The Lagos Home Show is THIS SUNDAY

DON’T MISS OUT ON AMAZING BARGAINS AT THE LAGOS HOME SHOW | 8^th NOVEMBER 2015

The Lagos Home Show is a treasure trove. When it comes to nik-naks for the home; our vendors have it covered. Everything from furnishings, lighting, electronics, art, homeware, textiles, landscaping and much more!

Even more exciting!  Sony will be giving ALL visitors a special one-off discount applicable to any product, to be used in any of their centres in Lagos!

What more could you ask for?

Date: Sunday 8th November 2015

Venue: Whitespace, 58 Raymond Njoku, Off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos

Time: 12pm-7pm

*Admission is free*

Blogger Collabo: Meet Temitope

Hola amigos!

I have a special post for you today. I e-met fellow blogger, Temitope, who blogs here. We decided to do a collaboration. But seeing as she and I live in different states, it was going to have to be virtual. Seeing as she and I have been married about the same time period, I thought it would be fun for us to trade our thoughts on being recently married.

Here are Temitope's answers to the questions, and you can find my answers on HER blog.

First of all, introduction! Tell us more about yourself.

My name is Temitope, I am a 20+ working housewife as I like to call myself,  this is because I do not have a “9-5”, I simply have a “when I wake up and a when I go to bed”, after the work in the office, I come back home and begin to work again. I have been married for almost two years; my birthday also serves as my wedding anniversary. I love God so much, I am a kingdom addict. I love to write, I find writing really therapeutic for me, when I write it’s like I’m in my own world, kind of what gave birth to my blog – beingtemitope.com,  I also love to sing and yes I am a voracious reader.

FUN FACT: She baked her wedding cakes!!! Yes TT, I Googled you :p

What has surprised you most about marriage?

Marriage, sincerely I cannot say what surprised me most because I went in with the mind set of being surprised. I knew it was impossible to know everything about your spouse no matter how long you have been dating. If there was any surprise at all, it came from me; I am surprised I stayed this long without ever running back to my parents’ house. I thought I would never be able to detach from my mum especially but I did and I am still doing, so yeah, I am surprised at myself. I give myself a big thumb up to have been able to last this long in marriage.

Do you think you have changed since you got married? If yes, in what ways?

YES!!! I have definitely changed. As a female first child growing up in a house with my siblings, cousins and extended family around, I quickly learnt how to become a boss, I was transformed by my father into a male child, I started being responsible for everybody in the house. I learnt how to drive early so I became the official driver of the house, dropping my siblings off in school, visiting them and picking them up when they close, I got any kind of phones or gadgets I wanted, I did not know how to submit, I also went to a boarding school all my secondary and university days so I was an independent, bossy, spoilt lady when I got married. With all these, I don’t think I have to tell you in what ways I had to change.

What's been the most challenging aspect of marriage for you?

Challenging, hmmm…it will be having someone in my bed, while some might consider this the interesting part of marriage, I had a hard time adapting to this especially when you have someone that rolls over to the other side of the bed, or wants to cuddle and I’m one of those people who cannot sleep in a cuddle so I will have to stay awake in the cuddle until he falls asleep and then wriggle out to my “side” of the bed to sleep, LOL…I love my sleep so falling asleep with someone else on the bed who always wanted to have physical contact was a bit challenging for me. Another thing was Cooking, I am a good cook (I think) but I hate the idea of going to the market and then come back to cook, I married a man who does not like to eat out on a daily basis, he could eat out once a week or even once a month, this  is me that does not like to cook having to cook almost every day, it was challenging and is still challenging for me but I have learnt how to balance it now especially with a job, I try to go shopping once a month and stock the house, then I cook some and store in the freezer, when I have the time on the weekends I make a fresh pot of soup. Luckily for me my husband is not like my father who has to have a fresh pot of soup almost every day, thank God we had help then. Anyways, I am still getting used to it plus Mr. T helps out too, he’s a good cook.

What's been the best thing about being married?

