Hi beauties! You may have noticed that my posts have been a little scarce lately so I’m just going to tell you a bit about what has been going on with me this year. The good news is that I’m ready to get back into it.
I’m going to start off with the negatives and the first thing is my weight gain. Last year some time I began to gain a LOT of weight. I can’t blame it on anything else except bad eating habits (maybe slower metabolism due to me turning 30) and it really threw me. I am all for body positivity but this really shook my confidence especially with the comments that came with it. (from family members not you guys – you have been awesome!). I stopped wanting to share my outfits and spent most of my time in black leggings. I bought clothes but it didn’t really feel right, stopped going out a lot. I did, however, start taking steps to lose the weight and I have lost a good amount of it. I won’t be sharing my methods because I have to be very careful of how I tackle my weight due to past issues.
The other negative was that my anxiety got REALLY bad. I generally manage my anxiety pretty well but it came to a point where things got a bit too much. There were quite a few things that contributed to it and one of them involved a massive opportunity that came my way and how the entire thing was handled. The situation made me feel very dispirited and I started getting more and more apathetic about my blog which in turn made me feel guilty. I was just a bundle of negativity toward myself. Honest to God, seeing influencers like Nadia and Aqeelah talking openly about their mental health struggles really made me feel seen and eventually I told my doctor about everything and she helped me find ways to manage my anxiety. If you are feeling anxious or depressed I urge you to talk to your doctor about it. There is absolutely no reason to be ashamed and the stigma surrounding mental health (especially in my community) really needs to stop. You are not *strong* because you don’t take medication or don’t suffer from any mental health issues.
On a more positive note, I started an online store, Shop Princess of Jozi! Decluttering my closet was a massive part of my healing process. I donated most of my stuff but there were loads of brand new and unworn pieces so I decided to sell them. I was stressed about managing orders via social media so we built a store. It has been so lovely seeing my pre-loved items finding love with you! I have shoes, clothes, accessories and beauty products and there’s still some stuff available to purchase on the store.
A lot of the pieces were purchased when I was very low and I am glad that someone else can find happiness with them!
I will be adding a few more things and I often send out discount codes via email so make sure you are subscribed! The next step is to figure out what else I’d like to sell on the store. I’m throwing around a few ideas so watch this space.
I also visited Abu Dhabi and I genuinely had the best time. I didn’t plan much content around my trip because Shuaib and I really just wanted to enjoy ourselves in the moment especially because my brothers came with us.
The Louvre was the absolute highlight of my trip. Just being in the presence of such beautiful art was incredible! I got to see a Basquiat IRL!
Another highlight was walking the streets of Gotham at Warner Bros World which was amazing.
I also shopped at Sephora and ate waaaay too much Shake Shack!
I’ve been watching loads of Netflix and series in general. Recently I watched Sharp Objects which was so good. (very dark though!) – I LOVE Amy Adams! I saws Captain Marvel on Friday and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s a must see!
Last week I attended two events and it was an enormous confidence boost. I got to spend time with friends like Kevin and Anne and chatted to Dee and other bloggers which really made me miss what I do! I also found a lot of positivity and support in Facebook groups (I KNOW!!!!) especially the Lipslut Group (They make the F*ck Trump, F*ck Kavanaugh and Notorious RBG lipsticks).
I even started taking outfit pictures again and I’ve been writing mini beauty reviews on my Instagram feed. I have a few posts planned out which include a period guide and beauty reviews but if you have any suggestions please pop them in a comment or tweet me!
Thank you for the support!
Love and sparkles
Zaakira xo