New Year's Eve

Hey folks! Trust you are all great

Been quite occupied with events, visits etc. I went for a christmas party a few days ago and guess who the surprise performer was??? BURNAA BOYYY!! When he was about to come on stage, he started talking through the microphone but we could not see him and he just appeared from nowhere. I thought I was going to pass out from extreme happiness. He was amazing and I loved his performance. I think he is such a great artist but not so sure about his personality. But hey you can not have it all! Shout out to Ore for this <3.

But that's not what this post is about. Today is reflection day. Going to go through some of my not-so-personal 2014 resolutions

1) Eat & drink right: This just had to be here, sweet tooth and all that jazz. I had to change up my  lifestyle. Happy to say I drink 4-5 cups of water a day now. I know it should be 8 ideally but hey rome was not built in a day! Also reduced my rice intake and this was not easy as I am in the land of rice, carbs in general.

2) Be fit: Funny how this became a major goal after I left uni. As I studied geology, I had a lot of field trips and they were tough. I can not remember how many mountains I climbed, did not sign up for that tbh but it had to be done. I discovered how unfit I was during these trips. Almost passed out on a mountain in France but that's a story for another day. Finally got my act together a few months ago. Not a gym addict yet but getting there.

3) Up to date with current affairs: I went for a interview a while back and I was asked some questions which I am too embarrassed to share and I was completely clueless. Had to make stuff up on the spot. Is it just me that gets a headache from reading nigerian newspapers especially thisday? There is just too much going on on all the pages. I'd rather read news online. Stories are mind blowing sometimes but have to be aware.

4) Lady like dressing: When I turned 21   22 this summer ( I am always stuck on past ages), I had to chuck out a few clothes. Tbh been chucking out before I moved back. I said goodbye to my plunge clothes. About the conservative look now but still wear my backless.

5) Self love: I decided that if there was something I did not like and it could be changed, it was time to work on it. No more wallowing in self pity.

That's all I will share right now.

I am thankful for life and good health
I am thankful for the lives of my family, friends and their families
I am thankful for the lost loved ones as I know they are resting, stress free and pain free
I am thankful for rejections and disappointments of this year as I know something bigger and better is coming
I am hopeful for what is coming as God said " For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end' (Jeremiah 29:11)

HAPPY NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE, BRING ON 2015 XXX

Boxing day + Restaurant Review: The Foundry

Hey folks! Boxing day celebrations anyone? Still had the annoying flu so not in a social mood. My friend Ore wanted to have a nice meal so I tagged along. The first time we went to the Foundry was her birthday in June and we were all impressed.

The foundry is at 288B Ajose Adeogun Street, VI. This is old rehab for those who are familiar with the clubbing scene.

First time we went, this is what we had:

 I had the italian cluck and something ( I can't remember). Which is pasta in a creamy sauce with seafood

 Tuke of tukesquest had this prawns meal. I can not remember what it was called

Ore (the birthday girl) had rice with chicken thai curry

What we had yesterday:

                                                        Ore's meal

 I was not so hungry. So I had the grilled prawns and fries

Buki had the Italian Cluck and something ( I don't remember).

Prices are quite decent here and their cocktails are great. Has anyone been here? xxx

For the love of food

Hey folks! This is quite late but Merry Christmas! I pray that as God has brought us all this far, He will see us through to the end of the year and to the new year, BIG AMEN to that! I am sure you have all been getting stuffed.

P:S: Stop reading now if you are hungry

Christmas day
I woke up with a bad flu so appetite was not so great but I was not going to deterred from eating. My aunty is a Christmas day baby so we always start the day at her house. This was our first Christmas without my grandma as she died in January and she was definitely missed. We all missed some of her famous comments such as- ' Why is your dress so short' " How many bottles of alcohol are you drinking' But we know she is resting now so even though we miss her, we are happy.

   Starter: Goat meat or seafood ( crab, prawns, fish and squid) pepper soup. As a seafood lover, this was a no brainer

Snack: Basmati rice, seafood Thai curry, smoked salmon and vegetables. You will understand why this was a snack soon

 Main course: Potatoes, Turkey, basmati rice, peppered snails, Seafood Thai curry, Chicken Thai curry, bacon sausage wraps, gravy and stuffing. Look at the size of that bird! I was defeated after my snack, flu took my appetite away sadly. But I was not going to let it destroy my dessert plans. Downed some medicine and I was good to go.

