Have yourself a Berry Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a very pretty day. I wish you the best of God's love, joy, peace, harmony, and blessings. All this and more to you, in Jesus' name. Amen!

PS... Watch out for my next post!

Cafe Maison aka Cafe MaiDON'T EVER IN YOUR LIFE!

Hey guys,

I don't like to give bad reviews of places or products, but I will if my experience was bad. Well, yesterday evening, I had dinner with my Bloggirls aka Power Puff Girls at Cafe Maison in Lekki. We wanted somewhere quiet where we could have some wine, gist and eat something decent. Stylefash said she had been there a few times and that they had lovely wraps. So, I headed there at about 7pm. I was annoyed about something else already, so I looked forward to the outing. Here are my 10 reasons why it was 2,850 disasters!!!

1. When I got there, Fash and Bex told me they'd been moved from the section by the windows, because the cafe needed to set up for an event coming up the next day. Fair enough... although, I don't see how/why they couldn't have done the set up (which was just 3 tables put together) after we left. 
2. Fash and I asked for glasses of red wine, and the waiter went off and came back saying they didn't have any wine. They had sparkling wine, which we didn't want, and asked for other options. We finally settled on Baileys, of which they had only individual-size bottles. 
3. The waiter went off and came back saying they only had 2 of those mini-Baileys. So three of us had to share them among ourselves. No biggie.
4. At about 8:00pm, NEPA/PHCN took light and it took an hour before power was restored because...
5. Cafe Maison DID NOT have diesel for their generator!!! I'm sorry but how does a restaurant not notice that their diesel is almost finished? What does it take for the manager to make sure that there is always a can of diesel, in case the generator runs out?
6. We ordered our food maybe 5 minutes before NEPA struck (approximately 7:55pm) and the waiter said it would take 15 minutes for the food to be ready. How about our food came at 8:50pm, after we asked them where our food was, and because they still hadn't gotten the diesel, we had to start eating using candles and our phones' lights.
7. Me: I would like a Tuscan Sausage Panini. Please make sure there is no cheese in it.
   Waiter: Okay.
   *after Bex and Fash ordered their food...*
   Me: Please don't forget o. No cheese.
   Waiter: Okay.
   *50 minutes later in the dark, our food comes*
   Me: This sandwich tastes funny. Shey there's no cheese in it?
   Waiter: No, no cheese.
   *douses panini in ketchup because there's something I don't like about the taste*
   Me: Please can you confirm with the chef that there's no cheese.
   *waiter goes to the kitchen and comes back*
   Waiter: There's no cheese.
   *not too long after, power is restored and I can see my sandwich clearly*
   Me: Excuse me, can you go back to the kitchen and ask your chef if there's mozzarella in my food?*waiter goes to the kitchen and comes back*
   Waiter: Yes, there's mozzarella in the sandwich.
   
   *blank stare + rolling eyes + confusion + annoyed face + exasperation = BERRY* 
   
   In what world does a chef not know that mozzarella is cheese?!?!?!? If you said it was some random village somewhere, okay. BUT THIS IS LEKKI!!!!!!!!
8. We all were very annoyed at this point, and said we wouldn't pay full price for the food because their service was terrible, the food order was wrong, and the one hour without light was stupid. They still brought a bill with the full price. After we raked a little, the manager said he would remove only N1000 from the bill!
9. We explained that N1000 was not good enough. In fact, other good places might have said the drinks were on the house, or they would have removed the food item that they had gotten wrong. We told them to call the owner and explain, so we would see what he would do about it. They came back to say, the owner said they should take off 10% from the bill. Guess how much 10% came up to... a little over N1000!!!!!!!!!! *my wheel needed to be taken at that point*
10. They eventually agreed to knock off N2000, and we decided among ourselves to split the bill evenly. The waiter brought the POS and stared at us when I told him how much we each were going to pay - N2850. He called his coworker and told him that we said we wanted to share the bill, and they brought out a calculator to figure out how much we were going to pay - the same N2850... DUH!!! I told you already!!!!!!

Stylefash was soooo upset and kept on apologizing for recommending the restaurant. I want to say that they had a simply, terribly OFF day, but I'm not sure. It was without a doubt, one of my worst dining experiences EVER!!!

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Random "Food" Things You Didn't Know About Berry

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas is a-comin and bells a-ringin!

Okay, that's not true, but I'm trying to get you ready for Christmas which is barely a week away!!!!!!!!! Funnest times, innit?!

I'm random obviously, so I decided to share random info about me and food.

1. I have never eaten a club sandwich! *gasp* Why, you ask? Because I'm picky about eggs. I don't like them boiled and when fried, they must be beaten properly and well done.
   

   

   Source

2. I don't like frozen ice cream. As in, if it's not soft-ish, I will gladly chuck it in the microwave so it can melt to my satisfaction.
   

