The 24 Hour Worker- Kitchen Butterfly

Friday, 18th December 

Brymo’s on at Afropolitan vibes and I am dead set on going – I love Brymo. But first, home. It’s a busy weekend. Today there’s the Christmas pageant at the Children’s school, Afropolitan vibes, setting up for the opening of my first photo exhibition and lots of food prep to do – for canapés at the opening and for the 

Eat.Drink.Festival

. Lets just say it’s the beginning of the mother of all hectic weekends and the only thing that’ll save me is my list. 

I'm fanatical about lists and crossing items off them. My lists live In a physical notebook , which I never leave home without. They are my canvas – I move, plot, plan, record, and basically get my life done off my lists.

5.05pm

White chocolate in a pot on the stove top. I'm making some 

minted caramelised white chocolate sauce

 for the festival. Its Dami’s 

favorite

. I take photos of the chocolate, as it changes from white to caramel. I do it for myself and for the ‘gram. I love 

Instagram

.

5.30pm

I'm done. The sauce is packed in jars. I leave for school because I need to buy water. 

5.50pm

.

I'm at school. Things are about to begin. I watch my daughter play the violin and I'm happy she’s getting lessons at school. I haven’t managed to organise music lessons since we moved to Lagos so I'm glad that this year, she chose to join ‘BAND’ – a music elective (Outsourcing 101). 

7.30pm

I'm not going to get to Afropolitan vibes. I'm still at school. There will be no singing and dancing to any of my favourite songs by Brymo – Femi, Down, 1 Pound because I hear the traffic is legendary and I have no desire to sit in it. Sigh. Sometimes, you have to know when to squash that desire and quit. 

8.05pm

I'm home. I have a long list of things I want to make for tomorrow so I begin. 

Zobo pepper sauce

. Pawpaw chutney. 

Agbalumo chutney

. 

12.20pm

Bed. I love my sleep even if I think I have a sleep debt that can never be repaid. 

Saturday, 19th December 

6.30am. 

I'm up. My first-ever photo exhibition opens today at the Kongi Harvest Gallery in Freedom park. It's called ‘Postcards from Lagos’ and I have 20000 things to do. The children have a school Christmas party. I want to say ‘inconveniently’ but *lips sealed*. Thankfully, it’s close to the house so I’ll manage. I have things to make for the opening and the food festival is tomorrow! 

11.00am

We arrive at school party, it’s barely begun. I leave the children to go home and finish a few things off. 

2.00pm

I’m done with the last of the prep – making puff puff, and hummus – not to go together though; devilled eggs, zobo, pita crisps. Everything is loaded into the car and we’re on our way, via a friend’s house to pick up her daughter and the Christmas party venue.

3.00pm 

We’re at the gallery. I start signing the photos with red permanent marker. It is surreal. I sign the photos with a signature I've had for years – my art signature – which is different from the one I use for my cheques. I'm calm and shaken at the same time. Are these my photos? Mine? Damn. Unreal.

I remember almost every detail and emotion, feeling when I took each photo. I even remember some thoughts. I smile when people ask how I ‘make’ time for all the things I do. There’s no making time, there’s just doing because I've discovered that the art of making time is the mother of procrastination.

So I take up 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there and do things in bits, and bites. Most of the photos in this exhibition were taken with my mobile phone, from the back of a passing car because I hate sitting up front (long story but involves whiplash from multiple collision while not wearing a seatbelt when I was 15 – I always wear my seatbelt. Even when I sit at the back). 

I think you have to perfect the art of being who you are where ever you are, even if that’s in Lagos traffic, and often. 

3.30pm

and I'm rushing to lay out the table. I feel behind. Am behind but I'm trying to stay focused. I wonder if there’ll be a flood of guests, if I’ll sell all the photos today. 

4.00pm 

All’s set and we sit, waiting for the first guests. Two photos are bought in the first few minutes – rainy ones of Lagos. I feel like an artist, even if I'm an unintentional one because to be honest, I've been taking photos all my life with no thought to ever seeing them line the walls as art. 

#Thankful. It makes me think of Steve Jobs and the 2005 

Commencement Speech

 he gave at Stanford. In it he says ‘Find what you love and do it’.  

Sunday, 20th December 

I keep saying try very many things, even the seemingly random ones. It’s the only way you’ll know what you like versus not. Though I don’t like how little sleep I give myself, I love the art of doing. 

Nosa & Folly's

 warning to be at the Festival gates by 11am have me on my toes. 

10.38am.

We’re all packed. In the car. 

10. 52am or so. 

We arrive at Park View. We offload the car and begin setting up.

11.30am.

So much for lists – well, not really, we've forgotten the salads at home. Tomi – my right hand has to go get them. I love working with people even though it doesn't always seem like it. I'm learning a lot about delegating with clear instruction and the power of communication. I'm learning because I still mess up many times but like I said, I'm learning.

12.00pm 

Our first customer comes as we’re putting final touches to the table. He orders the (amazing if I might say so myself) Smoky Snail Jollof Rice. People ask me how I think up some of my recipes and I shrug. Some I can identify clear paths and the others, God, the universe gifts me.

