Coucou all

and welcome back to SammyFaces!!



First we talked about movies, now let's talk about books because turns out reading is one of my favourite hobbies after sleeping, travelling, dancing and well... shopping or should I say curating ;-)

Ok maybe I digress. Back to reading and especially the kind of reading which inspires and awakens the urge in me to write, to dream, to share and to read some more. I would need to pause and add as a disclaimer that I also very much enjoy reading the French (especially Camus, Flaubert and De Beauvoir) and British classics (Orwell, Tolkien or Woolf). However I also associate them with high school reading (especially the French) hence it took me some time to go back to read them and truly appreciate their meaning in ways that could impact me.  Naturally I am being overly dramatic as it is often the case with any selection but when it comes to inspiration, I truly believe the following authors and their books literally changed my life in some shape or form.

And with no further due, here they are:

Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist was THE eye opener for me. An epiphany which opened my mind and my soul to the realm of consciousness everything. It's very hard to explain in simple (non-woohoo) terms but this book changed my life in ways I can only think of as a before and after reading it. Years later when I read it again I surprisingly found a new meaning which resonated with my life at the time. From then onward, I enjoyed reading other books written by Paulo Coelho and found they were either very good "morale lessons" to be learned or a bit of a repeat. So if there are 3 books I can take with me on a faraway desert island The Alchemist would make the list.
Chimamanda Adichie
I have professed my love for this author before  so it won't come as a surprise that I am a die-hard fan of this woman's writing from  "Half of a yellow sun" to "Purple Hibiscus" and famous "Americanah" to "Dear Ijewuele" and I absolutely admire everything she does including  how she uses her somewhat "celebrity" status to celebrate African fashion designers (check her IG!!) or open the door to many more  (non-African American) African authors. To be honest for the longest time I associated African authors to school books during my childhood from Cesar Senghor, Camara Laye  to Andre Brink... Then I fell upon Fatou Diome and later on read all (and I mean ALL) of  Chimamanda's books and found myself thirsty for more female African authors. I am glad I continue to find great jewels along the way and can highly recommend "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi,  "Ghana must go" by Taiye Selasi, or "Behold the dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue. Also special mention to Laura Miano.

Jane Austen
Does she even need an introduction? I talked about the movie adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" before so I guess this won't come as a surprise.

Henriette Anne Klauser 
"Write it down make it happen" was a magical read for me and my first dive into self development books. To this date I recommend it to everyone and all I can say is it works!

Added bonus because there is always a bonus ;-)

Michelle Obama
Becoming

Elizabeth Gilbert
Eat Pray Love

Eckhart Tolle
The power of now
And many others: Murakami, Maya Angelou, Baldwin, Elena Ferrante, Ta-Nehisi Coates




Now tell me which book is your all time favourite?

till next time

-S

Coucou all and welcome back to SammyFaces!

Previously I wrote about my journey to achieve a streamlined and happier closet or in the words or Marie Kondo, one which "sparks joy".  I believe the key focus is not only in what you already have but also, as you grow and mature, make the right choices to adapt your closet accordingly.

Hence I introduced 4 simple principles to support your shopping decision and achieve your ideal closet.
1) "Know Your Style" (Part I)
2) "Know Your Lifestyle" (Part II)
3) "Know Your Body"
4) "Know Your Budget"

Today's post is about the  third principle: "Know Your Body". To tell you the truth I started writing this post earlier this year. Then I had to pause for a moment and  acknowledge that talking about my body feels to some extent like opening up a very deep wound as I still struggle with the acceptance of my changing body and appearance year after year.

Turns out I have complained about my appearance since my teenage years - my big cheeks, having no hips, then being too wide at the bottom or at the top -  only to wish years later I could go back to that very state I was unhappy about. So not only did I realize that accepting one's body may be a continuing work in progress, but it also takes a serious level of maturity to stop comparing yourself to mainstream beauty ideals and fully accept who you are at each stage of your life.

Without delving too much into self love and self acceptance (story for another day), I discovered the importance to gradually add into my wardrobe items that sublimates my body at any given time. So here are the key lessons learned when it comes to shopping for your body:

1. Know your body shape 
First thing first lets talk body shape. Of course there are many guides out there (just ask google) but I found that the ones with drawings or pictures of celebs with similar body shapes are quite useful as all you have to do is to google them and see what looks you prefer on them. As for me, year after year I evolve between rectangle and inverted triangle and I am happy I found in Kate Middleton and recently Meghan Markle for that matter, lots of style stalking material ,-)

For this, there is no better exercise than to try it all out and note down the reasons behind the items you like most in your current wardrobe or when you go out shopping or the ones you dislike.  I used to be very self-conscious about my broad shoulders and small muscular arms when wearing sleeveless tops. Over time I found that round neck items accentuate them even more hence I gradually replaced them with V necks in my wardrobe. Having said that, thanks to Princess Meghan I also realized  that I can still wear round /crew neck or sleeveless tops / dresses provided that I wear them with a high waist or belted feature to balance out my shape. Same goes for my curvy bottom and my "bow legs", I now prefer straight trousers as opposed to skinny jeans and if possible midi or knee length as opposed to short length.

3. Know your colours (and what you feel comfortable wearing ) 
I believe how you dress is somehow reflective of your personality. Some people like bold colours, I prefer neutrals and stay away from anything yellow, orange or bright red. But that doesn't mean I stop exploring new things, it simply means I'd rather spend money on staple items in my wardrobe in neutral colours so they also suit my lifestyle - hello (slimming) black, white, grey, blue or camel. Then I would rather play around bolder colours for small accessories or inexpensive items. With this in mind I now stop listening to the sales associates telling me that a yellow short dress suits me only to stay untouched in my closet. Now instead I follow my rules and focus on what I feel comfortable wearing.

4. Size it up or down and if possible have it tailored!
Yes size does matter when it comes to clothes and fit and I have learned to be more flexible with the tag sizes. I now give a few different sizes a try in any given shop, especially as my body keeps changing to choose what fits best. For the longest time I wore ill fitted jackets (supposedly in my "size")  but which didn't fit my broad shoulders, making me feel even more conscious about them. Same goes for those skinny low rise jeans which would hardly fit half of my bottom. Now I prefer to try to size it up or down and focus on a) fit and b)comfort. Nowadays you'll find items across all sizes in my wardrobe and if needed I'll have it tailored to fit me just as I like it.

5. Give away everything that no longer fits you 
What's the point in keeping items which no longer fit? I learned it the hard way as holding onto my "past glories" would only raise frustration each time I glanced at them, fully aware they no longer fit me. So now I try to sell the most pricey items and/or give them away to other people I care about -family, friends or charity. Feel good guaranteed!


So here you have it. Coming up next (soonish) the last principle: "Know your Budget because we are all about smart purchases and that money saving life for the right investment.


Until then let's keep accepting our perfect imperfections and making the best with what we have, right now.

Pictures from pinterest

Coucou all



and welcome back to SammyFaces
It's official my mood fluctuates with the temperature. Hence after a very dull winter, spring is here and so is my mojo. yaayyy!!

In fact, since the return of the sunshine I've been experiencing a virtuous cycle of renewed energy as charging up on vitamins D make me want to go back (gradually) to running, reading, writing, meditating, and exercising again and dare I say it shopping!!!
So I say hooray to the seasons of life... for it is through ups and downs that we are to appreciate endings and beautiful beginnings.

I leave you with these words of Maya Angelou which have been inspiring me as of late:

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty"

Take care lovelies

till next time
-S