Bring your home to life

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I am not an interior designer but being a plant lover, I’m pretty sure I have a few helpful tips on how to make your home come to life. It’s pretty easy…just get plants.Not only do they help fill up your space ,they are a perfect home decor with their undying beauty.Whether live or artificial,plants will contribute majorly to elevating your space…it could be your home or office space.

When purchasing indooor plants,it is important to ensure that you have enough space to avoid cluttering your space.Placing at least one in each corner will pevent your house from looking like a garden or park and instead,turn it into a more sophisticated space.Remember,when it comes to decorating,less is more as it helps keep things nice and neat.

You can decide to use either greenery or flowers.Flowers,especially will help keep your house smelling fresh and clean all day.The catch though,is to remember to change the water daily and to ‘feed’ them to promote its longevity in your home.Plants,on the other hand have to be watered and tended to by storing them in an area with direct reach of sunlight to avoid wilting.

Remember,it all just depends on you.If you prefer greenery to flowers, go for them but remember to be as minimalistic as possible.There is nothing wrong with going for both,though.Make you space count by adding life to it.

The art of wine tasting

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A poster of a wine tasting event

Wine is not just a refreshing beverage,it spells elegance and taste.Divided into three main categories : white wine,red wine and rose’ , wine is made mainly from grapes, stored into barrels and then fermented into the finished product.The older the wine,the finer it is.

A glass of wine comes in handy when paired with the right foods .It is important to always remember to handle each wine differently to get the best out of every sip. Red wine ,for instance, is best served in a wide glass to allow for aeration unlike white wine. Drinking wine may sound like a difficult feat with lots of rules but once you learn them, it becomes a cake walk and nothing but fun. Since its invention, wine has been associated with its ability to set the right mood, especially romantic, for many a couple.

To help you understand the do’s and don’ts of wine making and drinking ,you are invited to the House of Napa for an epic experience in wine tasting .The greatest vintner of all time ,Adam Housely ,will also give a tour around his massive vineyard.All this and more on the 5th of December from 10am till evening.Book your ticket now, and see you then.

Flip a page…

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Screenshot of survey response

Book reading has grown to be the most infrequent practice over the years. We all can tell why…TECHNOLOGY. In more clear terms ,I’m talking about the increased use of televisions and mobile phones. These gadgets have everybody on social media trying to look for a sense of belonging or simply just trying to get over their fear of missing out(FOMO).

A wise man once said ‘if you want to hide something from an African ,just put it in a book’ and I couldn’t agree more. In a bid to quench this bottomless thirst for what is trendy ,we have forgotten about the priceless nuggets of wisdom that are hidden in books. The culture of book reading is slowly fading away in spite of the growing number of authors in the world today.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nXVZZi_KaGrHYUDjt1v4fm0xeScL9KQxterFhy9wzRo/edit#responses

In that spirit , I wanted to find out how bad this reality is and prepared the survey above, which shows that most people prefer to pass time doing other things, to reading a book. A few would read an e-book and a good number would prefer to ‘watch’ a book as opposed to read it.

Anyway, in a society that encourages to ‘do you’ , do whatever floats your boat. Whether it’s reading an e-book or a physical one, or watching its movie version or not reading at all. If you can though, once in a while just flip a page.

Money-festing

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John Maingi, an investment expert

I am not exactly sure how many folks will agree with me but methinks money can buy any and every thing including happiness.It is every body’s dream to belong to the ‘top layer’ in the society.Infact, I get sleepless nights thinking about every door of possibility that getting lots of money could open.I mean who wouldn’t want to wine and dine with the people on top,or afford that flashy lifestyle we see on social media?

Just recently,musician Robyn Fenty alias Rihanna was officially christened the world’s wealthiest female musician.As much as I would like to think she earns her billions from just her music seeing as she is a mellifluous singer,she doesn’t.She owns a huge beauty brand,Fenty Beauty which now supersedes celebrity brands such as KKW and Kylie Cosmetics.I will be first to admit that I did not see it coming but then that is how money is.Getting it is not what matters rather,keeping it and getting more is what i’d say counts.

The million dollar question ,therefore,is how do you secure the bag?This is not just about getting rich.It is about staying rich.It is about owning the money bag and being the money-bag. So in attempts to answer the question,I spoke to finance and investment expert,John Maingi of the Sanlam Group.Listen in.

Just breathe..

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On my last visit to the gym last weekend ,I met an old friend of mine.We went through an entire zumba session together then went out for a meal while we chewed the fat.I told her about how much weight I had gained over quarantine and my goal for the next few weeks.She on the other hand,looked perfect to me.She had hardly put on an ounce,at least as far as my eyes could tell.She went on and on about how much she wanted to add weight and had gone over and above to get to sixty kilos.

This got me thinking about how much society dictates how and what one,especially a woman,should look like.Every woman now tries to assimilate into the confines of society just to fit in and look ‘picture perfect’.This has driven lots of women into chasing rainbows and setting unattainable weight loss goals or going for bariatric procedures to make work even easier.

Your weight loss journey ought not to be up to the world’s standards but a healthy journey towards self acceptance and ultimately self love. Being and staying healthy not only revolves around cutting weight but also gaining weight .It is a journey with a thousand miles that can only start with that single step of choosing to love yourself and change only that which can be changed. Your weight does not define you ,your personality does. Those extra or less pounds do not make you less attractive. They make you unique . After all ,it takes all kinds to make a world ,right?

Basic forms of etiquette

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A couple out on a date

Imagine this; you have been eyeing this girl for a very long time. You are usually the gregarious type but when it comes to her you are shy to the gills. ‘She is the only definition of perfection’, you tell your friends. You finally man up and master the courage to ask her out. But you don’t just ask her out anywhere. You have saved up just enough to treat her to a fancy date at a five star hotel like the gentleman you are. Moments after you take your seats at the table, something about her strikes you and you realize that it is a deal breaker. You neither like how loudly she chews her food nor how she tries to speak with a mouthful of the steak she just ordered. You are obviously taken aback and you try to keep a cool head. Perhaps you backed the wrong horse…
I couldn’t envision such an encounter on anyone, which is why I am sharing a few basic tips on how to carry yourself with decorum when out to dinner or in public…

  1. Maintain an upright position
    Do not slouch on your seat. While slouching screams lack of self-confidence, an upright position tells the other person that you like the environment and their company. It also exudes confidence.
  2. Maintain an eye contact
    This tells your partner that you are paying attention to them and helps to keep the conversation going. Looking away could mean that you are shy or lying about something. You do not want that.
  3. Use the four magic words when you need to. Do not overdo
    This should be adhered to not just in public but also at home. It shows that you genuinely care about the feelings of the other person. Say sorry when you wrong someone, please when requesting for something, excuse me when you need someone to repeat something they said or when attempting to get somebody’s attention and thank you when expressing gratitude when someone gives you something or does something for you.