Tuesday, 21 May 2013

The Strength of a Woman


The strength and uniqueness of a woman can be compared to no other. Women have to constantly deal with a lot of issues emotionally, physically and spiritually yet we handle them with ease. From watching my mother  I can tell you that the things women deal with on a daily basis are things that require divine wisdom and strength.

From period pains to in-laws to friendship and childbirth to taking care of your home/kids, to nappy changes to sleepless nights after childbirth to breastfeeding to post natal blues to early morning school runs to cooking to cleaning to shopping for the kids clothes and provisions to your partner telling you you’re nagging when you’re only trying to explain your situation. Only a woman can handle all these and more.
A woman is very diplomatic by nature. Her heart is pure and she has a sense of purpose. She understands that she is a woman and she takes advantage of it to better her family and the society in general. She can multi-task by nature, she can do five different things at the same time and she’ll still be sane enough to handle her responsibility as a wife, mother, sister, daughter and career woman. She always has the answer to every question, she has the solution to every problem and if she’s at a cross roads, she’ll go on her knees and ask God for guidance. Her seemingly outward calm nature even when she has the world on her head is commendable.

As a young woman, I would be willing to make sacrifices for my family even if it means resigning from a high paying job just to satisfy my family and make sure everyone is happy. It is possible for us to have been at work all day, after work you have to go to the supermarket to buy food, cook and then you still have to satisfy your man sexually and emotionally… so I’ve heard of course

Sometimes, you’re too tired to talk or listen but you’ll use your last strength to talk to him and listen to him because you want to make him happy. When a child is badly behaved, the blame goes to the mother and hardly ever the husband. He could just come home one day and tell his wife of 20 years that he has a 17 year old love child with another woman and you as the wife are expected to hold it together, accepts the child and stay in the marriage, all while continuing to be nice to the man. But if the case was to be reversed, we all know what would have happened.

Women are sensitive and emotional. Sometimes we burst into tears and we don’t even know why we’re crying. We are said to be the weaker sex yet we are stronger than men in a whole lot of ways. Any man that has ever witnessed a woman giving birth would agree with me. We have an inner strength in being feminine. A feminine woman is a strong woman. A woman that loses her husband can still strive to be better, struggle and work hard to cater for her children by giving them the much needed support emotionally, spiritually and financially.

The best observers in the world are women. A woman is also the best detective because if a woman wants to detect something, trust me, she’ll succeed and if she sets her heart to achieve anything, she would definitely make it. A woman is a confidant, she knows how to keep secrets and give the best advice. Her heart is truly deeper that the ocean because she stores so much in there. Women make the best lawyers because if a woman decides to defend you, she’ll do so all the way. She’s always ready to defend her husband when she knows he’s wrong just to save his face when it comes to outsiders even if she’s going to fight him when they get back home.

A woman’s heart can connect with certain people and things on different levels. We can quickly detect things. Growing up, if your mother ever told you her spirit didn’t go too well with some of your friends or potential boyfriends, most times, those friends or potential boyfriends would always prove your mother right.

Women are very soft and should be shown all the love and care in the world. A woman’s love is unconditional, if she loves you genuinely, she would remain loving whether you treat her right or not, whether you have money or not. A woman is as delicate as an egg, and once broken you can never put the pieces together perfectly. It’s always better to handle women with care because of our fragile nature. Your woman can be the best friend you could ever have if only you give her the opportunity.

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Honesty

Honesty....

I can honestly say I don't know the true meaning of your character

Honestly, have I ever even felt the true presence of your genuine nature in my life?

Honestly, all you do is lie and deceive, so do you honestly expect me to trust when you profess love and truthfulness?

Honesty... The one thing I asked you to provide even when a lie tastes much sweeter in your mouth...
Despite the bitterness it causes to my heart, I honestly prefer the freedom truth will bring

In all honesty, I knew you never loved me from the start, but the same truth I seek is the same one I fled from

Lets be honest, we all know my heart was never your home...
Your kiss is so cold, as vacant as the three little words you utter so half heartily coated in lies

True to myself, is what I choose to be
honesty knows no place in your nature....
It is not your friend, nor is it your neighbor

Honestly, the truth has set me free
What a lonely word
to a lonely girl in a lonely word....
But she is all I have...
And that's what I call honesty...

honesty begets an honest heart, so truthfully are you honest to you?

