Thursday 31 December 2015

Au Revoir 2015

"I love December, its the month of Christmas, hubby's birthday, my birthday, holiday from work, last month of the year and usually full of weddings and events. *bigGrin. This December though, the Nigerian people and Economy is suffering from 'Buharitisis' a.k.a money no dey in circulation. Since Buhari became the Presido, contracts haven't been issued (people dey fear), sack letter dey flow like water, $ rate don almost reach 300 naira (lets not talk about Pounds), thieves have been caught (i like this sha, the Dokpesi's, Dasuki's and their fellow barawos-i just hope justice prevails eventually), fuel scarcity, etc."
Its the last day in 2015, with all the good and bad the year dished out, i'm grateful to be alive, healthy and to have been able to tick some things off my To-Do list. I already have a list for the new year. When there is Life, there is hope. I am able to count my many blessings and thank God for them and my friends, family and relatives. Hubby & I celebrated our birthdays this month and got to celebrate Christmas with family and friends which i loved. I also attended quite a number of events and weddings {u guys know i love weddings :)}
I wish us all a great 2016, may our dreams become reality and the purpose of God for our lives; i pray for peace in our lives, cities & towns, countries and the world at large. 
Happy New Year in advance!!! Stay safe.
Toodles!XooX

SPN hair salon review

Eyes on za hair :)
I haven't done a hair post in a bit, because i just haven't had the zeal. Earlier in the year, i started an in-depth draft post for new Naturalistas and Transitioners, it was supposed to be a go to guide with links to more info on all you need to know about natural hair as a newbie. Long story short, i did not know my internet connection was down and all i had typed and linked did not save as a draft, before i could rectify this, my Google Chrome browser crashed and restarted but without all the content i had spent time and energy. Pissed is an understatement of how i felt, i just closed the laptop and went to bed (i did learn a lot while drafting the post though) and just haven't been able to getting around to re-doing the post.

