Fashion

I’m Judging Your Feet…

April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha12 Comments

The hurried albeit elegantly measured click-clack across the room drew eyes’ to ‘her’ feet clad in beautiful, sexy orange coloured sling-backs before they rose to her face. In a bid to write a shoe post I have spent several days unwittingly and unabashedly peeking at people’s feet and hers set the stream of thought flowing. I took a second look and saw the little designer sign which subtly announced the expensive brand. In the same flow of thinking, I couldn’t help but wonder how many shoes I could buy for the price of that one.

Images – courtesy FSJ shoes

A quick analysis of her appearance spoke of a smart, fashion conscious, go-for-it, dry wit, confident and ‘maybe’ fun-loving lady. When we look at people, we do a quick summation and then categorize them by their looks; what they wear, either from top to bottom or from bottom to top. We all do this subconsciously.

This silent assessment decides our expectations of a person and it takes the maturity of the mind to know that the outward packaging never truly depicts the inner package even if the outward appearance might give off tell-tale signs about someone. In many instances, especially in recent times, I’ve met expensively dressed people who were simply arrogant airheads, and I’ve also had the most exciting, thought-provoking encounters from the least expected quarters.

Back to those shoes. I love shoes. Flats, heels, boots, mules, sandals, ballet, platforms, wedges, stilettos, and all the styles in-between, I love them and I know most women do. Some women actually have shoe addiction that if shoes could be banked, they would fetch a fortune with their collection. As we grow older some of us we are wise enough to stop squeezing our feet into shoes that pinch and to buy sensible ones. My days of running in nail thin heels are now fast fading and rather than risk falling off a pair of flimsy spindly heels and breaking my neck, I invest my bucks on comfortable shoes that can walk the mile.

Images – courtesy FSJ shoes

Without any doubt, your shoes complement your dressing ‘cos they have a way of accentuating your personality and mood. In my own case, I love vibrant colours and I am not hesitant to wear a coloured pair of shoes. Red says I’m feeling girly and flirty. My black pumps are business mode activated and the ballet flats indicate that I want to feel comfortable ‘cos it’s a long day ahead. The leopard print loafers and blue Nike’s also say it’s adventure day…anything can happen. My deep blue heels make me feel like royalty…

I am yet to own expensive pairs of Louboutin’s, Manolo’s or Jimmy Choo’s because I simply can’t afford them and even when I have the funds, I honestly doubt that I would want to spend such ginormous amount of money on a pair of shoes that I can only wear for a limited amount of time.

Call me cheap and cheerful, baby you just might be right. I believe in value for my hard-earned money. I believe in bargains and I happily hunt for them. I have a pair of black mules and this dog-eared faithful has served me way beyond the princely sum of $60 spent on purchasing it. I hope you are not judging me by my shoes ‘cos right now, my feet are bare as I earth them on the cool marble floor whilst tapping away on my laptop.

Word Wednesday

Word Wednesday…

April 4, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha1 Comment

Life offers no do-overs. Make every day count even when it seems like the hardest thing to do. Rise!

Savour Every Moment, Life Offers No Do Overs, Every day counts

Where Did My Easter Eggs Go?

April 4, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha2 Comments

Easter came and sidled past like any other day – not like the Easters of my yesteryears. As much as I try to recreate and inculcate some of these joyous traditions for my children, I sometimes feel defeated by the lack of that communal warmth, excitement and feel of such seasons because we live in a place where most Christian celebrations aren’t much of a thing, and as a matter of fact, they mostly happen to be work days as well. I guess it’s one of the sacrifices that come with living in a cosmopolitan city where most times feel you invisible, overwhelmed and lost in the frantic lifestyle.

Sometimes, I question myself about the choices that we have made migrating and I silently wonder where the road will eventually lead. I guess as a parent most of us want to pass on the wonderful experiences of our childhood to our children and this is one of the times that I feel as if I suck as a parent ‘cos I just don’t think that I’m doing enough to create those beautiful memories that they can hold on to and possibly pass on to their progeny. I hope you had a lovely Easter break.

Parenting · The Daily Post

When The Sun Is Sinking Low…

March 30, 2018March 30, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

Daddy always said ‘rise with the Sun so that you set the tone of your day,’ and throughout my growing up years, like clockwork, we rose way before the Sun.

Today the most important things I inherited from my dad are the ethics, the values, the wise words, the memories and the parenting influence that he had on my life.

Ever so often, a saying of his will echo in my mind and I feel suffused with the warmth of his presence albeit through his words.

As a child, I truly had no deep understanding of losing loved ones’ – not sure that I still do – and like the sunrise and sunsets of my young days, I felt that those that mattered most would always be there.

Well, I am deadly wrong. I think that life is so unfair to take away those we love and yearn for, on the other hand, I am deeply thankful that I had the opportunity to know such love.

Knowing what I know now, the glorious rise of each Sun, reminds me that I’m alive, that I must embrace the day and that there’s no time to waste in looking back at yesterday. By the time the sun sinks low, I’m reminded to leave every form of acrimony and as much as is humanly possible to end my day with a cleansed mind.