Everything about marriage is the best, from the arguments to the reconciliation, to the date nights to the in laws; everything is interesting and provides an avenue for you to learn a lot. So I will say the best thing about being married for me is actually being married, having someone to call your own, having someone you know is loyal to you in every way, having someone to come back home to, it’s like a feeling of ownership, knowing this person is yours and you know how to make that person smile, laugh or even cry. People used to tell me that my Mr. T (my husband) doesn’t smile or talk  in public and they wondered how I started talking to him, I told them he’s the softest talkative (if there’s anything like that) I know, I know how to get him to laugh or even get him angry. He’s like my big teddy bear. So being married in itself is the best thing for me.

Your best friend/sister/cousin is about to get married... what advice would you give her?

Marry your best friend! Marry someone you are totally in love with, marry someone who is mature, marry someone you cannot go a day without hearing his/her voice. Marriage is hard work and it is definitely not for boys or girls so make sure you are absolutely ready before you go into it. I will also say there’s really no need to rush into marriage, take your time to discover yourself, grow yourself into that person your spouse will be proud of. Do not also go into marriage with nothing in your hands, bring something into that marriage, it does not have to be financial or material; it could be intellectual, never go into marriage empty. Finally, Pray! Pray!!  Pray!!!, the power of prayers cannot be over emphasized. Battles are won on your knees.

What's your favorite resource for marriage advice/help?

The Bible first of all, secondly will be the Holy Spirit, then I love to read so I stock up on a lot of marriage books especially from Gary Chapman, I also visit his website from time to time to look for new ways to improve my marriage, finally will be my mum – I do not go telling her everything that happens – but she’s always there when there are things I do not understand and I need elderly advice. For me, it would rather be her than some random stranger or a friend who will go about telling my story to anyone who is ready to listen.

I absolutely love all her answers, and now I feel like I'm just playing in my own marriage. I berra step up my game yo! Again, to see my responses to the same questions, check out Being Temitope.

Berry Family Weekend

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Berry beautiful and handsome dahlings!

How was your weekend? The first person to tell me what they did this weekend wins a prize! I don't know what the prize is yet but I'm sure I'll find something nice. Don't forget the ongoing She Leads Africa SheHive Giveaway. If you're an entrepreneur who wants a week of awesome networking and advice opportunities, click here for more information. 

Anyway, my weekend was packed! If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat (Berrydakara) then you already know I headed to Port Harcourt and Owerri to see my dad and grandparents. I had a great weekend with family. Family is so important and even if you don't have a great relationship with yours, I pray that moving forward there's a change for the better :)

Weekend Shenanigans: Dinner with Berry and Cakes

Hello Darln's!

I hope you had a nice weekend :)

I had a pretty restful one. I had determined to sit at home the whole weekend long (apart from church). Saturday went as planned - I literally didn't even open my apartment door. I did do something though, which involved a tutorial and video equipment (if I like the results, I'll share it at a later date). This post though has to do with Saturday evening. Since I was home, and feeling erm, somehow, I decided that Cakes and I should have a romantic dinner (instead of the usual watching TV and eating in the living room). So I got the food ready (I didn't say I cooked :p) and we had a pretty good time.

Note to self: Turn TV off and play soft, romantic music next time.

Househunting in Lagos? 11 lessons shared...

*saw this posted on YNaija and thought to share - especially as I need to move out later in the year*


My Lagos househunt – 11 lessons I’ve learnt


1.  Not to count my chickens before they are hatched. I learnt this the hard way when I was getting to an agent’s office two weeks ago to pay for a two bedroom apartment, only to find someone else had beaten me to it. I was this close to calling all my friends over for the washing and was already trying to figure out how much Star to get (not Heineken, not in my house). And then, in a split second, I was houseless again.
2. Looking for a house in Lagos is a full time job. I found out one needs to treat it as such, or find someone else to do so. If you cannot drop everything and leave your baby whom you are still breastfeeding, your business that comes to a standstill without you present or your scary boss the moment the agent calls you to say he’s heard of a vacancy, do not bother to look for a place at all. Demand is high and the best places are off the market in he blink of an eye. See lesson number 1.