my three-strand braids for keeping my hair stretched
I have given myself a haircut or 2 since my last post, mostly focused on my ends, i have also stuck to washing and taking care of my hair by myself at home, wigs have also waltzed into my hair routine , my hair has grown out quite some as well as the bald spot (traction alopecia) i got on my hairline,from tight braids(Halleluyah!!) and much more hair jist, watch out for a post on this *covers face.lol. I decided after my plenty DIY to visit a  salon to get my hair washed, i have 2 friends who are also Natural and they recommended SPN salon to me.
2 days post-salon visit. I had to moisturize with water n rosewater to style
SPN (Snow's Purely Naturelle) Salon are supposedly Professional Natural Hair Stylists and located on the 2nd floor in Centrepoint Mall on No. 35, Adetokunbo Ademola Cresent, Wuse II, Abuja (close to Chloe's Cupcake). I had almost forgotten to do this review till i read that of fellow blogger Achenyo.
I went to the salon on the 4th of December and its a small space with about 5 or 6 chairs, i noticed it had just one wash basin and one hair dryer and it was full of clients. I was warmly welcomed by one of the stylists and the owner of the salon, i spoke to the stylist about washing my hair and i was told it costs #1,500 (i felt it was on the high side but i also know detangling can be stressful), and i asked if my hair could be blow-dried afterwards and they told me, they do not blowdry or stretch Natural hair and clients hair have to air-dry huh?? I was confused, i had thought as 'professional hair stylists' they'd give me the option of a cold blow dry or they would have temperature regulated straighteners and heat protectants or suggest i go with any of the heat free stretching options. I told the stylist straight up that i was not ok with having my hair air-dried 'cos i get almost 85% shrinkage and would end up with tangles and knots, even when i do my wash at home, i work with two-strand twists or braids to help stretch my hair while it air-dries in a microfibre towel head wrap. After much back and forth, th owner of the salon intervened, i explained my stand to her and she told the girl to put my hair in two-strand twists after conditioning. I was ok with this though i wasn't pleased i'd leave the salon with damp hair. 
I asked how much it would cost to get my hair in medium kinky braids and i was told it costs #6,000 and one pack of the attachment costs #2,500 (it costs 1k5 in the market by the way) and i would need 3. OK. She said they do not open on Mondays and i'd have to come on Tuesday if i wasn't doing it after my wash, she also said i wouldn't have to pay for my wash if i got my braids done there right after my wash. I told her i had other plans and that will not be possible so i'd stick to just washing and conditioning and having my hair in two-strand twists to go. I had prepped my hair before going to the salon, detangled and cornrowed into four. While i waited for the wash basin to free up, the stylist took down my cornrows and did some detangling while the owner and i conversed, she had asked me how long my hair was and i told her 'i don't know', which is the honest truth. I do not length check, my only goal is to have healthy hair. She saw how long and full my hair was when taken down, asked how many years i had been Natural, other customers got interested in my hair journey, regimen, etc. and we all conversed. She told me she had been trained abroad, i told her i usually don't go to salons and prefer to cater to my hair myself. I enjoyed the conversation and told her i avoid using products with coconut oil because my hair is protein sensitive (check herehere and here for details on this) and they make my hair brittle, stiff and hay-like especially when used in excess. She was surprised when i said that and said her hair loves coconut oil. She offered me and the other customers fruit cake at some point and i felt really comfortable.
My hair was properly washed, although i did not like that i couldn't tell the brand/content of the shampoo or conditioner because they had been put in a bottle without labels, it was dried with a t-shirt (which is normal for natural hair) though i'd have preferred a micro-fibre towel and it was around this time that the owner of the salon left. I sat in the chair and the stylist said she was going to use their leave-in conditioner in my hair, i told her i'd rather use just shea butter and she sed they did not (what natural hair salon has NO SHEA BUTTER) have any so i had no option but to use the conditioner. She had already put the conditioner (A LOT) in my hair before i remembered to confirm that it did not have coconut oil in it and it did. *sigh. She did some light detangling and put my hair in very loose two strand twists which basically defeated the aim of me getting the twists (which was to reduce my shrinkage). I was pissed! I asked for a t-shirt and wiped as much of the product out of my hair as possible and did a firm three strand braid in place of the twists to help stretch my hair. The stylist sat down throughout and watched me do all this without offering to assist, apologising for using a product with coconut oil in my hair and in excess; as far as she was concerned, she was done and i should pay up and leave. I paid the #1500 and as a first time customer, i was not impressed with the service and i noticed they were not polite to the two customers in the salon with me who had complains about how their hair was being styled.
I had to re-moisturize my hair with a mix of water and rosewater the next night after my salon visit and the night after (hubby's bday) before i could style it o get rid of the stiffness and hay-like feel the coconut oil had given it. I ended up having breakage, damage to some of my ends and basically lost some hair 'cos of how strong it was and difficult to manipulate, even simply taking down the braids it was in.*big sigh* I doubt i will be patronising the salon anytime soon and if at all for ONLY styling, gonna stick to my DIY home hair-care that has worked so far.
1 day post-salon visit. Check out my hairline (no bald spot) :D
1 day post-salon visit. I took out d braids.Hair was stiff & Hay-like
The owner of the salon seems like a warm person that does understand natural hair and her stylists seem well behaved when she is around but when she leaves they switch and they definitely need more training on how to handle natural hair. I agree with Achenyo's post on the improvements they need to make. They really can do better.
Toodles!XooX

Monday 21 December 2015

Safety in Abuja-December Holidays

Hallo ma peoples!!! Been a Minute ba, no vex biko, i've been swamped with so many events and work and have sooo many draft pending posts... *sigh. Anyway, back to the matter, we are in December, the last of the 'Ember Months' signalling the end of the year, like play like play 2015 don dey waka go .
Dates for Your Diary: December 2015
I love December, its the month of Christmas, hubby's birthday, my birthday, holiday from work, last month of the year and usually full of weddings and events. *bigGrin. This December though, the Nigerian people and Economy is suffering from 'Buharitisis' a.k.a money no dey in circulation. Since Buhari became the Presido, contracts haven't been issued (people dey fear), sack letter dey flow like water, $ rate don almost reach 300 naira (lets not talk about Pounds), thieves have been caught (i like this sha, the Dokpesi's, Dasuki's and their fellow barawos-i just hope justice prevails eventually), fuel scarcity, etc.
Country tight now as you can see from the above, the streets are not smiling and those that are not making an honest living have become more desperate. Everybody wan go village do yanga and celebrate this Christmas, by fire, by force. God help us that are working hard for our income and bless the work of our hands and keep us safe. There is more insecurity during this period and i'm just going to write below a few pointers to help us stay safe especially in Abuja.