   

   Source

   
   
   
3. I don't like cheese at all, but I LOVE pizza! Yes, I know it doesn't make sense, but IT DOES! I will not eat any pizza that is just cheese, or one in which I can smell the cheese. YUCK!
   

   

   Source

4. I won't eat lamb, ram, and any animals that look like goats because I hate goat meat. And to my invisible but not invisible reader (you know who you are), rams look like goats NOT small cows - see below)
   

   

   Source  -THIS IS A GOAT

   

   Source - THIS IS A RAM

   

   Source - THIS IS A COW... How does a ram look like a small cow? HOW? HOW COW?! COW HOW?!

5. This one is prejudicial so I'm asking for forgiveness in advance... I will happily try (almost any) random food from any other country, but put random Nigerian food in front of me, and I will gag! By random, I mean things like ukwa (igbo food) that I still don't understand why people eat.  
   
   

That concludes the random information for the day. Stay pretty :)

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What To Do This Weekend

Hey peoples,

There's a ton of stuff to do this weekend. Alas, I would really just prefer to sleep all day long in bed! But these are Admiralty Way in Lekki ings I could potentially get out of bed for...

COPA LAGOS - Beach Soccer Tournament. Sorry the picture isn't clear. First of all, I'm not exactly interested in soccer, so that isn't the draw for me. There are supposed to be entertainment acts, fashion shows, and shopping this weekend - THAT is what interests me. Unfortunately, there isn't a schedule of the shows, so I'm not sure what's happening when. That's a deterrent. I might just show up randomly and see what's happening though. It is holding at Eko Atlantic, near Bar Beach in VI* 

BIG 60 - A WHITE SPACE - Sorry again for the poor picture (dear people that have events, please submit clear pictures to Bella Naija, that I can copy and post here!). Big 60 is essentially a month of events at this venue called, A White Space. My friend and I went to a few things there at the beginning of the year and had a lot of fun. This is for the artsy, hipster kinda crowd. The point is, go on any random evening and there'll be something to look at, eat, drink, buy, watch, etc. If all else fails, take pictures in the photo booth and scram! A White Space is located at 58 Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi.

LE GRANDE MARCHE - Yup, more shopping on Sunday at COPA LAGOS! Again, Eko Atlantic, off Bar Beach in VI.

 

J.MOSS AT THE WATERBROOK! My church is hosting J. Moss this Sunday, but at This Present House at 5:00pm. TPH is located at the end of Admiralty Way in Lekki. m not sure I know any of his songs, so I should be watching his videos on YouTube to get familiar.

Okay, that's about it.

Have a pretty weekend and smile at someone. :)

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The New Nigerian Drivers License Saga continues...

So, remember how I announced that Nigerian drivers licences were being changed, and the deadline was September 30th? Well, of course this is Nigeria, and they postponed the deadline to God knows when. Anyways, since Cakes and I had already started the process, we've continued with it, just in case.

We were supposed to go back to the Licensing Office for our data capture some time in October. Unfortunately, my handsome fiance thought it would be an awesomely great idea to go there 2 hours late. How about the Licensing officers didn't think it was that awesome OR great, and told us to come back in December? As we drove off, I put it in my phone calender with reminders... which reminds me, I'm still not used to the non-American way of writing dates. I mistake the date for the month. Whenever writing dates, I have to say the day and month out loud. Like today, I would say, "December Eleventh. Day comes before month. So write 11/12, not 12/11." And then I always verify that it's correct.

ANYWAYS.................................

We went to the Licensing Office yesterday morning at 7:15am for a 9:00am appointment, because we heard that it can take up to 8-10 hours to get your fingerprints and picture taken (don't ask me why or how). We waited outside with others until the gate (because the actual office building has a gate for entry, not a door) was opened an hour later. Of course, being Nigeria, people were running and pushing so they could get a seat in front. Cakes just walked briskly in front of me, while holding my hand (so chivalrous, innit?). After sitting for maybe 30 minutes, we were asked to submit our documents, which we did.

After another 30 minutes, they started weeding out forms submitted by people who had missed their original appointments, or were missing one thing or another. This took a lot of shouting back and forth between customers and licensing officers. When all that was done, they told the rest of us to go home and come back next year.

*blank stare*

So basically, we sat in that place for 3 hours just to submit paperwork?!?!?!?

Good luck to anyone else going through this process.

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What I'm Listening To - Always

Hey pretty people! I hope you had a pretty weekend :)

I did. Guess who I sawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! No, not Fu-leh-vuh N'Abania. But close enough! D'Banj :D. He performed at a corporate event on Friday night. Tiwa Savage performed too, but Cakes and I were late due to the maddening (or as Cakes calls it, demonic) traffic, so we caught D'Banj only. I have a short clip of his performance on Instagram. All I can say is, "His Waist!!!"

Anyways, the title of my post is incorrect. The real title is What I'm Obsessed With - Always.

