Been gone too long

Hi All,

Wow, it's been over two months since my last post. There's so much that's been going on in my life, I've felt incredibly overwhelmed. There's been a lot of change, and you know how we are as human beings, we're creatures of habit therefore change can rattle our cages. So, my cage has been very rattled in the past few months and I've lost a whole lot of weight too! Think I went down a whole dress size, I was not even trying to lose weight. But all's well that ends well.

I've attended two weddings in October and one in November, below is an outfit I wore to one of the weddings that was this weekend. It was my cousin's wedding and I had a lot of fun, even though I was a little sick.

Still love you all my readers and I missed you guys a lot.

KISSES!

I love these shoes

Before the sun comes out

Hello guys! I wanted to show you guys a typical winter outfit of the day for me. Winter is on its way out, and I've hardly posted anything. I thought I should show you guys what I normally wear to work before the beautiful summer sun comes out and I start frolicking  about in my short shorts.

Like I said in an earlier post, I hate winter! And I never feel like any of my outfits are "post-worthy". It's not like I'm running around in my sweat pants all winter, its just that I normally have so much on! I layer all of my clothes to a point where I'm just uncomfortable and on days when I am dressed really well,  time just seems to fly, by the time I want to take some outfit pictures the day is over, and I'm beat! I love summer though, the days are longer, I love dressing up in summer,  wearing nice light pieces, colorful pieces that just put a smile on my face. I'm an even bigger fan of spring, simply because it's not too hot, there's always that light breeze of fresh air, that keeps me from being too sweaty.

Well, in summation, this is a typical outfit of the day for me in winter. I'm always in a pair of trousers/pants, I'll have on a long sleeved shirt, jersey or a turtle neck depending on how I'm feeling or how cold it is. I love blazers! They have been my go to "outfit finishers" for this winter. If it's really cold I'll have a trench coat over the blazer and take it off once I'm in doors and the air con has the office warm and toasty.

It's Friday today, and I felt this outfit needed a bit more pizazz, then I remembered a trick I saw on one of my favourite blogs  Frantic Dreams, I decided to take one of my new scarves and knot it much like Fran did here and also here in her knotted details post.  I get SO much inspiration from my fellow bloggers, I just love the blogosphere!

Style -inSpiration

Hi everyone,  last week I was going through my favourite blogs trying to catch up on my reading and I came across Toya's  style muse post (The Grey Pastel.com). She looked so good she inspired me create my own distressed denim shorts. So on Saturday afternoon I took a pair of scissors, a razor and some bleach and I went to work creating my own funky pair of distressed jeans. I love the way the jeans turned out, but I don't like the way the photo's I took turned out though. My boyfriend was the photographer for the day, and he was in a hurry to have our photo session over and done with because he wanted to go watch the Tri-Nations rugby game, this leg of the game was between South Africa and Australia.

I decided to wear the shorts with a pair of what we call pumps here in SA and they are called flats in the USA I think. I hope the pictures do justice to this masterpiece of mine. Thanks for stopping by guys, much appreciated.

Close up view of my earings and necklace. I thought this shot would be sexy and gangster. Don't know why. I'm breaking out lately! Acne is making my life difficult.

See what I mean? He cut off my whole head here. LOL.

A little shimmering gold

It was women's day on the 9th which was yesterday. Some friends and I decided to celebrate the day on Saturday, this is what I wore.

Voluptuous Vixen of the week

Hey Vixens, today's posts is all about the Voluptuous Vixen of the week. It'll actually count as Voluptuous Vixen post of the month because I don't think I'll be featuring anyone else anytime soon. Largely because I don't have time to blog as much as I'd like to, and secondly because some of the Vixens I'd like to feature on here are celebrities. It’s difficult to get any information on SA celebrities let alone information relating to their fashion choices. There aren’t a lot SA celebrities the net so without proper info on them I don't really like to blog about them.

Mihlali wearing one of her own creation under her clothing line of  S'dudla Haute Couture

Today's vixen is someone I'm very excited to have on the blog. Her name is Mihlali Qqada, she's got a killer dress sense, and she’s what I'd like to call an O-D, Original Diva. She was kind enough to agree to take part in a Q and A and she sent me some fun pics of herself. The interview is below, enjoy!

Mihlali is what we here in SA would call S’dudla-fabulous (S’dudla is a term of endearment for phat girls in SA). She lives in Pretoria the Capital City of South Africa, but says as a Xhosa woman her heart is still in the Eastern Cape where she was born in the coastal town of East London. She's an all-rounder kind of woman, working in the professional world and also holding it down in the fashion scene as the designer and owner of S’dudla Haute Couture.