  • Try not to stay out too late especially if you do not have a car and if you have to, have a friend or 2 with you
  • Be aware of your surroundings
  • If you own a car and reside in Abuja (especially around Wuse 2), please try not to park in areas without proper security (especially @night) and even when you do, please do not leave any valuables in your car or boot. (Our car was robbed sometime in October, the back window was broken and they were able to open the car and stole my handbag from the boot; luckily i got my bag back, but that's story for another post)
  • If you own a car, please always lock all your doors at all times, especially when approaching a speed bump or at a red light. It has become common practice for thieves to run out of nowhere, open car doors and grab what they can within reach (your bag, phone, etc.) in a flash and dash off into the blue before you even comprehend what even happened. Sometimes they (heard sometimes they are oiled up) will even try to drag things out of the hand of the person in the passenger seat (this happened to my friend)
  • If you are entering a cab, please be extremely cautious and try to evaluate the personality of the driver while pricing, when a price is agreed on,ask him to open the door from inside (this is to ensure that the child lock is not enabled and in case of any issue, you can get out ASAP). 
  • If you are entering a cab, ask to check the boot, to make sure there's no one hiding in there, some cars have back seats that fold and open into the car and quite a number of people have gotten robbed in this way
  • If you are entering a cab, i'd advise you seat in the back seat, preferably directly behind the driver, its harder for the driver to attack you in this position if he has such intentions and you can easily tuck and roll out of the car in such a situation
  • If you are entering a cab, check to see that the door locks are present and if they are automatic and the type you can manually open if necessary
  • If you are entering a cab, please evaluate the cab even from afar even before stopping it, check that it has a proper plate no; the necessary cab no.s painted on it, etc. An unpainted cab (not green&white) can be riskier to take
  • If you want to take a cab, you can use the Easy Taxi or Uber app to get one from the comfort of your home, though the prices may be a bit higher that if you get one by the roadside, it is wayyyyy safer. Their drivers are registered with them and can be traced if anything goes wrong.
  • If possible, have a pepper spray or small tazer on you at all times in case of an attack, so you can defend youself
  • I do not advise entering cars that already have passengers (a.k.a 'Along') especially if they are all men or only one female in the car, i believe buses are actually safer for such trips
  • If you are walking on the sidewalk, keep your bag, etc. properly closed and on the shoulder away from the road, hold on to it tightly to avoid having something stolen from it (pickpockets) or having it snatched from you 
  • Do not sleep in cab and mind d convos (phone calls) u have,
  • Do not leave ur bag/valuables to step out for a bit, use an ATM, etc. and come back. You can end up having something stolen or he zooms off with all ur stuff,
  • Keep ur belongings closed n out of arms reach of the cab driver
  • If possible have a consistent cab guy with a detailed record of his car and personal data in case of any issues
  • Keep you house gates and doors locked and try to avoid crowded places (Boko Haram is still active)
Stay safe my peoples, country hard but by God's grace e no go hard for us and we will be out of the reach of these desperados.
Toodles!XooX

Sunday 22 November 2015

Wig Newbie

I'm a wig newbie and currently have just one wig which i started wearing sometime in September but i'm really loving it and motivated to get some more styles. The one i currently have is Synthetic and the style is a fringe with layers by the sides and long mid-back length hair behind and it cost just  'bout N2500. It makes my life as a lazy natural easier.
To think i used to find it funny that my mum and her friends wore wigs, when i was younger. They were definitely on to something good. lol. 
It's been months since i've been to a salon and i only go there to get weaves in, I wash and condition at home then braid/cornrow my hair flat into four/six lines (depending on how lazy i'm being), after this i either rock a turban, natural hairstyles or a my wig. This has been my routine for the past few months and the quickest/easiest way to tame my full and long mane.
Pros
Comfortable, not hot underneath, basic to diva in minutes, easy to maintain, freedom to take it off when home, versatile-can rock different hairstyles as often as i like, it fits sturdy

