Happy New Year!

Well here it is, 2016 has arrived and I hope you all did something memorable to see in the New Year.

Image soured from www.pinterest.com 

Every year I get a feeling about what type of year it’s going to be. To some extent I believe that you can premeditate this, but to another extent I highly believe that your gut will always tell you what lies ahead, well not detail for detail but enough to know whether you need to gear up for battle or simply enjoy life for what it is (Always strive for the latter … regardless).  

A few years ago I decided to stop making huge New Years resolutions on lists that were as long as my arm because trying to achieve all of those things was just too unrealistic. Instead, what I did was keep it really simple and set a life mantra to ‘do what makes you happy and when it no longer makes you happy… stop and move on’.

So far, this has served me well and has helped keep a lot of things in perspective. This simple mantra also helped me to pay more attention to the things that make me happy and how I can manifest that happiness to grow in a positive way. But it has also helped me to identify the things, people and circumstances that make me unhappy and this in itself has been liberating beyond belief!

The amount of unnecessary bullshit I have been able to cut out, avoid and foresee has been life changing and has saved me tonnes of wasted time, energy and emotion.

Whatever resolutions, goals and target you do or don’t set for 2016, I hope that you all have an amazing 365 and that you are able to let go of any fears, situations and even people that have  held you back or kept you down in the past and that you are ready to receive all the love, happiness and success that you deserve for the year ahead!

Happy New Year lovebugs and thank you so much for supporting For The Love of Moi in 2015.

FYI - My gut tells me that 2016 is going to be a gooden! 

Love Sara. xxx

Monday Motivation

Happy Monday Lovers!

So a few months ago there was this photo that was all over the internet and newspapers about this lovely and cute little old lady simply living in the moment at a film premier in the States.

Image sourced form Google.com

The world became obsessed (for a short while) with the fact that while all the other people in the photo were busy capturing the moment on the smart phones, this little old lady didn’t give a rats arse about taking photos at all because she was more than happy capturing everything she needed at that time with her eyes.

Today we have become so obsessed with taking instant pictures and sharing them with the world that we have forgotten that sometimes an image simply can't do any justice to what is happening right in front of us.

Some moments aren’t meant to be captured by a smartphone camera or even an SLR. Some moments are meant to be lived so that you can feel whatever it is that you are supposed to feel in that moment and take it with you.

Image sourced from Pinterest.com

This week instead of whipping out your phone when you see something amazing, take the time to enjoy it and observe how it make you feel.

But if you happen to bump into say… Beyoncé or your ultimate idol this week then I think it’s safe to say that you need to make sure you snap that shit as we will all want proof of that moment!

Have a great week y’all!

Love Sara. xxx

Monday Motivation

Image sourced from www.pinterest.com 

Answer: Every-bloody-thing!

For some people failure simply isn’t an option and while I think it’s important to succeed in whatever we do, a lot of success doesn’t come without a lot of failure.

Failing, or not getting things right first time round is how we learn. It’s also what makes success and victory taste even sweeter.

I once read a quote (because we all know how much I love a good quote) that said;

“If success was always instant and easy, Everyone would be successful, and there would be no pride in achievement. ” – Patrick McCormick

This is so true, because things that are worth a lot don’t come easy. Think about you most important relationships in life, they are what they are because of the work that goes into them and the mistakes that all parties involved have made along the way, that important lessons we learned from; Think about when you were at school, college, uni or even work, at some point there would’ve been an essay, test, assignment or project that you may have not performed the way you wanted to, but think about what you learned from that helped you succeed next time round and the time after that.

Life is too short to try and avoid making mistakes or failing. I say we all let go and face the facts that we can’t always get it right and by doing just that... one day we will realise that we got everything right, even the mistakes and those bloody failures too, because everything will always turn out exactly the way it’s supposed to be.

Have a great week love bugs.

Love Sara. xxx

Monday Motivation

Image sourced from www.mermagblog.com

Hey there Lovebugs!

I hope you all had a fab weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead.

Question - Does your mind ever run a thousand miles an hour generating idea after idea of the things you want to do, have or be? Well mine does and because of this one of the many things that I have managed learn about myself is that I have a very overactive imagination!

