plus size tights...

I'm a woman who likes to pay attention to detail..so when i came across this amazing brand i knew that one pair of Pamela Mann tights could and would transform a seemingly plain outfit of mine and give it the wow factor perfect for Christmas and New Year festive fun....

What i love about this brand is that they stock tights from sizes 8- 32 meaning that whatever your size, you can highlight your legs and celebrate in style....this post looks at my top 3 favourite tights from the range....how could i forget my babygirl Zuri...im getting her Christmas outfits ready, and am so excited and thankful for her life...Zuri's first Christmas....

Deco Net Tights (sizes 8-14)

i experimented with some foil nail wraps ..adding instant glitz to my fingertips...

These next pair are too segzi (sexy) i love them! ..Aztec Ethnic Tights

These also only come in sizes 8-14 *but* they are really stretchy so im quite sure if you are a size 16 you could get away with these...

Pefect with fulani earrings...

The final pair are the double line over the knee tights which gladly come in sizes 8-32...i rocked them with a pair of hot pants and some faux fur. Really simple and elegant.

I didnt realise how many cute girls clothes existed..from leopard skin booties to classy girlie dresses...

She is now around 5weeks old and is really lovely to have around.Aaron seems to have adjusted quite well, although we had an incident where he whacked her with his shoe..but lets hope it was a one off..I love this beautiful red dress...its a Marks and Spenser "autograph"collection piece and i hope to put this on her on Christmas day.

Her little pink "mam" bottle has saved me hours of stress and i highly recommend it..made the first few weeks a lot easier... That's it from us....many thanks to the wonderful people at Pamela Mann for these amazing tights...www.pamelamann.co.uk..they have also just started tights for girls, but unfortunately Zuri will have to wait a few years as they start from the age of 6...also a massive thanks to Kerrie for braving the cold with me x Teiko

The Lord Cares....he cares for you.....

My friend came back from Ghana today and brought an item back in this cute little bag. I immediately put it aside to show my husband. Cute and meaningful, slightly misplaced message I thought,but i loved the blatant reminder... lest we forget the Lord cares as we do our grocery shopping! 5mins later I heard the terrible news about the shooting in America. The Lord cares indeed. He cares for us. And it is my prayer that at this time his love and very nature comfort those in need.

Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there, I do not sleep I am a 1,000 winds that blow I am the diamond glints on snow I am the sun on ripened grain I am the gentle autumn rain When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled light I am the soft star that shines at night Do not stand at my grave and cry I am not there; I did not die. Anon

It's been a while since I've really done any cooking. Pregnancy gave me a heightened sense of smell which put me completely off the kitchen, but I’m g r a d u a l l y getting back into the swing of things, and am looking forward to the festive treats that accompany Christmas dinner and all. Hence my excitement when I came across food brand Ciren Calui....if your a foodie like me you will appreciate the time and effort that goes into making these luxury accompaniments.....I also hope it encourages people out there who may feel they can't find the time to commit to their dreams and aspirations... Ciren Calui business owner Claudine is not only an award winning entrepreneur but also the mother of four beautiful children, that’s some serious time management going on there....very inspiring!

1.In a few words, tell me about your business and why you decided to create Ciren Calui. I make luxury chilli, savoury and sweet jams. I made chilli jam for Christmas presents a couple of years ago for friends and family and got a good response, so I started experimenting with ingredients and spices and creating unusual jams – gave them to friends to try and loved peoples response and with the encouragement from friends decided to start selling them. CIREN CALUI was born.

2.How have u managed to combine the challenges of motherhood with being the owner of a thriving business? Tell us about any difficulties you have overcome. It is very challenging juggling motherhood and running a business, but I do it because of my kids – I named the business after them and also working for myself enables me to be more flexible with my time. I can work around things. It does get difficult when I’ve got shows on, but I find the best solutions I can.

3.What advice would you give to those of us who want to start thier own businesses in 2013? If you got a business idea and you think it can work, go for it…you got to follow your dreams and work hard to achieve them.

4.In this current economic climate how do stay inspired, what motivates you and what are your long term goals for your business? As we know the current economic climate isn’t easy at the moment and money is tight, but I stay focused on what I’m doing and I believe people will always spend money on something that tastes really good. I have won 4 great taste awards for my jams so far, so knowing people are loving my flavours inspires me to keep creating more, people will always looking for that something different.

5.Tell us more about your range? There are 17 different kinds of jams, ranging from chilli, savoury and sweet jams. They are all great condiments for cheese and meats. Delicious In sandwiches & used in marinades and cooking.