The name Milhlali means joy and happiness. It’s almost like when her parents named they were predicting she would be the blissful woman she is today, because her name matches perfectly with her warm personality and her radiant smile. Without further ado, here’s the interview.

1.    From all the photos I’ve seen of you, one thing that stands out to me is the confidence you exude. Not a lot of women are blessed with this kind of confidence. Some women go into their 40s hating their ample bodies and appearance, how have you gotten this right?

From a very early age my Mother (Indlovukazi - Quees- Lioness) has always affirmed not only by beauty but my worth too.  She mastered the art of self-love and appreciation and never failed to let me and my sisters know how special and unique we were and how grateful she was to have US as her daughters.  This catapulted my confidence and made me the woman I am today.  I feel like women have so many issues and problems they deal with from being an all round care giver, to being a nurturer and protector. All of this is done with poise, a smile and high heels; lack of confidence does not even make the list of things women have to worry about.  For me you need to start with self before saving the word (which is the invariable the role of a woman).  My confidence comes from my love and respect of self.  I am beautiful in all ways imaginable and the comments of others only seek to affirm what I already know.  And this by no means is arrogance.

2.    You have a killer dress sense, who would you say your style icons are? Which women plus size and or straight size would you say inspire your style?

Mo’nique is most definitely one of my favorite voluptuous women icons.  I do not refer to perfectly rounded women as plus size largely because I do not understand PLUS to what, who is the benchmark of size and why.  So for me size is like age, it ain’t nothing but a number.  My dresses (that I design under my label S’dudla Haute Couture) are shaped and sized to every, and any woman’s figure and do not possess sizes.

I love exploring with fashion and setting trends, I love different color pastels and I enjoy styling people (big or small).  For me fashion is about expressing your inner style sense.  I also love vintage wear, I sell vintage dresses, skirts, blouses, jewelry all because I love styling people and of course myself too. 

3.    Do you work in the fashion business? And if so what do you do? Are you a designer, jewelry maker? If not, do you have ambitions of entering the fashion business?

Yes I am a designer, I design my own clothes and for the others too.  My label is called S’dudla Haute Couture by Mihlali Gqada, I also scout vintage for retail and commercial purposes.  I really love this part of the life; I am inspired by a range of things, from making women smile when you style them to finding perfect accessories for a gown etc.  For the Durban July 2011 I dressed and styled about eight ladies, all different sizes, shapes and styles. It was challenging and intriguing at the same time. 

4.    Do you design and make some of your clothes?

Most of my clothes I design myself

5.    What are your favorite stores to buy clothes? Stores which you find cater aptly to the plus girl?

The Space, SOWETRO, World Wear, Forever New (shoes and accessories) Woolworths (amongst others) shoes ALDO, EUROPA, SOCRATI and occasionally NINE WEST I also love MR Price pumps - it depends what I am looking for.

6.    Are you a bargain hunter? Do you ever buy at bargain shops? And by that I mean, those down town, china town stores, that might offer the same shoe, skirt, or pants at a high end retailer for cheaper?

Well…look the China shops do sell GENUINE goods, so I am overly skeptical of them BUT with that said I go any and everywhere, I know bargain spots and love sale season.  Where I can get good quality goods for less you will find me all styled up smiling all the way to the till.

7.    If you do bargain shop, what are some of the secrets you’d like to share with us? What are the big no-no’s to do when bargain shopping?

Do not buy cheap high heels – for us heavier women high heels need to be stern and able to carry our weight. So as far as I’m concerned NEVER EVER compromise on shoe quality otherwise they will break at the oddest hours of the day

I love bargain shopping but only on sale season – then you’re guaranteed to find the same quality at a lower price. 

8.    What do you prefer most for your shape? Pants, skirts or dresses?

Skirts and dresses are my ultimate favorites, shorts as well make you feel casual and sexy but nothing beats a tight yellow knee length dress with purple sandals and red jewelry … you can never go wrong with a dress and it cuts out thinking about the tope etc.

9.    What is on your must have list for this spring /summer

Short and long sun dresses, shades (I love this accessory), colorful earing, bangles and rings.  And as for the sandals and bags – GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!

Bold colors are the order of the day this summer

COLOUR … COLOUR … AND MORE COLOURS – BOLD YELLOWS, ORANGES, BLUE, REDS, and PURPLUE, WITH WHITE YOU CAN’T GO WRONG

10. I love how you wear anything you want! You wear pencil dresses, form fitting skirts, things which some people would say plus size women should not wear due to the shapes of their bodies. Do you ever have friends or family members that are surprised at your fashion choices and how do you deal with people who frown upon what you may choose to wear?