Don’t get me wrong this has its advantages, as it keeps me on my toes, but sometimes I get so caught up in it all and that I accidentally exhaust myself mentally, physically and emotionally.

There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, driven, determined and all that good stuff, but it’s important to remember that ‘You can do anything, but not everything’ .

This quote regularly keeps me in check as it’s a reminded of my talents and what I am capable of, but it also encourages me to prioritise by what I want the most and what is realistic, to what I can take on at the time.  

So if you find yourself overwhelmed with amazing ideas or even by the request of others, take a moment stop and remind yourself that you are more capable of anything but that doesn’t mean that you should burn yourself out trying to achieve it all at once.

Take your time with what’s most important to you and have a great week me darlings!

Love Sara. xxx

Monday Motivation

Image sourced from www.forthedream.tumblr.com

This can happen to the best of us at times. Losing myself is a place that I feel like I visit too often these days, but in my moments of clarity I remember that when I feel like I’ve lost the girl that I used to be, or am unsure of who I am or what I want these days, I remember that it’s ok to have these feelings because I am just shedding the skin of what is no longer needed, taking what I have learned and what I’m still learning, and am evolving into the person I’m supposed to be for the next chapter of my life.

Yes feeling like you are losing yourself on the regular can be, scary, frustrating, lonely and bloody awful, but the key to losing yourself from time to time is making sure that all of those good ass friends and family that love you as much as the air they breathe are by your side physically, emotionally or in my case virtually, to remind you how bloody awesome, talented, beautiful and loved you are in those moments when you don’t know how to remind yourself! And with that... you will never truly lose yourself all the way because these magnificent lovers we call family and friends will never let you!

Have a great week love bugs and remember, it’s normal and fine to lose your shit from time to time... just don’t lose it forever! 

Love Sara. xxx

Monday Motivation

Happy Monday Lovers!

I’ve always had this tendency to construct master plans for life which more recently is something that I’ve been working my arse off to move away from.

Having a plan for anything is a good thing, however it can also be devastating when your plans don’t seem to work out the way you expected and also can stop you from living in the moment.

But here’s what I’ve learned about making plans in life and for life; Things ALWAYS work out just the way that are supposed to even if it’s the complete opposite of what you planned.

So when you have days or moments where things don’t seem to be going your way, just take a deep breath and roll with it, accept it for what is, make good decisions, embrace it and learn from it. 

Image sourced from pinterest.com

Remember that things always unfold just the way they are supposed to, so if you’re wondering why you haven’t had that promotion or why you haven’t met the guy of your dreams despite your detailed master plan, it’s just because there is a bigger and better plan for you in the works and if you stay open and positive, when the time is right things will be exactly the way they were always supposed to be and all the things you considered to have gone wrong, will suddenly feel like things that went right.

Have a great week amigos!   

Monday Motivation

The mind is a powerful thing.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have started with one negative thought and before you knew it, you had become overwhelmed with emotions and not necessarily the good kind?

Like I said the mind id a powerful thing and if you give too much power to your thoughts especially the negative ones you can easily end up in a places that feel emotionally and mentally draining. But on the flip side of that, if you start to think more positively you will find that you will experience emotions that feel much more energising and happy which will inspire you to hold on to those feelings for as long as you can.

Staying in a positive frame of mind all day everyday is, well, at least for me... impossible. Simply because shit happens in life and you have to go through the (e)-motions to get to the other side.

But as silly of as difficult as it may sound to ‘train your mind to see the good in everything’, it’s actually one of the best things that you can do. Trust me on this one!

By doing this, eventually you’ll realise that the things that were once big issues causing you stress, anger and heartache are actually not worth the hassle.

It will help you to put things in to perspective about who and what is important and who and what’s not. Without realising it, training your mind to ‘think happy thoughts’ (yep, just like peter pan) will open your mind and your world to things you never imagined. (Ok so you won’t be able to fly your way back to Never Never Land, but I assure you there are plenty other things you’ll experience with your feet planted firmly on the ground.)

Happy Monday Lovebugs! Have a great week and remember to think happy thoughts!

Image sourced from Wunder.co.uk 

Love Sara. xx

I Get By With A Little Help From Yoga

Yoga was always something that I’d always wanted to do however my initial reason for trying it out over 10 years ago at the infamous Pineapple Studios are very different to the reasons why I love it today.

