Fashion and Style

The warm Saturday sunlight is certainly doing a poor job of motivating me to run later in the day. Hanging out in one of my favourite cafes with friends and sangria, I stop and marvel at just how awesome my life is. Stepping back from my thoughts, I tune back into what one of my friends is saying.  "Yeah, I've been living in Kenya about two months, but I really haven't done much or visited many places!"  The rest of us all nod in agreement as we chime in with talk of how fast time is passing, how little there is to do, how difficult it is to find (and motivate ourselves to participate in) things to do outside of dancing/drinking/eating/working. Blah blah blah... you know the drill.  Slowly, we trail off as we realise our friend is still speaking about how much she hasn't been able to do since she got to Kenya.  "I mean, one weekend we travelled to Uganda, and did some rafting there. Another weekend, I went camping to Naivasha, and then we did skydiving in Dia...

If anyone told you that there's nothing to do in Nairobi apart from eat, drink and work - they lied. Friday: I realise that there's a Sunday morning Zumba class at the Aga Khan Sports Club, and ambitiously decide to go. I invite a friend to go with me, because, duh, accountability + more fun. Saturday evening: 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning? Am I suuuuure I want to do this? I just jogged for 30 minutes, that's gotta count for something.  Saturday night: Okay, I just had Hashmi and wine. No excuses. We're doing this!!! Sunday morning, 9:55 a.m.: Just drove in. An hour of Zumba! YEAH!!! Sunday morning, 10:05 a.m.: This is awesome! I am going to ROCK this class. Nothing hurts! Jump higher? Sure!! Sunday morning, 10:10 a.m.: Okay, so maybe I'm a little more out of shape than I'd like to admit.  Sunday morning, 10:15 a.m.: Holy shit, how is she moving like that?! Is the human body even meant to be able to do that? Maybe I can try! Sunday morning, 10:16 a.m.: Okay, ow. D...

Happy holidays, everyone! As I write this, I'm sitting in the U.S., having travelled here to spend time with family (and see friends if I get lucky). Saturday the 17th of December, however, found me in a food coma after a delicious Christmas meal with Darshani (of Cupcakes to Curry) at the Arbor in Lavington, Nairobi. The Arbor has a very laid-back, chic outdoor ambiance, well-suited to Saturday brunch or a dinner out with friends. Darshani and I were there to do a review for a podcast, and thus ended up having a multi-course meal at 10 am on a Saturday morning (accompanied by various cocktails, of course, much to the envy of the other diners)! The weather was perfect December weather - warm and sunny, forbidding any sort of indoor seating at all. For my non-Southern hemisphere readers, you'll just have to visit Kenya to know what I mean when I say 'perfect December weather' and 'warm' in the same sentence. It was started about two years ago by Shamini, original...

"When you are at rock bottom, the only way to move is up." These are words we've all probably heard at one point or another - but how many of us have actually lived them? Meet Rohan Gandhi... Growing up, Rohan had dreamed of becoming a pilot. He had a passion for cars and planes, a passion that guided him to becoming a mechanical engineer. Aside from his professional aspiration, he also wanted to box professionally. While growing up, he was a victim of bullying, and was able to overcome an inferiority complex after he was inspired by the Rocky Balboa movies. Sounds like a story many of us can relate to, right? The 12th of February, 2004, was just another day in 16 year old Rohan's life - or so he thought. Who knew that a short span of 20 minutes would end up changing his life forever? A spinal  cord  infarction  is "a  stroke  either within the  spinal  cord or the arteries that supply it. It is caused by arteriosclerosis or a thickening or closing of ...