Sometimes I let my mind wander and play with combinations, many gorgeous things have resulted. I think we have to be courageous when it comes to testing the boundaries. I don’t say fearless though, but we must do it in spite of.

I'm sold out in a few hours and for the first time, am able to leave my stand and check out other vendors. I sample some awesomeness – Shaki Toasties by 

biscuitboneblog

, the most delicious build-your-won-cupcakes by 

honey's cupcakes

 and more. The festival ground is heaving – I don’t think anyone was ready for the turn out. 

I get home, exhausted. There’s work tomorrow and lots of big events this week so no rest. 

Thursday, 24th December 

In the week, I’ve been to see Postcards from Lagos again, done some mad shopping and made decisions, decisions, decisions. It’s the week of my #Big60 event – an annual popup restaurant hosted at the gallery of

A Whitespace Creative Agency

. The theme this year is in conjunction with the British Council, sponsored by 

Style Vitea

.

 It is the first time I’ll be in a professional kitchen and I'm a bit afraid. 

Everytime I come to a crossroads about making decisions, I reread Steve Shapiro’s ‘

The Art of Decision making

’. He says ‘With the right mindset, any decision is the right decision’. Complicated? No. I want to forget all this as I spend the morning, afternoon, evening prepping for Sunday. I’m frantically working through my lists. My friend Tomi of

 Heels in The Kitchen

 who encouraged me to ‘apply’ to cook at #Big60 has been a rock – I ring her to talk about random stuff like plates and cutlery and teapots. 

6.30pm. 

We stop to buy berries and last minute stuff for Christmas day and beyond. Then we head to A Whitespace for dinner – not mine, but another Chef’s. 

11.54pm.

We've been home for a couple of hours and I've been prepping for Christmas day. We’re having lunch with friends and I want to take a few things, plus I want to have puffpuff chicken balls for breakfast so I make the batter just before I head to bed, and leave it covered in the fridge. 

Friday, 25th December. Christmas day

7.08am.

I'm up. Resting for a few minutes before I throw myself into the day. 

9.14am. 

I get an email asking if I can fulfil an order for food to be delivered to a rig offshore on the morning of Boxing Day. Because it’s for people who are away from family at this time, I say yes and proceed to call myself crazy because I’ll be out for most of the day. 

10.24am 

The first batch of Puff puff chicken balls are out and they’re banging. I cant even tell you how delicious they are dipped in zobo pepper sauce. This is mostly what I have for breakfast. 

10.32am 

We settle down to breakfast. Unlike the past, it’s food that has been co created - the children have done so much and it looks stunning. We eat and laugh and give thanks for the year. They can hardly sit still – they want to open presents and see who got what and who still owes what. 

1.38pm

We leave for Sangotedo – it’s the furthest east I've driven in Lagos. I'm petrified – I drive and have driven since I was 16 (and that’s a pretty long time) but I don’t enjoy it much. Half an hour later, we arrive. 

It’s 6pm when we get back home and prepare to go to dinner at another friend’s. 

01.30 am

. 

We’re home. Everyone goes to bed and I'm up making the cakes and stuff that will be picked up at 5 am. I imagine I’ll only need a couple of hours but I'm up till 7am the following morning. 

I've made carrot cake, brownies, peanutty chicken skewers, zobo for pick up. I've also multitasked and made blackberries poached in zobo, rhubarb poached in tea and tangelo zest. I've made the chocolate and salted caramel mousses that will fill my crepe cake. 

The food to be picked up is ready at 4.54am. The driver doesn't make it to mine till 5.30am. I hand him the box with the goodies. Rather than go to bed, I feed my OCD and clean up a little. I'm not a very tidy person but there are certain things I like to do – like tidy up as I go along in the kitchen. 

Saturday, 26th December 

It’s 7.12 am when I head to bed. Exhausted to the bone. 

And 9.36am when I get up. And to an email ‘Received!! About to open’ with a host of smileys and 13.51pm when I get another one full of praises and love and ‘It tastes like she (Ozoz) made all this with love!’. There’s very little that soothes a soul, my soul like this – touching people with my food. 

Chaos central. 

Its 2.30pm and my friend Tomi has come back from the store with chicken for tomorrow’s event. We’re headed out but I want to marinate the chicken. I open the first pack and it’s off. As are all the other packs. I want to cry because of the dual task of returning it (and the resistance I'm sure will follow) and sourcing better produce…on an already busy day. 

It’s 8.04pm when we get home with all the vegetables that need prepping. The checklist comes out and we work non-stop. 

Sunday, 27th December 

1.38pm.

Sleep. 

6.40 am. 

Wake. It’s the day. #Big60. The day passes in a blur. 

1.50pm. 

someone comes to pick up a batch of Chicken suya puffpuff balls. I know. I’m crazy. 

2.00pm. 

Another person picks up 4 sets of canapes and drinks for an event 

3.00pm. 

We leave for the Big 60 Kitchen. 

I love most of it. I understand why I’ll never work in a restaurant full time. I cannot stand the pressure. I love sharing my food with people. I'm confused. I haven’t fully processed the day so I can’t write much. 

Monday, 28th December 

1.30 am 

we finally get home. Exhausted. Elated. Fulfilled. It’s the perfect day to wrap up a year that has stretched me left right and centre. 

2.30 am. 

