My Year In Books so far

The Girl on the Train

-

Paula Hawkins

It's in that 'if you like gone girl, you'll like this category' but I kind of have to disagree. Gone girl isn't really a mystery so much as a journey to why two people are as messed up as they are. This is a mystery, as in you don't find out what happens till the very end. It was an easy read but it was all very surface in the end. It tried to cover so many issues- alcoholism, the fallout from losing a loved one, domestic abuse, being the other woman, therapy, sociopaths, child molesters, drug abuse, infidelity. Geez! Everything was very surface and I felt like maybe the author didn't particularly understand any of these issues in any depth. Then again, these are things we can observe without deep understanding right?

Hamilton High-The DUFF

-

Kody Keplinger

Remember I blogged about the movie

the duff

before? Well, I got excited when I found out it was made from a book and decided to read it. Bad bad idea. The book doesnt have the same plot as the movie, from the trailer anyway, so it ended up being a book about teenage problems and teenage love and teenage bad decisions, which is great, but largely uninteresting the way this is written. It's no fault in our stars or perks of being a wallflower. Sigh.

The Fishermen

-

Chigozie Obioma

A dark tragedy about brothers who get a prophecy from a mad man and how their lives change afterwards. I typically don't read anything dark so imagine my surprise when I got sucked into this by my love for reading African books. The book is very wordy, but the story is surprisingly engaging.

We Were Liars

-

E.Lockhart

This book is supposed to be the bestest bestest book YA book ever if reviews are anything to go by. I did not find this to be so. It's about a group of teenagers who holiday on an island every summer and family secrets and the difficulty in being wealthy and etc. I think as I grow older, I fine YA fiction to be tedious. Teenagers are SO NARCISSISTIC in fiction. I just keep wanting to shout 'AAARGH!'

The Girl From Nowhere

-

Dorothy Koomson

I love Dorothy Koomson. So whatever I'm reading at the time, I pause to read her when she has a new book out. The central theme of this book is adoption, feeling like an outsider and a splash of racism.  Although I found the protagonist childish for a 37 year old, it was an easy and enjoyable read that took only a few hours to get through.

Only Ever Yours

-

Louise O'Neill

A dystopian novel about a school where women are groomed to become wives, concubines or nuns. I think writing in dystopian settings is an excuse sometimes to not try. As much as I got what the theme was - the story didn't really push any boundaries.

The Two of Us

-

Andy Jones

An unconventional love story featuring massive age gaps, chastity, unexpected pregnancy and a hesitation that's often missing from written love stories.

The Dish

-

Stella Newman

I read Stella Newmans debut book pear shaped and absolutely loved it. It was a honest telling of an overweight protagonist so when I saw that she has a new book, I almost broke my finger downloading it (and by downloading, i mean buying off amazon and downloading to my kindle). Its about a love story between a chef and an anonymous food critic. A book that has food as it's central element? I was sold before I even started and it was great. It's an easy escapist read.

Dangerous Girls

-

Abigail Haas

A group of friends go on holiday and one of them ends up dead. Well, murdered. Who murdered her? The book is a juxtaposition between current courtroom events and flashbacks from the past. It made me scared to think how easily you could end up on the wrong side of the legal system in a foreign country.

If You Could Be Mine

-

Sara Farizan

This book is set in Iran and is about two teenage lesbians who can't be together for obvious cultural reasons.  After reading Girls of Riyahd, set in Saudi Arabia, I gravitate towards books with a layered cultural background. This fell short. I don't know why I'm reading so many YA books this year. But I think I need to stop actually. There was a sense of desperation , but it didn't feel real. It felt, as usual, overly dramatic. I felt like the plot could have been so much more exploratory.  I wanted it to be more of a cultural discourse than it turned out to be. 

5 Days Juicing Review

So I've decided to do it again. Juice! My last experience was pretty abysmal even if I was incredibly proud at the time (read about it 

here

). Last week, I was convinced I was ready to juice. I even started on a Tuesday! I even bought juice! I ignored my juicer, electric orange squeezer and smoothie maker and I bought juice from Simply Green.

I bought 8 bottles for two days. Their service was excellent and the orange coloured juice was extremely tasty. The red one was vile. It tasted so so dusty. The green one tasted green. The apple and pear did nothing for the taste. I'd buy the green one again though, because its apparently chock-full of good stuff. Everything can't taste good all the time.

