{MONDAY MOJO} Tea Party time!

HAPPY MONDAY!

I had a lot of fun tea-partying with my lovely sister friends last week-end! I had been planning a gathering for a little while and was pleasantly surprised by how the day unfolded. We started the afternoon in style and we ended the shindig on the rim of debauchery!

A vibrant tropical setting embellished with colourful lilies and a heavenly vanilla sponge with summer berries & lemon cream, courtesy of Bailey Ana Cakes

Love in abundance was at the party...

I couldn't have asked for better surroundings to celebrate love & friendship: in the comfort of my home, we proclaimed sisterhood in the most organic way. I had an idea of how I wanted the day to turn out when I sent out my invites, but I had no idea it would be such an enriching experience: an overwhelming medley of powerful energies.

Fatima & Astrid, my fellow Frenchies!

Delish chocolate & ginger mini loafs by Bailey Ana Cakes

For this tablescape, I went for a bright decor that completely overturned London's grey skies and temperamental winds. It was warm and welcoming, with an abundance of tea lights, gorgeous gems, potent tea cocktails with sweet & minty flavours, a lot of laughs, and a lot of love. We partied until the sun came down, wrapping up the day with a couple of dance moves and a lot of fond memories.

A big cheer to my sister friends for a beautiful day.

{MONDAY MOJO} On set with Latoya Stash + Tendai Pottinger

It's Monday already! This week end flew by but was crafted with some fabulous events.
On last Saturday's photo shoot, I had the pleasure of collaborating with an old friend, Latoya Stash; and also work with a great filmmaker, Tendai Pottinger, who did an amazing job with the videography for a studio dance session.

Latoya is a talented dancer and working with her was truly a pleasure. We worked together to get the most out of her dance moves and I also managed to get some beautiful shots when she wasn't paying attention to the camera. As the day unfolded, I was able to capture a more relaxed and confident Latoya. She was at ease and her beauty shone through her poise as her movements became sharper, lighter, and more gracious. What a beautiful subject she was! The dance session was completely freestyled to let Latoya express herself with no boundaries. I really enjoyed watching her unleash her creative flow and the complete freedom it brought her.

 Capturing Tendai while filming with Latoya in the background - possibly one of my favourite moments.

 Sensuality & allure.

 Freedom!

I had an amazing day ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the work we were creating! For this shoot I mainly used a Canon 85mm 1:8 lens (courtesy of Tendai!), and a Sigma 18-200mm lens which gave me the flexibility I wanted with the technical features I needed - a superb combo for impeccable work.

Keep your eyes peeled for more creative collabos very soon!

{Friday finds} 3 things I loved this week

{BlogHug}

It's Friday finds, folks! It's been a rather eventful week so it's time to unwind and ease up into the week end. The mood is palpable as we've been hit with serious weather woes so I've selected a few links that will revive our spirits.

 If you are on Instagram, you couldn't have missed the buzz around the 'A Beautiful Mess' app. You just couldn't! It's a lot of fun, very easy to use, and only cost a mere £0.69 from the iTunes store. There are some pretty cool designs to play with... Thumbs up!

 Hop on Preston Bailey's blog to infuse Kathy Romero's wisdom. 5 paths to happiness was a helpful tool this week. We all go through hardships, personal & professionals, that are hard to come by but the key to most emotional mishap is to transform negative energy into positive thinking. I've read a lot on the subject of happiness which doesn't always hit the spot but this came at a handy time. Easier said than done, yes, I'm working on that myself and these particular words resonates a lot:

 

Live Your Own Dream

We all want to be better. We all want to be loved, and we all want to be recognized. These are all natural attributes of the human condition. But when we don’t feel these things are happening soon enough, we tend to let our imaginations go wild. This often results in our getting sidetracked. We become so focused on their next step and what they are doing that we forget ours. Be patient and learn to allow your own story to unfold.  Things tend to happen when they are supposed to.

 

I hope it works for you too!

 

Dietlind Wolf has been my absolute favourite artist to follow and enjoy this week. Thanks to the magic of Pinterest, I spotted Dietlind's work and I've been drooling over it until unreasonable hours of the night. She has a very sharp eye and her photography skills are worth having a good look at.

 

colour concept + styling: Dietling Wolf/photo: Torsten Suedfels

 

 Don't forget to check out 'Saturday Zeal', my Tumblr adventure, tomorrow! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{MONDAY MOJO} On set with Candice Onyeama & #TeamRise

Happy Monday! We are basking in the sun here in the UK and it feels rather lovely. You all know I'm a woman who wears many hats so when my good friend, up-and-coming actress Candice Onyeama, asked me to take behind-the-scene shots on the set of her short film production, I jumped on the occasion. We were fortunate that the sun decided to come out so it was a perfect day for filming and taking pictures. While I can't reveal too much about the film as it is in post-production as we speak, I can share a few shots to give you feel of what was going down.

Candice keeping a close eye on the production, Femi behind the lens

Star of the show is 17 year old Chris, a very talented skater

We put ourselves in tricky situations, all in the name of art! I'm waiting to capture the best in-the-air shot.

Under Candice's direction, #TeamRise completed an amazing job. We were a team of 5 simply motivated by creativity and the desire to help a dear friend. So we set up in East London and worked non-stop for 5 hours, and the best part is that we had a lot of fun doing it. Candice is a remarkable leader and motivator, and her passion and drive led us to produce such a beautiful work! I look forward to doing this again.