I fall asleep xxx 

My Whole 30 Experience

...so far.

It's day 16 of Whole 30.

Let me start from the beginning.

Whole 30

 is a 30 day eating plan that excludes  artificial sugar, processed food, alcohol, grains and legumes for 30 days. You can eat eggs, meat, fruit and veg. At first it sounds bat shit crazy but it's actually one of the healthiest meal plans I've been on in years (2 years) and I'm loving it. The hardest part of Whole 30 is making a concious effort with remembering what you can and can't eat. It's harder than it seems. But once you master that, it becomes pretty easy. At the end of the day, it's only for 30 days.

I haven't had a perfect whole 30 experience. For one thing, I've weighed myself twice (on day 4 and day 11). You're not supposed to weigh yourself or take measurements because one of the biggest points of the Whole 30 is to break unhealthy relationships with food- but hey- 2 out of 15 days is not bad. Also on day 4, I had dinner with the lovely

Kitchen Butterfly

 and drank some zobo which contained sugar. Now, on the rules of the Whole 30, you're supposed to start again if you cheat or make a mistake, but I'm an adult that made a choice and I'll be damned if I start again.

You're also not really supposed to snack and my Lord, I'm a snacker. Eating actual meals is generally really overwhelming for me. I haven't eaten a real meal since day 13. I'm just so bored of everything I'm allowed to eat, so I've been eating nuts and drinking coffee and orange juice (fresh) and  zobo (unsweetened). I don't think snacking is really a habit I even want to break to be honest, but I actually need to learn to eat more food and to eat more food at mealtimes. However, I've massively improved from the first few days when all I did was eat bananas. Bananas and yam (which strangely is allowed).

On the first day of whole 30, my entire focus was on weight loss. I mean, we all tell love stories about health but weight loss always hides underneath those stories and I straight up wanted to lose like 10kg in 1 month, I specifically researched weight loss stories of whole 30. 3 days in, my goals shifted more towards my other goal- giving up sugar forever and it's been on that ever since. It feels really different to be one of 'those people' that cares more about health than aesthetics. Don't get me wrong, I still want to lose 10kg, but I'm okay about not losing it right now.

What else? I'm finding it pretty easy but read what I said earlier. I haven't really deprived myself so I have no reason to feel deprived. I've given up sugar 2 years in a row for lent, so it helps. There was a time in my life where I used to dream of chocolate bars in bed but lent changed that so now I have the ability to stick to whole 30 which I'm pretty sure I didn't have before.

I'm waiting for my skin to glow though, but I'm not sure that will happen in 30 days. When it happened during lent, it was towards the end, but ah well. 

Introducing...

If there's one thing that has frustrated me since I moved back, It's the lack of information. Nigerians are extremely secretive people, they value hoarding information. Maybe that prevents robbers from trailing your car from the airport, but it definitely doesn't help when deciding on a career or finding out a review of something. In general you guys, having a secretive culture isn't useful to us.

I started What Dami Did to be a 'what dami did and how she felt about it incase you want to find out first before trying it' which is why a lot of my posts are reviews. I just like the idea of googling stuff in Nigeria and finding some damn information! Anyway, to break the secretive trend, I'm launching a couple of series.

The 24 Hour Worker

Having a side hustle is a full on Nigerian trait. It seems like everybody wants one or is trying to get one. This series will give you a glimpse into the lives of people that are currently juggling full time jobs and starting a business. This feature won't be about people hating their jobs and putting it minimal effort till they can leave because I have a moral issue with people using their employers in this way. It will be about people who like their jobs (whether or not they plan to do it forever) and are doing (or starting) a side hustle that they may or not pursue full time.

12 hours in the life of...

Have you ever met someone in Nigeria that had a super interesting job and wondered, how the hell did they get here? 12 hours in the life of gives you a glimpse into the life of people that have these jobs. It's nice when you talk to someone that's at the start of their career sometimes. Too many times, I read interviews with people that have 'made it'and even though the interviews are inspirational, there is a disconnect between the beginning and the end. Sometimes, I come away feeling frustrated- 'but how did you start' and 'how did it develooop' and in a country like Nigeria where progression paths are as much a mystery as fried ice-cream, it's even worse. I hope this series provides some answers. It's not going to completely de-mystify stuff because Nigeria is mostly figure it out as you go along, but maybe it will give more people an idea about where to start.

Movement Series

I watched

this

 channel 4 segment on moving back to Nigeria and it was all land of milk and honey and whatnot and I was like.... Nigeria is whatever you want it to be. It can be a land of milk and honey (if you're into that sort of thing) or it can be a land of pure water. Whatever it is pretty much up to you. I'm speaking to people that decided to move to Nigeria after they had whole adult lives set up abroad. So basically, people that lived and worked abroad before they decided to move here or non-Nigerians who upped and left their countries for here in their adult lives. I think it's good to see the move from the point of view of choice and not just student visa expiring. I'm also going to talk to people that lived and worked here and decided to move back abroad (because they exist too).

There will also be loads of features and interviews that don't fit neatly into these categories. If you're curious about a specific job, let me know and maybe I can find someone that has it! 

