Hello awesome people! Happy July! So we have successfully begun the second half of this year and time seems to be on a jet plane. July is a special month for me because a lot of good things happened to me in July 2015 like the completion of my NYSC. Read more of that here, & here. It was a sort of rebirth for me and I'm so thankful to God for bringing me this far.

So this post was inspired by my mum and how well and long she's able to keep her clothes. I've had some family friends and relatives marvel at how long my mum's clothes have lasted and how well they still look regardless of the years they've spent in her wardrobe. It's simple, how do you handle your clothes? Do you soak your clothes in detergent overnight? Do you wash your clothes like you fell into a gutter? Do you sort your clothes before starting to wash even? These are some questions my mum used to ask me while growing up.lol. So I'm here to share some useful tips handed down to me from my mum that have helped me over the years in maintaining my clothes so stay with me. These tips apply to both hand washing and washing with a machine.

• Sorting; Before you even start to wash, this is the very first step that you should take regardless of the means of washing, be it with your hands or a machine. Sorting means separating your clothes according to colour and/or fabric. For example, you can't wash a red shirt with a pair of cream pants. It's pretty obvious. The elements of red will definitely rub off on the cream coloured pants and if this is repeated for about 2-3 times, you can as well kiss the pants goodbye.
  
  
  
  
• Avoid soaking; This might seem impossible to some people because they believe that soaking of clothes makes it easier and faster to wash. If we're talking about whites here then I can agree with this. But it certainly shouldn't be tried with coloured clothes because it only drains the life out of the fabric. With time, the clothes would start to look dull and the next thing you'd say is that the material is fake. Oh yeah?
  
  
  
  
• Not washing machine everytime; Yes, easy with the machines. Some clothes aren't meant to be rigorously washed by a washing machine. You know those labels attached to your clothes?
  
  
  They carry a lot of information about how that particular piece of clothing should be handled. Some clothes are made to be hand-washed and once they go into a washing machine, they never come out the same. Don't blame it on the lady in the market that sold that lovely top to you.
  
  
  
  
• Detergents, hold on that; Do you know detergents aren't meant for ALL types of fabric? Forget what you see in their TV commercials. Bar soaps or tablet soaps as some people know it work wonders on dark coloured clothes. They are mild and remove dirt just as much as detergents. They work really well on ankara(African prints)
  
  
  
  
  
• Stop washing all the time; You read that right. Some clothes just need fresh air and they're ok. You don't always have to wash and wear. It's in cases like this that my mum asks me if I fell into a gutter.lol!

I hope you find these tips helpful. You can also share some more tips if you have in the ccomment section below.
Keep shining,
xo, Evita.

Hello everyone! Hope your week has been fulfilling and you're in good health.Yes? Ok. Well, I've been fine. Thank God for life. I'm so excited right now(even though I'm stuck in traffic) and I'm sure you know why.😁 I finally changed my blog theme! Yaaay!!! 💃💃💃Thanks to Cassie Daves (Click  HERE to see her blog) for the review she did on my blog. She pointed out some things that needed adjustments and I worked on them. Who says change isn't good? Hehehehe!! 😜



Honestly, my week has been super busy but that didn't stop inspiration from flowing. I actually drafted this post some weeks ago but for some reason, I didn't put it up. I feel now is the right time for it so stay with me guys.

Everyone goes through stress at some point and I've had my fair share. I usually cope with mine by shedding a few tears to relieve the pressure but I can't be crying just anywhere, can I? Lol! So I deviced other means to help me relax and although I'll admit that most of them might sound silly(I can be very silly sometimes😄), they do work for me. So let's dig in.




1) SCATTER YOUR WARDROBE AND REARRANGE IT.
Hahahaha!! Oh yes! This feels like shopping but in the comfort of my own room. It helps to distract me from whatever problem I might be facing at that time. When I see clothes I haven't worn in months just lying at the bottom of my wardrobe, outfit ideas start running through my head and this instantly gives me joy. Coupled with the fact that I love arranging stuff. I'm such an "arrangee".



2) CREATE BOARDS ON PINTEREST .
Pinterst is my most favorite app. I've created a fantasy world for myself on there. Whenever I'm feeling down especially when I'm away from home, I just log into my Pinterest (@ehveetah on Pinterest) and start pinning pictures on my different boards. Its the perfect distraction for daydreamers like me.



