NYE 2020; We Will Rise
We may have waved farewell to the challenging year that was 2020, but we still have a way to go before the world can find balance once again. That said, the past year has taught us a number of valuable lessons, the most signifiant for me being not to take the little things in life for granted. Whether its simply taking a trip to the shops and grabbing a coffee with a girlfriend, or getting together with family and friends to share all the wonderful festivities of Christmas, I will cherish these times that bit more now that we’ve experienced a life without those moments of joy.
Like most of the rest of the UK, we celebrated our New Years Eve at home and the Nieuwenhuys family know how to party, so we were in for an evening of fun with plenty of booze at the ready! I love any excuse to dress up too, so I spent the day pampering myself and getting glammed up for the night. I wore this cute seventies inspired outfit: ASOS flared jeans, Topshop lace bralet, Stradivarius check blazer, ASOS maroon lace-up heels and my favourite accessory pieces, including a new ring from Cali Tiger.
I know it’s been a tough year for many which makes me even more thankful for my secure family home, supportive friends, amazing boyfriend and of course my job. I may not have been able to progress to where I’d of hoped to in my career by this point, but maintaining my role as Events Assistant at the Four Seasons Hotel with the hope that business will return, is something I’m proud of during such unstable economical times. It’s important we celebrate the little wins like this and focus on the positive knowing that things could always be worse.
Crystal coupes lined up on the gold mirror tray and champagne chilled and ready to pop, I couldn’t wait to get the evening started! We ordered takeout from our favourite local Italian Mama Mia and following our pizza and pasta feast, we got Jools Holland’s Hootenanny show on the TV to get us fully in the party spirit.
The night went in a flash and before we knew it the countdown to 2021 was on. My Dad and boyfriend had an absolute blast setting off the fireworks, it was practically our own private show with all the boxes they had purchased – we certainly saw in 2021 with a bang!
So before we say hello to 2021, let’s take a moment to reflect on the year that’s been and not forget the lessons we have learnt from the most unique and challenging year for the entire world… from this I’m hopeful, we will rise. HNY ❤
At the start of lockdown, my room also became my office as I worked from home for a month or so. I like my desk space to be well ordered and neat for me to work most efficiently, as well as decorated with inspiring quotes and art pieces to fuel my creativity.
This gold text printed piece from Maggs London is one of my favourite quotes. For me ‘Stay Wild’ evokes a number of motivating ideas; don’t be too serious about life, trust your instincts and remember to have fun.
On the subject of quotes and words, I always have a collection of books on my bedside table which I am currently reading. I tend to dip in and out of self-help books and poetry from time to time, as well as flick through coffee table books often related to style, fashion or food.
Candles, fairy lights and flowers are another finishing touch to making my bedroom feel warm, comforting and homely. The ideal nighttime routine for me is to set the mood with twinkling fairy lights and subtly fragranced candles, before winding down with a book before bed. (Ok, I admit that I scroll through Instagram before bed also, but I am consciously trying to reduce my screen time now!)
I often light a candle whilst working at my desk too as this helps me to stay calm and present when trying to get a lot done. My diary and personalised kiki.K organiser are never far either as I always write to do lists and jot down ideas as they come to me.
Onto my wardrobe and I would be lying if I didn’t confess that I have an obsession with clothes and shoes too! Nevertheless, I have been minimising my shopping during lockdown and have taken the time to consolidate my wardrobes. I dream one day of having a much needed walk in wardrobe for all my treasured garments, but for now I’m happy with my well ordered dressing corner.
And finally, number one job I do every morning is to always make my bed, something I have done since I can remember. There’s nothing better than coming home to a freshly made bed and if you feel like you haven’t achieved much else in a day, at least you can say you made your bed :)
Even as a nineties baby who shares a lot of photos online, I’ve continued to print my favourite pictures over the years to create albums, collages or to frame on my wall. When I moved to Australia two and a half years ago, it became less of a priority to be printing all the photos from the incredible memories I was making at the time, yet I always knew I would create an album or collage when I got chance.
