on the record - sally fazeli

On the Record with Sally Fazeli

I want to start a feature segment on my blog that will highlight some people that I find interesting, that I love, that I connect with, that I feel inspire me and those that I think my readers would also like to get to know as well. This feature segment will be called “On The Record.” There will not be a specific time that I will be posting these features. It will just come and go throughout this blog as I please. I am very selective on what I want to showcase on my blog and this is no exclusion. I hope you all will love my selections and my choices in having these lovely people sprinkle their words and images throughout my blog on occasion!

My first “on the record” feature is Sally Fazeli. She is an “insta-mama”, a fellow blogger, and a beautiful person inside and out.

One thing is for sure, I love the Mommy community online. It is my getaway from the every day snot and poopy diapers. These women get.me. And another thing is definite, I have always secretly not so secretly, wanted to live in the UK. I love their accents, how they use the word “mum”, their style… oh yeah… their style…and fast food just sounds so much nicer being called a “takeaway.” I’m quite the “royal follower.” And if its the royals that I am staying up with it is my other favorite UK family; none other than Mrs. Sally, her son Hugo and her husband Ayman. Her Instagram feed is beautiful, clean, cohesive – something I can never grasp to do with my own feed. She inspires me. I hope within this next post you will fall in love with her and her little family as well. And just wait till you get to hear what her husband thinks of her!

Sally Fazeli

Sally Fazeli in 20…ish questions and her honest and humble answers.

I’m 27 very nearly 28, I love chocolate, I like to put a couple of spoonfuls of nutella on a plate and sometimes a bit of peanut butter too, melt it in the microwave and then lick the plate clean… don’t judge until you’ve tried it yourself! Zara is my favourite shop and for Hugo too. Since being a mum I haven’t really watched TV unless Baby TV counts? I like having nice nails it makes the rest of me feel better. Houmous and sweet chilli sauce are my favourite condiments I generally put with any meal. I’m gluten free so Pizza Express has become my favourite restaurant because they do THE best gluten free pizzas. Beyonce fullstop. Oversized jumpers and wavy hair are slowly becoming my trademark look. I love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind and he’s blessed me with most incredibly handsome husband and gorgeous little boy that makes my life complete until more babies come along hehe.

Sally Fazeli

1.) UK Living – Let us in on your living quarters!

We’re living in a cute three bedroom semi-detached house in a village in Lancashire which is North West of England. I love the area but I would absolutely LOVE a bigger house especially when we start thinking about bambino number two! As I grew up in this area I do feel pretty settled still living around here but I do find myself getting curious about other areas and even other countries.

2.) Do you have any siblings?

Yes I have two sisters and four brothers, (some are half) I have a very big family which is ever increasing with all my nieces and nephews too! I would say that I’m closer to my mum especially since I grew older as it turned into more of a friendship. My dad mostly lives in the Dominican Republic so I don’t get to see him very much these days.

3.) What is your most vivid memory as a child?

This is a tough one, I remember always making up dances and performing them for my family.

4.) What did you do as a career before becoming a Mama?

I was in my family business, managing our Pandora jewellery store. We also have two other jewellery stores and an online jewellery store.

Sally Fazeli

5.) What motivates you daily?

Hugo definitely, I want him to see and experience the world and I love sharing this with him at the moment.

6.) If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?

I’d love to stay in one of those huts in the sea somewhere like Bora Bora like in the Kardashians haha. I just think it looks so amazing and we could play in the sand and sea all day, everyday.

Sally Fazeli

7.) What do you like to focus your “free time” on?

Something which I don’t have very much of these days but I enjoy having some devotional time. I have a prayer journal which I write in and it’s amazing when I look back and see how God has answered prayers in ways that I would never have thought possible. It helps me to keep looking at life from a different perspective and to not take life for granted. I always want to be grateful for what I have and stay in tune to what really matters in life.

Sally Fazeli

8.) How was your pregnancy?

Well it was a surprise when I found out that I was expecting as we weren’t trying but it turned out to be the biggest blessing in my life and the most perfect timing! I was very nauseous up until 17 weeks and then felt great up until the last few weeks where I got that nauseous feeling back again. I had different spells of a few things  like a trapped nerve in my back, really puffy feet and ankles but all in all I think I was lucky to have a pretty good pregnancy. I did put on three stone which wasn’t so great but probably my own fault for eating so much chocolate, well that and Hugo was 10lbs!

9.) Do you breast feed, co-sleep, use cloth diapers?

From the minute Hugo was born, I was lucky to have him latch on straight away and I’m still breast feeding him now being five and a half months. Over the last two weeks I introduced an ‘Aptamil Hungry Baby’ formula feed to see if it helped him sleep longer at night. However at the moment it’s different every night sometimes he goes six hours and then the next night he might be up every two hours. I’m going to start weaning him more in two weeks. We put him in his own room when he was about four months as he seemed to settle better in his cot at night.