3) EAT AN UNUSUAL MEAL OR SNACK.
Treat your taste buds to something you wouldn't eat on the regular. This helps me a lot. I would rather snack on garri and groundnuts but when I feel so stressed and burdened, I shift to chocolate biscuits and cheese balls, especially cheese balls. They give me this type of joy that I can't describe even when I'm not stressed.😜



4) WATCH YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO.
Download your favorite music video into your mobile device and enjoy it on the go. My favorite is Justin Bieber's Sorry. Lord knows I've watched that video a gazzilion times! Why? I love dancing, especially synchronized dancing and that video just does it for me. If you're very familiar with that video can you guess who my favorite dancer is? The chic wearing a green top! She reminds me of me.lol!



5) GO THROUGH OLD PICTURES.
This cracks me up a whole lot!Seeing what you, your family members and friends looked like years ago would make you smile at least. The clothes, hairstyles, shoes would definitely bring back good memories.



6) MEDITATE AND PRAY.
When you find yourself so stuck and you can't seem to do any of the above, close your eyes and talk to the Almighty. This is the ultimate stress reliever for me and nothing compares to it.

Yup! That's how I deal with stress for now.Funny right?lol. How do you handle stress? Do you do some silly stuff like me? I'd love to hear from you.

Keep shining.
xo, Evita.

Hello beautiful people! How have my amazing readers been? We're still in the first 10 days of a new month so I guess I can still wish you all a Happy new month.Yes! June is one of my favourite months because I have nieces, a nephew and a sibling whose birthdays are lined up from the 15th-23rd. Yippee!!!💃🎂🎉

May was a well spent month for me. You know how some months just feel so good and everything works out so well? That was May for me and I thank God for that. I also have some exciting write ups to share with you in this beautiful month so stay tuned.



Ok. Let me confess something; I'm a bibliophile.🙈 There, that's it. What were you expecting to read?haha!! 😝😜 I love books. I love buying them, I love arranging them, I love how they smell. In short, I'm a book collector. My love for books started at a very tender age and I'd like to think its something I inherited from both my parents because they're bibliophiles as well, especially my dad. The first book I ever got was titled 'Bambi' and ever since, this love affair with books blossomed.

Throughout my years in primary and secondary school, I was a sort of book supplier to my classmates. I had(still have) a collection of The Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin and also the Goosebumb series.



Moving on to secondary school, I stashed away my Babysitters and curiosity led me to a new found love; romance novels. Don't blame me, my dad has a library filled with Mills and Boons series, Silhouette series and Harlequin series. So it was like getting high on my own supply.😁 I usually hid to read these books but I got caught after some years by my mum who gave me a lecture about the implications of reading such books so with time, I stopped.

I fell in love again and this time, it was with Danielle Steel. This was the perfect love affair. Danielle Steel captured my heart through her books and also inspired the writer in me. I admire how she makes her characters come to life and how they also become part of the reader's life. I share in their pains, struggles and happiness. The love is real.

This led me to source for other writers who I could connect with through their books and I came across Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Recently, I've fallen in love with Chinua Achebe. God rest his soul. I wonder who's going to be next on my list.😄



The emotions attached with books is undescribable and is something that every book lover can attest to. As much as technology has tried to make life easier by bringing to us online shopping, music, games, news and any other thing that there is, it has been unable to deliver to us, the ultimate reading experience.

Although we have witnessed the birth of the e-books, audio books and the Kindle. They have not been able to stand the test of time. Using myself as an example, I was never thrilled by the Kindle. How can I have books that I can't hold and flip through? Books that I can't look at on my bookshelf. Books that can be wiped off just by pressing one button. It was all fake to me.



Of course, the e-books have their own advantages which cannot be ignored. But what happens when in the next 10 years, I want to show my children what the books I read while growing up looked like? Would they be able to understand my literary transition from childhood to adulthood just by looking at my book collection through a screen? And how it actually feels to read a book from start to finish and flip over the last page. Would I have a home void of bookshelves?



Technology has done us a whole lot of good but one thing it will never be able to recreate is the pleasure and emotions that a physical book can give to a person. Books are here to stay, now and forever.

Until my next post which is coming up real soon, stay happy and well.

xo, Evita.

Hello my lovely and wonderful readers.☺ How's everything going? Me, I'm just trying to live life one day at a time because there's really no use stressing over stuff you can't control. The increase in the fuel price over here in Nigeria is so saddening. I was a bit down yesterday that I just hit the sheets immediately I got back home from work.😪The price of everything (I mean EVERYTHING) has skyrocketed and I'm just here wondering "where is the love?" *sigh*😩😞 Enough about Nigeria. Let's talk about something more fun.😁

What I'm writing about today is something that most ladies must have experienced at one time or the other. So here goes my experience.

