Dear 2018 | Zafira
Dear 2018,
2017 was a roller coaster of a year. I don't think I've ever been so upset but so happy but so disappointed and extremely overwhelmed all at once in my entire life. It's been a strange one but I'm very much ready for it to end.
I don't want to start this year off with a list of resolutions and things I need to fix from last year because let's be real, I'm never ever going achieve everything on my list. I'm not expecting a lot from this year, just the few important things that I feel will not only improve me as a person but my entire life in general.
I hope that you offer me a range of opportunities because I think I'm finally ready to live my life to fullest. I know this year will be challenging. It's my last year at college and I'll be sitting my exams in May (😭) and hopefully, if I get the grades I need, I'll be off to Uni in September which is insane. In my head, I still feel like I'm 10 years old but I'll be turning 18 this year and I'll be an adult. It's time to slowly grow up and let real life hit me and I'm ready for it.
I have this irrational fear of change but at the same time, I love change. I can't wait for it. I know that a lot of things will change this year, with my education, with family and much more but it's taken me a solid 17 years to accept that these changes are good. Even if they don't feel like it at the time, they'll make more sense as I grow older and learn to understand how if they didn't occur, I wouldn't be where I am right now.
I spent a lot of time in 2017 wasting away my hours, contemplating over things that didn't matter at all and a lot of staring at the ceiling and listening to Kanye's 'The Life of Pablo' all night until the early hours of dawn hit. That's all about to change, I love you Kanye but I think it's about time I sort out my sleeping schedule and spend my time on things that will have positive outcomes. I'm ready to work hard for what I want and I'm extremely determined to tick off many goals on my list this year.
I hope you are sweet to me and I hope that time spent with my family and friends this year are so heart warming that my heart over heats and feels like it's going explode every time I with them. I haven't been a very good friend or family member this year, in some ways, I feel like I've neglected everyone close to me. But, I'm working on myself and I think it's finally hit hard how much my loved ones do for me. I want to make my family and friends proud and be there for them. I want them to feel a sense of warmth and comfort when they are around me.
My camera and art supplies became a little dusty this year. I hadn't been as devoted to capturing photographs and creating art as much as I would have liked to mainly out of pure laziness. It's been harder to create art over the past couple of months, the only time I feel a little spurt of creativity is during class and I feel this overwhelming urge to doodle. I want to desperately work on this year, I want to be the artsy fartsy child I was a long time ago. I know she's hiding deep inside me somewhere. I captured a lot of memories this year on film. I'm in love with my Canon EOS 300 but I feel as if I haven't spent enough time with it in my hands. Capturing memories has been fun but I know that there's so much more out there for me to document and capture. There's so much going on in the world that so so so many people don't see. I want to change this. I want to take a series of images so eye opening that it changes the way people think and see. I'm done with all this tumblr-y stuff that people expect of me when they see my work, it's not what I want to do anymore. I want my work to have more meaning.
I want to spend more time on here. I love writing. It's something that feels so natural so to avoid it and not spend anytime doing it feels wrong and uncomfortable. It'll be hard to find the time to put in but I will find time and make this my own little cute personal space on the vast web. I've done this place up a little bit and found a name I quite like, 'Zafira Ahmed' seemed a bit too plain Jane. I really like this new name.
Charles Buckowski said "I was waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but as the years wasted on nothing ever did unless I caused it" and I intend to live by this everyday this year. In 2017, I felt bored with my life, it seemed as if the days were all blending together, there was no difference between them. I want to do exciting things, big or small. I want to be spontaneous and not live by a structured day to day schedule.
2018, please go slowly. I feel like my whole life is flashing before my eyes already when I've barely just hit 17. I want to enjoy every aspect of my life so thoroughly and vividly that the memories stay with me forever. Whether these memories are good or bad, I'm ready to experience them.
Yours sincerely,
Zafira
x
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Christmas Gift Guide 2017 | Zafira
Hi and welcome to my blog!
