• Home
  • About
  • A Little Bit of Love
    • Manifest
    • Travel
    • Dreams
    • Relationships
    • Thoughts in motion
    • Experiences
    • Less Talk
    • Motivation
    • Love
    • More Action
    • Late night
    • Life
  • Why Didn’t You Warn Me?!
    • WDYWM Podcast

lipstickandblackcoffee

~ To A Life Worth Living xo

lipstickandblackcoffee

Tag Archives: Christmas

I Made It

Featured

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Aging gracefully, Birthday, Christmas, depression, End of year, Happy birthday, life, Manifestation, New Age, new year, Pandemic

33 held so much for me. I felt like I couldn’t fully exhale for a few reasons.
Give or take the inaccuracies of reported history, Jesus was 33 when he ascended. My late friend was also 33 when he ascended. And a small part of me had come to anticipate that this too could be my fate.

The title ‘Fight For My Life’ was up for grabs and I had to fiercely defend it. Silently I won many rounds, but I was also unequivocally defeated in too many to count. For a few, all I could do was hold on.

With some bruising, I feel triumphant, not for any other accomplishment than simply being here to mark entering a new age.

I wasn’t going to celebrate it in any fashion because the pandemic-transitioning fatigue is catching, quite literally. But I had a thought; things could be vastly different next year and you’d hate to look back wistfully, wishing you had done something, anything, to celebrate something that in actuality is quite remarkable. 

You probably feel like you were in the trenches too. After all look at the saga, still. Celebrate yourself too.

Here’s to “What’s in store for 34?!’ 
Happy Birthday to Me!
Xo

Download 33 Powerful Affirmations and Confirmations for FREE here

33 Powerful Affirmations and ConfirmationsDownload

Accelerate Your Life–A Guide and Workbook to Making Richer Choices was created to support you in moving full steam ahead. Now that the fog has started to clear, it’s time to take things back into your own hands.

Purchase Accelerate Your Life Here
£4.99

Accelerate Your Life–A Guide and Workbook to Making Richer Choices was created to support you in moving full steam ahead. Now that the fog has started to clear, it’s time to take things back into your own hands.

Accelerate Your Life Guide & WorkbookDownload
Lessons Learnt

CAN YOU HEAR YOURSELF?

The constant chatter is overwhelming. One person says this, another person says that. Your mum says it’s this way, your brother says it’s the other. Then there’s the people who love to be contrarian with no actual thoughts of their own, just adept at piggybacking off what a group of people might agree upon and finding a …

Continue reading →

December 13, 2021
Lessons Learnt

Cloudy With A Chance Of…

One day you’re fine, life is good and the air is filled with prospects that you could almost pluck them like the squiggly lines you see when you look at a blue sky. The following day however, you’re freezing your bits off, your umbrella is inside out and the contents of your bag have just …

Continue reading →

December 6, 2021
Life

The Improbable Is Still Possible 

Improbable–not likely to be true or to happen.I saw a TikTok of a guy doing the improbable. Getting two basketballs into a hoop using a crutch, throwing a CD into a moving Wii console, releasing ping pong balls with the aim of reaching various points and so on.   It was fascinating to watch. In a different …

Continue reading →

December 2, 2021December 2, 2021

Cloudy With A Chance Of…

Featured

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Lessons Learnt, Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, Christmas, Dark Space, depression, life, Mental Health, Monday Motivation, Space

One day you’re fine, life is good and the air is filled with prospects that you could almost pluck them like the squiggly lines you see when you look at a blue sky.

The following day however, you’re freezing your bits off, your umbrella is inside out and the contents of your bag have just tipped all over the wet, gum filled floor. You feel as if the wind has been knocked out of you and you’re gasping for that same air. It is bleak.
If it was possible to re-enter the womb, you would. 
How did we get here? Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason as to why things rapidly change internally for us, but what is important to remember, is that it is not permanent.

When the grip feels firm and it’s hard to see a way out, look up, as this too shall pass. 
You can point to any previous year or era of your life and recall that you once thought you wouldn’t make it out of this phase. And you did.

I looked back at journal entries from a couple of months ago and I saw evidence of good days, great plans and wonderful imaginations. It was a reminder that no matter how crappy the current moment is or what obstacle exists, it is not here to stay and things will always get better.

