Exploring NC - Downtown Raleigh

  Hi Loves!

Hope you're having a great week.

This past weekend we decided to venture out to explore our surrounding. We ended up going to downtown Raleigh. We had no plan to visit anywhere specific; we just wanted to get out there to get a feel for it and play tourist. It was nice, reminded me a bit of NYC but on a much much smaller scale, which is great. 

See every time I have to go into NYC to meet hubby or friends, they have to start talking and selling it to me days before. The fact that I'll have to take the train doesn't help either. I'm just not for all that hustle and bustle, crowd and dirt life.  Now, if we were driving (we meaning hubby), I don't mind as much. Anyways, with downtown Raleigh, I'm sold. I'll be more than happy to go down there again and again.

Like I said, we didn't really plan to visit anywhere in particular so it was great to just walk around and take it all in. I'm sure our next visit there will probably be more planned out.

Decided to rock a “mommy and me” EliFab headband with Eliana. I think we need to do that more often, especially with spring here.

Oh, and the teddy bear you see in the picture is a new thing. This girl used to have her crib flowing with teddies as a baby and early toddle, but she wanted nothing to do with them. Now, out of no where she seems to be forming some kind of bound with them. Lol. She carries them around, sleeps with them and even cares for them. It is just interesting watching her grow and experiencing the different stages as they come and go. Joy of a mother I tell you.

 

 

 

 

On me
Top: Gap (similar here, here)
Jumpsuit: F21 (similar here, here)
Scarf: The Limited

Shoes: New Look via Asos (similar here, here)
Watch: Movado

On Eliana
Dress: Old Navy
Jacket: H&M
Boots: Target 
Headbands: EliFab

EliFab is TWO

 And just like that EliFab Accessories celebrates 2 years today. 

A lot has happened in that short but very significant amount of time. We’ve grown in all aspect, learnt a lot logistically and become even more creative. 

Just a little over a year after opening we showcased our first event on Zulily (still in awe of how all that came to be, story for another day).

As we celebrate 2 years we've handcrafted over 2000 bows and headbands to adorn little heads.  And just as we clock 2, we're excited to announce EliFab has gone International. EliFab bows and headbands are now available in Nigeria. We have partnered up with Jumia NG to bring the same quality accessories to my homeland.  I have to say the journey to get here was not the easiest. There were a few issues encountered along the way but as always it took a village to get to where we are today and I couldn’t be more appreciative of everyone that made this happen.

Words cannot begin to express my gratitude towards our customers because without you, we would not be where we are today.  From our day one the moment we went live online customer, to our new and prospective customers, we appreciate you all. Thank you for your patronage and most importantly your support. 

I cannot go without thanking my support system. Everyone that  lend a helping hand from the beginning; from my mom to sisters and my 24/7 on call packaging guy and extra hand when I need it,  my husband. Without you all, I wouldn't be here today. Thanks for your words of encouragement and believing  in me.

I am excited for the next coming years and can't wait to adorn more pretty little heads with my creations.

We are currently working on updating our website but you can find us on:

Etsy: Here

Nigeria: Here

Instagram @ Elifabaccessories

Enjoy this sale (here) Now through Sunday in honor of our Anniversary.

Thank You!

NC Living

Hi. So, I thought I’ll do a quick update on the perks of life in NC so far on this nice and rainy Saturday.

To start with, we both have shorter commute to work, more so for me than hubby. He's getting used to driving to work as opposed to been driven to work on the train. None the less, a shorter commute time still for him.

We definitely have more time to spend together as a family. I think less time spent commuting to and from work plays into that. Also, we don’t currently have a lot of involvement / commitments / activities right now, but I foresee that changing.

No crazy work hours, early mornings work schedule for me and late nights for hubby.

We definitely feel more relaxed for some reason. I think it is the southern effect and it is rubbing off on us. Everything is at a much slower pace than NJ.

Since moving to NC as a family, I have and I’m enjoying less responsibility on me when it comes to Eliana; again the time effect.  In NJ hubby is gone before me and Eliana even gets out of bed. But now we pretty much all wake up and start getting ready for the day at the same time. This means hubby has taken over essential morning duties, like shower and getting Eliana ready. He does 95% and I do the last 5% as we're heading out, meaning shoes and jacket. I’m loving it! 

 

  We have time to do things, random things throughout the week and not just on date nights. Like going to a basketball game on a week night or going to the circus show. 

I think the best part of all is having a baby sitter that makes all this possible. Since having Eliana, we haven’t really left her in care of anyone apart from daycare and with friends on two occasions back in NJ. I think now that she’s a bit older and more independent and can communicate what she wants or otherwise, I’m a bit more trusting in leaving her in a sitter’s care than when she was a baby.

I’m sure it helps matter that the said sitter is her teacher from daycare. So she is not a complete stranger and Eliana loves her. You know how you just have that motherly instinct about someone, that’s the case with her. Plus, I’ve seen her take care of Eliana and other kids in daycare. I explored options like care.com and spent hours looking before finally approaching our sitter and I just couldn’t bring myself to finding someone on the internet to take care of my baby. Call me old fashion but I think, I prefer a person to person referral or better still someone I actually know in person in this case.