I figured that buying two days worth of juice would keep me accountable. The short story is it didn't work. I spent two days drinking juice and then settling in to dinner at home. The first day it was some delicious grilled chicken in a vegetable broth and the second day it was grilled chicken as well actually. Grilled chicken and fried meat. On the third day, I had run out of money and will, so I ate- chicken. (and meat-pie and rice, but please no judgment)

At the weekend, a fresh determination came over me. I spent hours reading reviews, I bought fruit and veg and recycled my bottles from simply green. I was ready. On Sunday night, I juiced 5 bottles and put them in the freezer ready for Monday morning.

Apparently this apple juice looks like sick

I recycled the simply green bottles and notice how I stuck to the cap colour

Day1

Day 1 was actually ridiculously easy. Surprisingly so. I peed a lot, but I wasn't really hungry or tempted. In fact, I didn't drink all my juice! It went so well, I was scared that the excitement was keeping me full and day 2 was going to be ridiculously hard.

Day 2

Weight loss- 1.4kg, 3.1pounds

Day 2 was easier. I feel like this review is turning out to be a bummer because I can't just slide in here and boast about a juice fast being easy and slide out. My juices on day 2 were probably more filling. I even had one with avocado, which was actually really delicious.

Day 3

Weight loss- 0.3kg, 0.7lbs

I had only lost 0.2kg. BUMMER. Day 3 itself was quite easy. However, I did have temptation, we had lunch at work and the food looked and smelled GREAT! But before lunch, I quickly had a juice in preparation and I was actually really fine. I started  researching longer juice fasts because the temptation to ride this wave of easiness and just do it for 10 days is STRONG.

Day 4

Weight loss- 1.3kg, 2.9lbs

Day 4 was the hardest day. I woke up and my mum had made me juice, not enough for a whole day but enough. So my day started on a high. I got dressed and went to the local government which proceeded to be a whole day affair. I came home, no light, no fuel, no way to make juice. Luckily, my mum had some juice so I drank some of it. By the time the gen came on, I was too tired to make juice quite honestly, so I slept really early.

Day 5

Weight loss- 0.7kg, 1.5lbs

The final day! whoop! all delusions of carrying on for a longer time were well and truly wiped from my mind. My pineapple juice was burning my mouth and I just needed to go back to not ingesting so much sugary liquid. I also had a banging headache that just wouldn't shift.

The day after

Total weight loss- 3.7kg, 8.2lbs

Not bad for 5 days. I would so definitely juice again. I think I was really hoping for it to be like this treacherous journey and it really wasn't. Maybe my body just really needed it. I have to say, I do NOT  feel detoxed in any way. Glowy skin, a lightness, blablabla- I have none of the above and I didn't cheat for 1 minute! I can't say why, but I guess I DID lose weight so I shouldn't complain too much. Who wants to do this with me next time?

Lunch at The Daily Bread Lagos

I was having an uninspiring food day at work and paused to have a quick look at 

eatdrinklagos

 and decided to try the Daily Bread, because sometimes sandwich. Their website 

wasn't working on my computer or phone , so I called and spoke to a helpful lady who offered to email me the menu. Yes Please! To be honest, the website eventually worked and I lost interest in the meal but I was already committed by text to her so I ordered anyway.

The delivery guy arrived quickly and presented me with a massive bill . The delivery charge on the website was N300 but my bill said N500. Big difference! As soon as I sat down, I sent a text to my new best friend because there's a big difference between N300 and N500.

The food looked great to be honest. I had a minor problem with the fact that my juice was a smoothie, but these things happen.

Since my first experience, I've ordered from them a few times and put other people on to them as well and all the food has tasted great. My juice was also a juice the next time.

The only negative of Daily Bread is that it's pricey. It's definitely not a daily or weekly place to eat, but you know those days when you just want to eat something nice? Or maybe like payday week when you feel like you should spoil yourself? It's perfect for that.

We Don't Run Anything; We're Celebrities

Kanye West covered paper magazine and took control of the story with the theme we've been hearing lately. He's not as into music, he's all about innovation now (read, fashion) and it's ridiculous that the illuminati would be run by musicians. Here are some highlights
1. We don't run anything; we're celebrities. We're the face of brands. We have to compromise what we say in lyrics so we don't lose money on a contract. Madonna is in her 50s and gave everything she had to go up on an award show and get choked by her cape.


2. saw this article that asked, "Should Kanye leave fashion to the professionals?" That question is really ignorant, in a way, because the second I sell my first T-shirt or my first shoe, doesn't that make me a professional? 