6.Are there any products you would recommend for the Christmas season in particular? Yes My Cranberry & Chilli Jam is perfect with your festive meats, be it just used as a condiment for turkey or used as a glaze for your festive hams. The Red Onion spicy jam is great for your cheese boards and The Ginger, Chilli & Allspice jam is delicious with meats especially chipolatas – glaze them with this jam and roast to give them a nice spicy gingery kick & for something sweet try Cranberry Spiced, Sweet spicy Jam or Blueberry spiced jam, The perfect jams to have for breakfast on toast/ croissants Christmas morning. You won’t be disappointed.

7.Where do we purchase items from your line? All jams are available online at www.cirencalui.com. I am also at North Harrow market the first week of every month. Check online to see where I’m selling.

8.Please share any cooking tips with us! Experiment! Experiment! Experiment!

9.What are your personal favourites and why? I don’t know?? It changes I might want a real hot kick one minute so I’ll go for The Scotch Bonnet & Pomegranate, or if I want it smoky and hot, The Spicy Chipotle jam. My favourite savoury is the Spicy Red Onion jam and my favourite sweet one is Cranberry spiced jam, love it on croissants and toast.

10.Moto for 2013. Believe in yourself and never give up. For more information....www.cirencalui.com...bon appetit x Teiko

back to my roots....

Over the past 24months whilst being pregnant the easiest and least stressful option for my hair was to "wig and go" as i like to put it, where i basically cornrow my natural afro hair and wear a wig and thats me done. It is really as simple as that, believe me it saved me on the days where there was no energy for anything..

When deciding on my "childbirth" hairstyle this time around, i learnt from last years, "Teikos attempt to look like Beyonce" fisaco, where i wanted a long glam look for my post labour pics but ended up with tight uncomfortable weave and flyaway hair.... So yes, this time around i just thought, twist my hair, avoid the tension and embrace the fro!it had been so long since i twisted my hair that i forgot how much i enjoyed my own texture....

Although i haven't tended to do product reviews on this blog, whilst shopping for hair products i was actually quite *overwhelmed* by the range of hair lines out there exclusively for natural hair...so i thought i would share my experience...

Anyone who has worn or wear their afro hair natural will be familiar with the classic two strand twist style. I love this style because a. its time efficient and b. i manage to twist my own hair, which then means i can twist my hair in my own time ie 1am when everyone is asleep and i get a spare moment. What i did.... Pre condition my hair with my home made shea butter mix, (olive, almond, coconut oil and shea butter,honey) usually leaving for a few hours or overnight if time allows.

Wash and condition with Clairol herbal essences, i have been a fan for years, I'm just a sucker for great fragrance, it does actually transport me to that tropical paradise you see in the advert....

Most exciteD by... *Curl La La* by the Aunt Jackie's range. My initial thought was aww purple hair cream,not very natural looking, going from blue shampoo and conditioner to purple cream or custard as they call it, niiiice... but as I said, sucker for fragrance, so i opened, smelt and purchased.. and no regrets..i like the product alot.

The plus points .. 1.smells great 2.sulfate free 3.paraben free

4.mineral oil free 5.petrolatum free 6.has my favourite shea butter as a key ingredient 7.has cocoa butter and olive oil which means it conditions really well. minus points... To be honest it did the trick nothing really to complain about, i allow my twists to air dry and work with my hair from there, and i don't have any real negatives...its the first product i've used of late but i'm happy with it! i'm going to see if i can get my hands on the rest of the range see how that works for me... To finish off I spray my twists with Elasta QP H2 leave in conditioner, i love it, its light and works well with my hair...also smells great...

"Vitamin rich, Feels Like Silk H2 leaves hair incredibly soft, silky smooth with great body, movement and shine. Perfect for natural, braided and relaxed styles leaving hair texture feeling like silk without build-up dryness or frizz". quote

Then i go crazy with the bobby pins and pin my hair down, untwisting a few of the twists for volume but generally pinning my hair down so its very short....See a few pics below...(please excuse the effects.... test shooting with the instagram programme on my phone ;-)

bobby pin heaven...untwist and style away!

Leaving u all with a pic of my darling Zuri fast asleep, i cant believe how fast shes growing and changing...im sure ill be twisting her hair in days to come...

Stay blessed x Teiko

babies babies and more babies...

i can only describe my long absence as a long extended and well deserved maternity leave, my lil Aaron is one years old! Hard to believe! walking, talking, (well he seems to understand what hes saying..) and trying to eat everything...finding everything pretty intriguing and worthy of his time, well everything apart from his toys, he is generally keeping me in awe, wondering how my quite lil baby boy has suddenly evolved into this wonderful happy and playful child..loving his independence and the fact that he can run and play!