Dessert: Cupcakes from Hans and Rene and thesweetspotng. I had thesweetspots apple crumble cupcakes followed by apple crumble+ custard.

After this, it was a wrap for bumz! I could not eat at the other places we went to, just wanted to go home to my bed xxx

Dubai

Hey folks! Apologies for the silence. I went on a last minute trip which I shall be blogging about today.

Sadly I forgot my camera so we have to manage the iphone pictures. I travelled to dubai for a few days and it was the best way to end the year 2014 which I have had a love/ hate relationship with. First time I went to dubai was about 5 years ago and I definitely did not appreciate it as I do now. As I have said to a few friends 'what is london?'

*Pictures overload alert*

 On my first night, headed down to the Al Ghurair mall for dinner. We decided to have thai food at the Lemongrass restaurant. After Italian, Thai is a close second for me. Ordered the Pad Thai rice and a lemon drink. I know you are thinking I am coming from Nigeria -the land of rice but still decide to eat rice on holiday. I just could not resist but definitely no more rice after this. The food was great (no surprise here) and I loved my lemon drink.

Sign at the mall

Buki got this beautiful shot of their national flag. Yes those are inverted umbrellas, how cool is that?

                                                       What to have? What to have?

The story of Cinnabon! We discovered cinnabon on the mall guide and had to find it. Going to sidetrack abit- I thought nigerians were the worst at giving directions but was I wrong! Finally found cinnabon after various attempts. 

 Took these shots in the cab. Some cab drivers out there believe they are formula 1 racers. I am convinced! So many beautiful buildings but could not get good pictures unfortunately.

Next stop was the Dubai mall. When they say this is the world's largest shopping mall, best believe they are not lying. This mall is a nice mix of great restaurants and shops in London and America. Also had a massive aquarium, zoo and an ice skating rink. It was really beautiful.

 The aquarium. You need a ticket to get close to the aquarium. We found out how much tickets go for but as we do not love fish THAT much, moved on to the restaurants and shops.

With the mall guide in hand, set out to find my favourite shops. For those who know me well enough, of course Zara was my first stop. I could not stop smiling. The joy!

Outdoor and indoor fountains

                                                   My travelling companions <3

Fresh faced and worry free. The life!

Lunch at shake shack! We had the full works, burger+ fries+ milkshake. Unfortunately no oreo milkshakes but the vanilla was good enough. It was a wrap after this.

Daddy getting into his Ferrari so we can leave, hahaa.

Back to lagos struggle now. I had such an amazing trip and looking forward to the next one. Christmas day tomorrow! So excited and so many things to be thankful for. Merry christmas in advance!

Stole this from my aunty- I say a prayer for all those for whom earth has become a blanket. And for those of us for whom earth remains carpet, I pray that long may we roam a top it with peace, love and laughter xxxx

Lagos woes

This is a sad post. On my way to muson centre for Band Aid 2, a hit and run happened near me on the Lekki-Epe expressway.

As soon as it happened, passers-by moved the victim's body off the road. I got a glimpse of the body and it was so bad.

His body was moved to the side of the road. I can understand why some people would not want to help. Nigeria being Nigeria, a good deed can turn into a jail sentence. I have heard so many stories where people try to help people but hospital staff immediately assume it was the good doer that hit the victim. Also, who will pay for the medical bills? people are not that nice out here.

Ideally there should be free hospitals for accident victims etc/ clinics that offer free treatment. The Nigeria of my dreams will have that.

To the guy that was hit, I hope you made it. But if you did not, may your soul rest in peace. To the perpetrator, God help you.

Band Aid II

Hey folks! Hope you have all been good

Had a very busy week but I have great posts to share. My friend Tukesax of tukesquest acted in a play called Band Aid yesterday evening. The first showing was last christmas and I loved it when I went. This was my first play and I thought there are actually different things to do in lagos, just have to be aware.

I went to the showing yesterday as I did not go to the day detuke acted last year. I am soo proud of her. You could see how happy she was on stage with her sax. As I said in a previous post, if you have a profitable hobby, get serious with it asap! Managed to get some pics but they are not so clear sadly.

xxxxxxxx

Lasagne

Hey folks! Back with another recipe

I shall be sharing my lasagne recipe today. It is so easy to make. Sidetrack: I find it funny how some nigerians pronounce Lasagne (pronounced as LAH- ZAHN-YUH). I have heard LA-SAG and LA-SA-GENE lol.

