HOW TO: Spend Valentine’s Day as a Single Lady or Mom

·       

·      Get chocolate. Who says you need someone to buy it for you? Get a box of chocolate and enjoy it. Chocolate releases endorphins in the brain to make you feel good! So a little chocolate will actually improve your mood and make you feel better.

·      Spend time with those you love. Instead, spend time with different kind of love - your friends and your family. See a movie with some friends, eat dinner at the local diner with a handful of family, whatever you do, love is love, and Valentine's Day is there to represent it. You don't need to be in a romantic relationship to enjoy V-day.

·      If you just got out of a bad relationship, a great idea of what to do for yourself is, make it a "Pamper Day" or an "All About You Day". Go spend some money on yourself. It's good to be a little selfish now and then. And when you see those red heart decorations or you hear a love song, think of yourself, and how much you love yourself.

·      Use Valentine's Day as an actively seek a partner day, so many places put on singles evenings so get your girlfriends or male friends together and head for a singles party. Who knows who you might meet?

·      Whether it’s George Clooney or Johnny Depp, spend the night with your ultimate celeb crush. Rent a handful of his movies and treat yourself to an eye.

·      Organize a Secret Admirers gifting sesh, à la Secret Santa: You and a group of friends draw names and then deliver items like chocolates, flowers, and teddy bears to each other. That way everyone can have a Valentine...

·       Ask a guy friend out for a platonic date and split a meal at a tasty restaurant. Make a game out of your dinner discussion by looking around the restaurant at all the couples (there will be a ton!) and guessing which ones will actually last, based on their body language.

·      Go see a live show … Even if you live in a small town, there's always a local band playing somewhere! If you don't want to see theatre, why not check out a comedy, variety or performance? Lots of big cities have special events on Valentine's Day for the brokenhearted.

·      Have a Fondue Party… The best part about Valentine's Day isn't the lovey-dovey stuff - it's the chocolate. And there's no funner way to eat chocolate than fondue. You just melt some down and dip whatever you want into it! Here's an easy recipe for peanut butter chocolate fondue. Cook it up, prepare some stuff to dip and enjoy it with a couple of friends.

·      Valentine's Day is all about love, and nothing spreads the love faster than a little volunteer work. Find a place to volunteer or just spend some time with an elderly relative. After all, if you can't find a date, you'd might as well make all of your romantically-inclined friends feel shallow. (Just kidding.)

·      Cross something big off your bucket list (or start one!) Let your adventurous side run free and choose a new experience to try for the first time. Something with an adrenaline rush would make for a fun experience; things like bungee jumping or skydiving are good options for a one-day activity.

HOW TO: Be Better at What you Do

Here are five shortcuts to fame that work:

Tip #1: Throw yourself up the learning curve. 

Every worthwhile endeavor has a steep learning curve. If you want to have success as a writer, you need to learn how to create a compelling story. If you are a blogger, you need to learn how to write a blog post that can go viral. Make sure that you learn what has made others successful. Money spent on education and training is always a good investment. And if you can snag a mentor on your learning journey – you’re already half-way to fame.

Tip #2: Hang out where you can be spotted. 

One of the sure-fire ways to fame is to be endorsed by an expert in your field. You can see how that works when you read the blurb on the back of books. Be discovered and endorsed by a leading exponent, and you are on the fast track to fame. But how to get discovered? It’s simple. You need to figure out where the experts hang out and join them there

Tip #3: Be insanely useful.  

Being helpful is the main reason behind any success. It’s the same with most people in the limelight: their journey usually started with consistent relation with people ‘there’ and also how much they can offer. So, find someone you can look up to plus be insanely helpful to others in your field too!

Tip #4: Grab opportunities as they flit past.

The Internet is a place of fast change. Opportunities only come around once. If you’ve built a connection with an expert and they ask for help, say “yes” – even if you are over-committed and unpaid. 

Tip #5 Use ‘vitamin’ C in high doses.

Vitamin C is something that aids vitality. But I don’t mean pills here. C stands for Connection. Because connection is what makes opportunities happen on the Internet. How can you connect? Start with your end of the conversation. If the expert you want to connect with is on Twitter, send him or her regular Tweets with relevant comments. If it’s a blogger you want to connect with, comment on her or his blog. In time the expert will notice you, and a connection will form. Once you’ve forged a connection, make sure that you’re insanely helpful. Meet good fortune half way – and don’t sit around, waiting for it to find you. 

HOW TO: 9 Ways to get a Fresh Start

11.    Clear out your Google reader, cull your Facebook & Twitter friends, & unsubscribe from a few mailing lists.

22.    Take it a step further & give your email account a really good scrub-down! Delete all those old messages from ex-boyfriends, as well as notifications from eBay, Twitter or Facebook.

33.    Clean out your wallet, purse &/or handbag(s). Put all your receipts into some kind of filing system.

44.    Grab a big piece of paper & start to write down all your hopes & dreams. DREAM BIG. Write down all the cities you’d like to visit, the hotels you’d like to stay in, the people you’d like to befriend & the things you’d like to own.

55.    ...Better yet, have a “dream date” with one of your best friends! Drink wine or tea together, & allow your minds to drift & ponder the things you’d like to make happen in 2014.

66.    Change your passwords. I’m sure a lot of us are using the same old passwords we’ve had since the very first time we signed onto the internet, & I love the idea of leaving them in the past!

77.    Pick up a new day-planner which makes your heart sing! It’s almost impossible to be organised when you’re trying to keep everything straight in your head (unless you are blessed with a photographic memory!). Writing things down is seriously the only way I ever manage to get anything done!

88.    Resolve to make one BIG change to your appearance in 2014. Maybe you could get a new haircut or colour, take out a piercing or totally switch up your style… Whatever it is, keep it a secret! It’s always so much fun to walk into your house or place of work looking like a totally different person!

99.    Stock your kitchen! There are few things more satisfying than opening the fridge or pantry to see a magical cornucopia of delicious food & beverage options. I’m not a good food shopper — I put it off & barely have enough food in the house to scrape together the next meal — so when I do actually make it to Wholefoods, I appreciate it the next day!

Back to the Matter - 5 Style Essentials for the 9-5 Gal

Lagos Fashion And Design Week 2013  MAI ATAFO #LFDW

Just like the title implies, it's time to get to the main matter - work, life and the career...It took me like five days to come up with this post - why? Because firstly, the title came to me within seconds but I didn't know what exactly to write about. I thought, maybe what it feels like getting back to office, how to set the mind back to work mood and finally closet staples to reconsider for the new year..

I came to conclusion, I'm clear on how I feel for the new work year and also clear on having a resolution or not. But something I'm sure I and most peeps out there are not sure they've cleared for the new year - is their style resolution.

I know my style, I know how I want to be seen/addressed style-wise but I desire a strong change for my work looks. For 2014 I want more strong looks, more like 'power' looks. Casual formal is permitted but in a matured way not girly.

Finally, I summarized it into five essential style items for the working lady *big smile*

The five include;

* The Jacket: No not the regular jacket, a monochrome or boyfriend jacket. Both will be essential for the always-necessary LBD and the tank and pants/pencil skirt looks.

Vogue Australia senior fashion editor Christine Centenera