Happy new month!!!... Yeah, March is still quite fresh.

I'm writing this over my lunch break, so I'll just put down a simple list of things you can do to improve your life. I recently included  "Bloom Notes" in my drop down tab under "Lifestyle" as I'm huge on motivating people and encouraging guys to live their best lives while they're still alive! Makes sense right? Everyone should be a lover of life and work on being the best version of themselves. It always makes me so happy when I see people leading a life that satisfies them, it makes me happy too when I make efforts to improve the quality of my life and that of my family and friends.

The picture I've included in this post I found in my archives as I was deleting some pictures from my laptop, that's how I looked 2 years ago, funny I never posted the picture anywhere yet it's pretty okay, I was so skinny though! I'm 6kgs heavier at the moment. 

Below are 22 ways you can improve your life. I've made the list considering stuff I personally do to help me be as productive as I can be and to generally just feel good about myself and my life.

1. Pray as soon as you wake up in the morning, I'm not a Jesus freak but I've discovered it's the best way to begin your day, besides, there's power in prayer, lots of good stuff come your way when you're constantly connected to God. Keep that connection in check! You'll never regret it.

2. Read a motivational note daily. I read my devotion book which has sections to read each day in a year, stories I come across motivate, inspire, entertain and enable me to feel ready to take on the day.

3. Spread your bed, make it a habit. Who doesn't like a neatly spread bed? I personally love it, therefore I make an effort of spreading mine when I can, I say when I can because sometimes I leave Zain sleeping in my bed while heading to work, my little princess loves her morning sleep.

4. Wake up early (at least before 8am)

5. Spend time with friends

6. Wash your face and moisturize daily, which reminds me, I have a new facial skincare routine which I'm hoping to share with you soon.

7. Eat lots of fruit.

8. Wear a little makeup, you'll be surprised the difference made by simply doing your brows and wearing some gloss.

9. Clean your room at least every two weeks.

10. Do some yoga, those stretches, easy as they seem will make you sweat.

11. Invest time in cooking delicious meals. You can make your favorite dish or recreate an awesome recipe.

12. Discover new music.

13. Spend less time online. Digital detox feels sooo good!

14. Light some scented candles, lavender or vanilla scented ones are my absolute favorite!

15. Only go to bed to sleep, if you're like me, leave your laptop far from your reach.

16. Open your room’s windows... Because you deserves fresh air and light.

17. Have cold showers, everyone enjoys hot showers, but cold showers are healthier for the skin.

18. Drink lots of water.

19. Tell someone they look nice, if you've noticed an effort on their side in dressing up. 

20. Buy yourself something you have been longing to have. There's no crime in splurging on yourself every once in a while.

21. Read to your child or children (applies to parents like myself) it may actually seem dumb at first to read to a child who is months old or a toddler, but it does create a huge positive impact.

22 . Keep in touch with you family and friends, this I'm still working on as I spend months without calling or texting people I genuinely care about and later it makes me feel like a bad person... Meh!

I hope the list inspires you to live better. If you have stuff you do that improve your life, please share, comment below.

As always, thank you for reading! See you in the next post. 

Juggling an 8 to 5 job, parenting and blogging has proven to be quite a challenge.

I'd hate for 2017 to be yet another disastrous blogging year as 2016 was. I'm quite passionate about blogging, always have been, so as much as I prioritize my day job and taking care of my daughter, I'll do my level best to post whenever time allows.

I finally got my hands on a Kylie Cosmetics liquid lipstick! Woot! Thanks to a business lady I met recently, we became friends so she sold it to me at a much cheaper price compared to what I would pay if I decided to buy it directly from the Kylie Cosmetics website. She had Kylie Cosmetics liquid lipsticks in Mary Jo K and Posie K, I chose the latter because I have two red lipsticks that I rarely wear anyway. Lately I'm drawn to pink, purple and nude shades when it comes to lipstick.

Posie K has truly stole my heart, if I could I would wear it everyday and not feel a need to change it up.

Below is a review of the matte liquid lipstick, my current makeup obsession! Kindly scroll down for more details.

The liquid lipstick comes in a white box with the shade name and shade itself shown at the top and on the sides as drips. Kylie's name is also displayed on the box in upper case letters.

It's chic and eye catching, whoever came up with the packaging did great.

The liquid lipstick itself comes in a clear tube and black lid with the drips coming from the lid's side. You get 3.25ml in the tube and an applicator which is absolutely fine, it glides on the lips when used.

The minute you twist it open, you will immediately notice a strong,  sweet scent. Think vanilla, think bubble gum, think candy.

Once it's applied on the lips though you can't smell it.

Posie K is a dark pink-purple shade. I like how it compliments my complexion. It totally suits me, don't you think? Haha!

It's a shade that's perfect for both a daytime and night time look, also it can go so well with a little white dress, a floral dress or even jeans and a t-shirt. Generally it can allow you to wear it for so many occasions, be it going to the office, a weekend brunch or attending a wedding.

This particular shade can suit anyone I believe.

If you're in Kenya you can buy Kylie Liquid Lipsticks from local re-sellers who import beauty products at Kshs. 1,800 (Roughly $17).

Alternatively you can order directly from kyliecosmetics.com or use the online store buyusa.co.ke to get your product and not stress over custom charges.

It's so creamy, highly pigmented, non-sticky and applies smoothly and evenly to the lips without smudging.

The lipstick takes a little while to dry matte, however once it does eventually dry it stays on the lips the whole day, I'm not even kidding, until you yourself decides to wipe it off your lips, it won't come off.

Most matte lipsticks are drying, so I did apply my lip balm before applying it, just to be safe, but I was honestly so surprised, it wasn't drying on my lips at all, it felt quite moisturizing compared to other liquid lipsticks I've used before.

