Obsession Du Jour: 5 Implausible Concrete Floors

Hello lovelies,

When I was young, I was surrounded by concrete floors. It was everywhere and anywhere. In the tropics, most people preferred concrete floors. Almost every house had a concrete floor. Back then, I did not appreciate the look of it. I think because the finishes I saw did not appeal to me. Until recently, I came across concrete floors again in pictures. Let me tell you that I drooled over the beautiful floors. Concrete floors never look so good.  See it for yourself. I’m drooling over these five via Domino :

All white floor and wooden dinning chairs.

Dark concrete done well.

How lovely to see this in the kitchen, so functional.

I really love the look of this room, so serene.

Grey concrete finish with warm wood, so inviting.

Thank your for reading,

XOXO

Judith

WAKE UP TO A BREAKFAST ALREADY MADE

Dear Fancy Lacy Community,

On Sunday night I was in my pre-bedtime web-surfing routine when a post from the Super Healthy Kids showed up on my Facebook newsfeed. FIY, I’ve been sourcing my most fabulous recipes from their website, so if you’re a foodie like myself, you have to subscribe to the SHK.

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Anyway, back to Sunday night. I’ve been meal planning for a while so I had a breakfast solution for the next few mornings yet somehow I felt uninspired. But, along came the new post from the Super Healthy Kids, and seconds later my kitchen light was on as I prepared to test yet another one of their brilliant meal ideas. This time, I was in for a whole new oatmeal experience.

Yes, I’ve been having oats for breakfast for years, so there’s nothing special or new in that. Recently though I’ve started using steel-cut oats which are less processed hence better for you than the old-fashioned or rolled oats. But even that is not the most spectacular part of this new oatmeal fix. I had always had to make breakfast in the morning – even if I did some prep work the night before. What blew me away in this recipe is that my breakfast was going to cook itself while I was sleeping. Literally! All I had to do was throw and mix the ingredients in the slow cooker, set it on low, head to bed, and wake up to a homey smell of baked apples and cinnamon. Not only did it smell great, it tasted even better. The porridge was creamy yet retained the distinct texture of steel-cut oats. As I sat down to savour my porridge, all I added to it was some nuts and a spoonful of honey. And, whereas, usually, when I cook porridge on the stovetop, 1 cup of oats yields 2 servings, this time I’ll be able to stretch it into 4 servings!

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Of course, I’m not going to have oats for every breakfast, but when I do, I will let the slow cooker do the work. I’m super-excited to share this new trick with you, and I suggest you, too, stock up on steel-cut oats and start waking up to a warm, delicious breakfast already made.

All you need to know about making apple cinnamon oatmeal is right here.

And if you’re wondering about alternative – non-oatmeal – slow cooker breakfast ideas, have a look here.

Thank you for reading,

Anna

Photo source: 1 / 2

Obsession Du Jour: Gratitude Journal

Hello lovelies,

Positive journals excite me. I can say, plain and simple, it fascinates me. Ideally, It is my happy pill to read back the drafted gratitude notes.

When I was younger, at age 14, I had a fantastic teacher who encouraged me to record things I was grateful about for a class assignment. At first, I thought it was going to be a difficult task to do. I just came from Africa (read my story), I wrote letters to others but I never had the experience of writing things to self. After a couple weeks, I embraced the idea. Years later after moving around, I came across my journals, the little notes I wrote, filled my heart with joy.

When you feel gray, write positive notes. I can tell you, my journals never failed me. it always uplifted me when I consulted it back. I love cheerful and positive notes.

I was reminded of this when I came across “The Five-Minutes Journal” at Chapters.

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Thank you for reading, stay Fancy and come back again!

XOXO

Judith

Take a vacation through reading

Hello Fancy Lacy Community,

The days have gotten longer and for the last few days at least, we’ve had perfect summer weather at the start of spring. I don’t know about you but for me, beautiful warm weather always stirs my wanderlust. But because it will be a while before I get to travel (I’m going home to Uganda this August!), I like to take a vacation, multiple vacations in fact, by through reading. What’s better than cozying up with a book in a hammock in your backyard (Or at the beach!), an ice-cold drink only an arms length away, while losing yourself in the pages of a wonderful book? It’s a trip!

