"S"

Gorgeous gorgeous paper!

For the last 2 weeks or so since I updated my OS to Mavericks I've been in iBook heaven! I had the longest list of backlog from my book club on Box 'cause apparently every other member on it owned a kindle and they weren't that concerned that I was unable to open epubs to upload pdf versions too. So I would sadly trawl the comments sections and leave one or two about how I think the author is phenomenal. *sad face*

Then in came iBooks! I'm not exaggerating when I say I've been sleeping with my laptop and that my saddest time of day is during the daily commute when I have my baby with me but can't turn it on to read my books! Long story short, I'd finally come to the brink, dangerously tipping into ebooks >paper books territory.*gasp* 

And then, and THEN!!! I learnt about S. It had me at conceived by JJ Abrams. Yes, that JJ Abrams. You know those passionate fan girl feels when you're ready to sell you grandmother into slavery just to attend Comic Con? Yeah, by the time Fringe ended I was ready to sell myself into slavery for this man! So when I read about the premise of the book, a story within a story, two people bonding over a book, writings in margins, extras such as postcards, photographs, newspaper clippings, letters—even a hand-drawn map written on a napkin from a coffee shop slipped within the pages! I was in real danger of spontaneous combustion! Such was my excitement, I couldn't wait to spread the gospel.

So I whatsapp an ebook aficionado friend - the founder of my book club - about "S"

(My phone can't screen cap so I'm just going to type the whole thing out.)

Me:*all excited typing*

     Hey! So I've been in a happy iBooks daze, balancing on the precipice of becoming an unrepentant ebooks fan, when I learnt about J J Abrams' "S"! Its like the moment a spell is broken!

A: Now you're convert

A: Oh well

Me: Nope. I fell backwards off the fence! Still in love with paper books.

Me: The "S" book is only available in hard copy and its premise would suffer from any attempts at making it digital

A: Wait till you travel to Japan

Me: What's in Japan?

A: Just talking about the fact that when you travel, you can't carry all your paper books with you.

A: I value my ebooks for that

A: btw S is available as ebook

A: I just downloaded it now

Me: No

Me: Nooooooo...! *screams while covering ears*

Me: I can't even. Lemme just go to bed

A: LOL

A: I love you too

He obviously knew I was super hating him at that moment. Talk about busting my bubble! But for real though, my blonde moments in that conversation aside, I think the "S" experience will be lessened in the ebook. I mean, the napkin! How are they going to capture the napkin in an ebook??? If Fringe taught me anything about JJ, its that there's going to be clues upon clues upon clues hidden all over the place! But oh well, it is a love letter to the written word and digital though ebooks might be, they are still written words.

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

THE WEEK IN RETROSPECT

Bow down for the queen!

I'm sure lots of stuff went down this week, but all that was eclipsed by Queen Bey dropping her 5th studio album all super secret like! When my twitter feed showed that, I knew my work for the week was down! Haven't listened to a full track yet but these preview videos SMH included in its article have been on replay since! Happy Weekend loves, if anyone needs me I'll be in the BeyHive.

Tina Knowles appears in the video for "Grown Woman." You guys!!!

Just tentatively (because I haven't listened to the whole thing yet) putting it out there, "Mine" ft Drake is my jam! And I say that without being particularly fond of Drake.

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

RITA ORA FOR MATERIAL GIRL

I don't know for sure but I'm going to assume this was before hair and makeup and that this isn't actually what Madonna and Lourdes rolled out for the photoshoot.

This is so cutesy and edgy all at once! Love the shoes!!

I dunno why I thought of Karla first thing! Must be the nonchalant cooler-than-you-can-ever-be pose

Abs galore. This, this right here, is why I think crop tops are a great thing! You can flash skin but still look very well put together and decent. Not to mention its been a great motivator towards my workouts. Also those pants, want!

Speaking of croptastic, my friend took these real quick after a sleepover and gossip session last weekend. Please bear with the OOT preening and posing, I was really feeling myself. Don't pretend you don't know how it is ;)

My dad bought me the crop top like 4 years ago when I was starting uni but i seldom wore it then. On the rare occasions I did, it was under this tank dress it had come with. So imagine my joy when I paired it with this stretchy skirt and the look came off seamlessly! I could have married the mirror there and then!