Ingredients
Garlic, Onions, Oil, Mince meat, Barilla Lasagne, salt, black pepper, white pepper, white cheddar cheese, Gino tinned tomato paste, flour, powdered milk, nutmeg, butter and maggi.

 What your lasagne should look like (without the burnt bits of course)

METHOD
1) Put a large pot of salted water (1 small Tbsp salt + oil) on the stovetop on high heat. It can take a while for a large pot of water to come to a boil (this will be your sheets water), so prepare the sauce in the next steps while the water is heating.
2) Chop the onions and garlic. In a large skillet, heat a half/ 1 tablespoon of oil under medium heat. Add the mince meat and stir until it is brown on all sides.
3) Add the tomato paste and a small amount of water then stir. Add salt, pepper and seasoning (adjust amounts to taste).
You can decide to go crazy on this step by adding vegetables- carrots, sweet corn etc.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat to maintain a low simmer.  Cook for 15-45 minutes, stirring often. Scrape the bottom of the pot every so often so nothing sticks to the bottom and scorches.
Remove from heat.

4)By now the salted water you started heating in step one should be boiling. Add the dry lasagna sheets and cook them per package directions (al dente). (Note sheets may be cooked in advance) Stir often to prevent from sticking. Make sure that water is still boiling during the entire cooking to prevent sheets from sticking.

5) Grate the cheese and leave in a bowl

6) Final method. This is the hardest part and I would advice that you always do this LAST. 

Add 2 tbsp of flour+ 3tbsp of milk + a bit of water and heat. Mix then add salt, nutmeg, white pepper and butter. Mix, Mix, Mix for 5 mins. This is the white sauce. Try to avoid lumps.

In your baking dish, arrange the lasagne sheets on the bottom of the dish and cover with some of the sauce. Repeat this until all the sheets have been used and mince sauce is finished. BUT make sure you finish with the lasagne sheets. Spread the white sauce on the final layer of the sheets then sprinkle the grated cheese.

Bake at medium heat for 30-45 mins. Thank me later xxx

Hair Talk

Hi! I just realized I have never done a hair post. This is about to be corrected

When I was younger, I had really long luscious hair, mid-back length. However when I traveled to the UK for educational reasons, it all went downhill.When I moved back home (still not final), my hair was struggling to stay at arm pit length. I was introduced to nigerian hair bloggers that had waist length and my healthy hair journey began! It was a no brainer tbh. Also I like to know that if weaves, braids and wigs do not exist/ magically disappear, I can confidently leave my house with my natural hair. This is actually very serious. When I see some women at the salon without their wigs *shudder*

I was considering a 'big chop' to go natural but due to my texture problems, lack of guts & patience, the plan could not happen. I started following hair bloggers especially Lade of rehairducation because she has relaxed hair and I have noticed A LOT of improvement- growth and volume wise. I started my hair journey properly on the 1st of september 2014.

                BSBL stands for Below shoulder blade length

My hair is currently between arm pit length and bra strap length and is growing everyday. My goal for 2014 is bra strap length and I definitely see this happening ( will share pictures at the end of the year).

Summary of the changes to my hair regime:
1) On a particular wash day, I used both sulfate and sulfate free shampoos and I discovered the sulfate shampoo made my hair hard and dry. So I chucked out my sulfate shampoos.I also co wash weekly now.

2) Deep condition with protein and moisture conditioners every 2 weeks. This gives my hair a nice balance. But I deep condition with protein only a week before relaxer day.

3) Stretching out my relaxer. My last stretch was 15 weeks (I was so proud).I have decided to relax my hair 3 times a year now. This was one of my drastic changes. Before I knew better, I relaxed my hair every 2 months. I know, so tragic. I blame the british weather.

4) Less heat. On wash and co washing days, I air dry my hair. Hair feels so soft and full afterwards, love it! I use hair dryers with a low heat setting once a month.

5) No more weaves. I found that with weaves I constantly straightened my leave out which was destroying my front hair and hair line. Hair under the weave was not getting the TLC it required.

Now I love braids. With my braids I can wash, co wash and moisturize easily. My hair growth is great when I have braids in.

6) Moisturize and seal daily & nightly. I use both moisture and protein leave-ins & oils mixture- olive oil, castor, tea tree, rosemary & coconut oil. Shea butter and aloe vera gel from the actual plant are great as well.

