Balcony gardens

I have  a struggling balcony garden comprising of a sage plant, two rosemary plants, basil, spinach and a flower whose name I do not know.
I have not given up hope and here is my inspiration.

I love the use of colour on the pots and the plants. Of course the hanging buckets.

This is so comfy, especially with the introduction of a mat and pillows.

This looks like a spot for breakfast while spying on the neighbours.

Simple, uncluttered.

Pimp your back yard

Is your backyard lifeless, full of dying plants and a struggling garden?
Get inspired by these gorgeous patios to breath life into your own space and make it a haven for you, your children and guests.

This owner decided to focus on lots of grass and plants (they probably have lots of kids and dogs :-))

I love the size of this backyard, and its simplicity. It is the kind of place to throw a sun downer, or have a Sunday barbecue.

 Who said the space outside can't have colour?

The owner of this house clearly knows hot to balance between space for riding the trike, for mommy and guests to have a cuppa and for the dog to roll on the grass.

And who needs a hotel dinner reservation when you got this. Friends will be begging to crash at your house.

 More use of accents, and a bit of modern architecture.

The outdoor version of lazy boy.

With all our papyrus, all you need is cosy pillows and an extension of your veranda and bum! Oh, and a fire place and plants.

Proof that your backyard does not have to be huge to be gorgeous.

A totally doable Nairobi version.

I keep loving orange

I love colour, and while I may not wear strong colours, you will surely find them around me, in a sweater, pillow, t-shirt...
Well, I have been dreaming of orange rooms.
I hope this inspires you to try out something similar:

 Lovely orange, beautiful lighting and contrast with white.

 Contrasting two shaded of orange.

 With lime green accents.

 Modern and sleek.

A cosy sitting area.

75 tips for women

I published this coming from a dark place in love... I put asteriks where I am re-thinking

75 tips for women on dating, love, and heart break

March 31, 2009 by P

Read this a while ago. It’s been lying in my inbox since ages. Finally got to read it.
Worth it! Check it out! Especially for women…
Preventive measures:
1. If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn’t want you, nothing can make him stay.
2. Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
3. If you have ANY doubt in your mind about a man’s character, leave him alone.
4. Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
5 Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that’s not meant to be.
6. Don’t force an attraction
7. Slower is better.
8. Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
9. If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no you can’t “be friends.” A friend wouldn’t mistreat a friend.
10. Have faith in God regarding your relationship, but don’t let faith make you stupid. God does things decent and in order.
11. Don’t settle.
12. If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
13. If he keeps changing his mind about the relationship–take that as a BIG sign that he is unstable. Do you really want to be with a man like that?
14. Don’t stay because you think “it will get better.” You’ll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
15. Honorable men take care of their business and aren’t involved in a whole lot of mess.
16. The only person you can control in a relationship is you.
17. There’s only one ‘reason’ a man dumps you; he doesn’t want you.
18. Avoid men who’ve got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women. He didn’t marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?
19. You really do have to kiss a few frogs before finding the prince.
20. Always put yourself and your happiness first.
21. Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
22. Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.
23. Like from the show Sex and the City, if he doesn’t call, he just isn’t that interested.
24. Be honest and upfront.
25. Know when to cut the cord, don’t be strung along.
26. Don’t fall for the “I’m confused role”. Remove yourself from the situation to let him figure things out (but don’t wait for him, move on).
27. If you want to have a clue as to how he will treat you, watch how he treats the WOMEN in his family (not just mom).
28. There’s more than physical abuse, there’s emotional and mental abuse.
If he causes any of them…flee.
29. You cannot change a man’s behaviors. Change comes from within.
30. Don’t let him place rules on you that he is not willing to follow himself –double-standard.
31. Don’t EVER make him feel he is more important than you are…even if he has more education or a better job.
32. Do not make him into a quasi-god. He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
33. Demand respect and if he can’t give it, he can’t have you!
34. Don’t compete with other women, but be aware that men are attracted to what they see.
35. If you think he is cheating, he probably is. Confront him right away and if you feel he’s lying, let him go.
36. Actions speak louder than words.
37. Never let a man define who you are.
38. Never rely on a man for compliments, look to yourself for that.
39. Never borrow someone else’s man.
40. If he cheated with you, he’ll cheat on you.
41. Just because he says he loves you, doesn’t mean that he won’t hurt you and it doesn’t mean that you are meant to be with him.
42. To use painful hard-won wisdom to ‘get it right’ the next time.
43 Know that you deserve to be the number one person in the life of the #1 person in your life.
44. Love is a verb …
45. Learn to give up your lifelong task of trying to make someone unavailable-available, someone ungiving-giving, and someone unloving-loving.
46. A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
47. All men are NOT dogs.
48. You should not be the one doing all the bending…compromise is a two way street.
49. If you don’t love self…you can’t love anyone else.
50. You cannot mend someone else’s broken heart.
51. Yo need time to heal between relationships…there is nothing cute about baggage…deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.
52. You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you…a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals…look for someone complimentary…not supplementary.
53. Dating is fun…even if he doesn’t turn out to be Mr. Right.
54. NEVER give more in a relationship than you are getting out of it.
55 Never become your man’s “therapist”.
56. When actions and words conflict- believe the actions. Respond to the actions.
57. A real healthy relationship requires two people. One person can end it - but it takes two to make it work.
58. Don’t fall for the “I’m not the loving type”…when a man loves you there is nothing in this world (within reason) that he wouldn’t do for you.
59. Make him miss you sometimes…when a man always knows where you are, and you’re always readily available to him, he takes it for granted.
60. Give him his space…let him go out with his boys, don’t pressure him to spend time with you, You can’t force a man to hang out with you.
61. If you wouldn’t allow your daughter to be with him you shouldn’t.
62. Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.
63. Never move into his mother’s house.
64. Provide financially for yourself and don’t depend on anyone.
65. Never co-sign for a man.
66. Never believe you have the perfect guy and he is so innocent.
67. Never spoil your man let him spoil you.
68. Never let a man mess up your credit.
69. When its time to let go, let go.
70. Good men should be treated like good men.
71. Don’t play games.
72. You can’t make a whore into a housewife - or husband.
73. Don’t fully commit to a man who doesn’t give you everything that you need. Keep him in your radar but get to know others.
74. Compatibility in terms of educational attainment, values, beliefs, personal and career goals, and socioeconomic status, are important.
75. Never date a guy who wears colored contacts.