Changed the shoes from the black with gold highlights strappy heels to candy pink patent Jessica Simpsons that contrasted with my red wallet to break up the monochrome look!

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

K-STEW IS KARL LAGERFELD LATEST MUSE

And this is what she decided to wear you guys. I'll give y'all a moment to take it all in.

You've got to give credit where credit is due! Kristen Stewart is winning at life! Full story here cause I'm too busy laughing to write more! And there I was thinking the reason KimK put up with this shoot is because she though she's be the next muse!

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

WEARABLE SHOE SCULPTURE

12 Shoes for 12 Lovers

I dunno guys, it seems like such an awesome idea but most of these shoes are fugly, right? On his blog, he tells a story about each shoe and the ex- lovers that inspired them. I like them better as art than as shoes.

TOP ROW FROM LEFT: Honey, Cry Baby, Gold Digger and Heartbreaker.

MIDDLE ROW: Ice Queen, Hot Bitch, The Virgin, JetSetter

BOTTOM: The Boss, GI Jane, The Ghost, The Rock

The sketch for *Hot Bitch* looks much hotter than the actual shoe/sculpture. 

I'm still not convinced *The Boss* looks anything like a gun, I thought of knuckledusters instead. 

*Cry Baby* looks surprisingly edgy when worn! To think it was what I dismissed first before seeing it in action!

I wish both feet of the *HeartBreaker* bore same levels of interest. Having cupid's arrow just through one shoe seems very lazy as if? Not that I can do this, but i think having that arrow head poking through the left foot while the vane end pierced through the right would have been more balanced, you know?

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

THE WEEK IN RETROSPECT

Keira Knightley may or may not have recycled her wedding dress! This makes me all the more determined to have a small wedding with a practical “gown” that I too can recycle! Are you taking notes Kim?

Speaking of, you guys have seen LaChapelle’s latest in celebrity kitsch pop surrealism photoshoots, yeah? Presenting the $250,000 Kardashian Krismas hard aka KKK(I can’t believe I went there yet these guys are well known lovers of our dark skinned brothers. Or as Kanye would have you believe, they revolutionized interracial dating by setting a precedent! Aaaah Yeezus, never change!)

So this happened. And we have the visionary LaChapelle  (wonder if he’s part of DONDA?) to thank for. Apparently he wanted just the women – no kids or guys, but Bruce and Kourtney were having none of this. I don’t even understand why Bruce bothered? It was a mockery of him! Trapping him in a glass tube BEHIND a grinning Kris while he gazes desperately at a medal sporting mannequin of Becks?!? (That is the de-limbed H&M mannequin of underwear model David Beckham, isn’t it?) You can’t pay me enough for this crap!

The photoshop ahem, post shoot editing, ahem, this kard underwent too is just on DONDA levels! I mean, can anyone explain why Kim has no armpit and one of her hips is higher than the other? Also did they drag Louis Bullock into this crayfest? That black baby behind Becks looks weirdly familiar. And the other representations of babies strewn allover this do nothing to evoke the nativity spirit. Seriously, compared to last year’s card? This was way way off the mark! Kylie’s side eye and Mason’s “over it” pose are just about the only things right with this!

Makes these not look so bad huh? Last years was actually downright festive!

Also, Rosie Hungtington Whitely might have worn my favorite pantsuit to date! That fact that its of a similar colour palette as this, my favorite red carpet outfit is telling me a lot about my taste! And no, it’s not the same designer. Rosie’s suit is by Antonio Berardi while Diane’s gown is a Prabal Gurung creation.

I finally watched Catching Fire! And while I haven’t read the books so I can’t say for certain how much of Gale’s part was cut and how much of it is Liam just being a nonstarter for me, I can safely say I don’t understand why he gets top billing!!! Over President Snow? And Haymitch? And Effie Trinket? And Cenna!?! You guys! Gale’s total screen time is 5 minutes for the entire movie!

