Friday 29 January 2016

Colour of love OOTD

Welcome lovelies!

This week provided some relief from the intense heat, and we welcomed some much needed rain.
(I offer up a prayer of gratitude and thanks).
On that note of thanks, I have decided to make today’s topic for some inspiration, LOVE. In all its shapes and forms, it is as essential for life as breathing. I don’t only refer to romantic love, but self love,  sibling love, parental love, love of anything which makes one happy. It is proven that if we concentrate on those things in life which bring us happiness, we will be happier. And what will lead from happiness is love, it will emanate from your being and will be a tangible feeling that can be felt around you, thereby radiating positive energy. And whatever you send out into the universe, will come around; you will be loved in return. 
The journey starts with self love, not vanity, it starts at the point where we decide to value ourselves. As parents we place ultimate importance on the fact that our children should have high self esteem, confidence and enough self awareness to be well functioning adults (especially in our superficial society). We focus on their development, sometimes to the detriment of our own progress. Life is not static, so emotions and feelings change all the time, this means that as adults we too need to constantly develop self esteem, confidence and self awareness. Trials and tribulations thrown at us will change our path, can throw us off balance and result in compromised self esteem and confidence. The only solution is to get up, reroute and face in a new direction. Rebuild that self esteem and confidence; and the belief in yourself will propel you forward. 
When we focus on positivity, we attract positivity… 
So let’s go out there and spread some love, it can be in the form of a hug, a heartfelt thank you or just a smile. The world will be a better place when our theme is positive, it will be a better place when we stop looking into other gardens instead of our own. 
PEACE.
And in today’s monochrome lookpost I’ve included the colour of love to pop! the outfit.
 Red represents love, passion, energy and motivates action. 
These pieces are all from last Winter, and will continue as staples in my wardrobe. 
Remember, now that we have the January sales in full force, that smart shopping is essential. Pay higher prices for classics made with good fabrics, and lesser for high fashion trendy pieces.













Outfit details:
Country Road Shirt (shop similar here)
Soviet coated denim jeans from Zando (shop here)
Scarf gifted
Madison heels from Zando (shop similar here)
Pauls Boutique leather shopper (shop similar here)
Tiffany & Co bracelets bought abroad

Caio for now, 
RuBe xoxo

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Friday 22 January 2016

Beat the Summer heat…

Welcome readers, 

The first full week of school and work, and we sure had some scorchers! Life has returned to normal, and even though I am armed with the intentions to balance life, my first week was a bit of a crazy one. There are certain things which are outside of my control so I will have to focus on balancing those things I can control. Kids schedules, sport commitments, music classes and all the rest were a distant memory when I started this year with enthusiasm. 
As always, life happens, and the original plans need to be altered to tie in with my objectives; taking into account any detours on the path. No matter, I have opened myself up to embrace things as they happen, with the ethos that if it was meant for me it will happen. I have also been trying to let the reins go of things that don’t matter as much and not trying to control everything around me.
Let It Go. 
If it is not an integral part of your plan, or it is not a life and death situation, just let it go. It is also important to be able to distinguish between issues which are not yours, and when people attempt to dump at your door. Steer clear of drama, those who are constantly in victim mode and those who always blame someone / something else for their circumstances. In time they too will realise that the only way to improve your life is by looking inwards. One needs to start the change from the inside and the rest will happen; and realise that nobody else is responsible for your journey but you.
There is no foolproof recipe for living a better spiritually balanced life, and we all just try our best, but if you are mindful of the above, you are on the right path.

I have found myself drawn to whites, this past few weeks and I am certain it’s due to an inner calm I have found. This white cottage dress from Gadija Khan is perfect to beat the heat, it’s light and flowy and super modest. It can be worn open as a light throw over skinnies and t-shirt or as a dress with leggings, so its really trend and versatile.
















