Collaboration blogpost by NAN : Time to unwind

Hi there,

 Does the title of this blogpost make you think of the baby formula NAN, if so then I know you're a mom, soon to be mom, aunt or something in that line, lol. Well in this case NAN is not a formula but stands for

 

Nadia - Abieda - Namreen

We're all wife's and most importantly mothers, whether of one or three, big or small, kids have their way of making us mad and even though we love them so so much we need to try and keep our sanity for our own and their sake, right? 

So we did this collab blogpost to share what we do to unwind after a crazy day or week of work, managing kids and everything else.

Meet the bloggers I did the collab with Abieda and Namreen 

Abieda Siers 

Mom of pretty twin girls and the cutest baby boy of 6months.

Go read on crazymomjournal

how she keeps her sanity.

Namreen Sonday 

from namusnarritives . Mom of three beautiful kids. Go have a read on Namreen's blog what she does to unwind.

And then there's me, mom of a busy little four year old girl that keeps me on my feet. Please read further to find out what I do to de-stress :)

Coffee

 So the number one thing I look forward to from the moment I open my eyes in the morning is a cup of coffee, no matter what time of the day or night, that one cup of pure bliss is what gives me life! Yes, yes I'm one of those 24/7 kind of coffee moms.
I enjoy it even more if shared with a friend or two but that only happens once in a while.

.

Soothing smells

A massage, mmm that would be perfect if a person could receive everyday but let's stick to what's realistic in this busy life. To me when having a warm shower (obviously a quick one, lol) the Youghazi body wash in Orange Blossom Amber Accord Ylang Ylang definitely makes me feel like I'm in a massage room for a bit, the soothing smell calms me and gives me that instant relaxation.

Shopping

 The most expensive thing to de-stress you'll think. But strange enough the cheapest most simple thing I get myself will make me happy and I can feel those stress hormones disappearing.

Blogging

Even after a long stressful day sometimes typing my heart out (in other words blogging), makes me feel at ease somehow and it's a way of destressing. It's like releasing whatever has been pilling up on the insides. 

And I'm not even going to lie I cant remember when last I read a book and I love reading however I read alot of articles and blogs online these days because that's where we live, most of the time Online.

Being optimistic 

They say being optimistic helps reduce the negative toll stress hormones take on your body. So no mater what the situation I always try to stay positive.

Music

I don't stay too far away from work but that 20 minute ride to and from work everyday I really enjoy. It's my alone time before I pick up miss chatterbox. I put on my favourite music and there I go singing along and hitting those false notes, not only does it release that work stress but that happy feeling comes along, puts me in a good mood for sure. 

Exercise

 I know this one's on almost everyone's list of de-stress things and yes it should be so I'm not even gonna try to give excuses but I do enjoy walking. I know I'm lazy but atleast it's something and I enjoy doing it, different views and some fresh air.

Nature

Last but definitely not least whether taking a hike or just sitting and admiring the beauty of nature truly makes me happy. I can sit for hours and watch how the clouds move or the sun set. They say exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing.

Thanks for reading and do let me know what you do to unwind.

Xoxo Nadia SS

Always keep Shining!

Stripe shirt

Hi there ladies, how's it going?

I know I've been awfully quiet on my blog lately and not posting as much as I'd like, I apologise. Last month myself and my little one went to Namibia to visit family and I really wanted to blog about our trip but just never got the time. 

My thoughts lately

I aways think about how blessed I am to have such a great family, they don't realise it but it's all the little things that count. My daddy (dad inlaw) goes and fetch my daughter everyday from creche, by the time we go fetch her she already ate and most times went to mosque with him to make Maghrib, and she loves going to mosque with him. Sometimes I fetch her before they leave for Magrib and she cries to go with to go make salaah, how cute. My mommy on the other hand cooks for us every other night and that really helps when we get home late and hungry, she'll decide to do our washing just because, and all these little things really help in our busy lives and I appreciate it so. But besides all the great stuff and knowing my baby is safe I can't seem to shake the weird scary feeling that I've been having lately. I have thoughts like "What will I do if anyone tried or did something to my family but mostly my baby". I guess it's all the horrible things happening in Cape Town / SA lately, it's not only happening to babies/ young children but also to adults. What goes on in the people's minds raping and murdering? Are more and more people becoming mentally ill? I mean no person in his/her right mind will do such things to a baby. Just the thought of it makes me sick, sometimes the headlines alone are so bad that I can't even read futher. I'm so worried when my child's not with me and constantly phoning and wanting to talk to her. I pray each and everyday to the Almighty to guide and protect our children. 