So after the movie I was complaining to my date why he was the 3^rd headline star instead of say Finnick and he told me Liam Hemsworth has star power!!! I’m sorry, Star power? For what, The Last Song?!? Let’s be honest here, that’s his biggest movie before he got the Hunger games franchise. So if said franchise is the source of his star power but in movie 1 he appeared for 3 minutes and in movie 2 he just got 120 seconds extra, I’m confused. Let’s just come right out and admit we project our adoration for Chris Hemsworth on to him and be done with it! (Also, if someone can convince Papa Hemsworth to become a sperm donor … that’d be awesome!)

To wrap this up, following on the heels of her nyccs win and being certified the most reblogged actress on tumblr, J.Law might be in for the Anne Hathaway treatment. Vulture recently published an article on whether she might be Katniss-ing us! I remember commenting on this with a friend a few months back how she was just a bit too relatable you know? Like you get relatable and make it the most relatable relatable that relatable can be and you get J.Law! Seems I wasn’t alone in thinking some clever PR is had at work. That said, I don’t think she’ll ever get to Anne Hathaway levels of annoying! So rest easy Katniss and carry on, we’ll still love you!

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

AWESOME ADVERTISING!

I think this IBM campaign speaks for itself! Love it!

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

DID I MENTION I'M ON THAT FITNESS TRACK?

Yeah, I used to be the yo-yo type. I'm very healthily conscious til I get too skinny and start looking sick so I backtrack to the unhealthy habits. And the cycle would continue. It was probably ingrained from back in my school days. Get holidays, eat like its going out of fashion, lie on the couch all day watching tv, pack on the pounds. Return to school, get skinny. I would gain weight easily, lose it even faster. Then I hit my 20's and that thing they say about the metabolism slowing down? I think mine just did. I've been trying to lose 3 pounds since the beginning of the year and I've only succeeded in gaining twice that! So I'm getting with the programme and overhauling my exercise and eating habits. It's not a fab, its a lifestyle change. So expect to see more fitness and health posts on here.

I was so proud of beating my time from last year! Didn't carry my camera on me so approached the first celebrity with a smart phone (they have to be nice to their fans)  - who turned out to be comedian and TV presenter Afande Kelekele and asked him to bluetooth the pic to mine! Pic on right is my week old guns :) as I started gyming a week before the marathon.

To start it off, heres a great illustrative guide to portion control from Eat Smart and Workout Hard. You know the old adage; Abs are made in the kitchen and sculpted in the gym. Leggo!

So simple! And yet ...

To control your weight you must control your portions

Before Eating, Divide The Plate

Here’s a simple rule to portion a plate properly: Divide it in half. Automatically fill one side with fruits or vegetables, leaving the rest for equal parts protein and starch. This way, you begin to see what a properly balanced meal looks like. Spaghetti and meatballs? Steak and potatoes? They’re only half a meal, incomplete without fruits and vegetables.

Pre-Portion Tempting Treats

The bigger the package, the more food you’ll pour out of it. When two groups were given half- or 1-pound bags of M&Ms to eat while watching TV, those given the 1-pound bag ate nearly twice as much.

Head Off The Mindless Munch

Five minutes after eating at an Italian restaurant, 31 percent of people couldn’t remember how much bread they ate. If you’re worried you might do the same, have the bread removed from the table.

Downsize The Dishes

If you’re one of the 54 percent of Americans who eat until their plates are clean, make sure those plates are modestly sized. On a standard 8- to 10-inch dinner plate, a portion of spaghetti looks like a meal. On a 12- to 14-inch dinner plate, it looks meager, so you’re likely to dish out a bigger portion to fill the plate. When researchers gave study participants 34- or 17-ounce bowls and told them to help themselves to ice cream, those with the bigger bowls dished out 31 percent more ice cream.

Limit Your Choices

The more options you have, the more you want to try. In one study, researchers gave two groups jellybeans to snack on while they watched a movie. One group got six colors, neatly divided into compartments; jellybeans for the other group were jumbled ­together. Those given a mix ate nearly two times more.