Over the weekend, Cakes and I saw The Bestman Holiday. Personally, I prefer the first film and I don't see what was so awesomely great about this one. Maybe my expectations were too high? Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of my favorite songs in the film, during a significant scene. Stevie Wonder's original version was used in The Bestman, and for this new film, the song was remade by Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosius. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this new version. So much so that I slept at 2:30am last night, replaying the song and I've listened to it 20 times this morning (it's only 10am, so do the math).

Without further ado, let's all listen to Always (or As, depending on which Youtube video you're watching).

1. STEVIE WONDER - AS
   
   
   
   Mr. Stevie Wonder, you are a master genius for writing this song!
   
2. ANTHONY HAMILTON & MARSHA AMBROSIUS - ALWAYS
   
   
   
   By the way, I think Marsha is underrated and should be much bigger than she is!!! Her voice is ah-MAH-zing!
   
   Oh, and if your body starts to tingle from this version, I was not there by that time o! Drink cold water or jump into the nearest freezer.

Alrighty, I gotta go find go take an ice bath...

Toodles, pretty poodles, and stir-fried noodles!

Berry :)

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#287 Reason Why I'm Getting Married...

Have you ever woken up late on a Tuesday morning, and realized that even though you organized your closet and already have an outfit picked out, you forgot to iron said outfit, and now it's too late to go downstairs and wake up the housekeeper to ask for the iron, so instead you rush a bath and grab a strapless dress from your closet, and just before you run out of your room, you realize that you can't zip up your dress and your bra straps are showing, so now you have to get a blazer to throw over the dress, so that nobody knows that you're basically half-dressed, but you just know that the reason that man that just walked by your desk is looking at you is because he knows that you're naked under your blazer, and now you're turning red from embarrassment even though you're dark-skinned, so there is no earthly way that your skin can turn red from blushing?

Oh, was that just me?

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Thinking about breaking up?

Have you been thinking about ending things with your significant other, or insignificant other, but haven't actually done it? Well, I'm here to let you know that NOW is the BEST TIME to do it! Why? I shall explain below

1. It's almost Christmas, but there are still 23 days left till then, so your soon-to-be-ex should have started getting over it by then. If you don't do it now...
2. New Year's is immediately after Christmas. Breaking up with someone around New Year is just a yucky start to the year. If you do it now, by New Year, your almost-ex will be pulling him/herself back together and determining to move forward with optimism. If you don't do it now...
3. Right after New Year is Valentine's Day. Do you want to be THAT PERSON that broke someone's heart before Valentine's Day? No, you don't. 

Source - Just DO IT NOW!!!

P.S. If you live in America or Canada, then you should have broken up with your bf/gf at the end of October.

P.P.S. To anyone who's broken up with, this is a disclaimer to let you know that I am not responsible for the demise of your relationship. If it hurts really really bad, you can email me, and I can tell of my heartbreaks and how I overcame them.

P.P.P.S To those doing the breaking up, you're welcome. That is, unless you're an idiot and don't realize that your partner is perfect and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. But if your partner is the idiot, then YOU ARE WELCOME AGAIN!!!

Sending happy thoughts and curtsies to you and yours.

:)

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It's December!

Hey hey!

I think December is generally my favorite time of the year, apart from May. Actually, the end of November up until the first week of January has traditionally been my favorite period of the year since forever. For me, it starts with Thanksgiving (America), and then all the Christmas music and decorations up until Christmas Day (during which we always have family time), and then New Year. Do you know that I haven't spent Christmas in Nigeria since 1996?!?!? When people talk about going home, and Christmas in Lagos, I don't know what they're talking about. This is the first year I'll be in Nigeria during this period, so it'll be interesting. I'll miss the 24/7 Christmas music though :( Christian/Inspirational radio stations play Christmas music round the clock starting December 1st, or right after Thanksgiving.

Anyways, it's all good. I can listen to online radio here, so yay me!

Allow me to share my favorite things about Christmas...

1. It's Jesus' birthday! God loved us so much, that He sent His son! What's not to celebrate?
2. Christmas movies, especially Love Actually and Home Alone 1! Favorite Christmas movies of ALL TIME!!!
3. Christmas music, especially Mariah Carey's versions of any carols. My favorite Christmas carols are...
   
   Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
   
   
   Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve/Sarajevo
   
   
   Fay McKay - Twelve/Drunk Daze of Christmas (LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE - HILARIOUS)
   
   
   Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - Once Upon A Christmas
   
   
   Mariah Carey - O Holy Night (Obviously)
   
   
   Okay, it's enough, if not I'll post 50 songs!!!
4. Family time! There's nothing more fun than spending time with family. I love my family sooooooooooo very much!
5. Santa hats! Every year, we get Santa hats and wear them throughout the day :D
   
   
   
6. Baileys Hot Chocolate - have you tried hot chocolate with Baileys on a cold Christmas morning?!
7. Speaking of cold - being by the fireplace!!!! (Chai, I miss Hamrikur o)
8. CHRISTMAS LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTS!!!
   

Okay, these are a few of my favorite things. What are your favorite things about December/Christmas?

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