Lessons I Learnt in 2015

Hey! This year, instead of making new year resolutions (which would have been the same as always) I made a list of lessons I learnt in 2015. It didn't make me feel as stressed to do that as it usually does to make New Years Resolutions, so maybe that's a lesson. 

Perseverance 

This is the kind of person I am- I think of a new idea- it's great , it's the greatest thing in the world- I start it and not enough people buy into it- I go aaaah fuck this, people are stupid - and stop. Meanwhile , it's me that's been stupid and impatient, not other people. I learnt to keep at things even when there's no immediate validation or reward. 

I'm not always right
Oh Lord. The downside from researching and researching and researching and being obsessed with facts and figures and reading everything under the sun is I think I'm right unless I'm provided with irrefutable evidence that I'm not. It's very annoying, I'm very annoying. I still think I'm right a lot of the time, but it's not all the time anymore. 

I complain too much
One day I was in the middle of a rant that something that was unimportant, something that if I hadn't complained about, I'd have gotten over really quickly and I realised that I was obsessed with complaining. Sometimes, I didn't even really feel that bad about things I was complaining about, I was just complaining for complaining sake. I learnt to complain less. I still catch myself complaining uselessly sometimes, but I catch myself and stop. I'm happier. 

Honesty
I've learnt to be honest and that honesty doesn't always lead to kumbaya- infact, it usually leads to 'omg you're a weirdo' or puts you in some trouble but it establishes early on who you are and sets a solid base for a long term relationship, romantic or otherwise. 

Self-belief
Sometimes, when you have any to do something really brave, a lot of people's first instincts is to tell you, you can't do it- straight up can't. I've come to realise that a lot of the time, it's just a projection of their own fears on you and their acceptance is irrelevant to whether or not you can actually do it, so do it or don't do it but never let it be based on someone else's fear. 

London Photo Diary

I had a break from work and I wasn't going to go anywhere, but then last minute, London called. I love London because it's more or less like not going anywhere, it's even more familiar to me than Lagos. I had a list of things I wanted to do- mostly eat to be honest but then I got there and was really tired so I ended up abandoning my list and doing nothing. I walked around the city and listened to music. It's so different from this 

holiday post

 where all I did was eat. I was really insecure about even putting up this post because it's just sooo boring, but it's exactly how the trip was. Perfect. 

This was the only place on my list I actually went to. They have an excellent cookbook and blog and I had to go and try some recipes in really life. Also, amazing matcha latte!

This girl was glittering in MAC. I love that she posed when she saw the camera.

My local starbucks had these adorable drawings of their baristas on cups. Should have made them draw one of me.

I spent a lot of time with my 

cousin

Muji and Paperchase are my favourite stores. I obsessively buy these notebooks, so imagine my happiness when I went and there was a stamping stand. I spent a good 20 minutes there buying and stamping things. 

Just a regular day on the streets of London. Why not?

Cookies on branch birthdays

London is hardly the greenest place, but I spent so much time appreciating 'nature' because it's non-existent in this grey place called Lagos.

I actually cooked sometimes. I even made jollof rice. I never ever ever ever cook.

Ping Pong is literally the only time I went for dinner and I don't think it counts because it's ping pong. Me and 

friend

 really went in though. Probably ate all the meals I should have eaten out in bowls of dim-sum.

I went on a few runs because it felt so good to run in a park!

The beginning of a deliciously messy night. 

On...Identity

Recently, me and my boyfriend broke up a little after 2 years together. For some reason, because I didn't fall apart, I thought I came out of it unscathed. I didn't realise I was reeling until after I stopped reeling. I didn't suddenly become a completely different person, it was more subtle. It was the way my interactions changed and there was this self imposed lightness in my relationships with new people that just wasn't real. Slowly, slowly, I started to be myself again and I realised all the shit I'd been doing. In a way, it was funny. In a way it wasn't. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things. Any relationship I inadvertently ruined was probably going to fall apart anyway.

But it made me think of identity and how it changes. It took me years and many lessons in self esteem to discover my identity. But it seems like just when you find it, you have to find it again. After uni, I went on a journey to find myself. I ended up in London in a job I absolutely loved and friends that felt like an extension of myself. I ran, I ate, I spent lots and lots of hours walking around and listening to music and sometimes had street parties with people I barely knew. Life was perfect, but it had to end and I moved back to Nigeria.

Everything was immediately different. My style had to change- messy quiffs and ripped clothing were generally frowned upon. My friends were no longer an extension of myself. I had to completely re-learn everything. My identity was in complete freefall. I started to re-shape a new identity, then I got into a serious relationship- before now, I had entered commitment only halfway but this time i entered it completely. With that too, came a new identity.

Law school, nysc, a new job, a new city, a new life plan and an old relationship and yet again, I have to re-shape my identity. But it gets easier, some things don't change. I've found a way to still be me, even when I'm re-finding my identity.

What Happens When you Big Chop in Nigeria

The first thing you learn is that it's a shared decision between you and everyone else. I learned this for the first time the day before I cut my hair. I mentioned the idea to someone at work and she followed me in the elevator begging me to re-consider because people don't like girls with short hair. 

I learned it again afterwards when people approached me with horror and sadness. One girl went on about it for so long. Why I did it and why I shouldn't have and why she preferred me before I did it, that someone else stepped in and told her off. The irony is that only a year before, the first time I met her, she had just big chopped herself.

