FOR MORE FASHION AND DAILY OUTFIT INSPIRATION FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: @THISISLAVINYA
1. SWEATshirttip 1 - Don't ask me why but sometimes the selection of sweatshirt designs in the Menswear dept are so much more 🔥 than in the womenswear. For that oversize feel order a L or XL.
TIP 2 - Add a turtleneck underneath for stylish layering and to keep you warm!
2. Skirt
3. socks + boots
Invest in your bedroom. Turn it into a sanctuary where you would always feel safe and happy. Invest in high quality mattress and bedsheets. Install soft lighting. Get diffusers/scented candles so your room always smells amazing and calming when you walk in. - @asolegrey on Twitter
There's no denying its been difficult to navigate lockdown, but it's also afforded me time to do a long overdue deep decluttering of my room. Without a worldwide halt to life as we know it who knows how long it would've taken me to clean up my makeup drawers, sort the maze under my bed and finally organise my wardrobe and dressers?!
Six bags of clothing/shoes were donated to Traid. Was it long? Hell yes!...but soooo worth it. Now everything in my room has its own place - at last!. The more things started to feel lighter and spacious, the more I've been inspired to continue making a few more updates. So here's what I've been thinking....
My room is very practical at the moment, it has all the necessities but it's missing a sense of cohesion and warmth. The colour scheme I'm going for is a base of neutrals (cream, beige, white) with accents of terracotta and/or black soft furnishings. I want to incorporate different textures to create a more homely feel; bed throws, pillow cushions and linens and I'm all aboard the pampas grass hype train, can't help but fall in love with the subtle drama it creates within a room.Ultimately, new lighting, new prints, more plants and more focus on styling, so all the pieces align better together.
This is a very rough mock up of the main area of the room I'm hoping to revamp. What was once a white wall will now be brought to "deep honey-beige life" with the help of On The Rocks by Crown Paints. I'm excited to find new prints from Desenio to hang above my bed in these gorgeous pair of IKEA Viserum Gold 30x40cm Frames.
New bedding is definitely a must. It's been a while since I updated them, which seems crazy seeing as I'm in a loving supportive commitment with my bed - lol. Last year I had the opportunity to work with Made.Com and was kindly gifted their Made Essentials Besley Double Bed - and it deserves fresh La Redoute Washed Linen Plain Covers in Ecru.
Another idea I have is to up-cycle my desk and shelving unit. I think making the items 'Black' will look good against the colour of the wall and tie both pieces together either side of my bed. I'm hoping Painter's Touch Matt Black Multi-Purpose Spray Paint , for the 4-tier shelving unit, and D-C-Fix Black Woodgrain Adhesive Vinyl for the desk worktop, will do just the job.
When choosing an office chair, my head says "go practical" with the IKEA Torkel Swivel Chair - but it also feels way too "worky" for me and I'm leaning more towards a plush fancy chair.
Ah decisions, decisions...
Hands up if you remember Polyvore? 🙋🏽♀️
In the early days of carefree blogging, I would spend hours creating mood boards and outfit collages. I really miss coming up with different outfits and styling ideas for each season/occasion, you can imagine I was really gutted when it shut down, one day it was just....gone. So I'm bringing it back in my own way.
Allow me to introduce "LEWK" - a new blog edit of curated styling outfits to inspire you on what to wear. No thanks to lockdown 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 we've all been cooped up inside, practically living in joggers and oversized sweatshirts, not exactly inspiring, so hopefully "LEWK" will encourage you to level up your daily style every once in a while. I really hope you enjoy this new series!
shop the lewk
Belted Overshirt Shacket zara Quilted Bucket Hat ZARA Turtle Neck Sweater mAngo Olive Green Ruched Round Bag MANGO
Public Desire Chunky Boots Asos Black Modal Blend Leggings Arket
Februarys Note
Hello...I don't know about you, but I find it really satisfying when the beginning of a new month starts on a Monday. The alignment feels so welcoming and optimistic, I'm certainly praying for a prosperous and happy month.
As much as I was excited to see 2021, I had a feeling that remnants of 2020 would still show themselves and for that reason I decided to purposefully take January s l o w l y.
There were parts of lockdown last year that completely took a toll on me in ways I didn't see coming. My outlook on life was bleak and this affected my motivation to show up for myself and for activities that would normally bring me so much joy, blogging being one of them. I was in no position to be the blogger who "provided an escape from everyday life" because I simply couldn't separate fashion blogging from a global pandemic, daily reports of racial injustice and political unrest.
When it hit December I realised I spent the entire year worrying so much about things that are not in my control, that I had let myself, and the things I love, fall through the cracks and I knew I didn't want to repeat that this year.
So in the spirit of New Years I made the list. Yes, a resolutions list. But instead of rushing into 2021 thinking that January 1st was going to magically undo all of my past habits, I decided to "sit" with my goals for the month.
By "sit" I mean realistically think about if these goals have to hold a place in my life...if I have any business trying to hold myself up to these expectations. This is probably why I've broken many a resolution in the past. Setting these, well intentioned, but grand expectations of myself without having prepared for the leg work or considering the kind of life I already lead.
For example #6 on my list is "run a marathon" - my inner monologue went something like this "first of all the last time you "ran" was for a bus, pre-covid, and you spent the rest of the journey wheezing on the back seat. You don't even workout? or jog????.... the one time you did the Chloe Ting Abs challenge does not count. What you need to do is get out that cute gym gear sitting in your back of your closet and try a squat..."
Another example is goal #3 - "read 50 books" and that went something like "...Lavinya why 50? why that number? How many books did you read in 2020?...thats right zero. because Netflix is life. Do you really think this will be your last time re-watching Bridgerton? Girl you know you got it bad for Regé-Jean Page, and even if you don't re-watch it you gon' fall down a RJP rabbit hole on Youtube. So lets start with a book and try to finish that at least."
I know my inner monologue is ruuuuuude. lol🙄
But the moral of the shade is - learn to crawl before you walk...or run lol.
And it's been working, so I advise you to do the same.
If January didn't quite start how you hoped, that's ok. After the year we've had I wouldn't blame anyone if they were still making the most of the comfort of home and familiarity. But, if you are planning on making a change, of course challenge yourself, but make it manageable, take practical steps.
It's not that running a marathon could never be a goal of mine, it's just isn't a goal that present me (who paid gym membership for a whole year and never went!) could achieve right now but committing to consistently working out is a great place to start...like todays post.
I know that Blogmas was a fail...really sorry...but I will be posting this year. I've been brainstorming some ideas and I've figured out I need to create a posting schedule and stick to it! 🤞🏽
🙏 I'm praying things go positively and you see a lot more of me here.
I hope you have a very happy February!