Sally Fazeli

10.) What would you say your current style is or that you resonate with? Minimalist, modern, vintage, funky?

I like a real mix of different styles, I would say that my house has got a slight Moroccan vibe to it however since being on Instagram all I see are minimalist homes and I can feel myself starting to fall in love with that kind of style too- maybe for my next house ;). Although I do like a house to have character and to have that lived in feeling if you know what I mean. On a fashion front I love minimalism, delicate pieces of jewellery teamed with an oversized shirt or jumper however in the summer I’m all about that boho vibe!

11.) How did you meet your beloved?

We first met outside a takeaway on a night out, he offered me some of his chips but that was it much to my dismay (I couldn’t stop thinking about him). After that we bumped into each other another two times and on the third time outside the same takeaway he asked for my number. He asked me on a date and the rest is history. I would actually say it was love at first sight as cheesy as that sounds!

Sally Fazeli

12.) How long have you been married for?

Three years on March 24th but together 10 years in November that’s one whole decade!

13.) If you could to back to your pre-baby self, what is one thing that you would tell YOU?

Ooh this is tough…maybe to not buy as many baby clothes because they’re in and out of them so quickly and he hasn’t worn quite a lot of outfits. Also to not put so much pressure on yourself as a mum as you’re doing the best job ever and every baby is different!

14.) What is one thing that you want to be known for?

Sharing happiness and uplifting others especially women!

15.) Your favorite part (so far) about being a Mama?

All the kisses and cuddles I get everyday. I love how he tells me he loves me even though he can’t talk properly… his eyes and whole facial expression say it all!

Sally Fazeli

16.) Your little just went down for the night, whats the first thing that you do?

Haha at the moment I go and make myself a milky decaf latte and catch up with emails and my tick list of to do’s like this. A perfect night would be to leave my phone upstairs and snuggle up to my husband watching a  movie or catching up on life or something.

 

17.) Let us in on your Instagram life.

I think I’ve had Instagram for just over two years now and low and behold I was addicted to it straight away. Ever since I was little I’ve been obsessed with taking photos, I used to buy those throw away cameras and get the photos printed and stick them all over my bedroom wall. My wallpaper would literally be photos. So it was no surprise that I loved Instagram as much as I do now. I see it as my little artist palette, I look at my feed and think right I need something not so fussy there or a close up next, the list goes on. My followers definitely motivate me as I feel so uplifted everyday on IG. I do have moments where I ask myself I should be putting Hugo on it so much and l get scared about the negatives… however so far the blessings that come from Instagram far outweigh any negatives I have. This will always be ongoing battle for me though… is it right, is it wrong as sooooo many mums do it?!

 

18.) And the images on your Instagram?

I take the majority of them, close ups of Hugo and I, I’ve often taken as a selfie I hate to admit it but sometimes I use a selfie stick too haha, far away photos my husband takes. We’re both not photographers but through trial and error I guess we’ve both sharpened our skill set slightly. I hope to inspire other mums with my photos and to be as open as I can in my journey of motherhood. I find if I’m going through anything like sleep deprivation, other mums are so supportive on there and I’ve received some great tips. Your last question is an interesting one though and one that I’d actually love to find out from my followers… what do they see? What do they get from my Instagram? I honestly love my IG community, it’s like having friends all around the world that inspire and make me smile on a daily basis.

 

19.)  And lastly, ask your husband what your 5 best qualities are about you and let’s hear what he says!

AMAZING MAMA – She’s taken to motherhood like a duck to water. Even when times are hard and she’s exhausted, she still remains really upbeat and positive. And she’s such a stylish mama! It makes me very proud to see how she is with Hugo.
COMPASSIONATE – Sally has an amazing heart. She’s exceptionally kind, caring and loving, and always seems to leave a lasting impression on people.
DEDICATED – I truly admire her drive and determination. When she sets her mind on something, she does it. She’s a doer, which often puts me to shame! If she says she’s giving up chocolate, she does it. When she sets ambitious targets at work, she meets them. If she says she wants to do a workout even when she’s tired, she’ll do it. She has great self-discipline.
FAITHFUL – She’s a faithful and spiritual Christian with a real heart for God. I believe her Christian upbringing has helped form her into the incredible woman she is today and this often shows in her morals, strength and the way she conducts herself.
BEAUTIFUL – Maybe it’s wrong of me to describe her beauty as a ‘quality’ but I can’t help it; she’s just a wonderful and stunningly beautiful person inside and out!

Sally Fazeli

How adorable was that?! 

 

If you would like to follow Sally, here is how you can reach her!
Be sure to check out her amazingly beautiful blog as well!

 

Images on this post are property of Sally Fazeli.
Please contact Sally with the above links for any questions relating to this post.

 

xoxo,
TheSentimentalMama_blue_300dpi
Bre. Geiger