THREE & COUNTING

I'm still cruising on Yuna ft Usher-Crush and loving it one year later😁 

My brooch bouquet 💚💜

Grinning all the way💙💚😍

It's our 3 year anniversary!!

As you probably already know we had our marriage ceremonies on May 16 &17 so we consider both days our anniversary. Has it really been 3 years since we said 'I do'? The 3rd year honestly breezed by just like our 1st year and we got to share a few more 'firsts' together and create beautiful memories. 

There were also more highlights in the 3rd year than in the 2nd, thankfully. 

We have definitely grown to love and understand each other even more in our 3rd year journeying through marriage. 

I'm looking forward to celebrating our 4th year anniversary and maybe we'll be three celebrating then by God's grace.lol.

May 16th-It was a weekday and we had to go to work but i didn't get all dolled up and fancy like our last Tradiversary. We chatted and spoke on phone during the day and after work we ordered in some food for dinner (i tink it has become a habit to eat something sweet/tasty on our anniversary, y'all know i'm a foodie & sweet-tooth so really i'll take any opportunity to have sweet/tasty stuff). We spent the rest of the day together just chilling at home and reflecting on our life, future and all that good stuff. Hubby gamed and i caught up on my Korean drama and YouTube. We also replied messages and calls from our loved ones wishing us a Happy Anniversary and jisted some more before going to bed reallyyy late.

Massage Room

May 17th-We both had the day off work luckily. Yay!! Hubby treated me to a much needed massage (twas bliss i cant even lie) at Crestal Spa and we both got a couple's pedicure afterwards. We stopped by Quarter Cafe to pick up some pancakes with white chocolate toppings and i got hubby a refill of his fave perfume. Guess who was all dolled up as usual for a dinner date? Moi!! 

I had initially planned to surprise Hubby by taking him to Panache Restaurant and i called to make a reservation. Imagine my annoyance when we got there and it was completely dark, they said their generator had a fault, it couldn't be fixed and they had to close early in the day. They said they had tried to contact me to inform me to no avail. I wasn't even about to let them spoil my mood, thankfully i always have a Plan B for Restaurants as a FourSquare and Tripadvisor user. 

We switched over to Plan B- Zuma Grill @ Transcorp Hilton and it was an absolute delight!! I happily reviewed them on TripAdvisor.
The highlight of our dinner was getting a surprise anniversary cake from them. Isn't that so sweet?!

We took pics (well i forced him to take pics as usual, left to him we would have no pics together and later he'll be begging me to send him nice pics of us 😒). Back home, we enjoyed the rest of the nite chilling, me watching my korean drama and YouTube and him watching his series. I eventually took down my hair and we  replied messages and calls from our loved ones wishing us a Happy Anniversary once more. As usual we went to bed superrrrlate.

Couple's Pedicure

Quarter Cafe Oreo Pancakes yumminess😋

Snapchat filters obviously rock!

I think we have established that good food is key part of our celebratory process from our past 2 anniversaries #foodies so its now officially an anniversary tradition 😋😁

We had fun in our own way as usual and made happy memories.
I had been thinking of writing hubby a love letter, i was initially fixated on it being handwritten which led to me procrastinating. I eventually settled on sending it via email and was able to make it my own and special using emojis. It took a while to put down all i wanted to and i still omitted some things i later remembered after i had sent him the letter. I sent it on May 18th and he was definitely not expecting it and pleasantly surprised. I love writing and find it the best medium for me to eloquently express myself most times. It is one thing that has stuck with me from a very young age when i used to write in my organizers and diaries and i still do till date. I'm thinking of making it a yearly thing as i was entertained and delighted at his reaction to my heartfelt words.
Men like to feel special and appreciated too; it is a big deal to find a way to communicate your love and appreciation for your SO in a way they can comprehend.

I am so grateful to God that we are able to pass the 3 year mark, its definitely a big deal to us. It has been the grace of God that has kept us together this long and i pray we will live to celebrate many more happy, goofy, fruitful and prosperous years together. This past year was way smoother than the preceding year and we have grown a whole lot since. We have our ups and downs but we know with God on our side and both of us willingly putting in the 'Love Work', we'll keep marking more beautiful milestones together.