My new role as a mother has been somewhat challenging but highly rewarding, a short post natal depression episode, characterised by feeling very low, overwhelmed, resentment towards my husband as he left home for work to experience adult conversations whilst i walked around the house zombie mode, waiting for Aaron to nap before i could even dream of having me time..i don't mean me time book and long bath, i mean me time having a basic shower and a bite of toast...only to be followed by the " what have u been doing all day looks", the house really did look like it had been burgled and my general appearance looking like i got dressed in the dark, backwards. I never thought i would be the woman tying her baby on her back while washing up, but lo and behold twas me...and in typically true life fashion it doesn't rain it pours, relationship dissapointments, overly high expectations of loved ones, and things generally seeming to go from bad to worse. The cliche proved true however, God is faithful indeed and having honest loyal supportive people around me brought the much needed sunshine back into my life.

I have since established a "routine", enjoying stay and play playgroup sessions with Aaron ...who has been lucky enough to experience baby massage baby yoga baby rhyme time, all the over excited new mother stuff...and i'm pleased to say that I've just given birth to the loveliest lil girl..my baby Zurielle, weighing in at 7lbs 8.

This blog entry is really just a catch up on whats been occupying my time....ie not model related stuff, nappy (diaper) related stuff and how im now mesmerized with my lil Aaaron and even liller Zuri....feeling extremely blessed to have two wonderful children.

Aaron is like..ok then... My pregnancy experience this time was a lil more relaxed, firstly no daily throwing up, being tired was the main symptom i had to deal with. Cravings shifted from cheese and tomato everything to ice ice ice ice, now i have a long overdue dentist appointment pending! i had the same pointy tummy i had with Aaron which made the perfect stranger approach me like an old friend and proclaim that i was having a boy! Now for me who was secretly buying girls clothes, and who decided yet again not to find out the gender of the child this only proved irritating! I like boys and everything but i think every person knows what they can handle, and two boys under two..i was dreading it to be honest.God heard my cries! tears of joy came flooding down when i gave birth to Zurielle.

So not to totally turn this into a netmums esq blog entry but i have to mention the fact that i had a waterbirth, something i dreamed about for so long might i add, it was really amazing. I think my birth with Aaron was short, approx 3 hours but this was 1 hr 51 mins so the contractions where definitely harder and faster but so much better in the water. Dont get it twisted gas and air was still not enough pain relief but i got through it, Zuri was so calm when she came out also, i think ill become a waterbirth ambassordor for all expectant mothers i know ;-).My post birth experience was way more of a shock to my body, and i didnt hold Zuri for about 3 hours after labour. My husband gave her her first formula feed, i was so tired, had to have a shower and a cuppa tea before i could face holding her. Labour is no joke.

Daydreaming of life after baby,i would love to model once again, although a small voice in the back of my mind is asking me how i plan on adjusting to life my with my wonderful pregnancy souvenirs mainly stretch marks...infact as I type i still look pregnant so my tummy has to somehow get back to pre pregnancy size, and asap preferably. Watch this space i say. Until then the children are enjoying their cousins and aunt and grandma, family and friends visiting basically, so its a wonderful end to 2012.

Back to the blog, i am trying to revamp it all,so u may b seeing some changes here and there... bare with me... i have actually missed blogging so its good to be back in the swing of things...between feeds and all....

Last but not least a massive thank u, hugs and kisses to my husband who has been patient enough to support me during what was practically two years of pregnancy! Although i disagree with the suggestion that i had been taken over by my evil twin, i agree with the fact that it was challenging at times... we made it! let the fun times begin! xxxx love always xxxx Teiko

my pregnancy journey...yummy mummy is here!

It's been approximately 2months since I did my Ellen DeGeneres style dance out of hospital and back home!! For those of you who don't know ...i had a lovely baby boy Aaron in September, 8pounds 6...

He is *so* adorable, a real blessing.... I've now recovered from the trauma, somewhat regulated my sleep pattern, stitch's all healed up (TMI...HAHA)and am ready to blog again...

My Pregnancy...a synopsis


First Trimester

So I'm thinking, either i have a urine infection (constantly going to the bathroom) or i need to take a pregnancy test. All I knew was that something wasn't as normal, and low and behold, i was pregnant! we where kinda planning it, but i didn't think it would happen that fast (what do i mean by kinda planning lol...i know what i mean!)... I experienced a mix of emotions... happy, grateful, but also thinking omg! my life is sooo over....!

