I'll let you in on a little secret. When I was in my early teens, I was an awkward gangly thing with skinny legs, a rectangular body and broad inward sloping shoulders that made me look like an old cheese string. I absolutely despised those years as a teen, because whilst my friends were sporting bod's that could rival the ladies who grace Sports Illustrated, I was an 'ironing board' i.e. straight up and down, with not even a little bump or any lady lumps. So naturally, bra shopping for me was limited to those hideous white crop top things, and deep inside I longed for one of those cute triangle bra's from M&S that were all the rage back then. After a bit of bra stuffing (no shame over here, chicken fillets were the one!), puberty finally fit me like a truck and overnight i had boobs (average sized ones, but they finally existed!), wide hips and an ok butt, coupled with a variety of stretch marks from the quickness of everything well… Popping out, and nowadays at the grand old age of twenty-four, I have a somewhat sizeable chest that has fluctuated between sizes over the years to due to weight loss and weight gain, but I find that one of my favourite things to do when i'm feeling particularly 'treatchoself' is to shop for new underwear. For me there is just something so magical and empowering about wearing a fresh, matching underwear set, and I find especially so when I have something stressful coming up such as a critique or a presentation, when I just want to feel like superwoman. 

Liverpool is wonderful for many things, and I get excited any time I go into a new Independent that i've yet to try. There are places solely for Bagels, places for kitsch and colourful homewares, and my favourite: places to have a coffee and people watch. The Cow and Co Cafe has been one of my new finds in the city centre, and although it's fairly small inside, it packs a punch, filled to the brim with delicious cakes, good coffee and wonderfully simple decor, it's easy to lose track of time in such a lovely place.. Which I did when I last visited. It's easy to get carried away when you can sit somewhere warm with Nutella Toast, a Flat White and some thesis work (which by the way i've managed to finish and submit - but more on this in another post!).

I'll let you in on a secret. I think i'm a little bit in love with Liverpool. Do you remember in school when there was a person you weren't too fond of? And suddenly you warm up to the person, and overnight you've developed some sort of staggeringly cringeworthy crush on them? Yep. That's kinda how I feel about 'Livahpewl'. It's a city filled with independent haunts, friendly people and insanely beautiful architecture. From The Georgian Quarter to The Waterfront, To Bold street and Hope street; I finally feel settled which is a wonderful feeling,  something I didn't feel in Lincoln. One of my favourite places in Liverpool has to be the area surrounding the bombed out church near Bold Street. It's one of the first areas i grew accustomed to quickly, and apart from the beautiful church itself (which is sadly currently closed for renovations), the area is home to some of the best food and coffee places in the city and it's always a pleasure to be in the area.

It's 21:45 on a Saturday night and I'm scrambling for a last minute Valentine's day post because the one I was planning isn't quite ready yet, so this time next year expect a more polished post, but for today here's something that has been sitting on my mind quite a lot recently. I've touched on the act of self care, loneliness and now to touch on the notion of being incomplete if you're single. From a cultural perspective it goes; Education, Job, Marriage, Kids. Marriage itself plays a huge part in Nigerian culture, and i've gotten to the age where i've got a wedding to go to almost every summer, and every one on Facebook seems to be sporting a huge diamond on their left hand, so naturally i'm  feeling a little bit of pressure to find someone and settle down, particularly with every year that passes, but to me 30 is the new 20 anyway, but more on that in another post...

With Valentine's day fast approaching, and me really feeling the love this month, I think a giveaway would be appropriate don't you think? And what better way to celebrate the month of love, than with a little pink bag eh? I so wish I could keep this little beauty to myself as it's so beautiful and the colour is adorable, but sharing is caring! I'd so wear this Marc b. Knightsbridge bag with a pair of blue jeans, a nude blouse and some Charlotte Olympia kitty flat's (in my head), whilst glamorously running errands in Kensington (also in my head, but a girl can dream right?)...

How to enter? Simple, just make sure you're following me on bloglovin', and then comment below letting me know the nicest thing you've done on Valentine's Day, or the nicest thing anyone has done for you on Valentine's day. You can also follow Marc b. on Twitter for an additional entry, just let me know if you've done so below! Good luck, a winner will be chosen at the end of the month so you can step into spring in style ;) Worldwide entries welcome.

Good Luck! ♡

x

I'm beginning a series of blog posts called "On:…" which will be filed under my "Life" tag for future reference. This will be a series of musings about life filled with little snippets of happiness, fear, tears and love. You've probably noticed that I slowed down on the more personal posts over the past two years, this was due to two main reasons, 1.) I probably have the most uneventful life as a blogger, i'm generally at uni from 08:30 in the morning until about 19:00 at night leaving very little time to do much apart from eat, sleep and read and 2.) I have a fear of over-sharing. Like a true Virgo, i like to listen and not talk much, but a blog is more of less the contents of my head and my heart portrayed through words and photography, and as it's a personal blog i think it's sometimes important to speak what's on one's mind, as long as it can be done in a way that i feel comfortable with. The internet is forever as someone once said.. However I did say that i'd be tackling the topic of love in all it's forms for February, so here's something on girlfriends and galentine's.

Oh the things you'll find in a Charity Shop…

The vast majority of items in my wardrobe are either vintage, or from a charity shop of some sort. I prefer to shop this way because it's kinder on my wallet and it generally means I can find pretty unique items that are different to the items lining the high street. So what better way to celebrate my love of charity shop clothing, and talk about World Cancer Day, than by wearing an entire outfit bought from Cancer Research in Kensington. 

Cancer comes quietly in the night, it slips in the cracks and moves stealthily and swiftly, enveloping and swallowing whole in it's darkness, and i still have vivid memories of the death of my Aunt Shelly, a beautiful vibrant, kind woman who always had a smile dancing on her lips, arms open wide for Auntie-Hugs with the scent of floral perfumes clinging to her. Whenever we visited New York, Aunt Shelly and her sister, my Aunty Rally would open up their homes, hearts and lives to my family and I, and although she battled steadily and bravely against the tumour on her brain, Cancer cut her life short, leaving us all confused and struggling with what could only be described as having your heart yanked from your chest. My mother, a woman as strong as steel sobbed in a way that still haunts me years later.