We choose to focus on the positives, appreciate what we have and make the best of it while improving on ourselves. Remember love cannot survive just by itself, it needs constant nurturing. Contentment while pursuing goals is the key to happiness. 

We should make a habit of counting our blessings and then we will see how much God does for us.

Teamwork makes the Dream work.

We hope to share many more of our anniversaries with you guys. 

Check out my previous posts- Baby Pressure, Two & Counting and Life as a 'new' wifey. 

Toodles!XooX

Changing my Surname after Marriage

Hi! My name is what? My name is who? My name is [tchiktchiktchiki] Slim Shady. Oh na na what's my name?... ok i'm done😜😂
I haven't officially changed my Surname/Last Name to my husband's, i don't know if/when i will and i don't think it's a big deal.

Major reasons I haven't changed my Surname:

1. It's hella stressful getting my name changed officially, so much protocol mahn i can't even deal right now. You have to order extra originals of your Marriage Certificate, get a Court Affidavit, do a newspaper publication and stuff like that and to be honest i just can't be bothered. Paperwork is not my fave.
2. I'll have to update ALL my means of identification to reflect my new name. If you live in Nigeria you already know that's hella stressful. I mean i may not even mind so much if my IDs were due to expire but they are ALL valid till 2019! I refuse to go to the stress of getting a new international passport just to reflect hubby's surname, nah bruh. Have you ever gone to the immigration office?! 5 years isn't long enough t be away from there i swear and i definitely don't have money to waste in this economy.
3.  I'll have to update all my bank records and other official records once i change my name on my IDs. Once again i'm soo not ready for the stress & waste of my precious time. Nope. If you're Nigerian, you already know how it is.
4. Keeping my current name is not affecting ANYTHING in my life. I'm functioning just great without the change. It doesn't change the fact that we are married.
5. Hubby doesn't mind, this is crucial as this subject can quickly turn into a serious argument for some couples
6. My current Surname (a.k.a maiden name) is a big part of my identity and quite unique (I mean i have had it for 20+ years and the short form of it is my nickname) so if/when i do officially take hubby's surname i might just keep it. I don't know what format that'll be yet but i'll decide when i'm ready for the change.

I think people tend to make a bigger deal than necessary out of a married woman dropping her father's name and taking on her husband's name after marriage, read here. It really isn't that serious and i'm not aware of any special benefits (except maybe for popular people/celebs) after the change.

Most ladies especially before marriage do look forward to taking on their husband-to-be's surname as is customary in most parts of Nigeria(except for Muslims i believe). If you wanna, click here to read more on the procedure.

Some couples take on a totally new surname together, in some parts of the world, the man takes on the woman's surname and in recent times women hyphenate both their surname & husband's name.

I personally think it's totally the couple's decision and hopefully you're with someone that values your opinion and you can meet in the middle on this. Its not a decision i think should be forced, your name is afterall a huge part of your identity and having had it for so long, it's only right that you have a say in parting with it or not. 

Do not let the issue of changing your name become an unnecessary stress in your marriage, discuss it with your partner and decide on the best approach that works the new lil family you're building together. There's really no rush and there are numerous married women living their happy lives with or without their husband's last name. 

It is a Choice.

Toodles!XooX

Beginners' Guide to Solo Christmas Cooking

This post was inspired by Ummi's post on Naman Sallah for Beginners. Do check it out.

Christmas cooking and sharing food to neighbours is one of the things i looked forward to and dreaded at the same time about having my own family. It was a tradition in my parent's house and i couldn't wait to make it my family tradition as well but i dreaded doing it all on my own as it can easily get cumbersome, overwhelming and stressful to execute all alone (i don't have a maid); especially if you don't intend spending your entire Christmas eve and Christmas day cooking.

My 1st Solo Christmas Cooking (Dec 2014)

I have already commenced preparations in full force for my Christmas Cooking therefore i thought it best to put up this post as someone may find it useful. I wouldn't say i do the cooking completely solo 'cos hubby has really started helping out with cooking especially dicing & slicing all veggies and i'm loving it!

Christmas (Dec 25th) is on a Sunday this year so if you haven't done your shopping for your key ingredients, you are carrying last. The only thing you should be buying a day to or on Christmas day in my opinion is veggies for your salad (Cabbage, Lettuce & Carrots)so they are fresh.