Despite the relaxing effect it had on me and my friend in that studio all those years ago (we fell asleep!), I never quite cottoned on to the power and empowerment of yoga, I just saw it as something that was good for me to do during my days as a dancer to help keep me limber and strong, which is probably why I never kept it up as I completely missed the point of what yoga is really about.

However over the past few years I have found myself questioning so many different aspects of life and paying a lot more attention to the way I respond to life. So as a way of exploring this and finding balance and inner peace, in January 2014 as one of my new year’s resolutions I vowed to start my yoga journey and it all began with a £5 class which I had no idea would eventually play such a huge role of support in my life.  

Sadly only after a few weeks the class was cancelled and for a while I tried out a few other classes but I never quite connected the way that I did with my first instructor.

By the summer I felt like I had started to fall apart as my tank was on empty and I needed to slow down and as a result of overworking and neglecting myself in more ways than one I began to experience a lot of anxiety. I knew that what I was experiencing was simply a mind over matter situation and I was determined to restore myself in a holistic way. So I contacted my instructor and gave her the rundown on what was happening and booked myself in for a private session, but before diving straight in for a yoga session we agreed that I we would have a Reiki session that would help to understand where my issues were coming from and what areas we needed to focus on. This was and still is the most powerful spiritual healing experience I have ever had. It was the first time in what had felt like months that my mind found peace, even if it was only for a few seconds at a time because let me tell you, those few seconds felt like heaven (or at least what I imagine heaven would feel like.)

These sessions were the start of gaining back my control, managing and understanding my mind and emotions at a deeper level. Since then I have continued with my yoga and meditation practice and have had some really great experiences. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some yoga classes where I’ve left and at the end said to myself “what the fuck was that all about”, and I’ve been to some where my body has had a better work out than my mind and spirit, but I’ve also been to classes that have left me in tears, or have unblocked whatever may have been preventing me from feeling grateful, happy, loved or free. My latest experience involved being turned on during a session!! Which I assure you, was as much as a surprise to me as  I think may be to you! The instructor did have on some insanely little tight shorts and he did also had a beautiful voice, but after having a quick chat with my instructor back home she assured me that it was completely normal and that he (the instructor) clearly acted as catalyst for whatever was going on in my body. (Horny hormones! HA!! Can’t believe I just wrote that!) Lol, no seriously yoga has all kinds of ways of awakening your subconscious feelings, energies and emotions. Especially at times when you least expect it, you can experience all kinds of emotions.

Yoga isn’t for everyone but for me it one of my top wellbeing activities that keeps me centred and grounded in this crazy western world. Since moving to Lisbon I’ve been exploring different classes to find my right match while I’m here which I think may have finally found. What makes it even sweeter is that it’s outdoors and it's free!

If you’re in Lisbon and would love to do some yoga check out the video below!

Or if you’re at home and don’t have the time to get to a class but really want to have some kickass guided practice, check out Yoga with Adrienne! She is amazing and I regularly do her sessions via YouTube. She’s fun as has a great way of making you feel at ease with whatever level of yoga you’re at. She also has a great 30 Daysof Yoga programme which I’ve found as great way to start the day.

Follow @yogawithadriene

Enjoy and  feel free to share any yoga stories or tips!

Love Sara. xx

The People You Meet Along The Way...

One of the most exciting things about travelling or moving somewhere new is the people you meet. Some may be a little strange, some even creepy, like the boys that wait like vultures for the foreign girls to come to town so they can offer strong helping hand because of course, every female with a passport and the desire to travel is a brainless damsel in distress! But aside from the creeps, dickheads and weirdos there are some genuinely amazing people from all over the world waiting to meet you!

Since I’ve been in Lisbon I’ve met so many people from so many different places that I’ve lost track. But then there are always the ones that stick with you, like the bubbly landlord who gave me the best welcome ever on my first day. I’d barley even checked in and before I knew it we out the door and on our way to an art exhibition, a fresh juice bar and an outdoor book fair. We talked about the how amazing life, yoga and the universe are and of course boys... duh! But what was even more amazing is that 2 weeks prior leaving the UK I’d started to think about how difficult it was going to be and how lonely I would be in my first few days when I arrived, but as soon as I met my landlord all those feelings disappeared. We talked about so many things that without realising it, we were helping each other make sense of our current life situations, so we decided there and then while chowing down on some sort of green veg chocolate cake (I swear is was scrumptious), that we would write a book titled, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. And just like that a new friendship was born.