It blows my mind that something like cutting my own hair for my own personal reasons can have such a strong impact on people that really don't care about me much in their day to day lives. It's almost like their strong disapproval is supposed to serve as a punishment for daring to step outside the acceptable lines of what is 'done'.

One girl said to me that short hair is only acceptable as a look if you're a 'model type'- skinny with long limbs. Off course the unspoken implication was that I wasn't a model type and it would therefore be foolish for me to try it.

I find these comments amusing and a reflection of just how deeply we are taught as Nigerian women to internalise self-hate. We are only allowed to love ourselves within acceptable confines of whatever beauty is defined as at the time. It's not just hair. It's the way you dress and whether or not you wear make-up and how much of it you wear. It's the style you choose to sew aso-ebi fabric in and whether or not your body type is acceptable at a moment in time. I've been called 'edgy' and 'weird' and 'alte' because I dared to stray from these very narrow standards of what is acceptable and apparently, I have strayed again by daring to cut my hair without regarding myself as different or interesting or brave because of it. 

Kajuru Castle, Kaduna State, Nigeria Review

Once upon a time, I stumbled on photos of kajuru castle online. It looked too good to be true. I showed some of my friends and they basically ignored me. It just sounded like false gist. Fastforward to earlier this year and a bunch of people I knew went. They loved it, so when another opportunity came to go, I hopped on it real quick.

I edited down from 119 pictures. At first, I was thinking, OMG, I need to show the views, it's so beautiful, but honestly, there are so many pictures of the castle already online, Just google 'kajuru castle.' Some of the photos look fake but trust me, it looks exactly like the photos. This is basically going to be more a practical guide of what to expect if you decide to go there. 

We drove from Abuja. There were 20 of us so we rented two buses because you have to take all your food and drink basically. Think of it as staying in an empty but nice house. It was a 3 hour drive, fairly straightforward.

So much excitement when we got to the little gate. That road ahead looks normal, but its so steep, and you have to drive up it. We started the drive and stalled midway, we all screamed, imagined our deaths and came back down really slowly. After that, we decided to just walk up and let the driver take his chances (with all of our luggage).

Our bus had fewer people and a careful driver. The white bus managed to drive up easily. 

So exciting walking up to the gate of the castle and beginning our little tour.

There are 5 bedrooms in the castle, all with two single beds which can be separated or joined together. Most of the rooms are in a tower (one room on each floor) and the master bedroom in the main house. The master bedroom and one other room have en suite bathrooms and the other rooms have a bathroom each but not en-suite.

Old ass crocodile!

The dining room

The kitchen (not pictured) has gas and two fridges and plates and pots and stuff. Many meals went down there.

The couches were specifically prepared for us as extra sleeping area because we were such a large group, which is why these cute mosquito nets are on them. They were actually really comfortable but apparently the castle maximum is actually 12. 

Master bedroom

Everyone basically put their stuff in here and I think 6 of us slept in here. It was pretty comfortable.

The sauna

Grill

Gazebo

It was so hard to find a time when the pool was empty to to take this photo so I waited till everyone was in the sauna. (or almost everyone).

There's space to have a party. I think you can also go up just for the day. They have a tower of speakers and you can play your own music. We had some pretty amazing playlists. 

They only accept one booking a time, so you don't share the castle with other guests, which is nice. 

I'd go back there again and again. 

Breakfast at Bistro 7

Listen. Bistro 7 is my favorite resturant in lagos and it's been for two years. I cannot articulate why. It's not particularly cheap and the food doesn't blow my mind away. But I like the consistency. Also, the fact that you can kind of see into the kitchen which allays my health and safety concerns. Their cocktails have never dissapointed me and they are the only people I know that have a green tea latte. I've tried to review it twice before now. One time, my memory card decided to fail me and that was a really good spread. the second time, I took pictures of chairs and tables and forgot to take any pictures of any food. So yah, that was a bit silly. The other weekend, I went there for breakfast on SATURDAY and SUNDAY so I kind of had to do a review. I'd say breakfast is the best time to go there because it fills up quite quickly at other meal times, especially on the weekend. 

Don't you love that they have actual breakfast cocktails? I have never tried a bloody mary and never say never, but I don't think I ever will. Tomato juice and vodka? Lord no. 

No doubt this is an overpriced meal, but hollandaise sauce, real ham and poached eggs in Lagos? Sometimes you just have to pay a premium on things that aren't available. Capitalism and all that.

These pancakes are quite sweet but very decent. 

Ah, a good mimosa. 

Before you judge this sunny side up, I asked for it well done, I'm not sure what was going through my mind at the time, I think I was very hungry.

Iced coffee? Yes please. (I love drinks)

Bistro 7 is at 273 Kofo Abayomi Street and is open on weekdays from 11am-11pm, opens at 9.30 ish on saturdays and is closed on Mondays

The evolution of Naturi Noughton

Remember this girl on the right here?

This girl on the left here with the glittery flat stomach?

I actually LOVED 3LW. I had their album on repeat for months. 'Getting really tired of your broken promithes promithes....sing it again, sing it again....ooooo'

This eager singer?

