Fashion and Style

It's a cold winter here - for Nairobians, at least. Stormy weather, cloudy skies, the occasional downpour - you get the picture. I took a few days off work, and thought that it'd be perfect weather to head to one of my favourite coffee & waffle joints for breakfast with my sister - and finally get a review in. The place is owned by two friends - but don't worry, I made sure to make this review as unbiased as possible! Tucked away in a little corner at the Spring Valley Petrol Station on Lower Kabete Road in Nairobi, you may be forgiven for not realising that there's a cafe in there. In fact, the location may be one of the only complaints I have - not because of the way it looks, but because of the difficulty in finding parking. (Luckily for all of us, they'll be opening up another branch soon, so that should take care of vehicular woes!) Their coffee is already quite popular in Kenya, with the cafe almost being a 'side' to that. The decor is chic and ec...

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 ...

Mondays seem to be the most dreaded of days, at least according to the people I know! But what if we somehow found ways to make Mondays work for us? Imagine being around people who're absolutely excited about their day, who treat their Mondays like they're Fridays. Now imagine being one of those people! 1) Get enough sleep the night before:  By making sure you get enough sleep, you'll start your Monday morning feeling refreshed. This in turn will mean that you're more energised and productive during the day, and less likely to feel stressed during the day. 2) Start your day off with some exercise:  You don't necessarily have to run 10 miles before breakfast, but even 10 minutes of mild stretching or yoga will do! Exercise in any form is a great stress reliever; it helps increase the production of endorphins, boosts self-confidence, relaxes you, and enables you to focus on the moment. If you're doing it right, it can be a meditative experience! Plus, the long-te...