Then there’s the lovely enthusiastic Brazilian lady I met at a language exchange. We agreed to meet one afternoon to practice our language skills and I am so glad that we did because she reminded me of how excited and in love with Lisbon I was the first time I visited which helped me to remember what brought me back. It wasn’t long before I felt like I’d been reconnected with a long lost friend and again, that was the beginning of a new inspiring friendship.

When I had my weeks of weakness of feeling homesick I met an amazing group of people who have no idea how much they cheered me up! From that group of people I met a lovely free spirited, kite surfing French girl. It had almost been a month since we’d initially met but randomly one day I was on Facebook and saw her name pop up, so I took it as a sign and said hi. Little did I know she was leaving the next day so we spontaneously met up for the afternoon and as we began talking we realised that we had a lot in common. We talked about how much we love Lisbon, our travelling experiences and some of the things that we want from life. And just like that, in one afternoon, I went from being in limbo about what to do next with my life, to feeling like I had found the next piece to my puzzle!

And then there’s the 67 year old American lady who is just dying for me to meet her cat, Squeak! This fiery lady left home at the age of 18, found herself some European loving and hasn’t looked back since.

When we first met, I asked her where she was from, she replied “now that’s an interesting question”, to which she gave an interesting answer. I suppose when you’ve travelled and lived in as many places as she has it can become a bit difficult to say that you’re from one specific country, town or city, when your life has been shaped by so many different places.

After sitting next to this lady at an outdoor documentary movie while she decided to become a personal quirky commentator, mainly commentating on how shite she thought the documentary was, I knew I liked her. 

On the train back into the city we talked and talked and I realised that this woman has the most amazing spirit and I loved being around her because she honestly reminds me of what life is all about! Despite going against what society told her she should be as an 18 year old girl in the 70’s, she had the balls to go against the grain and follow her heart which has taken her on so many memorable adventures.

For me there is nothing like meeting a complete stranger and discovering you have a connection with them, even if it’s just for a moment or it lasts an entire lifetime. I live for moments like these because these random people I meet from all over the world have helped and continue to help shape the person I am and the person I will become!

Although most of us were raised on a strict ‘Stranger Danger’ policy, I highly recommend you trust your gut combined with weirdo raider and get to know a stranger every once in a while, you never know what will happen.

Love Sara. xxx

Finding a New Path

Can you believe that my first month in Lisbon has already gone?

So how did it go? – Well to be completely honest the first 2 weeks were pretty bad as I experienced the worst homesickness I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’ve always been one to get homesick but this time it felt like it was never going end which made it even worse. Immediately I stated making plans for my return home to England and how I would just carry on with my life as it was. For a while this was comforting but then after returning home for a week for a family event and spending time talking really openly with my family and two besties about what I was feeling, I began to remember all the reasons why I made the choice to move to Lisbon and give myself a break and live life in a new place for a while.

Taking myself out of my comfort zone and starting over the way I did was such huge thing to do and I clearly underestimated the impact that it would have on me, as I had gone from having a super busy job, friends, family, and social life, to having no job, plenty of time and just me myself and I to keep myself company. But as awful as those few weeks were, I got over them (thank God) and was able to start putting things into perspective, like the fact I am living the my favourite city in the world with endless possibilities!

Now a full month in I can say that moving here for the summer (or maybe longer who knows) was definitely the right thing for me to do because although I change my mind as often as Rihanna changes her hair, being here and having time alone has given me the chance to start thinking more about what I want from this new blank chapter of life, what’s most important and how I can achieve it. And yes, it’s likely that I will change my mind a gazillion times before I get to the place that I’m supposed to be, but I’m happy to say that this is a start, and for the first time in a while, I think I may be on the path that was designed just for me.

Love Sara. xx

Heeding The Signs

Hello there love bugs!

I hope you’re all well and happy?

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on here and my, my, my, has a lot changed since my last post on 29 November 2014! (What a shameful time gap!)