3. I heard this quote from Steve Jobs: someone came up to him when he was working on something and said, "Hey, just do it. It will be easy." And he said, "Wait a second. Anything halfway good is at least medium hard.”


4. It's fine to not get credit for everything; it's almost better. 


5.


The Wheatbaker Spa Lagos

Remember my post on the wheat baker brunch here? Well this time, I decided to go back for face food- a facial. (Terrible joke, I know, but hey) I'd actually never had a facial before because I imagine my face getting burnt or suddenly erupting in massive spots from all the weird and unknown products. 

The entrance to the spa is outside of the main building off a small flight of stairs. My friend convinced me to go later in the day because your skin has the tendency to be quite tender after a facial and the last thing you want to do is expose it to the sun. 


The spa was small but pretty. I didn't take my camera and my phone battery was low, so I only took a few shots, but it's more fun to see it yourself no?






The lovely spa manager, Mimi talked us through options and we settled for a mild babor facial. She didn't recommend based on price or try to push extras and that was quite nice. 

It was a one hour facial and every minute of that hour was spent with something going on. A scrub, a steam, a mask...it went on and on but the therapist explained in a low voice what she was doing. She also threw in a foot and arm massage. 

At the end, my skin was kind of glowy and my awkward cheek hair was gone. 

The Wheabaker Spa is in the wheat baker hotel.

4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), Ikoyi, Lagos,Nigeria, Lawrence Rd, 101233, Nigeria
+234 1 277 3560













A History of Things




Everybody has them. Those things that follow you around and have sentimental value even if you may not realise at the time you get it. I've moved many many times and started many new lives and there are some things that always make the cut after the clutter is cleared. some of the clutter is cleared. (The clutter is NEVER clear)


Silver Rings


One Christmas, I was window shopping and came across the gucci ring. I'm not sure what I was doing in a jewellery store, I think I went with my friend to buy a watch. I was instantly obsessed with it. I was sick with desire. I left the store and went home. I called my best friend to discuss it and then I went back 2 hours later and bought it! £160. One of my more foolish purchases tbh. But through thick and thin, it's been with me. I hardly ever take it off and everytime I've thought it was lost, it's  managed to show up. It signalled my move away from buying tons of disposable things to spending more money on fewer things. Off course I still buy dumb stuff, I don't have bags of primark crap everywhere.

On a trip to New York, I went to Pandora to try and buy some silver rings. I was obsessed with the idea of wearing a ring on almost every finger. Alas, of all the rings they had, I could only find ONE ring I actually liked and it was the wrong size but I bought it anyway and it's lived on my thumb ever since. Like the Gucci ring, I never ever take it off. I've lost so many rings and earrings but somehow I've managed to keep these two rings. 



DKNY Bag




This was my first 'designer' bag. Again, it was a christmas present to myself. I think I go crazy at christmas because it's so close to my birthday and everyone is in such a festive mood, it's easy to justify your purchases. I can't remember how much it was but I can't forget the feeling when I walked out of the store. I felt so accomplished and adult. It lived up to the hype I'd created in my mind and lasted through years of daily abuse!

Typewriter




I got it into my head that I needed a typewriter. I trawled websites but as much as I wanted one, I wasn't desperate enough to fork out the ridiculous prices I was seeing. One day I walked by one of my favourite vintage stores and it was sitting in the window. The lovely owner lady didn't accept card payments at the time, so I jogged to a cash point, and walked away with a beautiful typewriter. It looked great in my apartment and it inspired me so much at the time. This typewriter has endured two moves already and although these days it does not much more than sit in a corner gathering dust, it's still going wherever I go next.

Humans of New York Book



I know I'm not the only one that's obsessed with the HONY instagram account. I love it so much, I've set up an action to email me every new post. When I heard there was a book, I hustled to find it. I had moved back to Nigeria by then and you know how difficult finding anything can be. I couldn't find it anywhere in England where it would have been easy to order it and get it sent. Eventually, my friend in New York bought it for me and sent it in time for...you guessed it...Christmas!!! It's still one of the best presents I've gotten! 

Throwback Thursday: That Time When I Made Cards



Once upon a time, I squirrelled away in my apartment and made cards. The end result was simple but each card took me hours and hours and in the end, like many dreams, it was shelved. All these pictures were taken with my iPhone 4 I think it was at that time and aren't that bad actually. 


