Hey loves!
This is one topic I thought I’d never speak on but I’ve been surprising myself lately. So to begin with, let me just say I am not into accessories much, because I like to keep things very simple (it was such a struggle to find images of me with accessories). Just to be clear, necklaces and earrings are a big no for me.

Clothing make up the main outfit, and although accessories are secondary, they do jazz things up. They are inexpensive and easy to store.
So here are some simple accessories I use:

The belt was from kaunjika (thrifted).

I went through a phase of buying every scarf I thought was cute. I had to get rid of some. Either way, I love how simple scarves look but how warm they can actually keep you when it’s cold.

Watch this video on all the fun ways to wear a scarf.

Bows are one of my favorite things in this world. Easiest way to add life to your hair. You can even ask the tailor to make you a bow from the material of your cloth. They usually do it for free. Use a bobby pin to fasten it.

Finally, one of the most important accessories ever: the head wrap.

I often wonder why it took me this long to start using head wraps on a daily basis, and not just when I’m attending a funeral. These things are actual life savers!!!

Me being a natural sister and having my hair in zingongo (plaited) 90% of the time makes headwraps so handy!

I was asked by a couple of people to do a tutorial on headwraps. There are loads of YouTube videos you can watch on how to go about them, but here are two quick ones. I had to make them short cause I have a limit on the size of my uploads.

Most thrift shops stock on rectangular shaped scarves like these. You can buy a couple so you have a wider selection depending on your outfit and mood.

Right, that’s about it. Thank you for stopping by! Have fun accessorising!

Xoxo

My favourite flowers are roses – yes, the red ones
Old couples make me so happy, and young love makes me think,
“Dear future husband, what’s taking you so long?
I want to have adventures with you too!
Don’t you think you have tested my patience enough?”
And smiling babies with a cool afro, and cute baby hairs give me baby fever.
It’s tempting to say my favourite flowers are some flowers I can’t even pronounce
Or that I find love boring and sappy
But I don’t. And I don’t want to lie.
I am a cliché.

I’ve heard people say, “I used to like that song
Then everyone started liking it, so I stopped.”
I still don’t understand how a song loses its value
Just because the next person is listening to it too.
Even if it was overplayed – my theory is, you never really loved it in the first place.
Anyway. You know that “My Tomorrow Must Be Greater Than Today” song?
It got soooo popular
Everyone was singing it at some point.
I still jam to it. It gives me so much hope and I believe in it.

I’m such a cliché.

“Me Before You”? “The Fault in Our Stars”? “A Thousand Splendid Suns”? 
Yup, I totally cried and I’m no longer ashamed of admitting it.
SPOILER ALERT! (Even though I’m sure the whole world already knows the ending of these books)
Sad endings make me emotional
Worse still, I read those books when I was binge-reading anything to do with death
I wanted anything with a sad ending because I thought happy endings were boring
Only to find myself hoping the book would have a “happily ever after” anyway.
Ugh!
Why do writers play with our emotions like that?
I was totally rooting for the protagonists!

I am a cliché because I actually quit my job to do the things I love and to volunteer
“Oh goodness, there’s another one of those girls – thinking they can change the world.”
Maybe I can’t. Maybe I won’t. Or maybe I’ll only change one life
And that’s OK. I’ll still consider myself lucky
Cheesy quotes about happiness, self-love and purpose?
Those are right up my street
Heck, I use them to caption pictures on Instagram
And I totally feel pumped after watching motivational videos
Personal development books fuel me
I am a cliché. And I love it.

You should too.
If you ever feel ‘cheap’ or ‘ordinary’ for liking what thousands of other people like
Shake yourself.
Tell yourself it’s OK to enjoy things everyone else is enjoying. Don’t try too hard to look cool by being different.
I don’t mean be a people-pleaser
Or a follow-the-crowd kinda person
I mean, have your own principles
But for Pete’s sake
If you genuinely enjoy something
Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it just because they think it’s cliché.

When we moved back to Malawi some years past, I remember my parents telling us we were going to be living in the house they had been building. We were excited to move into our own home, something we had looked forward to for years… until I remembered that the house wasn’t done. The house had no floor, no ceiling, few doors, no fence, and it wasn’t painted. It was a ridiculous idea.

“The house will finish quicker when we move in,” they said (a lot of people tell themselves this comforting lie lol). We did move in, but the house took ages. Our clothes were kept in sack bags because it was so dusty and we had no closets. When we had to sweep, we had to sprinkle water all over the floor before we started, otherwise we would be covered in dust by the time we’re finished. Our bathroom door and was my chitenje (cloth). Then there were the old curtains that we hung using strings and pegs, and the driveway that would turn slippery during the rainy season. Some days, we had to ask our neighbour if we could park our car in their driveway because it was impassable.

Then there was the veranda. During summer, the house would turn into an oven because there was no ceiling yet, so we would usually spend e time there. The veranda too was far from done. It needed flooring, rails and paint. But we loved it there. It had a good view and that Zomba Mountain breeze cooled us off. When the day started, my family would lodge on the veranda. Everyone had a spot there. We didn’t even have chairs then, so we sat on a nkeka (mat) and we would spend time together. When it was time for our meal, we would eat on the veranda, and chat away, sometimes till very late hours. I have very fond memories of those ‘veranda’ days.

Now, the house is done and I am very proud of my parents because they have been through the most to finish it. Their dream came true. The veranda is still there. But now, it’s not the same. The house is cool enough to stay inside during summer so we don’t lodge on the veranda like we did back then. My sisters moved out and work somewhere else. My brother is hardly home. My other sister is usually at school. We all just grew up and it’s not a full house anymore.

But life was happening while we were waiting for the house to be done. Although the goal was for us to live in a finished house, life didn’t stop. Life was passing us by and I didn’t know it then. I usually thought, “life will be more enjoyable when we start living in a complete house.” But in between finishing the house, Charity, Honest and I were cleaning the dishes outside together because we had no sink. Mum and I were cooking outside on the mbaula because we had no cooker, and dad and I were walking to the road together because the car was parked elsewhere. Life was happening then and memories were being made.

Since last year, I took it upon myself to pursue the things I am passionate about (which I explained better here). At first, I thought it was going to be an easy ride with life going my way: rainbows appearing in the blue sky and birds joining me in a happy chorus early in the morning; but it’s been crazy! I mean, I knew the world wouldn’t understand and it wasn’t going to be easy, but I honestly didn’t expect this kind of crazy! It’s been life giving me lessons on patience, pulling up my socks and being content.

For a while, I have been obsessed with reaching milestones I have set for myself. But I could see myself slowly getting uptight as I postponed my joy till I reached my goal. It’s taken me a while to tell myself to slow down, and enjoy the journey too. I’ve noticed that a lot of us think true happiness will come when we get that money, that qualification, that job or finish that project. Yes, there will be happiness (victory tastes sweet y’all!) but do we really want to go through life waiting to be truly happy ONLY when we tick something off our to-do list? What about now?

So, let’s cut ourselves some slack and let our little broke, unqualified, ‘unfinished’ selves appreciate the journey to our goals. Things will work out! Make great memories and seriously,  be easy on you! Don’t let life pass you by.

–Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.

P/S: It’s been such a while since I put up a new post and I am ashamed… Saying I’ve been too busy seems like a lousy excuse, so all I’m left to do now is to apologise. I’m sorry, dear reader. I will, once again, get back to writing and putting up new content. I think you deserve that. I did finally get round to uploading my videos on my YouTube channel. Check it out :). Until next time!

-Faith xxxx