Cons
Scared of it falling off, self-conscious 'bout it, can't move my head with reckless abandon esp in the clubif someone mistakenly grabs at it, my not-so-neat/cute braids underneath will be exposed
Here are some ladies inspiring me to embrace 'Wigdom' with open arms as they rock awesome styles, colors and textures- BeautybyJJ, PatriciaBright, Peakmill. Check them out on IG and YouTube.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Toodles!XooX

Tying Gele Myself

You guys already know i love weddings. I love playing dressup and getting my face beat and effritin on fleek. lol. The look is neva quite complete though without a 'gele' (headtie) adorning my head, the beautiful piece that brings the whole look together, whether aso-oke, sego, net, etc. I love how the 'gele' can take my look from basic to diva, whenever i'm in a traditional attire, that being said, tying gele is not an easy something! 
Without Gele
With Gele
Look is just not complete without a Gele
You have to have had some practice to get the fabric into pleats and then properly lined up, it is also quite an arm workout achieving this feat. This is why the majority of women would rather stop by a makeup studio, on their way to the wedding ceremony, to have it tied for them or get someone come over and do the tying. This service usually costs between N500 to N2000, for me anyway, and when it's on the higher end it honestly pains me to give out this money; so i decided it was time to learn to get it done myself, instead of sulking everytime i had to get my gele tied.
Tying this Gele cost N2000
Where would i learn this skill for free? i have had a number of failed attempts trying to freestyle. My beloved YouTube of course! Same place i learnt how to get my makeup on point and a couple of other things, the only thing i had to sacrifice was my data and it was worth it. I got to work searching for videos and downloaded the relevant ones, up next was practising. I started practising with my softest gele fabric then tried my hands on my 'Sego gele' and rocked it to an event. Everyone said i did a good job. *big grin* Next up will be 'aso-oke', i'll let you know how that goes, in the meantime i'll keep practising armed with pins *wink. I must say, tying gele is quite an arm workout. 
Below are pics of the gele i tied after watching vids & practising. i tried ba *wink
Tied myself (1st attempt)
Free of charge (DIY) :D
2nd attempt
3rd attempt
3rd attempt (ma fave so far)

Disclaimer: I am not this fresh in reality o, I wish! Na camera, lighting and editing help my condition. lol.
Here's my fave Youtube Channel (Chichichikito) with all the info on how to tie different styles and types of gele. I hope you find this post useful and inspires a DIY gele so you can stop doling out cash for this service like i have. 
Toodles!XooX

Saturday 21 November 2015

Skypainters Nigeria

As our mornings unfold and the sun rises, we easily get caught up in the routine of the day. The clouds shift, sometimes hiding a blazing sun or releasing rain drops as we seek shelter from Mother Nature. Amidst all this, if we could stop for a second, we can behold the beauty freely given in the skies above. If we are quick enough, we can capture pieces of these moments through our camera lens to treasure. When the sun eventually sets, the moon takes its place and the stars may decide to grace the skies alongside it wherever you are, you can lie back and relive your captured piece and properly take in its beauty; The hustle kept aside for the dawning of another day.
These captured moments are what Skypainters Nigeria is about. Raw and unedited captured pieces with a few lines to enhance the beauty of each piece

Check them out here

Thursday 19 November 2015

Lil Miss Four Eyes

I'm back on my glasses p guys. Nerd alert*
The first time i ever got glasses in my life was during the hols of Junior Secondary School (JSS2) 3rd term after much nagging to my parents. Dad n Mum had glasses n I thought it made them look cool, smart and serious. I had been trying to get one since forever and done everything possible to make them believe i needed one- I sat very close to the TV, squinted n did many other tins i can't even recall. I went back to school and resumed JSS3 with 2 new tins- a super lowhaircut (i may do a post on this and how i cried as my hair was cut and packed the hair into and empty nature essence cream container *sadtimes) and circular framed glasses (supposedly corrective lens) in sky blue plastic frames. Terrible! I was diagnosed to have myopia (short-sightedness) i don't think I ever took any pic with those glasses. I didn't want them anymore but my prayers or actions had worked and my sight wasn't already ruined or maybe that's just how my eyes were from birth *shrug. Thinking back now, i do thank God for unanswered prayers-i remember praying to have Asthma so i wouldn't have to do Morning Duties in school and other weird prayers i thank God for not answering. 
I only wore my glasses in class (Sec. Sch. & Uni) so I could c d black/white board. I eventually let them just sit in  their case after Uni, i had rocked 'bout 3-4 recommended glasses by this time. 
I went to get my eyes checked (for glaucoma, etc.) and got prescribed new lens n antioxidants sometime around July . I'm loving my new frames though, i think i picked a better shape & d world is clearer/sharper now. I wear them about though (when i remember) I'm still adjusting to the renewed feeling of having it on my face,pressed against my nose. I have to say this one suits me way better n I love d touch of color plus I don't have to squint anymore (premature eye wrinkles ain't so cute and i definitely wanna have my sight in old age). Everyone's getting used to seeing me in them now and i think i'm growing into them nicely too. Don't u think?