These were the first few cards I made. I was deep in love with fashion at the time so my inspiration was mostly from magazines. I imagined fashion lovers loving these

This was a card for one of my closest friends for her best friend. Drawing all these lips was actually kind of tiring but I loved the end result 

This was one I made for my friends boyfriend (now husband) when they were in a long distance relationship. She emailed me her message and I reproduced it inside the card. When he got it, he couldn't believe she didn't write it herself

I think this was supposed to be for a friend that wanted to recreate something from her first date but it never got finished

This also ended up unfinished

Valentines! Basically like I found you in the maze or whatever. The card next to it was for a girl that was going travelling for a year.

This was a valentines card that was basically saying i love you through all the seasons. At first I was stuck on how to create that but in the end I was happy with what I did



This is an unfinished card. Even though the end result was nice enough, it was one of my least favourites because it wasn't really ME

The inside of this card said 'my stuff and your stuff belong together' , it was one of my favourites!

The Newbie Guide To Nigerian Law School






So you want to go to law school? I'll start by wishing you luck, you'll need it! Let's do this in numbers, shall we?

1. The very first thing you should know is this: There is no electronic application system. Your online application? That's a hoax. You need to fill that, print it out and post it. Also, print a copy for yourself and keep it, just incase. You might need it for registration. Print the whole application, not just the notification page, like I did. Sigh.

2. Now you need to shop. Let's make another list: In shopping for clothes, what you need to understand is this; there is no real consistency in the dress code, it is enforced on a day to day basis by different people, so it's best to err on the side of caution always;


  • White shirts (not cream or off white or eggshell or whatever, as non see through as possible)
  • Plain black skirts (some people had a misguided notion that black and white means you can mix the black and white in any random way, neh)
  • Girls- you cannot wear trousers. Yeah, read it and weep. You just can't, okay? Trousers are not allowed.
  • You hair needs to be conservative. That means, one colour. That means one regular colour- you can't have blue braids because they are one colour. Black and brown basically. It can be as long as you like because you'll probably have to pack it up to class anyway. 
  • You cannot wear sleeveless tops without a blazer. So, sleeveless tops are not allowed. 
  • Oh yeah, buy a blazer, a black blazer, not a white one. A blazer can be a saving grace and a best friend.
  • Black dresses. Plain black, not black and white. 
  • On my campus, we were allowed to wear black shirts, but in some campuses, you strictly need to wear white shirts, so just buy white shirts
  • Plain black leather shoes. At least one pair. You might get away with other kinds of black shoes to class, but probably not to your law school dinners
  • I'd advice that you probably start using castor oil on your edges and taking hairfinity pills, because you need to have your own hair out for dinners and on your call to bar day.
  • extension cord


3. The dress code is only for class. After class, you can pretty much wear whatever.



4. Open a zenith account. There's a zenith bank inside the Abuja law school and law school accounts are with zenith. It just makes your life that much easier, plus zenith is more or less the awesomest.

5. Staying in the hostel might seem like the worstest life but it actually keeps you locked in to all the information, it's easier to meet people and it's closer to class. (This applies to Abuja only)

It goes faster than you'd expect! Good luck!


Are You The Duff?

...Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

Well, thats what it means in new movie 'The Duff'  released in US cinemas in February. I'm excited to watch it just for that term. I hope it's an even better version of Mean Girls (but what is better than mean girls?)




Seriously though, are there even ugly people anymore? With wigs and weaves and Youtube make-up tutorials, it seems strange to me that people are even still ugly and or fat anymore! Although, thats beside the point.

To be a DUFF, you don't even have to be ugly OR fat btw- I think it's more like an attitude your 'friends' have towards you.

If you guiltily though of a DUFF in your friendship circle, then you should probably spend the day writing a list of reasons why you don't need people to be ugly for you to feel beautiful!


New TV Show Alert: Before 30


Before 30 is a Nigerian TV series about the relationship struggles of 4 twenty something year old women, with lead character Temi (Damilola Adegbite) desperate to get married before 30. Each woman is very different, making their issues and experiences diverse. It's a very well produced show, the quality is fantastic and after devouring Gidi Up and Shuga, I welcomed a new show to get addicted too. The episode was far too short and after 1 episode, it's impossible to give a detailed review but I'm liking what I've seen so far. 



Before 30 shows in Nigeria on DSTV channel 153 at 8.30pm on Sundays. 
For other time zone schedules, see Website: www.b430.tv

 Did you watch the first episode? What Do you think?