If you are a regular reader of For The Love of Moi, you would’ve noticed that in the posts leading up to the last one in November last year, FTLOM took a turn in the type of content that was being shared. I assure you that this was not planned but was merely a reflection of what was going on in my life at that time.

So to give you the short version, here’s the skinny on what led to the changes in the content and my life.

Now as some of you may remember in 2013 I managed to get the job of my dreams that I had been working so hard for! Don’t get me wrong it was no high flying job with the salary to match, but was that foot in the door that I had wanted and was enough for me. However the more involved I became in my job the more my body was trying to tell me to slow down, but as much as I was learning about heeding the signs of life, I sure as hell wasn’t heeding these signs until one day at our busiest time of the year on my way to work I was involved in a car crash which should have been more than enough to make me or anyone for that matter stop and say, “Ok universe, I’ve heard you loud and clear! From this day forth I vow to put my health first”, but no that wasn’t enough for little ol’ me now was it, as the very next day I was back at my laptop, (even if it was from my living room whilst propped up by ever cushion in the room.)

It wasn’t until I had a full blown panic attack in the canteen whilst at work with embarrassing visions flashing through my mind of being airlifted out of the campus and taken to the nearest hospital that I realised that I was suffering from anxiety which the doctors failed to pick up on when I told them I was having breathing problems to which their solution was to put me on steroid based medication!!!

So after going back to the doctor and telling them that the problem was not asthma, but was in fact anxiety (imagine having to tell your doctor what they should have told you! A rant for another day) they told me the best thing anyone could have ever told me at that stage of my anxiety, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear … which went something like this; ‘Sara, you have two options, you can either find a way of coping or you can find a new job’!

Fast forward one year and this is where I’m at; I worked through a lot of my anxiety with the support of my family, friends, colleagues who have become friends and an amazing yoga teacher and realised that there were a lot of things that needed to change in my life which started with the way that I was treating myself and the way that I approached life.

I found ways of managing my workload as well as more time for myself, I realised that there were other factors that contributed to my anxiety which I am still learning how to deal with, but the most important thing that I have learned so far, is the importance of the connection with myself which I somehow managed to lose along the way. However since this realisation I have managed to restore and continue to build this connection every single day, and yes, even on the shit days, because we all have them no matter how zen we deem ourselves to be.

As for the job, I called it a day and followed my heart to rekindle an old flame. I packed my bags, left on jet plane and to be honest, I’m not too sure when I’ll be back again!

But in mean time I plan to keep sharing my experiences and discoveries with you all, which will include the good, the bad and the hella ugly, as I know I’m not alone on this amazing rollercoaster we call life and what’s an experience if you’re not able to share it? Even if it’s only through a blog.

Love Sara. xxx 

Travel Is My First Love

This is the first year in a while that I haven’t made plans for long term travel and if I’m honest I think that my nearest and dearest are quite shocked that I haven’t yet packed my bags and headed off to some new and exciting hot country to contemplate life on a beach.

Last year when I returned home for living in the Caribbean I told myself that moving away or travelling long term simply would not be an option for the next two years as it was time that I worked on building a career.

So here I am, over a year later and to everyone’s surprise still happily living in UK which means that I can proudly say that I’ve proven everyone wrong who thought I wouldn’t last… besides I said that I couldn’t leave the country long term, I didn’t say anything about not leaving the country at all!

If someone told me tomorrow that I would never be able to travel again I think the paramedics would have to come and scrape me off the floor! Travelling is in my blood and literally makes my spirit come alive and has been a huge part of the person I am today!

This year I have had some amazing adventures which have taught me a lot about myself, others and the world. But now that my last international adventure of the year is over and I don’t have anything else lined up (for now) I have to get my fix online.

I came across an amazing site called Travel Noire, and let me tell you that this site is my newest and bestest friend! “Travel Noire is a blogging platform featuring cultivated insights from a global community of black travellers”.

Image sourced from Travel Noire

 

Some of you may be saying “what’s the big deal?” But this is a huge deal? This website is an amazing breath of fresh air because people often act like black people don’t travel or that we don’t know how to travel or we only visit the countries and Islands that we’re from. These MIS-perceptions work my nerves like something you would never believe. And let me tell you why… black people are travellers, have always been travellers and always will be travellers. The first time that we set sail as a people were not on slave ships and it’s past time people stopped acting like it was. How the hell else do you think that the Moors and various tribes ended up all over the world?