Toodles!XooX

Sunday 8 November 2015

Pic of the Day

Enjoy the Present and make the best of it. You cannot go back to the Past and the Future is yet to come.
Toodles!XooX

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Val's Day as a Married couple

If you follow my blog, you already know my thoughts on Valentine's day, if you are new to my blog, check out these posts to know what i mean. It is just another day. More of a cliche now to show love only on this day and shower your significant other with gifts and all that good stuff. 
Moving on, this post is just about my first valentine's day as a married gal and if the way i feel about it has changed. I still feel the same way about it by the way and although i told my S/O we were not gonna do anything, he still got me cupcakes (cakes are NEVER a bad idea!) and a NACK lovebox (if u know me u know i love anything NACK and i'm an unofficial ambassador of the brand). I cannot hold a grudge against him for not going with my let's have a normal day idea. He proposed to me on Feb 15, read here, so we decided to have a change of location and just chill for the weekend at a coded hotel. It was really nice and we hung out with our friends, who happened to lodge in the same hotel, later in the day. We played couple games with them, watched movies, the guys played video games. I have to say it was good fun, good food and good people. 
Excerpt from a post i did on Val's day a while back:
"Do we have to pick just one day to show love to our dear ones in material form or should we embrace making it a habit to do this daily. Truth is while we may be waiting for February 14 to come, our loved ones may not wait around.
Show love whenever you can and to whoever you can...Xoxo"
Toodles!XooX


Wednesday 30 September 2015

Road to Yesterday Trailer

Silent Tears Trailer (2015)

                        
The hypocrisy embraced by law enforcers in the name of "sanitizing" the streets who patronize the supposed culprits in kind or cash while they arrest those that don't 'cooperate'. Abuse of power.
The fear of detainment/assault women unaccompanied by men face when they are out at night, whether to hail a cab or meet up friends.
The archaic mentality that only women are/can be prostitutes and every/any woman alone on the street at a time considered "ungodly" is a prostitute and should be arrested/detained/molested without question.
I lived in one of the busy part of Wuse 2 where prostitutes did frequent and many 24hour businesses functioned. I could not comfortably stand on the street to hail a cab from 7pm out of fear that the authorities can show up at anytime and i could be arrested/detained/molested with no opportunity for explanation or to defend myself. We have heard the stories and no one wants to be a victim.

I wrote a post here in 2012 about my experience with the Nigerian Police authorities when we were stopped at a police checkpoint. A guy was driving and we were 2 girls in the car, next thing we were told to drive down with them to their station because we were assumed to be prostitutes!! Furious is an understatement of how i felt as i was very well dressed unlike usual nights i'm out with friends, i wonder what the story would have been if it was.

I applaud this documentary. Definitely long overdue. There must be a better way to "sanitize" the streets of Abuja without preying on the freedom of movement of Women.
Toodles!XooX

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Married to a Bearded Man...

The Pros & Cons.
PROS

  • You & Hubby get to put up those cool Beard Gang memes and laugh about them

  • Hubby looks as manly as it gets
  • You have something to fiddle with and detangle when you're bored or just chilling with hubby and he enjoys the stoking feeling (*singing 'Pe mi loruko, ko fa mi ni irugbon'-translation-call my name and pull my beard. its a popular yoruba phrase for teasing)
  • You have that inner happy feeling that your unborn child will get good hair genes
  • All the attention he gets from other guys (and gals), asking what secret formula he uses to have such a full 'healthy' beard (lol, i swear this really happens, we get stopped by total strangers for this)
  • Its an icebreaker a.k.a topic of discussion
  • I can share my hair potions with his beard.lol.