Throwback Thursday

I was going through my old blog and I was overcome with nostalgia. Nostalgia about fashion passion and nostalgia about skinniness. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. Ps- I used to do ALL my own hair (yes, including braids) and take all my photos. Talk about multi-tasker!








Sunday Brunch: Wheatbaker Lagos

It's Sunday and you know what that means...FOOOD! You know what it can mean for you? FOOD AT WHEATBAKER! 

Wheatbaker Brunch
Brunch at Wheatbaker

Who wants to eat ogbono soup at brunch????

Absolutely the most delicious thing

It's quite a small space so you might end up having to wait for a table. The selection is not big but it all tastes good and that to me is more important than having 20 tables packed with food. 

Have you tried Wheatbaker? 

J Crew Fall 15 Collection


I've often been asked why I want to be skinny and this collection illustrates why. It is styled so beautifully. With the exchange rate at the moment and the fact that I now live in a tropical city with no cold seasons,  this collection will remain a beautiful dream. But dreams can be looked at and enjoyed. 









I love the embellished shoes and the low heel. Life is too short to hobble when you walk.

Sigh. 

(all photos from style.com)

Questions about nosa and folly: the lunch club at sakura

We've had our second lunch club now. I say 'we' because famz. I got there early and helped Folly make some key decisions. Anyway, it's funny that the first question everyone asks isn't 'so what's the relationship?' Maybe someone asked and I wasn't listening...

Anyway, the second lunch club was great for a few things;

1. It was more intimate 

2. We had less food which should sound positive but the food coma last time was something else

3. I got my own name tag! 

4. I liked the fact that there were a lot of the same people again. I think it also let the newer people feel more comfortable. I went with my cousin and she's already decided to go for the next one. 

my cousin, she blogs at www.oyimesmusings.blogspot.com

this tuna was delicious. 

This is one of the better miso soups I've had, but it's miso soup for goodness sake!

this salad was too fresh, I know it's salad, but chill

I'm not usually down for fried gyoza but this was good tbh

The lady gave me free ice cream! I guess I'm just cute like that :)

Sake shots- which actually are gross and taste too strongly of rice

Folly gave us these stickers and tried to convince me that my laptop was the best home for it (it's still in my bag but I'm going to put it on a notebook sha

Why Kanyes Collection for Adidas Is Actually Quite Good



After the news of North crying in the front row and Beyonce ignoring Kim Kardashian, talks turned to the terribleness of the collection and OMG WHAT IS KANYE DOING. But take apart the styling and all the nude tights and body suits and examine the pieces beyond that and you find that they are actually dope. 




I especially love the jackets (even though jackets are irrelevant to me right now) The bags are cute and the shoes (so everything, basically)

Remember that this is a SPORTSWEAR collection. It's not luxury high fashion. It's supposed to be urban and relaxed and able to take on a range of stylings. Also, did you notice the range of nudes in the tights? And sports bras? Pretty cool. 

Sidebar- why is sportswear made for slim people? Fat people need to wear sportswear too. 


My Attempt at a 3.5 Day Juice Fast

So I got super motivated to juice.

This motivation hit me on a Thursday afternoon but like always when it comes to anything new, I started on Monday.

I didn't expect Monday to be hard because I was full of motivation and it was the first day.

I wanted to drink six juices a day but I was happy to do three.

I considered buying fresh juices but I dragged out the never been used juicer and got down to juicing fruit and vegetables. So on Sunday night, I had 4 bottles stacked in the fridge ready for Monday.

On Monday morning, I started with plain water as I do most days and just for the feel of something hot to drink, I had lemon in hot water. At about 9, I had my first juice. Carrot, ginger, pineapple, apple and cucumber. Within the first hour, I had to pee twice.

At about 12, I had another juice. I couldn't face going to sit in the lunch room with everyone from work so I stayed at the desk and mourned food.

I felt like I needed coffee to face the latter part of work so I had plain black coffee. Instant coffee with nothing in it is kinda gross. I couldn't even finish it but I felt a lot better after having it.

In summary, just like I guessed, Monday was fine.

Tuesday started fine as well. I started my day with tea instead (plain green tea) to avoid having to drink coffee. I had my juices, went to the toilet less and then later on in the day remembered a dinner I couldn't back out of. So I had dinner and didn't dwell on it. I had water, mushrooms and steamed prawn but my stomach still hurt from suddenly eating.