It's insane how fast this year has gone, it's already November and I can feel the Christmas spirit starting to kick in. The atmosphere around this time of year is so lovely and I spend all year just waiting for it. I don't really celebrate Christmas but me and my family do love to do a game of Secret Santa and I love receiving and giving gifts to my friends. Sometimes I really struggle on what to get to get people, it can be quite hard trying to find the perfect git but don't fret! I'm here to help with my ultimate Christmas Gift Guide!
1. Makeup Gift Sets (for the wannabe beauty gurus in your life)
I don't want to stereotype most women and shove this in there but it genuinely is something that most women will love. When buying sets, try to stick to popular and well known brands with a range of various products.
Here's a few that are looking quite good this year:
Makeup Revolution Makeup Set - This is very nicely priced is quite good for younger teens who like experimenting with makeup. It has everything you'd need for a full face of makeup.
Yves Saint Laurent Lip Gift Set - This would be pretty cute for someone special like a wife or girlfriend. YSL is quite an expensive designer brand but the quality is amazing.
NYX Matte vs Metals Vault - I've seen so so so many of these around and these would be perfect for anyone who loves makeup, you get such a great selection of lip shades.
2. Perfume and Candles (for the people that smell in your life)
Everyone likes to smell nice, it's nice to be somewhere that smells nice too. Here's a range of perfumes and candles that are smelling nice this year:
Glossier You Perfume - This is great for those trendy girls out there that like to keep up with stuff going on in the social media world. Glossier is a pretty minimal brand but I smelt a tester of this and it's so so so good. It's a perfect stocking stuffer or a small gift for someone cute (like me)
Yankee Candles - You could buy a Yankee Candle for anyone really, they have a vast range of scents and everyone loves a good candle.
Snowella Fragrance Gift Set - When I was a lot younger, I loved Zoella and this gift set would be perfect for any teen.
3. Jewelry (for the blingy people in your life)
I know this again is quite a stereotypical gift but these are some great places to get some cool and unique pieces:
Piccolina Jewelry - I found this company because they sell a lot of their pieces at COW in Manchester and I've always thought that they'd make such pretty gifts.They're good for anyone that likes to dress indie or even a bit hippie. I think I might have to get myself a few pieces from here soon...
Accessorize Jewelry - I love the jewelry from Accesorize and it's a really good gift to give anyone. They have a vast range of pieces to chose from so there's bound to be something you can find as a gift. I quite like the Z collection as they have a lot of dainty, everyday pieces.
4. Wallets/Purses (for the people who's wallets and purses are hanging on for dear life)
This is such an easy but great gift idea. Everyone needs a place to put their cards and money and the best place I've found to get a range of different ones is at
. They have a bunch of designer ones too that cost no where near their actual retail price and they'll make a wonderful and practical gift.
5. Bags (for the people that have too much stuff to carry in your life)
I appreciate a handy bag much like many others. I think for the special people in your life it's worth getting something that you know will last a long time.
MAHI Leather have a range of bags to suit whoever you're buying the bag for. They're maid to order with full grain cow leather and are up to 50% cheaper than other high street prices. It'll make the perfect gift as you can get the bag with personalised embroidery and a cotton dust cover to protect the bag. Not only will it make a great gift but $1.50 from every bag is donated to the FRANK Water Charity so you'll be helping to fund clean water in India and Nepal.
TK Maxx have such a wide variety of designer bags at such an affordable price compared to the retail price and is one of the best places to buy a bag as a gift or simply for yourself. I buy bags from here all the time because they have any style you could possibly want and everyone loves a good designer bag at a discount price.
Accessorize are not just amazing at jewelry but they have the prettiest of bags. I really adore their clutch bags as they're perfect for so many occasions and would make a great gift for anyone who enjoys a good night out. They also have a range of travel, day, totes and much more to help you find something that fits the style of the person you want to gift it to!
6. Terrariums (for the plant loving millennials in your life)
I like a good terrarium. I think they're super cute and perfect for anywhere in the house. Whilst browsing for some gifts, I found this super cool
which would be a super cute gift for anyone.