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Photo source

At the beginning of this year, I made a resolution to read more books by African writers than I have done previously. And so far, I have stood by that commitment. While I was aware that African literature was starting to really flourish, I have been pleasantly surprised to discover for myself this amazing crop of writers whose characters I absolutely identify with and not just because they have noses as large as my own or their hair, like mine, has the curls tight enough to strangulate the hardiest combs. No. It’s all that and more. Some of them are writers telling real stories about what it really means to grow up in an African country and telling them with such mind-blowing literary merit, and others are writers of African descent whose craftsmanship just leaps off the page. One such writer is Helen Oyeyemi and I’m right now half way through her recently launched collection of short stories, What’s Not Yours is not Yours. It is magic! (Also, really, there’s magic in it)

Here are a few other books currently on my night stand:

  1. Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
  2. Under the Udala Tree by Chinelo Okparatha
  3. Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza.

All three except Lyrics Alley are first novels and they don’t read at all like first time attempts at the novel by both writers. Chinelo’s is a poignantly told story set in Nigeria during the Biafra war and Fiston’s is brilliantly dark.

Pick up a copy and tell me your impressions!

Happy book-travelling!

Iryn

Trend Crush: Matching Wall With Furnitures

Hello lovelies,

Lately, I have been loving seeing matching wall and furniture. I love the idea. I think this idea is great for a small space.  Check it out for yourself.

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This room is so exciting. I really love the complementary colour selection. When you are trying to bring in some excitement in the room, you can’t go wrong  with complementary colours. It screams look at me without any of the two colour overpowering one another.

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This room is cool and calm with little tiny touch of sunshine on the wall to bring in some warm into the space, Via mix and chic

 

Thank you for reading,

XOXO

Judith

Why I Chose a Midwife

Hello Fancy Lacy Community,

Back in 2013 when I was pregnant for the first time, I worked with a woman who was due a few months before me with her second baby. Everyday, I asked her questions about pregnancy and delivery. She told me that quite often, your primary care provider during your pregnancy isn’t the one who delivers your baby – it depends on which Doctor is on call at the hospital. For me, continuity of care was important, so I researched my options and  put my name on the RQHR wait list for midwifery care. I was called about halfway through my pregnancy and  was lucky enough to receive most of my prenatal care (and 6 weeks of post-partum care) from a midwife.

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Maternity photo from  Life Love and Lucy

I was so pleased with my experience with the midwives last time, that one of the first people I called when I got pregnant the second time was the Midwifery office to put my name on the wait list again. I’m currently receiving my prenatal care from an RQHR midwife and couldn’t be happier. Here are some of the reasons:

  • I’ve always known I wanted to have a natural (unmedicated) childbirth, and I feel the midwifery model of care  is more in line with my philosophy.
  • I like the option of having a home birth
  • I like knowing the person who will be delivering my baby
  • Some of the pre/post natal visits are done from the comfort of my home
  • I never felt rushed during my appointments. An hour is allotted for each visit. I also never had to wait to be seen.
  • I felt very well informed and played an active role in the decisions regarding my care.
  • My midwife visited my home to check on me while I was in labour and let me know when it was time to go to the hospital.

I feel so lucky to have the option of receiving care from such highly skilled midwives here in Regina and would recommend anyone who is pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant to research midwifery care to see if it’s right for them.

Thank you for reading,

Erin

Sakura さくら Season in Japan: A Celebration of Life and Beauty

Hello Fancy Lacy Community,

Trust me when I tell you that Spring is the best time to go to Japan.

Spring has sprung in Japan, and besides the warmer temperatures and change in wardrobe, nothing has made that more evident than the blooming of sakura さくら or cherry blossoms. In Japanese history, tradition and culture, sakura are an official marker of spring. Spring is the preferred season by many in Japan, as it is a happy medium between the cold winter, and the very humid summer.