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

My Best Friend's Wedding

Ever heard the phrase "Always the brides maid, never the bride"?
Well I honestly think this is a statement that has become true to my life.
My best Friend recently got married in an extravagant African wedding and I was so happy when she asked me to be Maid of Honor.
I have never been so happy to see my friend getting married that it actually made me think about my own wedding day.
I knew that it was possible to feel broody when you see babies, but I honestly never thought such could be said about weddings/marriage until I experience it myself. I found myself panicking all of a sudden with a feeling of pressure to settle down and find a husband.

I am the youngest in my group of friends, at 22 I honestly don't think I am ready for marriage, heck I was not even thinking about it until all my friends started getting engaged, pregnant and married. Yes, my friend are older than me, in fact most of them are 27/28 years old which I guess is the standard age to think about marriage and settling down.

The wedding took part in Nigeria, a country I had heard a lot about but never had the pleasure of visiting until now. Initially, I was rather skeptical about going because I'd heard about people getting kidnapped and all sorts of stories.
Upon arriving, I realized that it was EXTREMELY hot and humid!! Unbelievably so for someone who lives in a cold country like the UK.

Another thing that struck me and took me by surprise was the difference in culture. People in Nigeria are so friendly and welcoming, everyone is happy and polite and you are treated like royalty by those around you.
Life is different over there, from how women are expected to behave, to the pressure there is for young girls to settle down, get married and be good wives to their husbands. In other words, European culture and African culture are WORLD apart, which is rather refreshing and eye opening.

The wedding itself was split into two segments, the traditional wedding first, to be then followed by the white wedding one week after.
I got to wear a traditional African dress which I designed myself and it turned out beautifully. I was so nervous about it because I did not get to see it until the day before the wedding,but everything went well.

The Bride had bride-Zilla tendencies (Bless her) and it was my job to ensure she didn't have a nervous break down or in fact, kill somebody as most of us feared she would on a few heated occasions with family members. Moments like this made me realize that I wasn't ready for a wedding, let alone a marriage because that's for life... A VERY VERY long time indeed.

Below are a few pictures I wanted to share that captured the moments and shows how beautiful the wedding was.
It was filled with love and blessing and I was over the moon to be a part of it.

unfortunately, I did not find my groom. Despite the pressure and insisting of nearly every "Aunty" that wanted me to marry her son or Nephew.

Lots of Love
Bree

























Sunday, 3 March 2013

Breathe... Until it all stops

Disappointment and sorrow have always dominated her life...

Distraught and confused, wondering when luck will strike...

A girl so lost, a girl so wounded...
yet she's strong enough to smile and laugh out loud.

Engulfed in misery, surrounded by failure from the world's perspective

When will she win? When will she rest from the pain that knocks on every corner of a damaged heart?

Like a deserted island, she possesses a beauty that nobody can see.

Her eyes as blue as the ocean and clear seas
But what she has seen, nobody can know what it means....

A girl who's soul is so much in fire, she screams out for The Lord to save her

She lays at night, praying to escape from the hell she calls life.
All she wants is the heaven she used to know...

The heaven that was ripped away from her when he went laying in her arms....

When kissed her red lips of dishonesty
When he ripped off her garments of disloyalty...

She was the devil in a black dress, the perfect representation of the soul that lived in a body filled with deceit

Her two pieces of heaven came together, to perfectly create a world of hell for her...

She can not escape, she can not breathe...
For the devil in the black dress.... birthed her 24 years ago

She can not escape...
Breathe... Focus... Breathe.....

Until it all stops.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Tough Times



We all go through tough times and struggles in life.