With all these changes, I expect to have waist length hair soon. If you have not started the hair journey, what are you waiting for? xx

'Me thinks you talk too much'

Hey folks! So Buki thinks I talk too much on this blog, she said I should put more pictures up. Please let me know if you agree with her. To be quite frank, I dislike taking pictures and I find posing for pictures awkward.....Yes to candid photos and selfies! But I am willing to indulge people that prefer visuals.

I went to the ELOY awards ( Exquisite Ladies of the Year awards) on Sunday evening (Thanks to Kemi for the tickets). I wore a black jumpsuit and a pearls necklace. I had an Audrey Hepburn look going on ( I was told).

The show was not bad, quite disorganized but a great evening overall. 

                              Pictures had to be black & white of course

Just showing off my white nails in the last picture. Obsessed with white nail polish. Ended the day with a shawarma from mega plaza. This was my first shawarma this year, 2014 healthy lifestyle and all ;). Highlight of my day!

Till next time xx

Throwback!

Hi everyone! Happy new month!

Anyone remember and love this album as much as I do? xxx

Guest Writer: Anonymous

Hey everyone! Hope you have all had a great week.

I know I have been so quiet recently. Working on a few projects for M & F designs that will be revealed soon :). 

As I said in my previous posts, I am open to guest features. Sharing one today by an anonymous writer. Enjoy!

Love
 It's funny how when you meet someone, it's so exciting
Butterflies in your tummy;
You're excited about the texts, the calls, the dinner dates
It's like there's so much love to give, all these fantasies, all the flaws are over looked.

They say when you start dating, you are bound to either marry this person or break up eventually, every girls dream is to marry this new crush of hers.

The weird thing is that some of these relationships actually do get somewhere but what about the ones that don't?
The love lost and forgotten, the betrayal that creeps in at some point, the rage and the bitterness.
What happened to always trying to make it work no matter what? What happened to being best friends? What happened to all the promises? How did it get so bad?

I can't remember.

To all the love lost, there is a reason; it will get better, as hard as it may seem.

I do not understand......

Good morning folks!

I would like to share beyonce's new video

I do not really understand what is going on here :S. Have to confess that I am not really a beyonce fan....Yes I said that! xxx

Okay I am back with an update about this. The song is actually so catchy but still unsure about the video....

Sean T

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great week.

I am sure most of you are familiar with Sean T of Insanity and if you are not, Google is your friend! He is a fitness beast. Doing his workouts and watching him is so exhausting. But his workouts definitely deliver.

I have always been a very comfortable size 8, never gone up or down a dress size. I am still trying to decide if this is good/ bad. Some people are probably thinking bunmi how can you think this is bad?? It is bad as I am a curves girl, slim thick to be precise. As I mentioned in this post here, I am an aspiring gym addict. But as they say 'how do you fix something that is not broken'. Story of my dress size! However, to avoid un foreseen "BLOWING", I decided to get a personal trainer. Shout out to my trainer freddieo, you are such a tyrant! He did a workout plan for me and I am going to share it. Definitely needed this as I was getting bored of Sean T's videos. Enjoy!

Weight loss/ gain is actually such an annoying facade. There I was thinking I was gaining weight, I had increased my meal portions and my number of meals per day (as advised by previously mentioned trainer). I saw someone I had not seen in 8 months and she asked "bunmi have you lost weight?'

  This was Me after the question was asked. With the extra food I have been forcing down, I would like to know where it is going... Hoping it is places I would like, go figure ;)

Sidenote:

·      ALWAYS Stretch before you start and after the workout.

·      Perform one set of core exercises with one set of legs per day but ALWAYS do the push ups.

·      Circuit means perform each exercise IMMEDIATELY after the other for a period 30 seconds. 30to 60 seconds of rest allowed between circuits.

EXERCISES	REPS	SETS
Upper body
Knee push ups	10	3
CORE
Mountain climbers	20sec-10sec rest-20sec	Repeat action 8 times (workout should take 4mins)
Lying Leg raises	25	3
Russian twist	20 (10 each side)	3
Lateral leg raises (each side)	20	3
Plank	1 minute	3
Mountain climbers	Same as above
Hip crossover	30(15 each side)	3
Toes to sky	25	3
Raised leg crunches	20	3
Plank	1 min	3
Mountain climbers	Same as above
Abdominal cycling	1 min	3
Side Plank (each side)	30sec	3
Plank	1 min	3
LEGS  (Perform as circuit)		4 Circuits
Scissors Box jump	30s
Squat Jump	30s
Rear leg raise with hamstring curl	30s
Hip Thrusts	30s
Squat kickback	30s
Fire Hydrant	30s