Life

Spring Cleaning

by SymoneF1 Comment on Spring Cleaning

From last week I’ve been telling myself it’s time to do some Spring cleaning. My guest bedroom is a mess as I’ve been just throwing things in there thinking “I’ll get back to it”… now I have to get to all of it. I want to start there because it’s the “worst” room. Family and friends should be visiting this year, and now is the time to sort it. This week doesn’t promise much sunshine, and as I’m free of any appointments, why not? I’m very tempted to find other things to do to get out of it but I’m going to put on my big girl pants and just get to it.

A little side note here – finding a “reasonable” seamstress has been HELL. I probably should’ve done a search for one before I went mad in the fabric store. To think I only wanted swatches and left with that much material… Anyway, I’m going to put that project on hold for now and keep searching.

Right, back to Spring cleaning. Just as my apartment needs cleaning, why not work on my life as well?! Facebook, cell address book, BBM, Twitter, everything. Why can’t I feel the same relief in my life that I feel in my living space when I’ve tidied up and gotten rid of all that I no longer need? Why do I need to hang on to people who’s reason or season in my life has expired? Sometimes, we need to take a look at the direction we’re heading in and ask if this person is going to be supportive of my choices or whether they’ll be honest enough in guiding me. Everyone changes at some point in their life – some faster than others; so we need to examine who our friends are, if they want to take this journey with me or if we need to just break apart because we’re probably not meant to do this together.

The thing about friendship is that, you need someone who is honest with you. Many times, we never want to hear the truth, but what does a true friend do? They tell you the truth, they let you know what you’re doing that’s wrong and they stick with you regardless BUT all the while, they let you hear what you NEED to hear but don’t want to. They don’t interfere, they’re like your conscience – a nagging voice trying to push you in the right direction. So why not take a look at who isn’t doing this for me and put them out with the trash? Why can’t I be surrounded by people who listen, guide, support and nag me? Sometimes a true friend knows their boundaries but stretches beyond them in a loving way to help you understand why they are telling you the truth, why they did not support something you did or said, but is still there for you as a shoulder to cry on.

People don’t have to be in your life for years to make an impact on you. People may not seem like your cup of tea in the beginning but something is keeping you there with them. Are you the one to help them? Are they there to help you in the future but this preliminary acquaintance is stressing you out and you can’t shake them? We never know why God puts people in our lives, and sometimes we’re too stubborn to see why even when it’s right in front of us.

It’s necessary to clean all that is around us because we never know what we’re hoarding that could be toxic for us. Clean yourself on the inside, clean all that affects your daily life, and clean your home, resurrecting all that was covered in dust but you still love dearly.

 

“Books and friends should be few but good.”

Fashion

Individual Style

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Individual Style
Individual Style

I’ve always had a fascination with having my clothes made. My grandmother and great aunt were seamstresses and my sister and I often had things made or tweaked for us. I especially liked the fitting process to see how everything was coming along and making any changes that popped into my head. Due to my small frame, having clothes made meant that they’d fit. There is no greater joy than having something fit you they way it should, when you can’t find many clothes to fit you in the first place. I tend to go crazy in fabric stores because of the many prints and embroidered fabrics that just seem to be calling my name. And today, I went to a fabric store. I went for swatches to get ideas, but I ended up buying 5 pieces of material (>_<) 4 prints and 1 white anglaise. I saw the material and I saw how I wanted it made, now it’s time to sketch or get pictures to alter.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to change my wardrobe since I got married to look more “womanly” for lack of a better word. I also want more prints that I like in my wardrobe, and seeing that I’m in the gym now and getting a “figure” I want to express myself through my clothes. I want to express my personality. Thanks to my friend who has me hooked on www.dulcecandy.com (a fashion blog, also on twitter @dulcecandy87) I resurrected this dormant desire to have my clothes express my personality by having them made. I’m going to aim to have this stuff done by the beginning of summer, but as I now have to search for someone around here to do it, who knows how long it’ll take once I do. I’m thinking of one skirt, one pair of shorts, and two dresses. I really LOVE the black and white print and that will be a dress for sure!

Besides following Dulce Candy, I came across a tweet yesterday from @karla_deras (another fashion blogger http://www.karlascloset.com/) promoting a book called StyleLikeU (http://stylelikeu.com/). This was also very inspiring because the way fashion is going right now, we buy clothes for the season then dispose of them when the next fad comes around. What happened to timeless pieces that could be there throughout any season and could keep making an appearance in years to come? More importantly, INDIVIDUAL STYLE. What happened to everyone having some bit of the new fad but incorporating their unique touch to it? There’s nothing wrong with shaking things up a bit, and adding a bit of flare. This is why I appreciate and follow certain fashion blogs, not to steal their ideas of how they wore something but to learn things that I would never have thought of – mixing certain colours, prints and how to do so without looking like a mess.

When we dress like everyone else, we look and become “everyone”. There needs to be that movement again for individuality in every aspect of our lives. When someone looks at us they see us for who we are and not someone who has blended with the masses, someone who is weak and doesn’t think on their own, but to see a strong person. So I think I’ve done my little part in starting this movement by writing this post, and hope you can share in it as well. Below is the trailer for the book.

 

“Style” is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style.– John Fairchild

Exercise, Fitness

it’s done..

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on it’s done..

Today I had my final session with my personal trainer.. it was bittersweet and I gave it my all. I am a bit weary of doing my own workout now but with the changes that I’ve seen, I have confidence in myself that I can do it. I don’t think i’ll be totally alone though. My husband may be joining my gym and after joining me in my last session, I think we’ll become workout partners and we have good gym chemistry lol.

Now to the part to help you! One point my trainer made is the necessity to change up the workout to keep all of the muscles active and also to not get bored!! There are two ways to approach this – the free way and the not so free way :D. If you like buying magazines, SELF magazine offers workout cards that you can tear out and keep with you and TAKE to the gym if you do not exercise at home. You will benefit from the magazine on the whole if you paid for a subscription but the workouts are also available online. The have an app too! I would suggest getting the subscription if anything because this is an excellent magazine – the name alone tells you you’ll be doing a favor to yourSELF *hehe*. The link to Self’s fitness page is: http://www.self.com/fitness.

Another magazine/website is Shape (http://www.shape.com/). They offer a virtual trainer on their website (I haven’t tried this so I can’t say if it’s good or not but i’ll imagine it is) if you like the stay-at-home exercise routine — I personally HATE to exercise at home. I have NO motivation whatsoever and as much as I say I’ll do something, I’ll find other things to do to get out of it. That’s why there are gyms :D.

Personal trainers aren’t the cheapest but they’re worth it. I made a personal effort not to track my weight over the 5 weeks but to take note of how my body was changing; sometimes that’s more important as the scale could be quite depressing misleading. It’s better to pay attention to how your clothes are now fitting and if your body is changing in a way that YOU want it to. So what I’ve done (as advised by my personal trainer) is glue the cards from the magazine to index cards, then I’ll shuffle and choose 5 exercises to do when I go to the gym. Hopefully with my “new” personal trainer I can keep up what’s been started and continue to look the way I want and feel great about myself.

A year doesn’t have to start from January 1st, your year for change can start the day you decide you want it to happen.