On Wednesday, I went back to juice. I was REALLY hungry on Wednesday and my stomach felt so empty. I was also sick of juice so I had only one throughout the day. Because my goal wasn't to starve, I blended some vegetable juice with a banana when I was home and had that for 'dinner'.

On Thursday, I couldn't finish my first juice. No amount of mental cajoling could force me to do it. So I ate at lunch and said goodbye to juicing.

I decided to juice because I felt bloated and I was spiralling into a snack zone and I wanted to reset my mind. Also, as soon as I ate a carb, I would feel really full and uncomfortable. It didn't really matter in what quantity. I feel like I achieved what I wanted. I don't feel as bloated as I did. I also don't feel particularly light but I'm happy not feeling bloated.

Also, you don't get hungry on juice fasts if you drink enough juice. On Wednesday, I was hungry because I didn't drink enough juice.

I enjoyed my approach to it. I would do it again. Soon even.

My Skincare Routine







So I was just on tumblr and decided to check my inbox and I had some messages, one of which was asking about my skincare. I'm not sure how long that message has been sitting there but it's worth doing a skin care routine if only because I'm obsessed with buying beauty products.

In all my back and forth with products, there are certain essentials I have never wavered from.

DERMALOGICA.

If they are a church, I am their priest and I have converted many people. The first time I used dermalogica was when I went to a Marie-Claire event and got a starter pack in my goody bag. Tbh I don't really appreciate free things, not with my heart, so I used the wash half heartedly a few times and left it somewhere in my bathroom. I must have been bored and decided to give the products another try , also incorporating the daily microfoliant (still my favourite skincare product bar none) and I was blown away. It really smoothed out my skin. You know all those things below the surface that never really come out? Gone. The samples lasted for months and when they ran out, I took the plunge and bought full bottles.

So after that long ass story- my fundamental staple is dermalogica.

In order not to turn this into a post detailing the pros and cons of every product, the have, I'll highlight three products I always have/use.

1. Special Cleansing Gel- This is a basic face wash. I think the formulation has undergone a slight tweak since I started using it but I love it all the same.

2. Daily Microfoliant- The powder exfoliator that existed before powder exfoliators became a 'thing'. If you don't know how to use it properly, it can seem ineffective but it works.

3. Overnight Cleaning Gel- OMG. This is phenomenal . There was a phase where I was just covered in acne. I was depressed and over it and I tried this. IT.CHANGED.MY.LIFE. The name doesn't lie, I actually saw an overnight change. Now I try to always have it- often buried at the bottom of a bag until those pesky spots surface.

4. I said three, I lied.  Special cleansing gel is perfectly fine when you're skin is treating you well but there are times when it really messes up and you need to tackle it head on- Thats where the skin clearing wash comes in. It has the same calming consistency as the special cleansing gel but it tackles spots.

Okay dermalogica can feel a bit mediciny so moving on to some other products.

I'm obsessed with even skin. I still haven't managed to achieve it but my standards are probably impossibly high. But a few products have helped me in my journey. Currently, I'm trying a Khiels serum and seeing where it takes me.

The one thing I've never settled on is a moisturiser. Moisturisers are really essential and when I still lived in England, I slathered it on happily, switching to heavy formulations in winter but in the burning heat that is Abuja and the unbearable humidity that is Lagos, it's really hard to deal with moisturiser. I've used a few mattifying moisturisers and they did mattify but felt weird. There are two mattifiers I recommend though. One is a benefit pore minimiser and ding-dong DERMALOGICA again!

I recently started using the dermalogica skin smoothing cream, Bvlgari face emulsion and olay regenerist night recovery cream. I use them pretty much interchangeably but I get less of a shiny afterglow with the dermalogica skin smoothing cream and it's a lighter foundation for the days I wear make-up.

I don't take off my make-up *shock* *gasp* yah. I only take it off when it's making me feel hot and then I strip that off so quick. I had some time to kill in the airport recently so I decided to try the bioderma cleanser. Cannot say I can see what the fuss is about, I'm afraid. Before this I used one from clinique which was an oil and water mix and I liked it. Better than all of these things, is washing your face but hey! Do you know some people don't wash their faces ever? (looking at you Garance Dore), apparently its healthier for your skin?

Anyway, that's my skin care routine in summary- if it can even be called a routine. 