I live for me and do me every day all day all year round.  I learnt to ignore the glances whether good or bad because for me it’s not what the next person says or thinks but how I feel.  My mother at times thinks my outfits are small and I have learned to tone down for conservative activities like church work etc. but I still stay true to me! Just like Steve Biko wrote what he liked, I wear what I like.  When it comes to the haters – all I have to say is GET A LIFE!!! Because I’m living mine

11. Any words of wisdom you’d like to impart on fellow Sista’s who are having problems dressing their bodies?

First accept and understand your body shape (and trust me this applies to every single woman thin or fat)…Learn to want to dazzle and believe that looking HOT and feeling SEXY is not the exclusive right of smaller figured woman, there is enough space for all of us to look great…then GO shopping (or give me a ring and I will hook you up, in your own budget)…Appreciate your body and always remember that less is more, avoid looking overly desperate to look hot by wearing small garments, be real to you and dress for your body.

Thanks again S’dudla Diva it was fun!

And the award goes to ... mwa!

How you doing? (Wendy Williams's voice, dimmed eyes, parted lower lips and all!) view the how you doing instructional vid here.

Big shout out to my girl Olivia from http://waituntilthesunset.blogspot.com/. She showered me with some love earlier this week, giving me the one lovely blogger award.

The rules are similar to the last award I got, you have to link it back to the person who gave you award, write seven random fact about yourself and pass it on to fifteen bloggers. Well, I'm gonna break the rules and tag the post of the last award I was given. It already has all this information and to read it you can click HERE.

Thanks again Olivia, welcome to all my new readers. Hope you stick around.

Kisses!

Been a while

Hi fellow Vixens, I know I've been gone for about a minute! I've kinda been busy and I've been trying to hustle some new projects for the blog, so those endeavours have been taking up my time. These new projects are actually very challenging and I don't have anything to show for them yet:/

Here are some fashions, I'm wearing my military jacket and these blue jeans I bought from edgars, they are actually supposed to be wide legs but they sit on me like bootlegs, I'm not sure what's up with THAT, but I love them still.

Me on the phone trying to order some debonairs pizza.  yummy!

Military jacket

My friends and I

The reason why I LOVE full skirts

In my post yesterday I stated that I am currently in LOVE with high waisted "full" skirts. I had a few of them a couple of years back (I'll dig into my old clothes and do a feature of them on here soon) and I enjoyed wearing them so much because I feel that they are the right kind of skirt for my figure. I love how they sit high enough to cover my belly, and boy do I have a lot of belly! It's just one of those parts of my body that I'm still working on accepting. So I enjoy these puffy high waisted skirts cos they can cover that part of my body and they just look great on big gurls.

Christina of Musings of a Fatshionista together with Brittney of Born in Sequins have reignited my love for these kind of skirts. They look SO good in these high waisted skirts they made me feel like I had to get myself one too. If you haven't been to either one of these blogs yet, be a darl and visit them, it will be worth your while!

Here's a few picture's of the ladies, they both have a great dress sense, and they definitely make being plus size cool.



Love the fullness and the color



I love her here, I love the pick-aboo of the bra and the vest. The skirt is a perfect finish

There go the puffy shoulders, so sexy.

This woman is gorgeous.

This may not be the puffy skirt I was talking about, but this high waisted pencil look is phenomenal on her. Look I'm straight but DZAMN!

I want to be this brave with my tummy, have it out this much and not be self conscious about it.

SUMMER ... SIGH

I've been fantasising about all the things I can't wait to wear in summer! For one, I'm currently obsessed with full high waisted skirts! I can't seem to find them anywhere! But I've decided that if I don't find one that makes me happy I'm gonna have one made. Not that I can't wear skirts now, but wearing skirts in winter is not as fun as wearing skirts in summer.

Crop tops are also on my MUST WEAR list for this summer. I already have a few of them, but I'm looking to add to my collections. But instead of buying this time, I think I'll just make my own crop top out of one of my old shirts, I was going through some of my favorite blogs and I saw on God Favourite shoes that it's possible to make one KICK ASS crop top. You can see her crop top here

I can already imagine this top on me. With my shorts, with skinny's, the options are endless!

I miss summer!