Travel Noire is everything and more to a young black female like moi, because is challenges the misperceptions and misrepresentations out there.

There have been times and will be plenty more times when I have been travelling and have been the only black face for miles, but this has never stopped me from going anywhere that my heart has desired and this site is a testament of those who feel the same.
 

Image sourced from Travel Noire courtesy of Street Etiquette

Travel Noire provides and fresh and cultured platform for the black community who love to travel, learn and explore, despite all that society has to say. This site literally has me hooked and of course planning my next holiday from all their amazing tips and information.

I would highly recommend you check out Travel Noire to get inspired and get travelling! There are some truly amazing reads on there that I can relate to all too well as well as some amazing reads that inspire the life out of me.

Image sourced from www.yourdailylifeguide.com

Love Sara. (A little lady who just loves, loves, loves to travel). xxx

KINatural at the Bull's Head Friday Night!!!

If you're in Birmingham this Friday night, get yourself down to The Bulls Head in Moseley Village and support the amazing KINatural!!





The Duo will be preforming tracks from their amazing new EP P.A.I.N including their track current track 'Danger'.  





See you there my loves! 

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

Well hello there lovers! It’s been a while since I’ve been done a Monday Motivation post but while I have a minute I thought I try and get back into it to spread some love and happiness on this sunny Monday.

Being thankful is the theme this week.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the past and the future that we forget about the here and now. This is so easy to do when you have a vision of what you want out of life but it is so important to remember to also focus on the present, the people you have in your life in this moment, the things that you have in your life in this moment and even the things that go wrong in your life in this moment. It’s only when you do this that you’re able to realise just how amazing your life actually is and the fact that out of the thousands of people around the world that die on a daily basis YOU wake up morning after morning to a world that is your oyster. So if that isn’t enough to be thankful for then Honey boo-boo Child…. I don’t know what is?!

Image sourced from Google

Have a great week lovebugs, be happy be thankful and love the life you live! If you can’t do this then it may be time to make some changes. xxxx

The Rum Kitchen

A while ago I read a blog post by The Londoner about this spot in London called ‘The Rum Kitchen’, so naturally it became one of my missions in life to see what this place was all about.

 

Image sourced from Google

Recently I've become a bit of a foodie, which means that I can be a bit of a brat and a snob when it comes to where I eat and the service that is provided, but don't be fooled, this doesn’t mean that I don’t love a back street food-shack, these shacks are usually my favorite places to eat, but if I’m going to eat in these places the food has to be past of point orgasmic and the service has to be beyond friendly, I'm talking ‘Cheers’, a place where everybody knows your name kind of friendly. But as much as I love my little budget restaurants and takeaways I also love a bit of posh nosh where I can get dressed up and sip on something kind of fancy in a fancy kind of glass. However there is one style of food and restaurant that I have always had serious issues with and that is Caribbean restaurants and takeaways. So sad, yet so true, I always find a reason to complain whenever I go to one,
a) because the Caribbean food that my dad cooks at home is always better.
b) the service is despicable and on top of that most of the time the dish that you ask for on the menu ….. is rarely available on the day you happen to order it.
And
c) if the food you order is available you’re in a for a wait and a half!

So when I read about The Rum Kitchen I was surprised by my curiosity because usually as soon as I know it's Caribbean food any hope of me going usually goes straight out the window, but perhaps it was the word ‘Rum’ in the title that tickled my taste buds.

Last weekend I made plans with two of my besties to try out this place called this place they call the ‘Rum Kitchen’ and after a stroll through Portobello Road Market we finally made it where we were greeted by two friendly waitresses. As it was 1pm we were given the Brunch menu. I went for the VegMash option while my besties chose the Grilled Makerel. The Veg mash for me was a great option as I wanted something tasty and filling to hold me for the afternoon, the portion size looked small but it was actually the right amount. My amigas also said that the Makerel was a good option and they would definitely recommend it.

For the Rum we went with the Strange Fruit and the RumiPunch Cocktails which were delish to say the least. If you like a kick to your cocktail and like your rum to be upfront with its intentions I would definitely recommend Strange Fruit, but if you love a silent creeper whose rum intentions are disguised by the sweet tastes of tropical fruits, Rumi Punch is for you.