Xo

Download 33 Powerful Affirmations and Confirmations for FREE here

33-powerful-affirmations-and-confirmationsDownload

Accelerate Your Life–A Guide and Workbook to Making Richer Choices was created to support you in moving full steam ahead. Now that the fog has started to clear, it’s time to take things back into your own hands.

Purchase Accelerate Your Life Here
£4.99

Get a head start on drawing nearer to you, the life of your imagination! Seize opportunities now by using this guide and workbook to Accelerate Your Life!

Accelerate Your Life Guide+ WorkbookDownload
Life

I Made It

33 held so much for me. I felt like I couldn’t fully exhale for a few reasons.Give or take the inaccuracies of reported history, Jesus was 33 when he ascended. My late friend was also 33 when he ascended. And a small part of me had come to anticipate that this too could be my …

Continue reading →

December 17, 2021
Late night

A Long Way From Home

Sometimes, it is necessary to look back. I randomly came across email exchanges from 14 years ago. What I saw shocked, embarrassed and made me laugh until tears fell. My verbal communication was abysmal. How did anyone ever engage in written conversation with me? and furthermore why? Were they nuts?! I didn’t go looking for …

Continue reading →

November 26, 2021November 26, 2021
Lessons Learnt

Treat It Like An Exam

Treat it like an exam. This came to me at 7:46am this morning.  I was pondering on the how’s of a particular thing. I quickly snapped out of it like a Raven Baxter premonition because the ‘how’ is none of my business. The ‘do’ is where it’s at. And by do, that means doing it …

Continue reading →

November 23, 2021

The Improbable Is Still Possible 

Featured

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Affirmations, Christmas, Confirmations, Enjoyment, Fasttrack, France, French, joy, new year, New Years Resolution, Paris, Realistic, Reality

Improbable–not likely to be true or to happen.
I saw a TikTok of a guy doing the improbable. Getting two basketballs into a hoop using a crutch, throwing a CD into a moving Wii console, releasing ping pong balls with the aim of reaching various points and so on.  

It was fascinating to watch.
In a different video he broke down how long each one took to achieve, most of them hours on end. Interesting. So it didn’t take him the first attempt to get it? Hmm. What about the second? Nope.
The third? No bueno. Fourth? Fifth? Sixth? No, no, no!
It took innumerable attempts to make the shot. This is what ‘dust yourself off and try again’ looks like.

We think of what we want as something so out of reach that we don’t even enter the game–Disqualify ourselves from the start line.
But what if like the video, we kept taking the shot, learning from the last attempt, and didn’t relent?

What we are often blind to, is that in a lot of situations we only need one viable shot to change the course of our lives. Just one.

I must remember this the next time I am in a French class, feeling overwhelmed, thinking how in the world will I learn this intricate, confusing, très difficile language; one word at a time.

xo

 Download 33 Powerful Affirmations and Confirmations for FREE here

33 Powerful Affirmations and ConfirmationsDownload

Accelerate Your Life–A Guide and Workbook to Making Richer Choices was created to support you in moving full steam ahead. Now that the fog has started to clear, it’s time to take things back into your own hands.

Purchase Accelerate Your Life Here
£4.99

Get a head start on drawing nearer to you, the life of your imagination! Seize opportunities now by using this guide and workbook to Accelerate Your Life!

Accelerate Your Life Guide + WorkbookDownload

Latest from the Blog

Accelerate Your Life

The New Year is fast approaching, and it’s the time many people begin to reflect and go over the year. It’s at this point that people panic and have great anxiety over what they did or didn’t do and resolve to do better…in the new year.Why wait, when you can get a headstart now. One …

Continue reading →

November 21, 2021November 23, 2021

Little Pockets Of Joy

Joy is usually reserved for the ‘big’ moments. Moments like a new car, house, engagement, pregnancy, job and the like. It’s also solely thought of as something that is given to you, rather than something you can cultivate for yourself. This is where Little Pockets of Joy comes in. I believe in en•joy•ment of the …