WINTER BLUES

It's been a while since I've taken any outfit of the day pictures, simply because I hate winter. I always feel like I don't have enough winter clothing for me to put decent outfits together, but I know that's a lie because I did go shopping for some essential winter items, all I need is to be a little creative with my outfit choices. Bottom line though is that I would much rather prefer to hibernate during winter months and wake up in summer. I don't have a social life during this time of the year because I'm too cold to go anywhere and even i I do go out I'm grumpy. My routine is work, sleep and occasionally I'll let people visit me at my home. I hate the layering of clothes in winter, its necessary because if you don't layer you freeze your butt off! But the layering makes me feel extra bulky and tired.Nothing could make winter months bearable to me. I NEED for the next month to go as fast as it can. I hate winter!

Here's an outfit of the day, from Saturday I was hanging around with the gorgeous BF, like seriously, my BF is yummy! LOL. I should post pics of him soon.

FIRST BLOGGER AWARD

I have received my first blogger award! This was given to me by the gorgeous blogger of Kurvy Kouture. I can't even begin to tell you how good this award makes me feel. It has really affirmed me as a blogger and made me realise that there are people who read my blog and enjoy it enough to award my efforts. So a very big THANK YOU to all the people who stop by this blog every now and then, and an even bigger THANK YOU to the gorgeous Voluptuous Vixen of Kurvy Kouture for giving me this award!


Here are the rules:

• Link back to the person who gave you the award.
• State 15 random things about yourself.
• Link back to 7 bloggers.

Random things about me:

1. I believe prayer changes lives.

2. I'm scared of driving long distance, I have a phobia of car accidents. I'm trying to banish fear from my life though so one day I will get over this fear.

3. My one foot is smaller than the other, sometime I feel like one foot is size 5 and the other is size 6. But I get by.

4. I'm not a big fan of sweets, candy or sweet stuff, I prefer a rack of ribs, a stake over any dessert.

5. I LOVE reality TV. Desperate housewives of Atlanta, Brandy and Ray Jay Family Business, Basketball Wives! These are to me what sports is to men. Love them!

6. I'm a very good poet, like really, I used to get standing ovations when I was at varsity, I've always wanted to be a writer and I believe I have a gift of using words to paint a picture or tell a story. One day I will follow through on this.

7. My natural hair is long and thick, I'd like to wear my natural hair more often but I don't treat it well enough to be able to wear it everyday. I am really clueless on how to best treat my hair. The whole South African culture is like that.

I've run out of random things about myself. So I'm going to cheat a little and leave it at 7. Sorry!

The blogs I'm passing the award on to are:

1. The Notorious ZAG of Bigg Badd Wolf
2. Chubby Diva on a Dime
3. Chunky Funky Monkeyz
4. My thrifted closet
5. The thick spot
6. The Curvy Mrs
7. Classic Raw Beauty

The Queen is coming to town!

I heard at the end of last month already that Oprah Winfrey was coming not only to South Africa but to MY home town! I could not believe it at first, like really, what are the odds that my idol would come to my home town? I thought it just couldn't be.

 It turns out its the truth, Oprah is coming to town this Friday the 24th June 2011, to receive an honorary degree from the University of the Free State. The website of the University had the says "Our university will be awarding an honorary doctorate in Education to the global media icon, philanthropist and public educator, Ms Oprah Winfrey, on its Bloemfontein Campus on Friday, 24 June 2011.Both the Council and Senate of our university gave strong support to awarding the honorary doctorate to Ms Winfrey.By awarding the honorary doctorate, we want to recognise Ms Winfrey’s accomplishments and unparalleled work as a global media leader, as well as a philanthropist with vision and foresight in the field of education and development.

“It is a great privilege for us to be the first South African university to honour Ms Winfrey in this way and to be able to recognise a global icon of her stature,” says Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university.Ms Winfrey already holds honorary doctorates from Princeton University as well as Duke University in the United States, among others".

Sadly for me the tickets to see the whole event are sold out, I'm slowly dying inside, I'm sad because I would've really loved to see her in person.

A little about me

A.  Age                                                   - A supple 24

B.  Bed Size                                            - Double bed
 
C. Chore you dislike                                -Dishes

D. Dogs                                                  -I don't have pets I'm not a big animal person

E. Essential Start to your day                   - Gotta take a nice warm bath

F. Favorite Color                                     -Right now it's pastel pink

G. Gold or silver                                     -Both if they are blended well

H. Height                                                 -I'm not sure but I'm a shorty

I. Instrument you play(ed)                         -None

J. Jelly bean flavor                                   -I have had them in years! So I don't know

K. Kids                                                   -Yes please, like 4 or 5 one day

L. Lucky number                                     - Number 9, I was born on the 9th March, my Dad on the 9th February, my Sister on the 9th January, my Mom on the 19 July and my Brother on the 29th April.