On a more positive note in less than a week the holy month of Ramadaan will start, I'm so excited. Not only a time to cleanse our bodies but also our minds and uplift our spirits, do good and give more, more than we do in the rest of the year. In Sha Allah. Wishing you a beautiful month and may you reap the rewards of this beautiful month and may your fast be accepted In Sha Allah, Ameen. Ramadaan Kareem to you and your family. 

About the look:

 I went to an event and decided to wear the stripe shirt. Who doesn't love a stripe shirt? especially one with bell sleeves huh. This kind of shirt has been trending on Instagram/ Pinterest for a while and I've been loving it. This particular one I'm wearing I bought from online shop @phashionista, found them via instagram (like I find most of the online shops)Their service is amazing ladies, you can inbox her and withing minutes she will respond back with price, size or availability or what ever you want to know. I've had instances where I inbox or even comment on a pic to ask about a price or something and they just don't bother to reply or they reply after a week. I just went and matched the rest with my top and jeans, the bag, chocker, boots and jacket goes together and I added gold accesories.

Outfit details:

Stripe shirt : Phasionista_sa

 MRP Jeans & chocker

Forever New watch

 YDE sunglasses and Earings (4Flavour )

Sissy Boy Bag and bangles from Edgars &

Charles and Keith Boots (bought last winter)

These pictures were shot by my colleague JP (instagram:ctthe_life_photographer/)

 

Thank you for reading and always keep Shining!

xoxo

Nadia SS

Mommy and Mini : Lips and Lashes

Hi beauties,
Happy Weekend!!!

It's been more than a month since I last blogged and it's been crazy I tell you. Besides the norm work being hectic my husband was in a car accident that resulted in our car being written off, it's been hectic with one car but that's minor we all just happy that he's fine Alhamdulilaah. My three year old went to creche for the first time in January and cried for two weeks everyday (so relieved she's past that now and happy to go in the mornings), so we all good, alive and living.



My last blog post was a similar one, a "Mummy & Mini' kind of post" if you haven't seen it have a look here. Both that photoshoot and this one were taken by Capturing Concepts Photography, and as you can see we had loads of fun, reading, riding bike, colouring, and cuddling. I'm sure professional photographers have learned through their experiences with young ones to have that special amount of patience.

I love taking pictures of my daughter and are always being told by friends and fam how they love my pictures I post on Facebook & Insta but guys it's not easy, there's a huge amount of patience that's needed to take pics of my busy little girl. Anyone with a baby or young child can say how difficult it is to get them to smile or even stand still for pics. It's not just one picture and Oooh its perfect, no way, how I wish it was like that. It's a couple of tries before you get it right. In-between the tries and getting it right it's "Shazia smile", "Shazia look this way", "no don't pull your face like that" to "I will buy you chippies and sweeties". This time for this photoshoot it went as far as I wil take you on the boat, yes you read right, I had to take her on a boat. It all started when she saw the canal boat at Intaka Island leaving with people while doing the photoshoot and cried to go on it, and me being me, told her it's fine I'll take you on there when we done.

 

About the look:

This look was once again inspired by my three year old daughter Shazia, she was the one that had the Lips and Lashes T-shirt first.

I then started seeing the adult version of the t-shirt all over instagram but everytime I tried to order it it was sold out, till my last attempt I got lucky.

I don't believe in just buying name brands, I buy what ever I see is cute whether from a china store or a naarjie store what ever I can afford. The whole outfit she's wearing was so affordable, she's wearing a Jet T-shirt and Sandals, tutu skirt from China Town, Lovisa Chocker and her cute lil headband she got as a gift from my friend Fadwah (go check out her Insta page @ Tiny Totz Accessories). Obviously with kids it's so easy to play dressup because they can just wear anything and still look so cute.

Okay so I copied her look but made it more modest and comfy for myself, a longer lenght skirt and for a more playfull look I added the pom-pom scarf styled in a turban, black tassle earings to go with the top and skirt.

 

 

These last few pictures sums up Shazia in a nutshell, she's been loving her scooter and bike, building puzzles and colouring in, counting and watching you-tube nursery rhymes and singing along.

 

  

Here we had a moment, Shazia was just so tired already and didn't feel like taking any more pictures, like i mentioned before that this was our second shoot for the day and it can be really tiring especially in the hot Cape Summer sun. So instead of getting mad at her like I usually do for not listening and doing the opposite, I took her in my arms and hugged her and that's when they took the opportunity to take this picture.
To see the outcome of the pics, the love shared between mother and daughter brings joy and warmth to my heart and makes the running after her and begging all worthwhile.

Thank you for reading and always keep Shining

xoxo

Nadia & Shazia