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I'm back, with colour

Wow, how man years after my last post? I won't count.
Life has been going on meanwhile, and of late I am into lots of things, among them gardening, interior decor, parenting and a wee bit of fashion. so YEEEEAA, this blog just got broader.

 I start with bedrooms I am loving:
All photos courtesy.

I looove the shade of orange and the contrast with white and lime. A bedroom I definitely wouldn't mind.

The green and blue are so refreshing.

Modern sitting room.

Agaian, orange and lime working perfectly.

For the red lovers.

Unique dining table.

How to design with blue and green.

This room is so alive despite being busy.



Sneeking in colour.

A blue and green bedroom, nicely executed.

The green and blue continues. Notice the area above the seat.

Homage to Mothers

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up spit-up laced with hot dogs, birthday cake, and fruit juice saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

Who have walked around the house all night with their babies when they kept crying and wouldn't stop.

This is for all the mothers who have shown up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who have run carpools and made dozens of cookies for school teas and sewn Halloween costumes.

And all the mothers who haven't because they are at work trying to earn enough to keep on top of the bills.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.

And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes and all their love.

This is for all the mothers who have sat on cold metal bleachers at hockey, baseball or soccer games instead of watching from their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and meant it.

This is for all the mothers who have yelled at their kids in the grocery store and swatted them in despair when they stomped their feet, like a tired two-year-old does who wants ice cream before dinner, and then hated themselves for "losing" it.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children to explain all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

For all the mothers who read Goodnight, Moon twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who taught their sons to cook and sew and their daughters to be brave and strong. (And sink a jump shot.)

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home or grown up.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just fine once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. And they do.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, and who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips, sometimes until they bleed, when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.

What makes a good Mother anyway?
Is it patience?
Compassion?
Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it the heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

Or the terror in your heart at 1 a.m. when your teenager with the new driver's license is an hour late getting home?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

Or to feel the dull ache as you look in on your sleeping daughter or son the night before they leave for a college in another city?

The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

For all the mothers of the victims of all the school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for mothers who have tearfully placed flowers and teddy bears on their children's graves. Whose children have died from illness, accidents and the worst of all and hardest to comprehend, suicides.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation.

And mature mothers who have learned and are still learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Grandmothers whose wisdom and love remains a constant for their grown children and their children's children.

Source: http://parenting.ivillage.com/mom/joys/0,,hvkg-5,00.html

Strong women

She is loved and hated in equal measure. Whether we like it or not, she is the only woman who can hack it into Kenyan presidency come 2012. I knew this when I listened to some old drunk men on my way home the other day. They are Kikuyu men, and old. I would expect them to defend the state of affairs in our country and to protect the political class of the likes of Kibaki, Uhuru kenyatta, Saitoti, Mudavadi and Raila. But nah! They said that they are going to vote for her, that woman, Martha Karua.

I agree with them on the pointbthat she could be the something different taht this country needs. Women bicker alot. they fight, rig each other out of elections through malice, hate each others gus, but women, will never descend to the levels of grand corruption we see in our country. Their chamas will never get to the same point as the gold buddy league we see.

There may be injustice in a woman's tenure. But it will not be the gross injustice againt the mwananchi. it will be instead be against the man who opposes her, or the woman she never liked. Injustice all the same but petty.

Do they have the guts to lead this country? we mean, do they have the guts to command the armed forces and sack corrupt Central Bank Governor? Yes. Are they bold enough to blatantly steal from the masses and condone both high and low level corruption? I dont think so. And I bless them for that.