From time to time, I like to reach out to my readers, old and new, and find out what they think of the blog, and what they'd like to hear about in the future. I'd very much appreciate it if you took the time to fill out this form- I promise it shouldn't take longer than 3-5 minutes. Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone! http://goo.gl/forms/P5a6s6i58R

On the 25th of March, I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend, and there's no way this can ever happen without food! So we chose to meet at 360 Degrees Pizza , at ABC Place on Waiyaki Way, and I thought this'd be a fun way to get in a restaurant review too. I'd been to 360 once before, but didn't get a chance to do the review then. The ambience of 360 is really fresh and lively; the day we went for lunch was unbearably hot (thank goodness the rains are finally upon us), and so sitting in a shaded area that was open and allowed us to enjoy the breeze was VERY nice! I can easily see 360 being a place I could go for a casual coffee and dessert with friends, or a more formal dinner if need be.  As it was a holiday (Easter Monday), they were still serving their brunch menu at lunch time. While I didn't go for brunch food, there was no way I was going to turn down a mimosa (prosecco with passion juice in this case).  Mimosa with my New Orleans keychain incons...

I first met Vava at the Sankalp Forum in Nairobi, a little over a month ago. We were at one of the sessions, a 'service provider speed dating session', designed to put entrepreneurs together with service providers. I was there as a service provider, and she as an entrepreneur. While we spoke for no more than 5 minutes, I was impressed by her, and wanted to know more. I heard great things about her from others too. Naturally, I spoke to her about the YWSE (Nairobi) network, and thought that it'd be great to have her as a speaker. Little did I know how soon this was to happen! This past Monday (the 4th of April), was our monthly "How She Does It" YWSE dinner. Despite the rain and awful Nairobi traffic, Vava showed up, and managed to captivate her audience very easily! Vava Angwenyi, Founder of Vava Coffee Vava aims to make bold and badass (her own words) decisions in all that she does- a phrase that quickly caught on and proved to be quite inspirational to the rest ...

I remember being at the Sankalp Forum a few weeks ago, when Sonia Iraguha walked into the room. I was awestruck by her earrings, and had to ask where she got them from. That�s when I learnt about Kipato Unbranded� Some of Kipato Unbranded's pieces Kipato Unbranded is a social enterprise that works with local artists from informal settlements like Kibera and Dagoretti Market who make jewellery, promoting their skills and allowing them access to markets. Independent jewellery makers (like Elijah and Ojiko who work with Kipato) in lower-income neighbourhoods like these rely on employers to give them access to larger markets. While the industry thrives on work from artists like these two, their salary is entirely dependent on their employers, and often they only receive a small proportion of the profits their work generates, despite the fact that their pieces are mostly aimed at high-end luxury stores, selling at prices that are often out of reach for many Kenyans. Out of the need for ...

Last year, I talked about my own journey of stepping (or breaking) out of the box , so to speak. It definitely hasn't been easy, but I'm grateful for all that I'm learning. Being in a society that may not value creativity as much as I'd like hasn't been very easy, but I'm fortunate enough to have the support of the people around me: family, friends, mentors and even strangers. However, there are many others who aren't so lucky. There are certain fields which certain types of people are not allowed to break into, certain careers which some people just aren't 'allowed' to do, and countless boundaries that people keep imposing on others. Just think about the stereotypes we associate with stay-at-home dads. If a woman was to make the choice to put her career on hold to raise children, she would be praised. The same decision, when taken by a man, is often ridiculed. He isn't given support by the people around him, including friends and family.  A ...

Happy New Year to all of you! I sincerely hope that this year is all that you hope for and much, much more! Yes, I know that it's technically still the 31st, but for years, I always send my wishes out on NYE, so why should this year be any different? This is my favourite holiday of the year; I know it sounds like such a cliche, but I love the fresh start that's represented, the chance to celebrate with friends and family, and the general excitement in the air. (This is also of my favourite pictures to share this time of year.) It's crazy to believe how busy this year has been. With all that's happened, I thought it'd be nice to do a year in review post !  1) 2015 was my first full year in the 'real world': (Read: my first full year out of full time education since I was around one). It's hard for me sometimes to believe that I graduated more than a year ago. Yes, I do miss all the learning that goes on in an institution that's dedicated to 'forma...