M. Month                                                  -December, it's Christmas and it's summer

N.  Nicknames                                        -Phookei, Phooks, Porkchops, Maps I don't like any of them, I prefer Your-Highness.

O.  Overnight stay in hospital                     - I was around 11 or 12, I'd had a headache for days, the doctors thought I had meningitis, luckily I didn't.

P.  Pet peeves                                          -Rude people

Q. Quote from a movie                              -Hmmm...

R. Righty or Lefty                                      -Righty

S.  Siblings                                                - Younger brother and sister

T. Time you wake up                                  -Weekdays between 5:30 and 6:30 weekends 8 am

U.  Underwear                                           -Sometimes, depending on what I'm wearing hate having a visible panty line

V.  Vegetables you don't like                        -Beans and cauliflower

W.  What makes you run late                        -Taking forever in the bath

X. X rays you've had                                       -None

Y. Yummy food you make                            -Spaghetti Bolognaise

Z. Zoo animal favorites                                -All of them  

Miss U - Notorious BIG

One of my FAV songs of ALL time!

Turban 101

I’m wearing a turban to work today and I absolutely LOVE the look! This look is not brand new to me or the fashion scene, and it’s one that I’ve been rocking since my varsity days. I loved the convenience it gave me when I was having hair bad days and the fun I had with it when I just wanted to rock a turban. I still wear head wraps today depending on the kind of outfit I’m wearing, I think it’s an elegant look, tell me what you think? Am I doing it justice?  

I love animal prints.

Hugh Masekela - Khawuleza

In the spirit of Africa Day, here's Hugh Masekela live at the SOB's in NYC

AFRICA DAY - A WEEK LATER

Last week Wednesday marked the 48th anniversary of Africa Day. On the 25 May, 1963, the leaders of the then independent Africa, made history and gave significant impetus to the continent's collective but then incomplete struggle for independence, by establishing the Organisation of the African Unity. Nearly four decades followed, in which African states stood united in the framework of the OAU, while making efforts to give depth and meaning to their political independence and striving for the socio-economic development of their peoples. Those efforts yielded positive results, culminating in the establishment of the African Union (AU). 25 May is therefore celebrated and commemorated every year as Africa Day.

Africa Day is a great initiative, allowing us as Africans to celebrate the continent it's accomplishments, it also instills a great sense of pride in Africans. My greatest prayer for Africa is that in the wake of the political uprisings that have hit the continent, God will produce a group of selfless leaders, who will shun the autocratic tendencies of leaders past, who will work tirelessly toward the development of the people and towards bridging tribal barrier so that we may all see each other as ONE. May God guard Africa's leaders and give them peace. Amen.

New Blog

I've started a new blog, its mainly about my job search and my mission to get out of debt thepursuitofemployment.blogspot.com

Haven't been done in a while - Voluptuous Vixen of the week

The poet, performer, actress, presenter and producer Lebogang Mashile, the daughter of exiled South Africans was born in the U.S. in 1979. At the age of sixteen she and her parents returned to their home country, it was while she was studying law and international relations at Wits University in Johannesburg South Africa, that the desire to work as an artist took hold of her.

In her work as a life skills facilitator for adolescents - focusing on topics like gender issues, teamwork and sexuality - poetry has been her preferred medium. Mashile won the 2006 Noma Award for her poetry collection. In a Ribbon of Rhythm. She is a visual verbalist, and an icon of modern South African poetry.

I admire her because she's bold and unapologetic for her weight. She refuses to hate her body, or to sell herself and her work short in order to gain fame. She is known for her afro-centric dress sense, always sporting her afro or her colorful turbans.



She's a great performer



Original Diva and her gorgeous 'fro



Hard at work on set

 Lebo Mashile was named by COSMOPOLITAN Magazine, as one of South Africa's Awesome Women of 2005 and her stunning smile and captivating insights and interviews have been featured in numerous publications such as, TRUE LOVE, YMAG, MARIE CLAIRE, ELLE, O Magazine, Real Magazine, Afrorootz, CITY PULSE for city pres, SOWETAN, MAIL AND GUARDIAN, ROOTZ AND NEWSWEEK.



On the cover of True Love Magazine



Random outfit running around town

I wore this outfit around town, while doing some errands for the house. I really wanted to wear a dress and I love how it turned with my boots and these tights. I'm in love with anything that is animal printed and this belt is one of my fav's. My collection of animal print is really thin, but give me sometime, I'll change that.




Close up of my boots



Close up of my earings