The reason for my statement above is mostly hiked market prices, the traders know the meals most people cook during the Christmas and Festive period and increase the prices for the ingredients in order to make maximum profit (can't really blame them). Also some things get sold out and the traders don't bother to restock.

I kinda carried last too 'cos i was too busy to go to the market and i don't have a maid to do that; i finally did my shopping on Friday, Dec 16th and the prices hurt my pocket quite a bit.

The major key to a successful and stress-free Christmas Cooking is early preparation.

1. First thing is to create your Christmas Menu and the days it'll be convenient for you to get them prepared with minimal stress, mine is as follows:

• Spring Roll (25th)
• Samosa (25th)
• Puffpuff (25th)
• Fried Rice (25th)
• Peppered Chicken (25th)
• Fried Plantain (25th)
• Gizdodo (22nd)
• Chicken & Sausage Salad (24th or 25th)
• Pan Sweetpotato Meatpie (24th or 26th)

I don't like to cook on Dec 23rd 'cos its my birthday and all i really want is a proper lazy day after work (my office typically closes for the year on this day).

2. Find recipes for all the meals on your menu (Check the links for mine above), review them thoroughly and draw up your market shopping list. Last time i went to the market (Utako) the prices for popular items were as follows (after bargaining on some):

• Orobo Chicken -N1,200 per Kilo
• Soft Chicken -N1,200 per Kilo
• Turkey -N1,300 per Kilo
• Turkey Gizzard -N1,600 per Pack (it used to be N1,200)
• Tomatoes- N700 per Regular Basket 
• Tatashe a.k.a Romano Pepper- N800 per Regular Basket 
• Rodo a.k.a Scotch Bonnet Pepper -N100 per Medium Bowl
• Onions- N200 per Medium Bowl
• White Yam- N600 per Medium size
• Plantain -N1,200 for a huge bunch (I bought an unripe bunch so they are ripe by the time i'm ready to use them)
• Palm oil -N800 for a Small bottle (it used to be N600 for a big EVA bottle)
• Sweet potatoes -N500 per Regular Basket
• Crayfish- N1000 for half Mudu (it used to be N600)
• Smoked Fish- N400 per Medium Size (Depending on your bargaining skills)
• Plain Flour- N300 per Mudu
• White Sugar- N700 per Mudu (it used to be N300)

3. Draw up your budget and go shopping

4. Sort out your food items, do the necessary preparations and store them in your fridge or freezer

• Blend and Boil your peppers

• Marinate and Boil your Meats, Gizzards, etc.
• Clean and dice/slice your veggies (You can get hubby to help out)

• Dice your boiled Gizzard (sure most hubbies would volunteer to do this.lol)

• Make your spring rolls & samosas 

5. Make your Christmas meals according to your menu and designated dates. Check out my post on Tips for Easier/Faster Cooking.

• I boil the rice for my fried rice on Christmas Eve (i prefer using day old rice for my fried rice)

• I made my Pan Sweet Potato Meatpie on Christmas Eve

• Wake up early enough to prepare the meals you have designated for Christmas Day, defrost the necessary ingredients before you are ready to cook to avoid unnecessary wait
• I make my Fried Rice on Christmas Day (Morning) with my already cut veggies  (I'm not a fan of store bought frozen veggies)

• I make my Peppered Chicken/Turkey on Christmas Day (Morning) with my already blended  & boiled peppers and well marinated boiled chicken/turkey (and i get tasty stew after taking them out)

• I fry my plantain on Christmas Day (Morning)

• I make my special salad dressing & add it to my pre-made & chilled salad (You can also make your salad on Christmas morning for freshness)

• I defrost my pre-made Gizdodo, add more sauce and heat it up

• I fry my already prepped Spring Rolls & Samosas on Christmas Day (Afternoon)

• I make my puff-puff on Christmas Day (Evening)

I'm usually done with the major Christmas Day Cooking in 1-2 hours (that's around 9-10am). The thing with cooking Nigerian meals is that it's usually the prepping of the ingredients (blending, dicing, slicing, marinating, etc.) that take the longest time.

I make more than enough so i can have lots of leftovers for us to heat up as needed and enjoy.