Continue reading →

November 16, 2021

Promise + Possibilities 

Promise– the quality of potential excellence.Possibilities– a thing that may happen or be the case. That we get to be here and experience a new week full of promise and possibilities is magical. I love that for us. Who knows what wonderful, delightful thing may happen to and for us. The promise within that, makes me …

Continue reading →

November 8, 2021November 8, 2021
Advertisements

Little Pockets Of Joy

Featured

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blogger, Christmas, enjoy, joy, life, Love, Mondaymotivation, peace, Wordpress

Joy is usually reserved for the ‘big’ moments. Moments like a new car, house, engagement, pregnancy, job and the like.
It’s also solely thought of as something that is given to you, rather than something you can cultivate for yourself. This is where Little Pockets of Joy comes in.
I believe in en•joy•ment of the mundane, typical, everyday stuff. Because if one day, those things ceased to exist, you’ll quickly realise how much of a gift and a joy it was to have.
Enjoy– ‘in joy’, i.e to be in the joy, to be present with it, to recognise its beauty and what it is to you.

I experience joy when I get underneath my duvet and to express this, I starfish like a maniac (you should try it), simply because I can.

I experience joy when I make a coffee or one is made for me. That first sip is pure pleasure–A hug in a cup.

I experience joy when my partner buys me baked beans from M&S in Central Paris, as it’s not really a thing here. I get to have an English breakfast.

I experience joy in solitude. Quiet time for me is where my energy bar is recharged.

I experience joy when I receive pictures and videos of my nephew. To see him grow is wonderful!

To put it plainly, joy is wherever I set it. It’s available to me and you, at any time and anywhere.

As you continue your week, e(i)n-joy what seems normal and ordinary, and you might find that it’s anything but.

#LittlePocketsofJoy

Xo

#LittlePocketsofJoy

LATEST POSTS

Winning in Real Life

Successful 1. accomplishing a desired aim or result. 2. having achieved fame, wealth, or social status. The media will have you believe that houses, cars, money, having a partner, and followers are the epitome of success. We inherently know this isn’t true, yet we still uphold them as markers of significant value. We yearn to have …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim November 5, 2021

Follow Through

When I thought of today’s word, I’d already accepted that I had very little of it. Routines and monotony are not my strong suits. And then I looked up the definition and I was surprised. It’s shifted my perspective and has given me food for thought. We use discipline to strictly imply no stick-to-it-ness, but it’s official meaning …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim November 4, 2021

Self vs Self

Ego–A person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.A slippery slope or protective armour? I’d it’s both. It’s also described as the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity. The ego is accused of many things, namely in negative outcomes, …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim November 3, 2021

Easy Breezy

When the sky cries and the sun smiles, a ray of colourful light is a reminder of their alliance; to dance always.  Easeful–Providing comfort or peace.Nature gives me that. It works in order, at its own pace void of who, what, where and when.  Trees do not struggle to grow nor wonder how will they grow, …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim November 2, 2021

Loading…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

A Little Joy

03 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Lessons Learnt, Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2020, Celebration, Christmas, Christmas Decor, France, happiness, inspiration, joy, life, Lockdown, Love, Motivation, Paris, Quarantine

I cannot remember the last time I decorated my home for Christmas. My family, at least the younger lot, aren’t fussed with Christmas much to my dismay. How and why don’t you love it?!?

Keeping up the Christmas cheer when others around you are not enthusiastic about it, has been challenging and ultimately demotivating. As a result my festive spirit waned over the years. Bah hambug!

This year is different. Maybe it’s because I’m away from home and in a new home, but I decided that given everything that has happened, creating a little joy in our place was necessary.

Saturday was the first day of the non-essential shops reopening, and having spent the last few weeks only going to the supermarket and straight back home, I was itching to get out and do other normal things, albeit with a mask on.

We spent the day deciding on Christmas decor; should we get a white tree? a green one? a snow Christmas tree? tinsel? a Christmas plant? decorative Christmas window stickers? Yes. Yes to everything.

That evening we put the tree together. It looked small and scrawny.
We spent the first few seconds after erecting the tree laughing at how uncharismatic and un-christmas it looked. Um did we make a mistake going for this tree?