We go through dark phases that lead us not to believe in light and happiness
We fall and do not feel like getting back up
We blame ourselves for every wrong which we feel could have been made right

We feel like nobody else understands the pain we go through, the sorrows we feel at night when

You lay awake wondering 'Why'

Why do I have to struggle just to feel at peace?
Why do I have to struggle just to feel worthy?

So you go searching....
searching for that piece of something to fill the void dark hole you possess inside.
It is an emptiness so loud and cold, it feels like you're in a war zone with your inner soul.



You call out but your voice remains unheard,
 It's frozen amongst the evil air that holds your soul prisoner.

Your days are now colder than a winter's night 
Your heart is now harder than a rock
It's heavy, It's lonely... filled with a yearning desire for love 

But do not worry
You are not alone
You are heard
You are loved
You are valued
You are special

I understand
I am with you
All the time
Because I am You. 

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

The fashion behind African Traditional wear

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by Traditional African attire. All the different fabrics, patters, colors and shapes always caught my eyes from an early ages of being a little girl in church. 
I would always look forward to church on Sunday because I was eager to see what new gowns and headpieces the ladies at church would be wearing, from then I  knew that my passion for clothes and fashion was born.
For me, African Traditional clothing is more than just fabric. It tells a story of our roots as African, it shows how proud we are of who we are but it also reflects the ability and beauty of all our talents. 
My Grandmother has always been a seamstress so a lot of ladies at church would often come to her for their traditional gowns. At times I would sit with her by the sewing machine and help her with cutting fabrics and measuring clients and its safe to say that I was a natural, well according to my Grandmother anyway but hey what else is she meant to say? perhaps she was just using me 

I knew from then on that clothes would be a part of who I am, from the way they make you feel to the way they make you look, I loved everything about it. What attracted me the most to it all was the togetherness the clothes brought and still brings in the church community. Its simply fascinating how looking good and creating colorful clothing can bring people together so well, a simple piece of fabric can hold so much history and love that puts everything into perspective. 


                                       
                                This Image is a perfect example of the beauty behind African clothing. The quality of the fabric is so rich and full of life. This brings out the beauty in any woman.



                                                  This Headpiece is a traditional head wear in Nigeria called 'Gele'. It is worn during traditional gatherings and functions and there is a unique technique used to tie it. Amazing right?


 The make up on this woman is so perfect as it complements her traditional wear so well. This is her on her wedding day, so it shows that African women are proud to adorn their traditional wear at all important events in their lives. Her dress has a modern twist to it with the added lace and diamante embroidery.
Over the years, African Clothing has evolved so much that it is not only an attire that is to be worn only at traditional functions and parties, but has become a cool fashion statement for anyone that wants to be seen as edgy, trendy and stylish. Many Celebrities such as Rihanna, Solange Knowles and Beyonce have been seen out wearing African print inspired outfits with an urban twist. 
For anyone that loves fashion and clothes, it is pretty much obvious what make African outfits desirable and unique. It is hardly possible for you to find someone wearing a similar outfit to yourself as each outfit has a personal twist to it, almost as if you can express your personality through clothing which is the desired effect for any fashion lover and trend setters out there

Rihanna and Solange Knowles in African print

This is a perfect example of how African clothing can look so versatile and fashionable. It doesn't have to be boring and 'Old school' but rather trendy and fashionable as you can see  



               How Fabulous does singer Kellis look in this African print dress? Love it!

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

A Rare Night out

Hey Guys

I know I haven't really dedicated much time to this blog of late, but I've been so busy recently trying to get everything back on track with work and what not but I promise I will be more frequent in my postings.
I have so much to share in terms of things I've bought, projects I'm doing and poetry I'd like to share, but that will all be up on my next entry.
Anyway, I hope you all had a Fabulous weekend (with no throw up and hang overs lol). I had a great one, went our with a few friends, so had a blast ☺

Dress : H&M
Shoes : Office
Makeup- Mac (Ruby Woo lipstick)

I also bought the CUTEST nude pins from Newlook (Must have)

Feel free to ask any Question or make suggestion....

Lots of Love
Bree xoxo