If you’d rather make a night of it you could start off in The Rum Kitchen with a full meal or snacks and then make you way down to ‘The Rum Cellar’ and dance the night away with cocktail glass in hand and good vibes until 2am.

Overall I really enjoyed my experience at The Rum Kitchen, the food was good the service was way above average and on top of that with the sun shining, my besties by my side and reggae playing in the background it was hard for me not to feel like I was having my own little special slice of the Caribbean right here in the UK.    

If you’re in the Notting Hill area and looking for something to do and something good to eat I would absolutely give The Rum Kitchen a go.

Love Sara (A skinny gal who sure loves to eat!). xxxx

Stockholm Weekend

Hey Lovers!!

Last weekend my bestie and I decided to get away from the UK and its bad weather and experience a new part of Europe, but I was pretty pissed when we landed back in the UK to discover that it was and had been warmer here the whole weekend than in our chosen destination. Gutted!

 

So where did we go? Stockholm, Sweden, where the people are tall, gorgeous and life is like a never ending catwalk show!

So what was it like? Clean, stylish, calm and nowhere near as expensive as people made out it would be. Before we left people kept telling us to brace ourselves because it was going to be hella expensive, but in all honesty, financially it just felt like a weekend in London (she says without checking out her bank statement).

 

So what did we do? Landed on the Friday (into the cheaper airport with the shortest runway I have ever landed on in my life) only for our bus that was to transport us into the city to breakdown! Typical! Once the bus got going again we finally made it into Stockholm late afternoon and met up with my besties amiga who was our host for the weekend and went for something to eat at Vapiano in GamlaStan and had a great girly chat!

Later that night we met up with my amiga who has been living in Stockholm for 4 months now but it honestly felt like she had lived there her whole life! We went out for some dessert and then to dance the night away at the Hotspot Fasching until 5 in the morning! It’s been a while and half since I’ve had a night like that but with a DJ that drops a few Prince tunes into his set, how oh how could I ever resist!

 

On the Saturday we slept way longer than we’d intended but eventually found our way out and about exploring Stokholm City by day and by night ended up in a random Thai bar compliment of Swedens Thai wives.

On the Sunday morning we visited Tenstakonsthall an Art gallery in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city which my friend liked to refer to as the Ghetto, well if that was their Ghetto it was the cleanest Ghetto I have seen in my life.
In the afternoon we took a boat from the city centre that stopped at a bunch of little islands and hopped off at the last stopped and walked around a town with some very beautiful Scandinavian looking homes. By night we went to eat at a North African Restaurant called Habibi’s which sadly was closed so if you ever go you’ll have to tell me how it was. Instead we went to a Turkish Restaurant across the street Aya Sofya which was quite nice.

On Monday which was our last day we started out with a walk in the woods and Tea and cake at a Castle tea house. Then we met up with my friend for a lunch after visiting the InternationalLibrary which I have to say was such a nice place for a book worm like moi to sit for a while. We ate lunch at an enchanting little café nearby that had every kind of fresh tea imaginable but unfortunately we were cutting it fine and had to rush off to get out flight home, but I we did manage to squeeze in an apple tea.

 

Overall Stockholm is a great place if you love fashion and you love to socialise in cafes by day and restaurants and bars by night. But if you’re the type of person who loves a city with a bit of edge or rebellion of some sort then Stockholm probably isn’t for you. As much as their architecture was easy on the eye, it was also lacking in uniqueness, as for me there was nothing strikingly beautiful about the buildings there that intrigued me in the slightest I'm afraid. But that’s not to say it’s not a great place to visit because I had a fab time, however had me or my friend not known people that live there we definitely would have had a completely different experience to the one we had. Either way we had a great time as we had great company. Would I go again? Despite no being completely wowed... Yes I’ll probably go later this year to visit my friend again as it is the perfect place to hang out and catch up due to it’s calm and socialising culture.

 

Have you been to Stockholm? What did you think?

*Images are a combination of my own and sourced from Google

                                          

Interview with JP Cooper

The first time I heard JP Cooper I was immediately blown away by his talent , but when I had the opportunity to meet him at the last Soul Live Birmingham I was in no way at all prepared for the pure level of humility of Mr Copper or his enthusiasm, love, understanding and passion for honest music. He is hands down the most intriguingly humblest man I think that I have ever met.