Asakusa

Asakusa

Sakura are quite rampant in Japan, and this being my first spring in Japan, I was very excited to see the trees go from having bare, occasionally snow covered branches to having branches covered, with bright, and colorful sakura. The physical transformation is phenomenal, and so too is the change in atmosphere, as people leave the coldness of winter and enjoy the warmer, lighter temperatures of spring. Beginning as early as late-February, and ending in early May, it is somewhat of a magical season and marks the beginning of a new season and a celebration of life and nature’s beauty.

Asakusa

Asakusa

One cannot talk about sakura and without mentioning hanami はなみ. Hanami is a ritual that dates back to the 710-794 period in Japan, when the emergence of sakura coincided with the end of the rice planting season.  It is a period of celebrating life and feasting. As such, today, just as enjoyable as seeing the sakura is partaking in different hanami festivities. Hanami are outdoor parties, very similar to picnics which involve eating and drinking underneath the sakura trees. At night, sakura trees are covered with lanterns to decorate and provide light for the yozakwe (evening hanami) festivities. The atmosphere is merry, the air filled with talking, laughter and sometimes music. The parties often take place in city parks, gardens, along river banks, and anywhere that sakura grows.

Ueno Park

Ueno Park

Seeing sakura in various settings has been nothing short of phenomenal. There is an entire street outside of the financial district of Nihonbashi, and after work, it is common to see business professionals eating and drinking after work, giving an entirely new meaning to happy hour.  I have often stopped mid-run to take pictures along the Sumida River. There is something about the combination of flowers and water that make you stop to admire the scenery. As sakura are in bloom suddenly and briefly, it has been a  reminder to stop every so often, observe and enjoy the beauty of life, and live in the moment.

Thank you for reading,

Rita.

 

Fancy Lacy Insight: Beyond The Genesis

Hello lovelies,

Let’s go back to where it all began.

Five years ago, I wanted to start blogging. Surprisingly, every day I found excuses to convince myself not to do so. While in this process, four years passed me by and it all hit me, I needed to take an action. So I decided to give it a try to conquer procrastination, boredom, and frustrations. Now, we are moving beyond the genesis of Fancy Lacy.

Remember, Iryn and Anna ? Well, I got new things in store for you. What’s not better than having two new voices joining us? Here they are:
imageMeet Rita. A self-described travel addict and citizen of the world, she is fascinated by all things global.  She is also a former competitive boxer, fitness enthusiast, and always a Student of Life and she loves to write about these things.  She is the voice behind Passporter’s perspectives.

 

imageErin Davalos, a wanna-be hippy and humanitarian is the founder of Mamas 4 Mamas, a non-profit dedicated to supporting maternal and infant health projects in under-served communities around the world. Her passion is for community development and in particular, the health issues faced by women in rural areas. Erin writes about her journey through parenthood and her attempts at living a green lifestyle.

These beautiful two ladies, Rita and Erin, will bring in a nice beautiful tweak to Fancy Lacy. Look out for their posts, coming soon.

 

Thank you for reading,

XOXO

Judith

 

 

Obsession Du Jour: Charles Pétillon

Hello lovelies,

I came across a post on Charles Pétillon, he is a French photographer. He likes to fill things and spaces with white balloons. He created a photo series called Invasions. His takes are on interiors, landscape and playgrounds to create refreshing images. He aims to change the perception of ordinary scenery. Balloons filled in space adds a silent special effect. Pictures become spectacular. Right now, I’m really appreciating his work. It is unique and somewhat magical. His photos are unforgettable. When I look at his captures, it projects freedom and releases an aura of a real-life fantasy. So take a look at how balloons are invading spaces.

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Photos: Charles Pétillon

Thank you for reading, stay Fancy and come back again.

XOXO

Judith

Obsession Du Jour: Antonio Medeiros

Hello lovelies,

something I love coming across is fashion photography. This one here is by Antonio Medeiros. I’m really loving these models with their Bantu knots. This hairstyle is adding an edge in the captures. I can’t get enough of the prints, they are wearing.  Rose Palhares did a great job on her Spring/Summer Collection. Take a look.

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Thank you for reading, stay Fancy and come back again.

XOXO

Judith