On my way back from work some weeks ago, I was in a bus with my ears plugged as usual, looking out the window like I was in a music video and then it was time to pay my fare. I unplugged one ear so I could talk with the bus conductor. The fare to my destination is usually 50 naira so I gave him a 100 naira note and was expecting to collect 50 naira change. The next thing I knew, dude was handing me 30 naira as change. This was the conversation that ensued;
Me; 30 naira? How na? Abeg gimme my complete change.

Conductor; Haba! Fine sister. As you fine like this you no fit leave 20 naira for me?

Me; Oh! So because I fine I dey pluck money from tree abi?

Conductor; Ah, you no suppose to dey price(bargain) anything as you dey like this. You suppose dash me all the 50 naira sef. I know say money full your hand remain.

Me; Amen. Money full my hand but I need my complete change. Thank you ehn. No vex.

Conductor; Fine sister, you no suppose to dey do alaroro(stingy) oh! Oya take.(he hands me a 20 naira note to complete the 50 naira change)

I would have left the change for him if I was so buoyant. But I was on a strict budget and why couldn't he even tell me not to pay since I'm a "fine sister". It was funny and at the same time opened my mind to a lot of issues. So if I had left my change for the conductor, would it have made me more pretty or what? There's a common perception that "pretty" ladies aren't supposed to manage money, that for some reason, we ALWAYS have excess cash to throw around. When we go to the open market to purchase foodstuff or clothing items we're just meant to pay whatever we're told and walk away. Like I'm not supposed to bargain just because I'm pretty? Interesting!



This awkward mentality has somehow been absorbed in the minds of some ladies that because they're pretty, it's therefore not attractive to bargain when they want to make purchases. Please, if you fall in this group, kindly erase that mindset.

If you work hard to make money and you understand how difficult it could be to make a living, you'll be mindful of every penny you spend. Even if you still get stipends from your parents, it doesn't mean you should spend recklessly. Don't be deceived that because you're pretty, you're supposed to spend without thinking. There's nothing wrong with giving occasional tips but then, that shouldn't stop you from getting good value for your money.

There's a difference between being cheap and being reasonable with your money. There's nothing like a good bargain. It's your money and without it, the trader won't be in business.

So the next time you want to make a purchase, "fine sister", bargain well. You're pretty and you work hard for your money. Don't let these cunning traders try to rip you off and tag you an alaroro(stingy person). You still remain pretty regardless.😜

If you've had similar experiences like mine, please feel free to share in the comment section below. 😉

Until my next post, stay well and blessed.
xo, Evita.

Hi everyone!! 😁How have my lovely readers been?? Wow! Its May already. Happy new month to you and Happy worker's day.😊

Love indeed is blind. By love I mean romantic love. Most times it blinds your sense of reasoning and logic. We tend to ignore a person's flaws and bad habits and somewhere deep down within us, we hope and pray for this person to change.

For example, a lady falls in love with a flirt. He has a charming personality and is extremely caring but she dislikes the fact that he's a flirt. She starts complaining, he apologizes but he doesn't stop. She starts to keep up with him, enduring and praying silently in her heart everyday that he would CHANGE but it doesn't seem to be working. Weeks, months and years pass, she's still with him and the bond between them has gotten stronger.They get married and it's still the same old story. No change.



I think a handful of us have had such hopes before, that we can change a person. But truthfully, I don't think anybody can CHANGE another person. Even changing ourselves is difficult. The decision to change belongs solely to an individual and God. A person has to make a conscious effort to change and it takes the grace of God.

It's easier to drop off bad habits but traits cannot be erased just like that. What's imprinted on our DNA can't be changed except a miracle happens.



Most women have made the mistake of getting married to a man with hopes that he will change. It doesn't always work. If you can't take the heat, leave the kitchen. If you can keep up with it, go on but when it becomes endurance instead of enjoyment, keep that love aside and be reasonable. A broken relationship is always better than a broken marriage.

This writeup was inspired by the brouhaha between Tiwa Savage and her husband. Even though some people think its a publicity stunt, I picked up a few lessons from the whole drama. She knew he was a womanizer before she married him. She knew he had children before she said "I do". She knew he had a habit of smoking marijuana and keeping late nights. Despite all these, she married him. She must have really loved him and hoped that one day, he would change. But did he?



We can only try to influence others but its left to them to be influenced and then consider change. True love, which is the love of God is the only kind of love that can actually cause a change in a person's life.

Until my next post, stay well.
xo, Evita.