I actually loved FAME. Corny ass singy movie- it was awesome! Loved it so much, I bought the soundtrack afterwards.

Well, hello there princess!!

Throwback Thursday: Lunch Club at BBQ & Cravings

So like two lunch clubs ago, we went to to bbq and cravings. It was this thing that EDL was trying where we went to a low-key place instead of like a 'proper' restaurant. They also tried having more than 10 people for the first time. 

Arrived to cold coronas in these cute branded thingibobs. As I write this, I think I have to find it and throw it on my coffee cup. Tired of burning my hands because Nigerians don't believe in cup sleeves. I digress.

This menu didn't look like a lot of food, but it was a LOT OF FOOD.

The walls are covered with graffiti from people. And this fan was the MVP, because it was blowing away flies and flies and flies.

Actually, it didn't really feel like there were more people. The table was kind of divided a bit but I think that still happens when there are only 12 of us. The conversation was loud and noone was complaining. Welcome change from a regular inside setting.

Now, that's a portion of wings!

More meat. Meat Meat Meat. Tasty meat though.

'To share' apparently meant to share with one other person. Whaaaa?! By this point, I was almost full. 'Almost' being the operative word.

This sandwich was great and I love a cubed potato. By this time, I was actually full. By the time the burger came after, I had to get it packed. It wasn't happening.

Folly made these slutty brownies and I was greedy and had 2. But hey! Yolo right? 

Urban Fuxion Review

I love the movie

Chef

! So when I found out on

Eat. Drink. Lagos

 that a real life food truck was open in Lagos, I had to try it. But like most things I do, I procrastinated and procrastinated and then they followed me on twitter. I took it as a sign.

I sent a dm asking where the truck was. I think apart from when it moves around at night, it's usually parked in the same place in Lekki.

The truck is really nice. Great branding and so big. (for people that are looking at me like um, thats how food trucks are, I don't know anything about food trucks). There was a take out and take in window. I mean, you can't eat in or anything but there were two windows basically to make it more efficient.

The menu is burgerfrieswingssandwiches type menu. I tried the burger, some regular fries, chicken wings and a chicken sandwich. I remembered that the margaritas are supposed to be quite good, so I ordered a strawberry one.

I realise latently that I didn't take a picture of the menu. I was trying this new not taking pictures with my camera but trying to be under g with my phone and I'm not sure it quite clicked.

I argued with the guy that he gave me a virgin margarita because all I could taste was sweetness. The margarita was so so sweet, like bubble gum sweet, like artificially flavoured bubblegum sweet. I didn't like it at all BUT it DID have alcohol and if you like the bottles pitchers ,you'll probably like these. Different prices sha.

I think I should have tried the ribs. There's a consensus that they have amazing ribs but I don't think I'm really a rib eater and it didn't even occur to me at all, but everything was so average. Now, it's a food truck, so like the food is not going to be like amazing or anything, but it's not the cheapest food truck, like it's not fast food prices so I guess I had this expectation that wasn't really met.

I paid N2800 for the burger with fries and a drink (drink being regular stuff- water, fanta sprite). That's very reasonable, maybe even cheap by Lagos standards because Lagos standards are crazy but it's not cheap.

The food was forgettable and after I started writing this review, I had to taste the stuff again (my brother paid)

The wings tasted boiled. Maybe they were. I don't really have anything against boiled chicken but it was weird.

The sandwich was dry, like inside.

The food was okay. I think okay is my go to word for describing food that I wouldn't necessarily pay for again. The burger was fine, it could have been from anywhere. The fries were bland and the portion was tiny.

I have to say- the food looked good though.

I was disappointed to be honest but I really think I'm in the minority here and I'm going to have to taste those ribs. If I'm on the streets at 4am and I'm hungry, defs going to eat the food happily.

Studio of Mode Movie Screening

So, the other day, I saw on Instagram that Studio of Mode was having a movie screening of girlhood. It was on a Sunday afternoon and I'd been meaning to check out the studio so I took myself there. 

The movie screening was free but for N2000, you could get food and drink. I paid and got a hotdog, some popcorn and a drink.

I really love the store space. It's really fresh and light and all the stuff looks so pretty!

There were three screening rooms.

One cute couch space which a couple took...

This really cute screening room that I sat in. It was a great way to watch a movie tbh. Foreign language movie? check. No large crowd? check. I feel like this a great idea for like a birthday or something. 

This one had cushions on the floor for a super chill vibe.

At the end, people chilled and hung out for a bit. I took pictures and called my uber 

Nigerian Law School Bar Finals Tips and Hacks

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Law school exams are here again and following the massive failure lately, it doesn't hurt to have a few tips on the ready. 

1. Attend every single revision class. A revision class is where it was casually announced that the time of our exam had been cut. 

2. Read the same thing from different sources (by different sources, I mean lecture notes and revision notes, not mami materials) as many times as possible.

3. Take no more than a few minutes to arrange your thoughts, but then write really fast. Three hours speeds by faster than you might think.

4. Leave two lines after you answer every question in case you remember something.

5. Give straight to the point answers. You have no time for faffing around.

6. If you're making good time, give examples, where relevant.

7. When you're unsure of the exact answer, write everything you know about the theme of the question.

8. Where you have a choice, don't answer a question that requires you to draft a process if you're not sure of every single part of that process. 

