With kids or not with kids, that is the question.

Don't we all just love summer weddings? I love 'em, yes I do do do. My only other favourite thing is a destination wedding, lounging in the Sun, sand under your feet and drinking from breakfast till dawn ?, who can beat that? But home summer weddings are cheaper so let's stick with this one for now ?. I hadn't been to a wedding in a while as a guest, I am either photographing or planning behind the scenes so you can imagine my elation when I discovered I had two summer weddings to attend in 2017, I was over the moon. I love weddings, they are so refreshing and they take your mind off the day to day hustle and bustle of life. You have the time to reflect on your own marriage and relationships, almost like a Catholic baptism ceremony where you renew your vows every time you attend the christening of an infant. Based on this I see weddings as a little honeymoon for the hubby and I, we absorb and renew vows in our minds, we have a drink or two or three or four, who is counting anyways ?, we dance and are like teenagers again so I ain't gonna be mad if the kiddo is at home in his bed while mama and papa dance into the night.  So my ritual when I receive an invitation looks a bit like this: I scan the invition desperately looking for the part that says "KEEP YOUR DAMN KIDS AT HOME SO THEY DON'T WRECK MY WEDDING", If I don't see it immediately, I don't panic, nope,  I move on to plan B Call the bride and ask the suggestive question "Kids are completely banned from your wedding right?" Pinning my last hopes on a resounding "YES" so I can leave my bubba at home with a clear conscience. In this case it did not happen! The bride called me to tell me "there is a play area for the kids at the reception" ?, who cares ?. Ok then killjoy, I will bring him then gosh! *rolls eyes to the extent that I lost my contacts in there*. So now I knew I was taking my son I had to make some preparations that wouldn't have been necessary if someone just remembered to tell the printers to emboss "No kids, only jellof" on every invite ? 1. Prepare all outfits and back up outfits the night before (don't underestimate the power of time wasting kids insert into your morning of an important occassion) 2. Pack snacks. You  ever know when your next meal will come ? on that day so make sure you stock up on snacks, biscuits, crisps, fruit and carrot sticks, don't forget all the drinks your toddler would need. 3. Did I say pack extra clothes? Especially when there is white involved, there is bound to be an accident that will spoil your day. Pack spares  and spares of those spares 4. Be ready to entertain the lil munchkins.  Restlessness in the church doesn't mean they are not disciplined, it means they don't understand what is going on so they are not interested. Be ready to take them outside for some fresh air. Make them do some star jumps as well to expend some of that extra energy ? 5. Involve them in the wedding. Point interesting things out to them like details on the bride's dress, details on centre pieces and interesting outfits in the room, they will become more observant and perhaps less disruptive ?. I also make Jax talk to people sitting around him, kids, adults, whoever. Ipads and phones are a no no  6. Lastly pack pyjamas to change them into for the journey home because they are going to fall asleep after a long day. These are my tips and tricks for helping kids enjoy the day just as you do. I hope this helps somebody somewhere.  About this outfit This dress I spotted a while ago on Instagram and fell in love with it immediately. I am so proud to say this is by a progressive Nigerian designer DZYN. Statement sleeves have always been a trend I cherish and never have  sleeves made more of a statement than these. I got so many compliments that I felt like a princess. Dress  by Abuja based designer DZYN here  Shoes public desire here Accessories by ByOpaleye here Until next time buttercups

Taking you back to the basics…

I often get asked, what came first, buttercup the flower or Alero Buttercup, the super awesome blogger. This is my answer: One is spelt with a capital B and the other is not, so put some respek on my name and call it a day (blogger by day, spitter of rap lines at night). So how and why did I start blogging about fashion and lifestyle?  Let's start with the name Alero Buttercup. Alero is my first name and the name of an Oldsmobile Car  model that clearly hasnt sent my cheque in the post for using my name so freely and carelessly. Then  the Buttercup part which if you thought was a flowery girly symbol, well you are WRONG. Growing up I watched the power puff girls religiously and Buttercup was my favourite character. She was clearly a tomboy who had anger issues but who are we to judge?. She was fearless, bold and damn right the life of the party. I wanted to be her so bad that I kept her name at the back of my mind for a rainy day. In May 2015, in London the rainy day was finally upon us, as if possessed by Anna Wintour herself, I looked up to the heavy grey sky and thought, " I am starting my blog today". No pre planning, no thinking about it and definitely no confidence in my writing skills. Just like that the blog was born. Hubby put together a site for me in a day and I posted my first blog post. I wasn't always "into fashion", I spent all my university days looking like the 3rd member of the Kriss Kross duo. Big saggy pants, crop tops and a bandana would do most days. Although I dressed like a tomboy, I still looked good (I think) Then while on maternity leave I joined a blogger social media site called Pose. It was a platform for fashion bloggers to showcase style while tagging all items they were wearing. I started posting there but kept it a secret from friends and family,  not to get any negative feedback (blogging still wasn't something a lot of people I know understood back then). With the help of Pose, I started finding key fashion pieces with little or no effort, I fell in love with putting things together and playing dress up. That was the beginning of my fashion addiction. Why did I start my blog? Accountability. Yes. As mum's we make everybody else our priorities so often  that we can neglect ourselves. Three weeks post partum , I found myself sitting on the sofa and realised I hadn't taken a bath in 2 days, just as the thought entered my mind, my mum marches in with a bottle of relaxer, She was going to relax my hair and I had no say in the matter (the good old days of the creamy crack). I wasn't going to argue with a former hair salon owner that can still whoop my arse to be honest. That was when I knew that this was going to be a battle, accepting my new reponsibily of a little fur ball sitting in my lap, sucking me dry and looking my best simultaneously.  I needed to be accountable. No more wearing unflattering onesies to the supermarket, no more hiding my bad hair under hats and roaming the streets like a Russian spy on the streets of London. This was it. I was going to be more thoughtful with my fashion and show my passion to the world. Alero Buttercup was born shortly after. As time goes on, I hope I have been able through my blog to help, inspire and show ladies that motherhood and style can live in you simultaneously. Take time out for yourself and treat yourself good. About this outfit Hands up who thinks I was on a major trip when I put this outfit together ?. Well not everything needs to match, as a matter of fact nothing I have on matches but in my head they all seemed to go together, that's why I created this outfit.  It gives an interesting convo when you wear this to a birthday party. I am a big fan of mixing and matching, the more different they are, the more they seem to make a great outfit. This skirt is a no go area for most people because they can only envision it with a black top, you can wear this with most colours under the sky. My initial thought was to match it with a solid emerald green top I already own but I thought na, that's not crazy enough ?. Top tips for first time print clashers 1. Start slowly, mix florals and stripe and you will not go wrong 2. Mix the same print in different colours, that seems to work too 3. Think in your head, what solid colours harmonise well? It would work for prints too just make sure the base colours look good together and you are good to go. Missguided top old but this print here is similar and very pretty Asos skirt here for something a little more upscale, check out this Rixo skirt here Shoes old (Betsy Johnson) similar here Sunglasses Gucci Clutch bag similar here  Until next time Buttercups ??.

 

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