  • He is already half dressed and steady looking hot with za beard (trying to look hotter than me eh *side-eye)

CONS
  • There is gonna be hair EVERYWHERE!! in different curls and sizes and that equals cleaning 
  • Food easily gets caught in the beard trap and hubby has to be conscious of it whenever he's eating
  • He has to get regular trims and grooming to keep the beard looking great and majestic
  • You gotta help him get out any ingrown hairs with a pair of tweezers, no place for bumps around the awesomeness of this beard (I enjoy doing this though)
  • You don't wanna see hubby with a clean shave.  Baby Face.
  • It's a chic magnet(how is that a con right?? Some even try to stroke/pull it ??!! Well he's mine ladies!eyes/hands off)
  • Sometimes he gets weird looks at security checkpoints (No, he is not a terrorist 'cos he has a beard, Mr. Soldier *rme)
  • We get stares in Church (the eyes try to see through us and detect if we are terrorists or have an ulterior motive)
  • Random men walk up to him asking for beard secret/magic potions, grooming tips, etc. (sometimes we are not in the mood plixx! *rme)
Hope you guys enjoyed this post, hubby and I sure enjoyed it and had a good laugh with the memes.lol. I love the beard regardless of the Cons above though and we are keeping it for now. #TeamBeardGang
Toodles!XooX

Friday 24 July 2015

Our Bdays as Hubby & Wifey

My Hubby was born on Dec. 6th while i was born on Dec, 23rd. Last year we celebrated our individual birthdays for the 1st time as a married couple.
Dec 6th- I organized a House Party for hubby for his birthday at our home. We had about 20 friends over with the house prepped with cake, music, food and drinks (soft & alcohol). You all know i love planning parties. I cooked Fried rice, Goat meat peppersoup, Plantain and Peppered Chicken with my friend Ejura helping out (She also baked the birthday cake). There was also Shisha. Sadly i couldn't take pictures 'cos i was so busy. The night was great fun, guys played video games, interesting covos and takeaway food for the guests. It was all a wrap around midnight and time to clean up (the notsofun part) 
Dec 23rd- Hubby made me breakfast in bed to start  my day and then it was responding to calls, messages, social media messages wishing me a happy birthday. He arranged a surprise candlelit dinner for the two of us with my kinda food and wine that was as sweet as i love it, We got all dolled up and enjoyed an intimate time with each other. My friend Talatu came to visit with a nice gift and my friends Praisel & Ermy had organized with hubby to get me a nice perfume. I was really touched *biggrin* that even though one of them wasn't in Nigeria and the other was in another state, they still put so much effort to make my day and then i also got gifts in the new year from friend's that were outta town during my bday (This is a norm 'cos my birthday is around Christams period and a lot of people travel around this time). Every gal loves gifts so having gifts was great!!!lol. Hubby didn't get me a cake though and i was used to getting cakes even if its just cupcakes (yes i am a spoiled sweet-tooth) so that was a lil bummer. I let him know though and he made up for it during Val's day *biggrin*:D. He also got me an HTC Desire Eye as my belated birthday gift some months ago. I absolutely love the phone and i'm now an Android convert, gonna do a review on it soon
almost a smiley face breakfast
Long Distance Gift <3 td="">

I can't believe i'm now 25years old!!! getting older by the second, I can remember when i was 18yrs old. Oh well, we all gotta grow right, can't complain about where i am in life, gonna count my blessings and keep working towards my goals.
Husband and Wife are really just tags. We are having fun living together as two individuals who have made vows and are committed to each other. There is no hurry here to fit into roles or 'grow up', whether we like it or not we'll eventually have to so why rush it instead of enjoying the company of one another and our youth (isn't that one of the perks of marrying early? oh well *shrugs). I feel this is where most people miss it and get strung up while trying to live up to expectations that come with the newly acquired titles of Husband/Wife. I may be wrong but not getting caught up in the titles and expectations, myths etc. that come with them has been working great so far.
Toodles!XooX