9. Make sure you go through every single page of the syllabus and know what everything is. Some questions may be on something that wasn't mentioned in class at all, but every question will be from the syllabus. You should know everything, even if it's not in detail, you don't really have time to answer anything in that much detail. However, you answers should be articulate. 

10. Memorize your exam number. 

11. Don't take your watch to the exam. In the middle of my exams, watches were randomly banned and someone I know had her watch stolen. If you don't want to rely on the random clock in the hall, bring a cheap watch.

12. In fact, don't bring anything you don't need.

13. Dress properly.

14. It's better to miss 15 minutes of last minute studying than to be let into the hall 30 minutes late. Be smart about going in on time.

15. Ask lecturers questions at any point before the exam. 

16. Beware of mami materials, except maybe past questions. Ask questions and follow the syllabus.

17. If group revision has never worked for you before, don't try it now.  

18. If everything else I say is irrelevant, USE THE SYLLABUS to study.  

Good luck!

How To Get Fat

You're skinny. You're slim -maybe you've always been skinny- maybe you just lost a lot of weight. Today is Saturday- it's your friends birthday- it's a dinner-intimate - this is one of your closest friends, it would be rude not to eat- you know how long she's planned this and she's paying herself! You more or less starve all day so you can eat dinner. And it's amazing! 4 courses + birthday cake! Plus the most divine cocktails.

The next day- you miss your workout because you stayed out late. You're tired and a little hungover- it's not the end of the world, you've worked out a couple of times this week anyway. On Sunday, you're in bed watching TV shows- your loving partner or mum walks in with a little treat, a pack of coconut chips, a salted caramel cupcake, a mini doughnut, or some frozen yoghurt because its Sunday and everyone needs a little cheat in the week. You've been so good. You eat it because it's only little and you're hungover off course it would be rude not to.

Now for many people, that's fine. They might get up the next day and go straight back into insanity and salads. Or maybe that's a trajectory to weight gain. Either way, we all know it's easier to lose weight in a first world country where everything is packaged and prepared and the nutritional values are slapped on to the front of the packet.

In Nigeria, it's hard. I just started a weight loss challenge with some people and when I was trying to convince people to join, I was struck by how little information there is about losing weight. People have this impression that it's all salads and starvation and spending a lot of money, but it's actually not.

So I've decided to make this week wellness week. I'm going to debunk myths and post recipes and hacks and meal ideas that don't feel like you're suffering but don't also kill your budget. It's not just being slim, it's your skin, it's your energy, it's digestion, it's your mood. It's crazy how much what you put in your body affects everything else.

It's Monday, try and be healthy today! 

Sunday Brunch: Lunch Club VIII @ Velvett Grill Lounge and Bar

So, the 8th lunch club was yesterday at Velvett. 

Velvett is usually kind of pricey. So when I saw the lunch club menu, I knew I was getting a bargain!

At the beginning, we had lovely surprise cupcakes from 

honeys cupcakes

 from her new ...line?...collection? whats the right word for new food, which we got to try and review.

Obviously bread wasn't on the menu, but when the waiter put this basket on the table, I nearly wept in gratitude. The bread was really fresh. When he took it away, I almost grabbed the basket out of his hand.

I'm sure you could tell from the menu that it was going to be an appetiser platter. It was missing the plantain, but I can't say it would have added something different- just more food. Everything tasted good to me, tbh. I did wolf everything down at scary speed, so most of it probably missed my tastebuds.

I ordered my steak medium well because you just can't be sure how you're going to get your meat cooked in places. I ordered medium rare one time and they basically slapped the dead cow on my plate with sauce. Fola ordered medium rare and it was perfectly medium rare, so with Velvett, I guess you can trust that they understand how to cook steak. The meat was really tender and the black peppercorn sauce was great. This course came with a discussion of Nigerian cows and why steak cuts are imported.

Oh and the mash was great. Creamy, smooth and made from real potatoes. I pretty much scraped the bowl.

The chicken looked really good and was massive!

We had the brownie and tiramisu for dessert. I have to admit, this fell a little flat for me. The tiramisu was much too creamy with little or no sponge fingers. The custard was tasty, don't get me wrong, but the dessert isn't just custard and mine was basically that. The brownie was dry and most of mine was burnt. After the rest of the meal, I was a bit disappointed, but also full, so it was fine.

Velvett Grill Lounge and Bar is located at 19b Idejo Street (beneath Izanagi).

To join the lunch club mailing list, go on 

eat.drink.lagos

Sunday Brunch- Hans and Rene

You know those Sundays when there's rice at home, but you still want brunch (because brunch isn't just about the food), that's where Hans and Rene comes in! 

Hans and Rene is an gelato cafe (my words). They have gelato, sorbet, slush, sweets, coffee, tea, cakes, cookies and pastries (ps- I hate the word pastries). 

It's inside the Radisson Hotel at the side and has this cute outside seating strip. 

Their gelato has 40% less fat than ice-cream (has an extra scoop).

Ps- their salted caramel gelato has popcorn in it. It's an unpleasant surprise.

Their sorbets look creamy because they are churned really slowly, not because they have any cream. This zobo sorbet was delicious. 