Use Your Power For Good

Most homes have a “nutritional gatekeeper” who controls 72 percent of the food eaten by everyone else. The person who chooses food, buys it, and prepares it wields power. If that’s you, take advantage of it.

Avoid A See-Food Diet

Office workers who kept candy in clear dishes on their desks dipped in for a sample 71 percent more often than those who kept their candy out of sight.

Turn Off The Television

The Vast Wasteland leads to vast waists. It’s not just the couch-sitting. TV distracts you from how much you’re eating, and the more you watch, the more you’re likely to eat. In a study comparing how much popcorn viewers ate during either a half-hour show or an hour-long show, those who watched more television ate 28 percent more popcorn.

Think Before You Drink

Pour cranberry juice into two glasses of equal volume: one short and wide, the other tall and thin. Most people pour 19 percent more cranberry juice in the short glass because the eye is a poor judge of volume in relation to height and width.

Serve Good-For-You Foods Family-Style

Not all portion-control strategies are about eating less. You can have as much as you want of some foods. Place the foods you want your family to eat more of―salads and vegetable sides―within easy reach on the dining table.

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

COMING SOON ...

Purple Rain Fashion Uganda - the coolest online shop ever this side of the Sahara. Had a professional photoshoot and all for the web site and I will share the pics on here too as soon as the photogs finish touching them up.

In the meantime, you'll have to make to with the ones I snapped with my little 16mp cammy.

In the interest of full disclosure, y'all need to know that I had just run 10k in a little over 80mins so wasn't at my smiziest best. My muscles were planning a mutiny and all the rest of me wanted to do was sleep for 3 days straight! But at least I did my part in helping MTN & Co. get clean water to Karamoja :)

All Accessories available soon at Purple Rain

 Still on the topic of the marathon, I didn't see much point in painting my tootsies as they wouldn't be on display. So when the photogs decided they had an opening just an hour after I came close to beating Kiprotich and was in definitive #BeastMode, a pedicure was out of the question.

The Jay Manuels and Patrick DeMarchelier to my Tyra Banks ;)

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest

MINIMALISM.

Greetings from the middle of nowhere.

Okay, I exaggerate, but not by much. My new housemate once in possession of our collective monies decided to panic and ignore all advise from professional architect and avid pinterestor yours truly, and signed us down to a 4 month sentence of hard commute with no chance of parole in a middle aged neighbourhood! 

There are no gyms, no chain stores (I dunno how I'm going to cope without my saturday Tusky's vanilla muffin), poor network reception, the last taxi stage is like a 10 mins bike ride away... along a feeder road (!), and the straw that broke this camel's back; there no carpentry shops!

How am I supposed to supervise the making of my masterpieces that will become heirlooms once I leave this mortal coil if the carpentry place is not within walking distance???

On raising my concerns with housemate dearest he texted back, "Chill that DIY crap of yours, we should get leather sofas. I think there's a place along Jinja road with a set for 3.6m ..."

That text alone (3.6m!!! Leather???) sent me online to soothe my frazzled nerves. 

I have to convince him to see the error of his ways. I have to. I mean, have you seen those sofas? They always make me think of the strain on shirt buttons when someone has over eaten. These on the other hand ...

In a perfect world, this is how my new home would look like. Neutrals - Black+White, natural wood, chrome.

And upon getting more money I'd upgrade to this. Clean lines, earth tones, clutter free.

Curves can complement lines without being clunky. I can deal with this.

-Ditto-

And if I must go the plush  furniture route, I'd want the pitstop to be this white quilted lounge.

Clean lines, natural fabrics and natural palettes are so underrated! The first is my favourite. It looks good, seems to have great ergonomics vis-à-vis back support, AND appears easy to clean!

Also I must say it matches my stackable beds (which will be debuted here soon as my room is blog worthy) and, I can't emphasise this enough, what you see is what you get! None of that nonsensical saw dust stuffing and rotten wood frames disguised by great upholstery you get with most Ugandan Carpentry shops. I think this is the reason I'm averse to arm rests. So I just have to convince my dear new housemate that I know best.

Share on Facebook| Share on Twitter| Share on Pinterest