{Wednesday Wisdom} with Preston Bailey

{Friday finds} 3 things I loved this week!

{BlogHug}

It's Friday, folks! We've been blessed with sun rays all week and I'm excited about the Bank holiday fun-filled plans. We're wrapping up the week with 3 of my favourite finds - ideas and inspirations for fellow bloggers, event stylists, creatives, and everyone else. Enjoy!

 Amy Atlas featured on Style Me Pretty this week with her best tips on how to style a dessert table. Whether you're a stylist or party host/ess you'll find these very informative and will learn a few tricks along the way. I loved it!

 Pinterest has become my daily go-to for absolutely everything! There are a number of interesting resources and gorgeous visuals to keep you logged in until unnecessary hours of the night. This week I stumbled across this article on '26 things to note before you develop a website'. I have been talking about this with one of my friends who wants to start building an online platform so it couldn't have come at a better time. Check it out! It's a very insightful guide which takes you from start to finish with wisdom on social media, traffic, design, and everything you need to know.

 If you haven't heard the new Janelle Monáe + Erykah Badu gig yet, get to know! 'Q.U.E.E.N.' is the track that will stick on your brain like white on rice. It's THAT good and Janelle looks exquisite in that black & white striped dress - the booty really don't lie!

 Don't forget to check out 'Saturday Zeal', my new Tumblr adventure, tomorrow! 

{Wednesday Wisdom} with Preston Bailey

{Tuesday TIP} A tour of Paris + Tumblr adventures

I had so much fun on my little vacay in my hometown that I'm already planning my next trip! The perfect Spring weather made my trip very enjoyable as I spent some outdoorsy time taking photographs, and also capturing the essence of my family as I don't get to see them very often. I wanted raw shots, preferably when they weren't looking or weren't aware the camera was pointed at them. Hard work! What I found captivating is the little habits, the cute smiles, the frowns, the laughters, the freshness of emotions delivered in a brief moment, and the beauty of it all. A celebration of life in all its splendour. For the first time, I saw them through a different eye. We celebrated birthdays, enjoyed walks in parks, sipped delicious liquor and devoured butter-rich creamy dishes, laughed until our bellies hurt, and poured our hearts out. It was real.

Mother and daughter breaking bread

{BREAKING NEWS} I FINALLY managed to catch Les Nubians in concert! Being a hardcore fan of these two incredible women for the past 15 years or so, I couldn't believe I would finally see them live until they took the stage by storm and entertained the crowd - Nubian-style! You may want to plug your speakers in when listening to this for full Nubian effect.

Les Nubians live @New Morning, PARIS.

Tumblr advendtures

A couple of weeks ago I decided to embark upon a project over at Tumblr: the idea would be to create an online platform where I could showcase original photographs, mostly taken with my iPhone. From there was born 'Saturday zeal'. It is quite fresh and new but it is definitely worth checking and following. Updating only once a week (on Saturdays, obviously) to give me the time to build up a portfolio and share only quality content I'm able to express myself using a medium I'm getting used to again. Here's a sneak peek to get you started.

Hop on the blog and keep up with my new adventures!

{MONDAY MOJO} Work + fun with 'Bailey Ana Cakes'

I love working with fellow creatives and develop new skills. Last week end I had the opportunity to delve into the whimsical world of Bailey Ana Cakes, ran by baker extraordinaire Dewbien, for cupcake decoration sessions. It's interesting to enter someone else's world and witness the well-known intricacies of running a creative business while juggling life and its trials - props to all who do it and do it well. Behind-the-scenes moments were made of brainstorming, props sourcing, shopping, baby-sitting, preparing, baking, decorating, glittering (my ultimate favourite task pastime!), sugar-coating edible flowers for crystallizing (real flowers!), making sure every single cupcake looks a million dollar, while documenting the action! You can't imagine how much work goes into the process until you're part of the adventure. 

photo credits

While it was a lot of fun, the work that Dewbien puts into her craft is laborious, admirable, and inspirational. As creative souls, we must be able to multitask without crumbling under a mountain of distractions and she does that with a certain class. What I saw was an eagerness to execute her work to perfection, motivated by the love of making her clients happy. She's got it going on! The picture below is a proof of it and I'm glad I was part of the design process, I've learned so much! 

Photo credits

If you want to know more about Dewbien's work and her business Bailey Ana Cakes, get at her now! You can find a plethora of cake and cupcake inspiration (including those fabulous ones), super pretty designs, and learn more about the lady herself. Design drool guaranteed!

You can also give her a buzz on Facebook & Twitter. 

My golden dream

A breezy, sunny weekend called for a little wander around the streets of East London. After spotting these gorgeous gold tea glasses with Arabic prints in a charity shop, I decided to grab the bargain (99p each!) and proclaimed a Moroccan shindig was to happen soon. I lost the art of throwing intimate parties at home though those beauties reignited my flame. 

The thought of gathering close friends, enjoying a hearty home cooked meal, sharing belly-laughs, feeding our souls with delicious conversations, and enjoying countless glasses of wines makes my heart happy. Who can resist deep connections and dimmed lights with the sultry voice of Emel Mathlouti in the background? It's a set-up from heaven that I can't wait to reproduce with a sumptuous décor!