6. Share the love and Food with your neighbours, security guard, gardener-everybody! I prepare a tray with a warmer of the different meals and some drinks and give them. 

For my Neighbours

7. Relax, eat and enjoy your dishes with your partner or family and friends.

If i can pull it off, trust me you can as well. 

Remember Jesus Christ is the Reason for the Season. 
Spread the Love through Sharing whatever you have.

Toodles!XooX

TWO & Counting

* insert Yuna ft Usher-Crush* that's how i'm feeling.

Goofing around on my Trad Wedding day

we cuul lyk datt *wink*

It's our 2 year anniversary!!
We had our marriage ceremonies on May 16 &17 so we consider both days our anniversary. I can't believe its been 2 years already, its still quite surreal although way less surreal to me than our 1 year anniversary. 

There were not as many highlights as the period preceding our 1 year anniversary, we had been chanced to have many 'firsts' together and make lots of good memories in that time. 

During our 2nd year together was when it sunk in a bit more that we are married, there were highlights of course but more challenges than our 1st year together, i'm grateful to God for helping us overcome and rise above all the drama that can comes with this marriage ride.
I'm looking forward to celebrating our 3rd year anniversary and maybe we'll be three celebrating then by God's grace.

May 16th-We had to go to work, but i dressed up all fancy 'cos i was feeling super-happy, grateful, excited and all the other types of happy feelings *widegrin'. We chatted and spoke on phone during the day and after work hubby made us dinner & we spent the rest of the day together just chilling at home and reflecting on our life, future and all that good stuff. We also replied messages and calls from our loved ones wishing us a Happy Anniversary. We later drove out to get Habib Fura  da nono with coconut slices *Yummyyy!!* (i tink it has become a habit to eat something sweet on our anniversary, y'all know i'm a foodie & sweettooth so really i'll take any opportunity to have sweet stuff) and bumped some jams before heading back home, jisting some more and going to bed reallyyy late.

Yaasss. i seriously dolled up to work, my colleagues never esperred it

Goofing around @work #HappyBunny

Snapchat filters/lens r za besst!! Island gal

May 17th-We had to go to work again of course, and guess who was all dressed up again? Moi!! lol. yup it seems the happy feelings gonna last me thru the entire week and i don't mind one bit. Same daytime routine as the previous day. We went to Al-Basha Restaurant, Maitama for Lunner (Lunch/Dinner). We sat in a private area, ate to our heart's content *foodie/sweettooth mode* and we talked 'bout deep sturves. We took pics (well i forced him to take pics, if it were left to him we would have no pics together and later he'll be begging me to send him nice pics of us *side eye*). Back home, we watched movies and enjoyed the rest of the nite jisting, playing, singing n listening to music, watching youtube dance vids together, etc. I eventually took down my hair (Freedom from Bobby Pins!!) and we  replied messages and calls from our loved ones wishing us a Happy Anniversary once more. As usual we went to bed superrrrlate.

Current fave Snapchat filter #officeshenanigans

Don't u just love stained glass windows

i had to have a solo pic by the window

u dnt wanna know how i forced him to take these pics *evil grin*

What do people do for their 2nd Year Anniversary?? *shrugs* I guess whatever they enjoy. We had fun in our own way and as always made some happy memories *insert Brymo-Happy Memories*.

I am so grateful to God that we are able to pass the 2 year mark, its definitely a big deal to us. It has been the grace of God that has kept us together this long and i pray we will live to celebrate many more happy, goofy, fruitful and prosperous years together. This past year has been quite the journey, even moreso than our 1st year together, a learning process still ongoing. We have had our laughs, tears, quarrels, disagreements, disputes, fun, goofiness, love, lows, highs, and so much more. We are learning more about each other daily, communication, patience, appreciation, and so much more.

Goofiness 98.999%

We choose to focus on the positives, appreciate what we have and make the best of it while improving on ourselves. Remember love cannot survive just by itself, it needs constant nurturing. Contentment while pursuing goals is the key to happiness. We should make a habit of counting our blessings and then we will see how much God does for us.

Remember Teamwork makes the Dream work.

We hope to share many more of our anniversaries with you guys. Check out my posts- Life as a 'new' wifey & Baby Pressure. I might also do a post on my 2nd year of marriage *fingers crossed*.

Toodles!XooX