Before

A can of fake snow, tinsel, glittery green and gold baubles and LED lights later, we had a semblance of healthy-ish and joyful looking tree. Results! (Still a work in progress)

Christmas Decorations
After

The warm and inviting ambience the lights create as it subtly illuminates the room, gives me instant joy and is a reminder that good and wonderful things exist. I’m glad I didn’t succumb to being the Grinch this year, as 2020 really doesn’t need any help with that!

My point is mark the occasion, no matter how little or who likes it or doesn’t, curate a little joy for yourself.
xo

This is it currently 🙂

LATEST POSTS

A November to Remember

1.11.21 I love the first day of the month, especially when it lands on a Monday. For each day this week I’ll be posting a word to ponder on.  Today’s word is:Detach 1. disengage (something or part of something) and remove it.2. leave or separate oneself from (a group or place). For me, this means letting go of …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim November 1, 2021

Belief–An Acceptance That Something Exists

I made myself stupid. Hear me out. Years ago, because of an unhealthy level of expectation I placed on myself (which stemmed from comparison), I would harshly judge what I said and how I said it. I would go over every minute detail and pick myself apart mentally, with the underlying message being you’re not …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim October 26, 2021

WDYWM?! Episode 10–My Life In Paris

This episode is about my experience of being a Black Brit who moved from London to Paris in a pandemic. I discuss having covid, language barriers and general challenges of integrating into a new society.

by Irene Ephraim October 21, 2021

Forgive–To Cancel a Debt.

Nothing is more important than what you choose to do with the breadth of your life. To not forgive is to rob yourself of a life you deserve. …but alas it is you that has been sentenced to a life in prison.  Unforgiveness* is a treacherous con artist because it deceives you into thinking you’re …

Continue reading →

by Irene Ephraim October 19, 2021

Loading…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

What 2009-2019 Taught Me.

27 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Lessons Learnt

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blogger, Christmas, Decade, Life Lesson, new year, Taught, Tips, writer

Before you receive an onslaught of all the decade stuff, I thought I’d quickly slide mine in there and share some of the things I’ve learnt over the last 10 years.

I started this decade as a 22 year old, who didn’t know shit, still doesn’t, ha! Anyway, without further ado, here they are:

  1. Love can be simple and it can be complicated. It’s also not meant to be an exact replica of others, it should however, be and feel good.
  2. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, working on them/you does.
  3. Forgiveness is essential and not an option. Your health, relationships and life need it.
  4. It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.
  5. Take risks, especially the ones that make you want to vomit. You either love it or you’ll learn from it.
  6. Make your own rules. You’re the boss of your life.
  7. Speak up. Clear your throat, take a deep breath and say it. Not saying it, is costly.
  8. One size does not fit all. Your life is meant to be colourful and full of character (including characters). You’re breathing, so let it do it’s thing and go with the flow where you can.
  9. Let it all go. People, jobs, ideals.  Free yourself and be better.
  10. Give. To yourself first, then to others. That way you’ll always be at your best.
  11. There are upsides to every downside, there are downsides to every upside, and to experience anything good you have to embrace all of it

Bonus: We’re all just figuring it out. The above is what I’ve figured out so far and truthfully in the next year/decade it will change. That’s life.

What are some of the things you have learnt over the last decade?

xo

P.s If I don’t write to you before the new year, have a wonderful New Year! xo

This is 30!

21 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Birthday, Celebration, Christmas, December, Dinner, Family, Friendship, growth, Lessons, new year, Party, Progress, Thirty

I wish I could give you a play by play of everything that has been happening over the past few weeks but we’d be here forever. A few words to describe it would be a rollercoaster of emotions, testing and exciting.

At times it felt like a line from Mary Mary’s Shackles ‘everything that could go wrong, all went wrong at one time’. I couldn’t catch a break. For every disappointment, I steamrolled my way forward, refusing to stop, just dusting myself off and keeping it pushing. Of course there is only so long you can continue on that path until it all falls down, and that came the day before my birthday, a few hours before my dinner party. My emotions boiled over and momentarily a dam broke. Fortunately, I didn’t have the capacity to wallow in it because I had a dinner to be at, and not just any dinner at that, MY 30th birthday dinner.