7. Retro Games (for the gaming nerds in your life)
I was browsing around in Urban Outfitters the other day and I came across the most amazing thing ever. It was a little mini Tamagotchi style toy which made me have a little epiphany and realise that little gadgets like that could be such an amazing gift.
Here are some pretty cool ones that make me feel like the 90s kid I never was:
Pixapet - it's basically a Tamagotchi that comes in some cute colours.
8. Neon Lights (for the people that need you to
light up their world like nobody else
)
Ornaments are a quite a nice gift to give but sometimes, you just need something with a little more life. I have always felt like I've needed a neon flamingo light in my room and in my late night window shopping sesh, I found such a good Christmas gift along with a couple of other amazing gifts.
Neon Flamingo (you and I both need this)
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Collective Haul! | Zafira Ahmed
So I shop, more often that I should so I decided to make some use out of it. Hi, hey, hello 😃 This post is going to be haul of things I've bought quite recently. I'm quite a content shopper, I kind of need to chill for a bit and stop buying so much but I can't help myself at all. I think my personal style is developing quite rapidly at the moment and I just seem to be loving clothes a lot more than usual. It might be this whole 'new year, new me' feeling going on but I love styling and putting pieces together. It's always a joy. ALSO just wanted to let you know that I've got a second Instagram account now that's devoted to fashion, it's not going to be as structured as my original Instagram, it's going to be a lot more relaxed and if you like clothes and fashion you should definitely go and follow it! I'll leave a link at the end of this post. I hope you enjoy this haul 😊
This lovely dress is from Zara! All those frills and flowers make me feel ever so girly and it's just super lovely. It's fits me so well and it looks pretty cute with my new docs. This isn't available anymore sadly but there's so much more floral stuff available now since the Spring collection is out!
This is also from Zara, I practically live there now. The thing that really drew me in to buying this was the high neck, I love a good high neck. I think they look super flattering and it makes this t-shirt look a little more formal even though it's over-sized and baggy. I don't think this is available in Zara either unfortunately.
I've been very into dresses recently and I have no idea why. I think they look super flattering and they just look really nice with my new boots. This is one of the Cow re-work dresses that I always love. It looks very 60s and has shirt-like sleeves and is quite a nice length. They have so many pretty re-worked dresses, I have a Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren one and they just look so good. Have a browse urself:
This bby is from H&M where I don't really shop as often anymore. It makes me look like I'm dressed for a funeral and I haven't been brave enough to wear it yet but you might see it appear of my second IG acc in the next few days...
This was a total impulse buy from Cow. I literally have no idea how I'm going to style or wear this but it was so pretty I couldn't not buy it. It has the prettiest sleeves and it's this lovely creamy colour. I could totally dress this up somehow and it might good as a jacket-like thing. It's always fun to experiment with new pieces of clothes!
These lovely pair of pants which does not feel right to say at all anymore because basically, this week all I've been thinking about is why people say 'a pair of pants' when pants are a singular item. So, I finally googled it and the phrase is only used because in the 16th century, pants were two pieces not one but it's really going to bother me that we still say this even though it doesn't apply. Anyway 😂, these gorgeous pants are from Miss Selfridge! They're not like full length, they reach a few inches above the ankle so they make your legs look long-ish and look cute with boots. These aren't available anymore I don't think because I can't seem to find them online, but I've found a pair that are just as cute
These amazing pair of culottes are form Zara. I am in l o v e. I love these so much. On my second IG account, I posted an outift pic where I was wearing these, a black velvet crop top and my docs and it's now my fave outfit ever. The pants are pretty high waisted, on me anyway so you can't see your belly anymore. I think it's such a lovely switch up from your average,formal work pants. It says that they're cropped pants but they are pretty much culottes.
http://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/trousers/cropped-trousers-with-belt-c358005p4264507.html
Lastly, my fave purchase ever, my Dr Marten Floraa boots. These are so lovely, unlike the other Dr Marten Chelsea type boots, these have more of pointed tip so I think they make my tiny feet a bit bigger and make my outfit look a bit more feminine and dressy in someways. They go with everything and anything, they're super comfortable and are so practical.
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