You can taste as many flavours as you want (I think). The last time I was there, I did see this little girl taste like 10. She had a stack of used spoons. 

Cruffins are croissant  + muffin. They taste more like croissants, but not as flaky. Still delicious though!

These doughnuts are cakey and delicious but small enough for you to not to feel too guilty about it.

It's done up really well and the seating feels spacious and comfortable. I was tempted to plant myself here for a day, it's easily that kind of place.

This 3D wallpaper in the bathroom was interesting. We ended up posing on it. My 

cousin

's picture turned out better than mine. Mine was lame, but sitting on a pretend chair is a lot harder than it looks.

These painted ceilings are pretty! And so real. One of my favourite things!

I had the regular vanilla and nutella gelato. My cousin had the rice milk vanilla and chocolate vanilla which is a great option for the lactose intolerant and fitfam.

 This is hands down, the best mocha I've had in Lagos (then again, I haven't had many). It was creamy and perfect.

Hans and Rene is in Radisson Blu Hotel on Ozumba Mbadiwe and is open 12pm-7pm, Mondays to Fridays and 12pm to 8.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

International Stores that Deliver to Nigeria

Before I begin this post, I have to point out something that a lot of Nigerians don't realise or believe. Nigerian has a postal service AND that's how most of your ASOS deliveries come (for proof that it works), so if you're for instance sending a parcel from the UK to Nigeria, and you use regular royal mail, your package will probably be fine. So, not everytime, look for someone coming back. It will take like two weeks and the girl at the post office might charge you N500 to collect it but it will probably come.

When I moved back, I made a point to look for things I can buy in Nigeria instead of spending foreign currency, because the naira is really unreliable (and that's putting it mildly). Obviously, it's frequently a lot cheaper to buy it from wherever and there are some things that are just impossible to find (matcha powder and loose leaf tea if anyone knows)

Anyway here are some sites that deliver to Nigeria;


Asos
Asos is number 1 because their delivery is FREE (no minimum spend)...as in you can buy a £3 necklace and ASOS will deliver it for free. I'm stressing this because people actually order stuff from Asos and sell the stuff, which makes me feel like people don't know delivering from asos is easy, free and relatively quick. If you're in Lagos, it's going to get to you faster sha, because they deliver to Lagos first and then dispatch to whatever state. When I ordered from Abuja, it took a while. Try and keep orders under £40 because over that and you start to have issues with customs payments and etc. Your stuff will still come but you might have to pay to collect it.

Missguided
Now, I heard about this and went to check out the delivery countries on their site and sure enough, There was Nigeria but, I've never ordered from here or known anyone that has, but if you try it, let me know what your experience is.

Lookfantastic
Look fantastic sells beauty products...look fantastic...geddit? teehee. I feel like you can find most beauty products in Nigeria, but still.

amazon
Amazon ships selects items to Nigeria and some sellers deliver to Nigeria as well.

T.M.Lewin
They have stores in Nigeria so I feel like this is moot, but if you like want the latest collection of shirts or whatever. Actually, I think ordering from the UK is actually cheaper than buying from their Nigerian stores, but don't quote me.

Aliexpress
I've actually never ordered from aliexpress. There's something about choice that cripples me, plus a sellers paradise where you cannot trust for a second that what is advertised is what you're going to get. I'll try it someday sha. *shudders*

Selfridges
Delivery on selected items. I somehow feel like Selfridges just wanted to say they deliver to Nigeria without really having to deliver on that promise.

This isn't an exhaustive list. Where do you shop?

Sunday Brunch: Lunch at Kitchen Butterfly

So in my

last brunch post

, I mentioned Kitchen butterfly, but that's only because I have firsthand knowledge that her food is amazing. Teehee.

Let's just all agree that the best brunch place in Lagos is

Wheatbaker

 so we can move on with our lives. Free champagne cannot redeem Southern Sun brunch. They don't care about the food AT ALL. They just toss food on the table and blind your taste buds with free champagne. No.

Anyway, this isn't about brunch wars. It's about that one time I happened to have lunch in KT's kitchen. And boy was it a good lunch.

We started with some roadside plantain chips with scent leaf dip

Rose and zobo mix with chunky ice-cubes- yum

Cream and condensed milk

Grapefruits sprinkled with sugar

Waffles!

Spicy crispy chicken

Mini blueberry pancakes

Dipping sauces...chocolate and caramelised white chocolate with mint (she should bottle this)

Spicy zobo jam

Peaches and cream (not just regular cream)

Creme brûlée about to be blureed

blow torch in action!

Perfect!

beignets- I was so full at this point, I don't think I even tasted these

 The food, the conversation, it was all really perfect. Who else is opening up their home for lunch?

5 things you learn as an adult

 1.  Nobody is either good or bad. There is no such thing as completely bad to completely good. Humans are complex creatures with the capacity for good and bad and what they do depends on many environmental factors.

2. No one is going to make you do things. You have to make yourself.

3. How you look is probably not the most important thing about you.

4. Neither is how intelligent you are.

5. Your dreams fade/die if you don't constantly cultivate them.

6. Friendship takes effort.

7. Someone is going to title their post 5 things and tell you 7, that's life, deal with it