Sandiside

The past week has been a whirlwind, it was Christmas, having family time, impromptu photo-shoot and thinking about New Year's resolutions. I am not going to lie, family Christmases and holidays can be awkward, teffric and dramatic all at once. Many people have said 2018 's Christmas holidays were definitely not like before. Maybe it is because we are adulting and realising that we do not need to spend a ridiculous amount of money for one day or spend beyond our means during this time of the year. Photographer- Siphesihle Mbhele. T Shirt- @_zeroapparael_ Photographer- Siphesihle Mbhele The last week of the year I spent it with family and friends, it included a photo shoot in the heart of Africa's richest square mile, Sandton. It was a learning experience, especially with a photographer who knows how to give direction and makes you feel comfortable. Photographer- Siphesihle Mbhele Photographer and film student Siphesihle Mbhele made it easy for m...

It was unexpected week. I honestly thought the first days to myself, no work, would just be rest. I was thinking of planning ahead into 2019 but my mind and body is not having it. I don't what it is, but when you have time to recharge, you become exhausted, I am tired all the time lately, sleepy, reading all day, and shopping here and there, including spending time with loved ones. Bona Magazine So I've decide, lets get into the festive mood. To get things going, Black Coffee's first annual Music is King concert. The superstar DJ announced his plans in September to bring the best local and international artist in a celebration of just music, hence the naming after his latest album. The Music Is King concert took place at the Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg on December 15. The line-up had the likes of Lady Zamar, Nasty C, Riky Rick, international producer extraordinaire Swizz Beatz, and a surprise performance by Mr Fill Up himself, Cassper Nyovest. Credit-T...

After being in the same space with some of the world's biggest artists, it took few days to take it all in. Metro As I write this now, a part of me was still incredulous that I saw Beyonce, Jay Z, Pharrell, Ed Sheeran, Trevor Noah, Sho Modjazi, Cassper Nyovest, Usher, Tyler Perry, Oprah and many more in one day. It has yet to sink in. My weekend was all about the Global Citizen festival. A group of us were working as volunteers for the event, as per usual in any event of this magnitude it is filled with stress, anxiety, exhaustion and a big sense of excitement. With an equally long day yet, it was worthwhile. I will not bombard you much with the nitty gritties to the lead up to the concert. However when we finally made our way into the stadium in the afternoon, I anticipated nothing but a world class experience. I must say our local artists represented South Africa well and stood on par with the international acts. So I missed half of The Carter's set, but I have ...

  Taking the Jump and being a dreamer This year has been a rollercoaster! This is the time of year when some of us do an introspective of ourselves, our growth, what have we accomplished? Where am I going in the coming year and did I save enough? I have been asking myself about the importance of being self-reliance  and taking the jump into being my own boss. It is an unpopular decision to take the leap without a back plan and leaving a position at work. Self-doubt and fear, as I have found are the killer of dreams. If you accept them as a barrier  you barely accomplish anything in life. I have been thinking quite a lot but not actually doing much. Initially I was going to delve into what I termed my ‘turmoil year', but one of my friend was like ‘what turmoil’? My friend lost two loved ones, a loss of income in this year alone, so what turmoil am I in? So put you big girl ...

Who am I? Possibly one of the most asked questions ever. We are defined by a number of things. Our appearance, what we do for a living, material possessions and our first impressions of the things around us among many other things. However, growing up in a middle-class African family, our hair has always mattered and not necessarily our Model-C accents, which supposedly helped us in what is considered to be, “former white spaces.” My hair – a trending topic of my entire being from my childhood. From my earliest memories, it was pretty clear to me that your hair is a focal point of your beauty.   We are either perceived clean or dirty; depending on how our hair as African girls looks like. Extreme as it may sound, if you think back to what happened at the Pretoria Girls High School when Eurocentric forms of beauty, which are the norm were challenged – your hair is expected to be relaxed or straight. My earliest memories where my hair was curled, coiled or in an afro...

Welcome to SandiSide, my name is Sandisiwe Mbhele, known by my friends as Sandi, I hope you see what I did with the name of the blog. I am a self-proclaimed liker of things and lifestyle, and a foodie, an opinionated, wannabe activist and this blog will be expressing the many sides of my life, whilst living in the city of gold, Johannesburg. I have had an inner battle the past year about who I am, what I want from my life, and where I am going, particularly after I graduated with a post-grad degree, and one year in my first full-time job. This blog is going to be my creative outlet and the many things that I love in my life. I will definitely touch on health and fitness and don't be surprised to see a few posts about politics or current affairs. One to also look out for in the future is entrepreneurship, giving blossoming new businesses the opportunity and space to showcase their work. In my many facets, I refuse to be boxed, I rather be a hat with many tricks up my sleev...