Something has to be done….

I’m not sure if you are aware but the Nigerian Senate is in the middle of a pretty hot topic. They are debating the idea of legalising under age marriage. That’s right. I’m not even joking. Nigeria, one of the wealthiest and fastest developing countries in Africa. The ‘Jewel’ of Africa? Frankly, what angers me is not even the idea. There will always be awful people in this world. What really gets to me is that this has become a debate. Why is this even being considered? Is it not obvious in our world what is right and wrong anymore? Of all the things to worry about in Nigeria. The imprisonment of innocent undeveloped girls to old men?

If you pray, please pray for Nigeria. Pray for all the girls who have dreams before their right to choose them is taken away. The wonderful Nigerian actress Stella Damascus has taken to Youtube to vent, I’ve never seen her out of character so angry!

Please take a moment to sign this petition.

 

StudioChi: A New Chapter

Why, hello there lovely people! Hope you are all well.

For all of you wonderful people who find me the least bit interesting, you are probably wondering where in the world I’ve been. I promise you I have been missing but still in action. Some times I take(find) the time to evaluate my life. I think of how I can make my relationships better, discover more of God’s beauty in my world and enjoy my time more. I hope this doesn’t sound incredibly morbid, ha! I’ve been doing the same thing with this blog. Reading over your comments, responses and likes(I check EVERY single one) and considering how I can make this blog better.

Every now and then I get that blogger envy. Any one who has ever blogged at some point must know about this. You look at other blogs and think mine should do this, look like this and be like that. I have realised that this only happens when your trying to make your blog fit into a mould. Every blog is unique because every blogger is unique. A blog should be an expression of it’s writers tastes and interests. I love sharing the things I discover with you guys. Style tips and tricks shouldn’t be exclusive and if I am lucky enough to find something, I’ll share it!  So after much ado…this happened….

Studio Chi

Life. Style. Weddings

It encapsulates all of my babbling without constricting me.

Buckle up…;-) and let me know what you think about the new chapter/new look blog!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for daily insights 🙂 @bychioma

Permed to Natural: Part 1

This is a bit a of an unusual blogging post…but it’s ok because difference is good! Questions about my hair are brought up all the time through comments and private messages. The time has come for me to give  you all some snippets of information!

I will make every effort to explain everything as clearly as possible. I appreciate that we aren’t all clued up on black hair(just like I’m not massively clued up on caucasian hair). I believe political correctness can be overplayed, sometimes I think you need to call a spade a spade!

Picture 1: ‘The Permed Phase’

In the first picture, my hair is permed(chemically straightened). My hair was permed the summer before I started secondary school. This was carried out under the illusion that it would make my hair more manageable, and without great background knowledge. The truth is my permed ‘sraight’ hair only lasted for two days and after being permed I always had to pay extra so they could hot comb( a hair straightener that looks like a comb) afterwards anyway! My hair is super stubborn.

My Opinion on Permed Hair:

There is nothing wrong with the decision to perm your hair, it’s your choice. My only problem is the reason it was first created.

Black perms were created in a time where anything ‘black’ was frowned upon and anything European/Western in nature was seen as better. Unfortunately it was believed that straighter was better, having similarities to most caucasian appearances and hair types.

The truth is beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. Somewhere along the line  our society has created a hierarchy.

It’s the same sad reason, that so many black people use bleaching creams to lighten their skin. Shocking?…I know!

I believe any style should be worn proudly, it’s human to have insecurities…we just have to attempt to deal with them! hee hee…

The journey to freedom entails learning to love yourself for who you really are. How do you go about doing that….by seeing and embracing yourself in your natural God given state….cue the big chop! BAM!

In what ways have you learned to love yourself ? I would love to know…

Leopard Printed Statement

When it comes to coats and jackets I am extremely picky. In fact, in the last four years I have only bought three. I have wide shoulders, big hips and even bigger thighs ha! Anything that doesn’t nip me in at the waist makes me look a bigger than I am. Coats need fabric that is durable and waterproof(to a decent extent).

This trench is from Topshop….I call it my ‘summer coat’. Warm when necessary and cooler when I need insurance against British weather. It’s almost a mustard colour, which compliment my skin-tone pretty well….almost a ‘black’ nude ha! These shoes are the love of my LIFE! I lost one….(don’t ask how) but I’ve been re-united. Elegant and risky all at the same time. Boom…

Trench Coat: Topshop/ Black Pencil Dress: Asos/ Leopard Print Shoe’s: Nine West/ Bag: Asos

I owe a massive thank you to a good friend of mine who seems to get dragged into taking all my photo’s! We havn’t settled on a name for her enterprise, but when we do I’ll let you all know about her. Love you!

The Wedding Spotlight’s On…..A Pretty Floral Bridal Shower

I love creatively co-ordinating events. I started planning for this Bridal Shower a couple of months ago. Every event is special to someone, but this one even more so as I am the Bride-to-Be’s maid of honour. I began by picking her favourite colours and went from there.

The theme was hinted by the invitations I designed and followed through to the event. The cupcakes and bunting that I made also helped to bring a vintage/homemade flair to the event. It couldn’t have been done without  help from friends who even came up with things I haven’t thought of….which is why I always carry extra crafting materials!

There were plenty of games and tonnes of laughter!

Being Nigerian, my culture can influence some of the things I do. One of the aspects of my culture is showing gratefulness to  God by finding ways to give back.(In case you didn’t know Nigeria’s constitution was built on the Bible as we were once under British rule!) At weddings, the relatives of the bride and groom give guests favours to thank them for coming to rejoice with them. The last image shown is of the favours I created for guests to take home (later wrapped up in tissue paper and ribbons.)  Couldn’t really let everyone leave without a present could I? ha!