Below is a little tune from me. Excuse the croaky voice 😉

Oh I often sit and ponder
when the sun is sinking low

where shall yonder future find me
only God in heaven knows

shall I be amongst the living
shall I mingle with the free

wheresoever my path may lead me
Saviour keep my heart with thee

Oh the future lies before me
and I know not where I’ll be

wheresover my path may lead me
Saviour keep my heart with thee

Jacqueline

The Daily Post: Rise and Set

Quotes For You

In A Nutshell…

March 30, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha7 Comments

Your thoughts just don’t happen to you. Your thoughts are made to happen to you by you. Your thoughts emanate from what you dwell on.

Poetry/Poems

Lines of Time…

March 30, 2018March 30, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha3 Comments

With each engraved wrinkle

that time etched on

she lost her youthful looks

but never her twinkle.

≡

Her beauty’s matured

as her heart’s nurtured

the canvas of lines of time

stories of a precious lifetime.

Our beauty stays with us irrespective of how old and wrinkled we become. We only become a much more beautiful and limited edition 😉

Poetry/Poems · The Daily Post

The Little Flame..

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

Our silence sufficed. We thought that

if we didn’t talk about those micro things

that made us uncomfortable,

they would disappear.

So, we walked the fringes of invisibility.

Hiding our thoughts from fear and shame

hoping that no one notices

the tears running down our face.

Our silence became brooding anger.

Micro things became macro things

and in the fringe of invisibility, we plotted;

fueled by the stokes of little flames.

Jacqueline

An Igbo proverb says, ‘when we overlook the small pot, it puts off the fire.’ Never underestimate the little things, for they can become the big things.

The Daily Post – micro

Life · Lifestyle

Making Important Decisions About The Future

March 27, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha5 Comments

We all get to a certain point in our lives where big decisions need to be made. You need to start thinking about the future, about the next steps you want to take and the actions in which you want from your life. But, what would you class as an important decision for your life? What would impact your life the most? I wanted to share with you some of the scenarios that would be classed as an important decision, perhaps you can relate to some of them yourself.

Image source

Deciding on your career

A big decision to make when it comes to your future is to decide on your career. Many people make this decision fresh out of school and it can actually be quite a difficult one to make. After all, how do we know what we might want to do for the rest of our lives at that age? Thankfully, people make this decision many times over, and career changes are often on the cards and can sometimes suit you better later on in life. If a career change is on the cards for you, don’t worry too much, just go with what your gut is telling you.

Getting engaged

Getting engaged is an exciting time for anyone. It is a great way to show commitment to the one you love, and sharing your engagement rings can be a great way to feel united as one. Planning a wedding, on the other hand, can be tricky, but it certainly can be a memorable experience. The engagement itself can be a big decision though, it might be something that takes you by surprise or something that you have planned.

Getting married

Which brings me nicely on to my next point the decision to actually get married. Getting engaged doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to get married. You can actually stay engaged. But getting married is a big decision for the future, you need to decide if you do it and how you go about it. Certainly, this is a lot to think about.

Having a baby

Often when you have been with someone for a while, or have gotten married the questions about starting a family starts to become a regular occurrence. However, it is actually a big decision to make in terms of the future, so it is something that you must think about. As well as deciding you want to, in many cases, it doesn’t always happen straight away for some, and it certainly can be an a optional rollercoaster to embark on.

Jumping on the property ladder

Finally, one less major life change, but an important decision anyway is to consider getting on the property ladder. It can be a great way to set yourself up financially for the future, as property tends to increase in value over time. Many people do this to ensure that they have some form of stability in their retirement years.

I hope that this helps you to become more aware of some of the big life decisions you need to make.

This is a collaborative post.

Inspiration - Motivation · My Thinking Corner

Tuesday Thoughts…

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha11 Comments

You have the power to change your life for the better. You have the power to get it right and to achieve your desired results. Take 100% responsibility for everything in your life.

You create, you promote and you allow everything that happens to you every day and even when they happen indirectly from others, your response to them is your responsibility.

You attract the appreciation, love, success and abundance that you deserve.

Stay inspired. Keep pushing. You can do it. Just believe.

Blog · Blogging

100 AMAZING SITES WITH FREE STOCK PHOTOS

March 24, 2018 jacquelineobyikocha1 Comment

Free Stock, Free Images, Photo, Public Domain, Image Directory

Without any doubt, images make your blog posts stand out. They act as eye candy and are an important part of design and professionalism.

If you often use images for your creative works, it’s important to bookmark a handy list of your go-to websites where you can find images that are absolutely free.

I literally cringe when I see bloggers slapping on photos or images with copyright and watermark credits stamped all over an article that they’ve taken time to craft. It looks sloppy and simply shows lack of professionalism.

Using copyrighted images is not the ideal solution. Such practice could expose you to issues of copyright infringement. To be honest, before I knew better, I made the same mistakes, but the good thing about information is that when you know better, you do better.

Online, there are millions of free images that don’t need accreditation, and one could equally create their own images through photography or by using creative solutions like Canva, PicMonkey, Powerpoint, Font Studios, Pic Art etc.

However, there comes a time when we are searching for something specific to buttress our message and when we don’t have a suitable one in our photo bank, we resort to other sources.

Quick Note About Licenses

Most of the images in this list are free from restrictions or licensed under creative commons public domain. It means is that copy, modify, share, use for commercial purposes – without permission.

However, some of these photos may need attribution and the best advice is to take a few minutes to check the restrictions of an image before using. If in doubt, contact the author of the site and even when attribution is not required, it’s always a nice thing to do.