There were a lot of fantastic photos from my time living in Australia, so it was hard to narrow down the final polaroids for this section of the collage. In total I decided to make my creation span the past two years of my life – from moving to Aus, my brother getting married and then travelling again with my best friend back in January. Choosing my images for print was challenging, so I would recommend allowing the time to thoroughly scan your social media posts and all of your albums to get the very best of your pictures.
Inspiration to make this Instagram feed style collage came from one of my favourite Swedish influencers Janni Olsson Deler – 
The first step to making your collage is to find a suitable frame, preferably as large as possible. Then once you know the size of your frame, you can order the suitable number of polaroids to fit. My frame was 50cm x 70cm and the polaroids which I managed to get in a mini size from Inkifi were 5.5cm x 8.5 cm, so doing the maths I figured out I could fit 8 across by 8 down, equalling 64 polaroids in total. I decided to order about 10 extra prints as I wanted to see them all laid out first to perfect the balance of colours and compositions.
At only £0.25 per mini Polaroid I ordered from Inkifi.com which proved not only reasonable on price, but also brilliant quality prints with perfect colour and a lovely matt finish. The only other element to consider is what you will be sticking your polaroids onto. I simply used the white paper insert which came in the frame along with a good old fashioned glue stick to secure each print in place. After measuring the boarder width and length each side, I began lining up and sticking each polaroid on side by side.
Once complete, it’s time to open up your frame and give the glass a good clean inside and out, before placing in your final piece. I was so pleased with the overall outcome of my collage and couldn’t believe how easy it was to assemble. I purchased my frame from Ready Made Picture Frames in Basingstoke as this company has worked alongside my mum’s business for years, but equally you could easily find frames of all sizes online. Originally I tried hanging it above my bed, however this is a picture people need to get up close to in order to see the individual photos in detail, so I moved it to be next to my desk instead.
This retro way of displaying your photos is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is also a perfect way to enjoy numerous snapshots all in one place. I will cherish my collage which encapsulates the past two years of my life, full of so many wonderful memories and exciting events. Who knows what the next few years will bring for me, but I can’t wait to make another polaroid collage following the next exciting chapter of my life.
With it being my girlfriend’s postponed Hen Do date last weekend, we decided to throw her a surprise online Hen party. Having spoken a few days previous with the other Hens to plan some fun themed activities and games, one of the girls also put together a goody bag of our Bride’s favourite nibbles and even a fresh jug of Pimms, delivered to her door just before we all went online.
Just like with any typical Hen Do, we did have a laugh discovering some naughty secrets and embarrassing stories – I can’t wait for the real thing postponed now to next year! I suppose lockdown really has brought people together in unique circumstances as we’ve learnt to keep in touch and socialise in new and imaginative ways. I’ve had some really fantastic Zoom meetings with colleagues, family and friends and although being in the confides of home, it’s a great excuse to get a bit dressed up and even put some makeup on for a change.
I like to have an aesthetic background for my video calls too, so I’ve been utilising my desk space with my favourite ‘Stay Wild’ print complete with fairy lights and a bunch of fresh flowers each week. These exquisite little white Gypsophila flowers were the perfect finishing touch for the virtual Hen Do and they lasted over a week too.
Soon enough we’ll be reunited with our nearest and dearest face to face, but I have also enjoyed the convenience of online socials. Needless to say, it will seem a lot more effort to head to even just the pub for drinks, now that we’ve become so accustomed to the luxury of a snuggly sofa and that bottle of wine ready by our side for top ups!
The corner sofa in the lounge was the perfect starting point, then using two camera tripods we were able to lift the middle without too much obstruction inside. Another key element to consider when creating a den is what will secure the sheets together and onto things. For this I would recommend having pegs and elastic bands handy as well as using elements of your furniture to secure it, such as tucking it behind the sofa cushions or trapping it inside the fastening of a tripod.
Ready with a bottle of wine, popcorn and a movie, I was so chuffed with our awesome date night setup. We had envisioned sleeping in our creation for the night, however we realised that the tripod legs would be too much of an obstacle when trying to sleep! Instead we left it up for a couple days and enjoyed the change of scenery for a few evenings in front of the TV.
Whether you do this with your partner, family or even housemates, it really is a fun way to shake up movie night at home during lockdown. I definitely felt like a kid again as we cosied up and escaped the madness of the outside world in our fairytale fort.
Dani Aneka 