The Lunch Club: RSVP

As a tribute to the Eat Drink Lagos blog, this post is going to be in the style of their blog.

Dami: I've recently written about how much I love the Eat Drink Lagos blog , so when they announced a lunch time event, I was excited. I wasn't REALLY planning to match my excitement to actually paying for it and going but my sister convinced me by booking two places, at N8000 a place, that was basically kidnap (the things you do for family)

Mide: Um, Dami, you asked me to book you a place

Dami: Mide you told me the day after so like...

Dami: Anyway, I like the building. 

Mide: It was nice. When we walked in there was a table full of men and another table full of people so it was like which one is our table

Dami: I almost jogged up to the owner and asked him. Thankfully, it wasn't the table full of men. 

Mide: This tag was soooo cute, I took it home 

Dami: yah, I mean I would have taken mine home too if she booked it in my actual name instead of her friends name...

Mide: I didn't think it would matter!

Dami: Right, whatever.

Dami: The first (of 7) courses was the fish macho. 

'White fish in sesame dip topped with sundries tomato on plantain base.' 

It looked nice and cute but it was MESSY to eat. The fish fell off, but it was okay. 

Mide: OMG, this was like good, i preferred it to the ugly prawn thing. I had like 3, it was so good. 

Dami: the prawn macho was basically the prawn version of the fish one. Meh.

Mide: I don't really like creamy stuff, so...

Mide: The chicken pops were papping! They were soo good, I had like ten. 

Dami: Everyone was raving about these, but to be honest, I've never really been that into sweet chicken.

Mide: the chicken log was definitely scotch egg disguised as chicken logs. 

Dami: I had high hopes for this, but I took one bite and just couldn't. Then again, I was full, so there was that. I just didn't feel like the cheese, chicken and the hard casing really worked together. 

Dami: I had the sweet berry which tasted really strongly of vanilla, which wasn't surprising but I had serious drink envy for the copa del lebanon. It looked fresh and delicious. 

Mide:.

Dami: look at iiiiit!

 Dami: look how cute this is

Mide: it's a table

Mide: I hooked girl up, hmm mm. Skin was looking on fleek.

Dami: my sister actually takes the best pictures of me. It's the love!

Dami: I love the wood details of the menu 

Mide: Oh my gosh (sarcastically because I have no actual views)

 Dami: these pulled pork sliders just didn't work for me. The pork was shredded really finely and it looked and tasted like beans. It just wasn't working for me. 

Mide: It was a bit sweet, but the bread was lovely.

Mide: who's that baddy on the wall

Dami: (she obviously means me)

Mide: There was so much food, I felt really sick for the rest of the evening. It was definitely worth the money though. 

Dami: It was TOO much food. I think the next one should have less food and at least one drink. Although water was included in this one and it was free. The lunch was definitely amazing. Conversation was great and it was a perfect number of people. I feel like a round table would be nicer for next time, there were some people I barely spoke to at all.  It was definitely worth it, especially in a place like RSVP where ordering starters can set you back N5000 on a regular day. 

The Engagement Starter Pack




Look at the nail polish, not the nails

 We've just come out of a wedding/engagement season. Christmas, year ending, year starting, vacations (meaning loads of plane proposal opportunities) and so on. If you missed out on last season, don't despair, there's a new season next month! Phew! And I'm going to tell you how to make sure you're ready ready ready when it comes.

1. Nails Nails Nails- Do I even need to say this? Buff , shine and oil those cuticles. This is the first thing you do after it happens and chipped nails might be quirky but your friends are not going to want to put up that picture of your crusty fingernails and if your engagement picture isn't shared, did you get engaged?

Look at the perfection of these nails and ring and hands. Who wouldn't want to get engaged to this?



2. Hands- honestly, if you're waiting for your engagement, you're probably old enough that you should be slathering hand cream on your hands endlessly for no reason (well, for the reason that you're like...old). No-one wants to see folds of skin pooling around your engagement ring.

Can't you see what difference moisturiser would make to these hands?

3. Waterproof Mascara- because you HAVE to cry. HAVE TO. Have you mistakenly watched an engagement? the guy almost gets on one knee and they girl puts her head down, already overwhelmed and he asks and she takes a loooong time to say yes and then there's a long hug. My point is- cry and waterproof mascara so after the hug, you can look cute for the photos.