For a man with a rare yet powerful Soul, it’s hard to believe that his musical beginnings started in Rock bands which he said helped to mould his sound and voice that has taken him 10 years to find.

Emerging from a “very white working class” background in Manchester it was through Coopers exploration of Gospel music and being a fan of Soul that he was able to find this voice that I just can’t get enough of.

With Musical Influences like Donnie Hathaway, Bill Rivers and the legendary Stevie Wonder, Cooper is definitely a man who is serious about real music. So to find out why Mr Copper is officially my first music obsession of 2013 keep reading and I’m sure by the end of the interview you'll be obsessed too.

For those that aren’t familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound.

Wow, you know what I really don’t know. In what I do I try to be honest, try to keep things simple, I try to reveal as much as I can and I try and strip it down to the bones and as far as the sound goes… I don’t know, because it isn’t soul, it isn’t folk, it’s number of things.

What sets you apart from the other soul artist out there today?
It’s probably is because I came from such a different background, and I mean here tonight I feel blessed to have been invited into this kind of event, to be accepted. I mean its Soulive, so for someone to say I feel your soul when you sing, that’s what it’s all about.

So how would you explain your background?
I grew up in a very white working class area, so I was more exposed to indie music. I live in Manchester, so the whole Manchester thing was going on and everybody was in Indi Bands, that’s maybe why it took me so long to get into soul music because there weren’t many people sharing that. Luckily over the years I’ve found Gospel Choir, I’ve found other musicians and I’ve learnt a lot, whereas I used to hide behind my long hair and loud guitars.

Considering you started out in Rock, is this something that you still delve into or are you solely Soul Music?
I don’t know if I would go back into that, I probably wouldn’t because I’ve always wanted to do something acoustic, something soulful, I think it was just finding the confidence to bare that and it took me ten years to focus on what I had that was special and individual, so I feel like I’m just scratching the surface now.

 

Who or what inspires you lyrically?
I don’t really know if there’s been any people that have influenced me to write. Most of the things are just everyday emotions, things that I’ve been nostalgic about, things that have moved me in a good way, things that have moved me in a confused way. A lot of the time when I’m writing I’m figuring things out, so half the time I don’t know what the songs about when I’m writing it and then when I finish sometimes it’s a year later that it says something to me and that’s what’s beautiful about it. I do really try and keep it simple and I do want to be able to speak to everybody, I don’t just want to just be able to speak to intellectual people, I want to keep it simple because I’m a simple guy.

 

Keeping with the theme of inspiration and lyrics, ‘Oh the Water’ is one of my favourite songs. What inspired such a powerful song?
I think that when I wrote that song I was trying to speak to a part of myself that tells me that I can’t do something. I have massive doubt issues with myself, I’m kind of working them out. It’s about dealing with self-doubt and not sweeping it under the rug, it’s about facing it and dealing with it and helping a part of yourself that is being beat on. So that’s what that songs about, and it’s another one that spoke to me.

If there is anyone that you could work with dead or alive, who would it be?
There are people that I would love to meet, but I would love to meet and learn from. I’m a huge Donnie Hathaway fan and I got to support his daughter Lalah Hathaway.
Stevie wonder, what a man, what a legacy. It would be great to sit down with Bill Rivers just because he seems like such a great down to earth kind of guy and I don’t know how he’s managed to keep that, that’s a really big aspiration to have.

So there you have it ladies and gents, a little insight in to who this magnificent artist is and where he came from! I definitely recommend you keep a close eye on him and if JP is coming to a town near you, not going to see him live is not an option! But for the time being check out the video below of JP performing ‘Oh the Water’ Live at Soulive back in February, and if you look closely enough you’ll see a little shortie in the front row who looks like she’s in pure heaven … yep that little shortie is moi and if heaven feels anything like I felt during that moment then boy, I better be on my best behaviour!

 

To see more quality Artist’s like JP get yourself down to the Rainbow Warehouse, Digbeth Birmingham on May 11th for round 3 of Soulive! I for one canny wait!!

See you there music lovers. xx

*Images sourced from Google