As I've mentioned, unless you decide to wipe the lipstick off, it won't come off. This is my most favorite thing about this lipstick actually.

Above is what the lipstick looked like when I got back at my place in the evening, I did take a meal and a drink in the course of the day. Most of the lipsticks I own come off when I eat or drink something, but this one didn't.

I didn't need to reapply or retouch either. It's honestly so long lasting.

Overall Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I give it a 4/5 since I love almost everything about it, it's packaging, color, scent, formula, the fact that it's long wearing and even price, it's worth its value. It's one of those products I would repurchase and recommend to a friend.

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I'm planning to buy other shades by Kylie Cosmetics, probably Dolce K, Leo and Kourt K, If I do buy the said shades in future, I'll do a little product review on them too.

Have you ever tried any Kylie Jenner lippies or anything from Kylie Cosmetics?

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

The month of love...

I'm quite happy that it's a new month, anyone else happy to be done with January?... Or should I say Njaanuary?

 

A lot of good things actually happened since the beginning of the year, but I don't know, January was sort of like a trial month for me, I made a number of goals, a few among them being; eat healthier, drink at least eight glasses of water daily, exercise thrice a week, read four books every month, blog consistently... I won't lie to you, I have not truly followed through with most of the stuff I put down as my 2017 goals. Woe is me!

This month I plan to put in hard work and grit in achieving my goals. I need to change. I have to change.

My personal goals and self improvement talk aside, I'm super excited that I will be spending this Valentine's with my baby girl Zain!!!

I'm one of those people who don't subscribe to the idea that Valentine's is just for couples/sweethearts...

I'm looking forward to making my daughter's first Valentine's special.

I hope you go out of your way to show those closest to you (not just bae) love on Valentine’s Day.

If you happen to be a mama or parent like me, think of fun and sweet ways to show your kid (s) that you care for them and love them.

Here's to a great February! ❤ 

Today, exactly seven months ago, I was given one of life's greatest blessings. I became a mother and welcomed the most beautiful baby girl in my life.

I often look at my daughter and the thought that comes to mind is, "wow, I'm her mom!" It's almost like an out of body experience for me to really grasp the fact that I brought someone else into the world.

Day by day, I go through the journey of motherhood doing the best I can, though truth be told, most of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, it's all trial and error, a learning process.

Sometimes I wish there was a manual or "how to" book handed to mothers before leaving the hospital with their newborns, that way I'd have a clue of what to expect, I'd have plenty of concepts on how to handle all the unknowns... Motherhood would be a breeze!

Challenging as motherhood is, I wouldn't trade it for the world. By becoming a mother I found a purpose to live (story for another day) and a reason to strive to be the absolute best person I can be.


In honor of being a first time mom and my little princess hitting her 7 month milestone, I'm sharing what being a mother has taught me.

I think I mentioned before that feeling your child moving while you are pregnant is one of the best feelings a woman can ever experience, it's quite surreal.

Witnessing the miracle of life as I gave birth to my baby is something that makes me realize how blessed I am, some women are not as fortunate as I am, therefore I do not take it for granted that I am a mother, I am surely highly favored and for that I am thankful.

Regardless of the trials I face raising my baby and sometimes the heartaches of worrying about problems she may encounter as she grows older, I constantly remind myself that she is a blessing, she is meant to be here, she has a purpose and because God trusted me with the job of being her mom I will not fail.

Things will get easier, I hope and pray. I am grateful for Zain and I love her so much, to the moon and back.

3. It's important to be present 

These past seven months have zoomed by so fast and it has made me realize the importance of savoring every precious moment, I'm so happy that I've witnessed all my daughter's firsts, her first day on earth, her first smile, her first laugh, her first word and most recently, her first crawl!!! Whoop! Whoop! Go Zain!

It feels like it was yesterday I was holding Zain for the very first time and now she's crawling and eating solids and has mastered techniques that help her get her way haha!

I'm learning to have a grateful heart everyday and enjoying the little things.

I've never done anything so hard and yet so gratifying as being a mom. I'm honestly so proud of the person I have changed into since becoming a mother.

I'm certainly enjoying this journey. I am proud of the person it's changing me into. 

I was pretty hung up on perfection in my early months as a mother, I was too hard on myself, I made the mistake of comparing myself with other mothers too, but I am at a better place now because I recognize when I've made improvements as a mother... Come to think of it, motherhood is just one big unfinished project free of deadlines or specific end goals. No  one should ever be hard on themselves or think they are a bad mother.

I'll make mistakes on top of the ones I've made previously, but the important thing is to forgive myself and focus on being a better mother and parent.

6. The true meaning of unconditional love 

Nothing prepared me to love my baby as much as I do.

Now that Zain is in the picture, it's not all about me anymore. As much as I need to take care of myself and nurture the me inside the mom, being a mom is about putting my child first.

I love my baby dearly and making sacrifices for her is totally worth it, heck! I don't mind losing myself in the process of being a mother to Zain. 

7. God is with us 

This is by far the most important lesson I have learned. God is always with us, He never leaves our side.

I didn't think I could make it this far with my baby, I had a difficult transition into motherhood, I was mostly stressed during my pregnancy and silently suffered postpartum depression.

I have been through hell and back, I could write a novel if I decide to... Anyway, I'm grateful to God for everything. The challenges I've faced and continue to face have brought a whole lot of good in my relationship with Him. 

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As always, thanks for reading!

If you're a mama, what is the greatest lesson you've learned from motherhood? Do share!

Sending love and positive energy your way. Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Below are a few nice shots of Zain and I that we took last month at our family photo shoot... She has grown so big! It's unbelievable looking at these pictures :-)