4. Sync your calendar with a friend- not your period calendar and preferable a friend that likes taking pictures. Imagine it happens and it's beautiful and all these things are perfect AND THERE'S NO VIDEO OF IT AFTERWARDS. The worst! Now is the time to make sure your friend coincidentally eats wherever you eat, goes to whatever party you go to and if he ends up doing it in a private place, well at least you tried.

5. Eyebrows- your hands will be covering most of your face but your eyebrows will show!! So please and please , keep those eyebrows 'on fleek'


Perfect way to show the ring and engagement announcement




New Year , New Me (or Old me in a new body)


Why do new years resolutions get to the second week and fizzle out like lambrini. For the past 6 years, I've had the same resolutions and I'm always shocked when i look back and see the same things glaring at me. I went through some old posts and instead of writing a whole new post, I've posted some of my previous New Year posts.

Happy New Year!








Knit Top- Tophop
Jeans- Miss Selfridge
Bag Topshop
Jacket- Ralph Lauren
Shoes- Salvatore Ferragamo
Ring- Gucci
Watch- Rolex

Btw, I'm not engaged, married or wearing a promise ring. I just like to wear my ring on that finger. Also, I've gone back and edited most recent style posts to include style credits. 

xx

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

ANOTHER...


Read any success story and you will see threads of similarity with other success stories. Focus, passion, determination and relentless hard work. Authenticity. I don't know that it's possible to be successful when you don't 100 percent know who you are. 

I don't know who I am. Wait, that's not entirely accurate. I know all the different mes. But what is important, is finding a way to combine all those different people into one person. I love so many different things. I want so many different things. I want to be so many different things. And then I get distracted by everyone that's doing what they love and loving it and doing well at it. I'm attracted to passion. But other peoples passion can be distracting. I remember starting this particular blog and everything was completely me. And then I got caught up in doing what everyone else was doing. And then stopped being me. 

Then I go back to my inspiration board. Go back to doing things the way I love, regardless of how odd or pointless it seems and I'm happy again. And then it feels like maybe, just maybe, combining all those different people into one isn't as hard as I originally thought. 

To find you...you have to let yourself be you. You can't think about who you are, you just have to be who you are. 

This is my only new year resolution.

AND ANOTHER...

I was forced to think about new year resolutions when my friend at work walked in on the 8th of January with the hangover from hell. Her new year resolution was no alcohol all January. 'You lasted 7 days', I exclaimed. She shrugged, so I shrugged. That pretty much sums up new year resolutions.

This year though, I'd vowed to be different. To be fair, since my birthday is in December anyway, I tend to make mine early. New birthday, new me kind of thing. I kept mine sufficiently simple this year 'make an effort'. Yes. 3 words. Imagine my smug look when people would ask me and I'd turn around with just the right amount of squint and almost whisper 'make an effort', feeling like I'd just dropped the biggest gem of wisdom since the alchemist.

It hasn't worked.

I'm typing this from my unmade bed. There are clothes in a pile on the floor. I'd say in my room at least, I have not made an effort. This is my first blog post in months, my last being part of a series I never actually completed. I'd say I definitely am not making an effort. I haven't spoken to my mum in well over a week and my old iphone that I'm apparently giving to someone today still has 1072 photos on it.

It's safe to say so far, my 3 word resolution is simply not working.

Before I throw new resolutions at you though, it has to be wondered, why do new year resolutions never work. People come with solutions like 'WRITE IT DOWN'. In many houses and smart phones, lists of dreams and goals are languishing, waiting to be recycled or glanced at. 'BREAK IT DOWN INTO MANAGEABLE GOALS', yeah, but we often overestimate 'manageable', which is why my friend thought she'd do a whole month of not drinking when she often drank a couple of times a week.

So I'm sure this has been said, but this is my plan...underestimate yourself immensely. When I have an idea, I tend to go all out and burn out really quickly. But I've realised that if you knit a row everyday, at the end of the year, you'll have a jumper (is this actually true? how many rows does it take to knit a jumper?)

Either way, baby steps are my new goal, along with three things I'm going to make an effort at. My blood actually just ran cold when I typed 3 things, because I'm the sort of person that tends to like to make 40 or 50 different plans.

So, three things.

1. Write- 200 words a day. 100 on blog/diary/personal type thing. 100 on career assisting type thing.

2. French- 3 verbs a day.

3. People- contact 1 person a week that I haven't spoken to that week. (this might take more than  a year to get through)

Off course, my mind if pushing many many more ideas at me, but I think I'll stop there and see how these work out.

Happy New Year!