails and watch Friends and pretend to have no responsibilities. Or maybe I’d try to think of a solution to world issues and then stumble on an amazing idea. Or I’d watch a disney movie, cry at the sad parts, then think of how the movie had underlying themes of gender or class inequality. I guess it really doesn’t matter what I do tonight. Not everything has to be deep and profound and meaningful. Like my professor told me today; “sometimes its enough to just notice certain things and not assign any meaning to them”. Tonight, I will explore my mind, its been a while since I just pondered for pondering sake.

I would make myself some tea but that requires moving. ughh. Yea I’d just sit here and not do that thank you very much.

Goodnight 🙂

K is for Kimono

Published on by maksu20138 Comments

or  Kermit, have it as you would like :).

Kimono-begin

Hey peepullss

So at long last I own a kimono! I’ve been stalking this little wardrobe addition since last summer. Brandy Melville was killing me with their floral kimonos last summer. I’m sure I went to the store about 4 times just to check on “Alexis”. Anyhow I decided to make one of my own since we’re right on the cusp of summer. Despite the chilly weather in Toronto I continue to believe its spring. If I believe it then its true right?

Kimono-Begin

Making this kimono was relatively easy. The most challenging part was working with chiffon which is an eternal pain as I’ve mentioned before but I shall overcome! Another issue was that I had to make do without my scissors. I recently moved so I don’t quite have all my tools in one place but my exacto knife did the very best it could . Other than my cutting issues and the slippery fabric this was a 3/10 for difficulty.

Kimono: Begin

I love how flowy and light this piece is. It won’t keep you warm in 7 degree weather but it would be perfect for those 16 degree days when you don’t want anything too heavy. Plus taking pictures for this post was so much fun! I felt all downtown (okay that doesn’t make sense but I know what I mean) I think my brother did an amazing job making me look super cool! Begin Kimono

I’m looking into making a couple more kimonos for sale but I would like to gauge interest first. If you would like to purchase one either comment below or send an email to maks_u(at)hotmail.co.uk with “kimono” in the title. Depending on the responses I get, I’d let you all know whether or not sales would be happening.

Kimono--Begin

 

pictures by Willyverse: http://willyverse.tumblr.com/