Outfit details:
Cottage dress by Gadija Khan Designs (check put her pieces here)
ZARA pants
Burberry scarf bought abroad
Woolworths leather sandals (buy here)
Kate Spade handbag bought abroad
Rebelfunk statement necklace (buy similar here)



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Friday 15 January 2016

2015 Recap & going into 2016

Welcome lovely readers, 

A new year marks a place in time, from which one can measure progress. It gives me the satisfaction of looking back at a year and feeling a sense of accomplishment. I always attempt to learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and generally improve on myself as a person; and as I have mentioned in many posts 2015 was indeed a year where I managed to tick all those boxes. 

The danger of trying to do too much is that I rarely have down time, or a respite from the hamster wheel which I put myself on. It’s in my nature to always keep moving forward and stay busy - it’s part of my philosophy to enjoy every day for the joy it brings and opportunities presented. An important lesson I learnt in 2015 is that I need to pace myself, and more importantly keep busy with things that really matter to me. I need to spend my energy on things and people who matter in my world. 
During my month long holiday and a spiritually rejuvenating trip to Bali (post on this still to come), it was highlighted again that I need to spend more time to balance my work and rest. I became increasingly aware of this during last year and towards the later part of the year I started making some changes to put this in place. Some of the steps included excluding negativity from my space, read - associating with happy, inspirational people. People who are successful in their own right and understand the philosophy of spreading good energy and finding the time to help others. I have found that steering clear of negative  situations and choosing my involvement (or non involvement) in certain areas, have gone a long way to giving me the time and energy for my down time. 

It’s a proven fact that toxic, unhappy people and situations drain more energy than they are worth, leaving very little left for what’s most important. Another step I took was to actively start reading again, and not just light hearted novels (which absolutely have a place and time) but meaningful books with life changing lessons. I enrolled in an academic business course to sharpen business skills and learn new things. My interactions with people too have changed, as I found through this journey I was more present in conversation and connected easier with like minded individuals. This journey was one towards a stronger and better me, and took me on a road of introspection- where I had to first take a long, hard, critical look at myself. It was not an easy path, I realised some things about myself which I didn’t like, and in identifying these traits, I was able to remedy them and move forward.

All of these address the intangible energies of the body and mind, and this also ties in with physical health. Therefore eating healthy and pushing the heart rate on a regular basis goes a long way to helping with a total life detox (as I like to call it). Furthermore, taking the time to look after your appearance and grooming just adds to process, it doesn’t mean one is superficial. In fact, what is on the outside should mirror what’s on the inside; so if you feel good on the inside, take the time to reflect it on the outside. 

These are just a few of the things I implemented during last year in an attempt to gain better balance. The biggest lesson I learnt? 
It all begins from the inside, be real, be you and you can never go wrong. 

And onto a recap on a few of 2015’s posts, and the applicable the theme of the posts. The journey just continues into 2016.


January:
Holiday
February:
Valentine poem for my love
February:
Scheduled time outs 
March:
10 Things I am grateful for
March:
Farewell to my firstborn

April:
Motherhood: letting go
April:
Family Balance 
May:
Discussions with kids and lessons for them
June:
Building the wardrobe with good classics
July:
Charity
July:
Introducing Few and Far Collections

July:
Inner peace -
Ramadan reflections

July:
Buying classic pieces that won’t date
August:
Remember myself in between the tasks of being
wife, mum, homemaker, administrator etc
August:
Being strong women and uplifting each other
August:
I am thankful for where I am today.
Contemplating life and choices
August:
Be Aware. Be kind to yourself.
Take regular time outs.
September:
Being surrounded by inspiring women
Celebrating the success of others
September:
The Wardrobe Audit is introduced
September:
Healing from the inside
October:
Islamic New Year -
A stronger and better me
October:
Exams and teaching discipline
October:
Finding purpose and inner peace
October:
Declutter!

November:
Empowering Women-
Pomegranate Lifestyle Breakfasts


November:
Things happen when they are meant to
December:
 “Work hard and become a leader,
Be lazy and become a slave”

December:
20th Anniversary 
December:
Thank you and Algamdulilah
That’s a wrap!

Caio for now,
RuBe xoxo











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