The dinner was amazing! I am so fortunate to have had great people to help organise, plan and oversee the proceedings of the day as I could not have done it without them. It’s a huge blessing to also have friends and family that would show up and I’m incredibly grateful.

IMG_3041IMG_3072

IMG_3075

What do I think so far about being 30? It’s been 3.5 days and its too soon to have a fully formed answer to this, but so far, it feels like a coming into something new. I have renewed energy to appreciate the things that I have and to make even better what I have been given. Ironically,  I also feel like the baby of the next decade (lol) which is great and I don’t feel so “old”.

I’m excited about what’s next and looking forward to the year ahead. I want to be able to say this time next year “What a difference a year makes” in the most wonderful way.

What do you want to say this time next year?

Xo

 

 

 

Hey Copycat! Results may differ

14 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life, More Action, Thoughts in motion

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

2017, Authentic, blogger, Christmas, Copycat, lifestyle, New me, new year, Original, Wordpress, writer

This topic was a bit of a tricky one to articulate but I hope you get it.

This journey you are on called life, is tailored specifically just for you. It takes into consideration your strengths, weakness, gifts, abilities, environment, circumstances and everything in between. There is no other life like it and your only goal is to make the most of it, multiply whatever you have, be impactful and do your best to thrive. You cannot be duplicated, which means you cannot do the same to someone else. So no matter how alike you and someone else’s life might seem, yours is made just for you.

Okay now that’s out of the way, let’s get on with the rest of it.

We, humans of this planet (said in James Earl Jones voice), are all connected, so of course we’ll share similarities and certainly have things in common but be the same? And have the exact same experiences? Nope, sorry, not going to happen.

There is no harm in having people that you look up to, is there? I personally think it is good to have role models and be inspired by them, yet there is the danger that you’d want to replicate all that they do so that you can experience the same things they do, even though in practice it doesn’t always work out. Whether it is principles, products, services, formulas and the like, you have to be mindful that what works for them, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you. How many times have we done what someone else did and it didn’t quite have the same effect?

Life is not a one size fits all and it never will be. Sure there are some fundamental principles that reign supreme and always will, however, it is about tailoring it to make it applicable to your life. You have to keep working towards figuring out what works for YOU and stick with it until it has fully served its purpose.

Whatever you implement into your life that someone advises or did themselves, remember that you are not the same person and the results may differ, so STOP comparing yourself- It’s killing your vibe.

It’s like doctors say, do not share your prescription with anyone, even if the symptoms sound the same. The reason is because that person might have an underlying condition/allergy that can cause the medication to have adverse effects.

I have been blogging for over two years and there are people who started blogging this year, who have much more subscribers than I. Damn right I thought, “what the hell?!” I write that good stuff and think what I have to say is valuable, why don’t I have an increased amount of readership?

Here’s the thing, my purpose, goals, training, are completely different to anyone else’s. Whatever I don’t have yet, I choose to see it as I am being taught how to cultivate it by way of the lessons life teaches and wills me to learn. If, for example, I received ten thousand readers a year ago, maybe I would not have the discipline I have now. In fact I know I probably wouldn’t have, I might have been like ‘ahh yeah I’ll blog when I can’ but now, there is no way I would ever devalue those that take an interest in what I write and find it useful. What if I am not supposed to have a large amount of readers and this is it for me in this area? Well if that is the case that it is serving its purpose one way or another, whether I know it or not. It may even be preparing me for something wholly different.

When we pay attention to what someone else is doing we lose focus, will and control over our lives. Focus on you, that’s the only way to get the best results.

Know that your life is not to be mirrored; it is to be authentic, original and yours truly.

XO

Why Didn’t You Warn Me?!

Why Didn't You Warn Me?!

Why Didn't You Warn Me?! is a podcast speaking on the things you should know, but don't. The things you typically find out after the fact, and it's sometimes too late. Fear not, Why Didn't You Warn Me?! with Irene aka Lipstick, will give you the 411 through story-telling, conversations, and refreshing perspectives.

© Copyright © lipstickandblackcoffee 2021

  • Listen on Apple Podcasts
  • Podcast RSS Feed

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • lipstickandblackcoffee
    • Join 266 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • lipstickandblackcoffee
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...