I didn't really have any cravings at that point, just really knocked out,i could literally sleep for the whole day, it was a cloud of heaviness over me, like Ive never been that tired before, i couldn't function!....To top it off i suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum which is basically excessive morning sickness, vomiting twice, thrice a day..not cool! Imagine eating, and throwing it back up 15mins later, all the time!



Above is a my brother and i at the Ghana v England match on the 29th of March! The next day i went to hospital with painful cramps, that progressed into bleeding, that progressed into crying..before this point i wasn't so attached to the idea of being pregnant, it was still early days,still overwhelmed, not quite hit home yet (i have delayed reactions alot...) but when in hospital,i nearly broke down with the thought that i could be losing my baby,i really did think i was having a miscarriage. Scary time. Only by God's grace.

Second Trimester



I was bridesmaid for my cousin Gemma! not a good look, the disconnection between my mind and body...the tiredness returned! I was anaemic by this point, just really really worn out! Great wedding tho!




By the end of the trimester, i was big, couldn't really sleep at all, as i started to get really severe heartburn, ouch ...the wonderful memories...(blank stare) my skin looked great none the less, and i had developed a love for all things Cheese and Tomato...and canned pineapples, it was so funny, like that was all i wanted..all the time..

Third Trimester

Diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which was really annoying as i had to take my blood sugar 4times a day and always see the consultant in hospital, which itself is a long boring process...always seeing the midwife, piercing me every moment!taking metformin every moment... yikes....it seems like I'm complaining, and at the time i didn't really moan, just internalised the whole experience, as i didn't want to seem ungrateful, pregnancy is a blessing after all...but gosh, it was just getting too much! i just wanted baby out! pregnancy and Teiko don't mix.I kept staring at women with more than one child thinking, why would you go through this..

Very hormonal, and crying alot, and wow the road rage..poor drivers...and people kept asking whether I was sure im not having twins...urmmm like seriously..really?? ..(blank stare..sigh)...ohh the memories ;-)





I did a photoshoot, it was really fun (my facial expression may suggest otherwise) but really it was fun..i think in that photo i was still about 3 weeks away from having Aaron...

It was hard to walk, and i felt so heavy, and my skin went from beautiful glow, to mild acne(i want a clarisonic plus for Christmas;-)... I was kinda anxious, i read way to much information, and went on way too many pregnancy forums, so i had all kind of things going on in my head! i kept saying..what if...what if...what if..read this! ohmygosh she had a 10lb baby..ohmy gosh they cut her open..ohmygosh they left her on the labour ward to deliver her own baby..and such..I must have been so annoying (poor husband) haha..



This picture was a few days before I was induced, we went to a friends wedding, i had just done my weave like a day before (bad bad bad idea!) I had initially chosen braids to be my "birth hairstyle" but after one braid, I was too impatient to sit there for hours and hours and changed my mind and went for the weave..it was so tight..bad move!plus I was sooooooo unbalanced, its funny looking back how much your body has to adjust for you baby. Aaron pressing down and me just about managing to roll out of bed...! My pregnant face in full force! And of course my raging hormones,




Tests before I was induced, to check baby, and I. Had to be strapped up for about an hour.In the end my labour was only 3 hours long, really painful,just gas and air! Childbirth is the worst kind of pain! But bravo i got through it! And you do kind of (i said kind of) forget the (majority) of the pain! When you see your baby, its all worth it..the most amazing moment seeing him, God is amazing!

Ma little baby is born! ...

;-)


10mins old with daddy...


3days old...


1month old...


2months old....



His nickname is zoolander...he loves to pout!!!

At the time pregnancy felt like one of the worst periods of my life!plagued with all kinds of complications..But God is so faithful! Prayer was enough! He is such a good little baby, and he has made me a far more patient woman. And also increased my faith, every time I look at him I realise how wonderful God is for my gift! He is so worth every moment of discomfort I felt. Coming home was nice, but a shock, I am still exclusively breastfeeding, and have only expressed once, meaning i have not had a full night sleep since, meaning "zombie mode" is a frequent occurrence...my church cooked dinner for us everyday for two weeks when he was born(thank u ladies), which was so great because i got into a nice routine with Aaron and enjoyed some amazing food!

Its just really wonderful being a mother.



Complete with baby dribble patch!

I'm now being the best and yummiest mum I can b...

LOVE

Teiko and Aaron xx