 

We found a church. After trying a couple and always coming back to the same one, I think we've settled on one for now.  We just need to get involved which I’m sure will happen with time.

On the other hand we miss our friends. Haven't really made any new friends yet, but I guess that's something that happens with time, not overnight.  Not rushing or losing hope either.  I know when we moved to NJ I thought I would never meet or have a close circle of friends like I did back in college but boy was I wrong. So I'm excited for the new people I get to calls friends and build relationships with in the nearest future.

And lastly, what I will be blogging about in the coming months, we bought a house.  Well a lot/land. We're building and I'll be sharing that whole process in the coming posts, along with all the ups and downs. So far a lot of ups but it is still early in the process. Keeping my fingers crossed it’s all ups till the end. 

Going Private

Not too long ago, I did a post about what I share on the blog and trying to find the fine line.
I unfortunately had the opportunity to watch a blogging mom I follow, love and respect get bullied and insulted over the use of her picture with her daughter by other accounts in a way she didn't approve of. It was heart wrenching to watch and read the disgusting comments as a mom and a blogger, knowing this could be me. I'm proud of the way she handled the situation and herself. How she fought for her property and family and I'm glad she came out winning. 

I've seen this happen one too many times especially with blogging moms. From people copying all your child's images and re-posting on fake accounts claiming your child  as their own, to people just  feeling like they can do whatever  they want with your pictures.  Just because I posted it on the internet, doesn't give any one the right to use it in any way, shape or form as they see fit, without my consent. That is the mentality with these people.

I know this is the risk in blogging especially if you’re sharing personal content like myself and these moms are doing. Given that I just did a post on content sharing not too long ago, watching this happen now makes my stomach turn. I've seen some bloggers quit all together because of issues like this; some stopped sharing pictures of their kids and some went private. It happens too often and no mom should have to fight to have a picture of her child taken down because it has been used without her consent one, and two, the message attached to it is not what she stands for. With that being said, I hope to never find myself in such situation. 

Like I said before, I love blogging and sharing and I'd rather freely share with a few people than regretfully share with multitude of people. The first thing that crossed my mind as I was following the event unfold was, how can I protect myself, family and content from going through the same thing. Of course the first thing that came to mind was going private with all my social media accounts including the blog. I know it is not a safe proof from anything like this ever happening but the thought of it made me feel better for a moment. After giving it some thought, I decided not to cut myself off, at least for now. Being open has given me the opportunity to meet and connect with you, my great readers. Some of you have become more than readers, we've become friends. That is just one of the tangible benefits of blogging and being open.
Like everything else in life, you can't let one or many inconsiderate people dictate the direction you take your life.
I have to say hubby loved the idea of going private :) and I did too.
But for now, we remain open.

Letter To My 2 Years Old Sweet Eliana

Better late than never right....finally getting to post this. With Eliana almost two and half now, I'm just glad I wrote/drafted this when she actually turned 2.

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My dear baby girl, you have a reached another big milestone in your life. You're officially 2 years old. I am relieved to stop telling people you're 22 months or 23 months when they ask how old you are; and then add "almost 2" as if they don't know how to do the math. Well, now I can just say you're 2!

So what have you been up to leading up to your Amazing Two. 

You took you first trip out of the country, where you took the liberty to throw up all over mommy on the plane. The last time that happened, you had a stomach bug. I'm glad that isn't the case this time but boy, did you give me a grand welcome to Bahamas.

You can take off your shoes and put them in the right place, which you do every day after school.

You're learning to say your name. For now, it's either Ana or nanaAna:) you'll get there.

You are becoming more independent every day. Not wanting me to do things for you even when I try to or offer to. You won't let me carry you up and down the stairs, you have to do it by yourself with the help of the railings and you're pretty good at it. Although, your little feet are tired by the time you make it up or down.

 

You won't let me feed you which I'm perfectly okay with. With the exception of times when I have you dressed ready to go out and I don't want you to spill anything on yourself; in that case, we fight for a minute and then compromise, which means me guiding your hands.

You love bubbles and love saying Apple, although you won't eat it.

You really enjoy going down the slides at the park or anywhere that has one. That's your favorite. Getting you to stop to go home is always a challenge.

The swing on the other hand, you hate. To get you in is a struggle and once you're in, well, the whole park knows we're there.

You've made some new friends and I'm sorry to make you leave them and start all over again. But, hopefully, this is it for a while. No more school changes.

You love your new school. You're always excited to see me in the afternoon but not in a hurry to go home. You always want to play just a few more minutes and do some clean up (putting the toys away), because that's just who you are and sometimes I just have to drag you out of there.

You love to sing; in the car, on the plane and when taking a walk. Your favorite right now if "rain rain, go away..." We had a rainy week some weeks ago and now every time you see an umbrella or anything that reminds you of the rain, we sing.

You love to sing with mommy, if you start singing and I don't join, you stop and call mommy mommy mommy...till I join in.

You love books and love to read. You bring mommy a book, sit on my lap and ask me to read to you over and over again.

You can be very dramatic! 

We love you honey!

 Looking forward to a year full of wonders!