3. To treat the title of ‘real estate agent’ lightly. Everyone can be an agent. The moment somebody hears of a 3 bedroom around the corner, he has become an agent. There is no license involved nor are there any professional ethics required. Al it takes is having the contacts to said landlord and then guarding it with your life. Never give your client phone numbers or the exact address of a place that is for rent. He might dupe you and go directly to the source. This is a market of middle men in a networking society: a man’s contacts are his capital.

4. To decipher agent’s lingo. ‘Some work needed’ means the place has been destroyed by the last lodger and looks like a war zone. ‘Cosy’ means claustrophobically small. ‘Under construction, ready in a fortnight (always a fortnight)’ signifies that the foundation has just been put in place and it would take an army of Chinese workmen to finish it in that time frame. Prepare to wait at least a month before you can move in. ‘To be finished to your own taste’: the land lord has left you with a cement floor without tiling, a kitchen without cabinets and a bathroom without sink. ‘Airy’ – ruin without roof. ‘Serene’ means expensive. Very expensive, as in Lekki or Banana Island. The kind of overrated locations agents want to ship oyinbos like myself to.

5. To forget about knowledge. In the case of househunting in Lagos, time is power. Quick decisions are rarely the right ones. When you are not in a hurry and can afford to delay your decision, you get better results.

6. Not to let any agent bully me into buying. They always emphasised there was another client interested in the place. In fact, many time they declared another client was ready to pay for it within the hour. I got used to hearing ‘This apartment is in very high demand, you have to move pa, pa, pa (quick, quick, quick)’ Sometimes it was true (see lesson number 1). Other times it was a selling strategy.

7. I read the Lagos State Tenancy Law. I should not have bothered. It is simply not working.
Me: ‘But it is illegal to ask for two year’s rent!’
Agent: ‘Is this Fashola’s house?’

In fact, I’ve come to mistrust landlords who ask for only a year’s rent. There is usually something very, very wrong with their property. The kind of thing you will only discover after you’ve paid, spent your first night there and woke up to realise you cannot stay there for a single second longer. Do not go there.

8. Me and my car Wima got used to a lot of company on our househunt. At one point I had my agent, the agent’s contact, the contact’s contact and the man with the key to the apartment in my vehicle. All four of them were giving me contradictory directions in the typical Lagosian manner (‘That way’ – waving vaguely with index finger to nowhere in particular). I tried to be Buddhist about it. It did not always work. Sorry again Mr Tony that I yelled at you when you almost misguided me into that one way street from the wrong end.

9. To get accustomed to waiting. For my agent, my agent’s contact, his contact, the man with the key, the guard to let us in and the landlord. I learnt to spend it wisely. Walked around the block, talked to the residents. Asked about flooding and the light situation. Checked for security and night clubs. Night clubs within walking distance: good. Night clubs within hearing distance: bad. And of course I inquired after the best place for moinmoin and Star beer at pump prices. After this research I sometimes did not even have to see the apartment for rent anymore.

10. To hoard up on phone credit. I made endless phone calls to get my agent, my agent’s contact, his contact, the man with the key, the guard to let us in and the landlord at the same place at the same time before sundown. Also provided occasional credit for my agent, my agent’s contact, his contact, the man with the key and the guard who let us in. I stopped adding up how much I had spent on phone calls half way through the house hunt. Too depressing.

11. Not to count my chickens before they are hatched. So I will not tell you now about that cute and very affordable upstairs apartment in Surulere with lots of windows, views all round and a guest room for when my mum comes to visit. I know better than that. I will let you know when I have the door keys in my hand and my stuff is in the little doll house. I have learnt my lessons.

Dekora Style - Colours In Africa!

I know, I know, I'm corny. I wanted to put DECOR in my name somehow and all I could think of was Dekora. I don't like it either but I can't be bothered to think of something else.

So we're having a work party later tonight and I went along with my boss to get a gift for our department's general manager. Our first plan was to go to Eko Hotel, since they have a lot of African art, but a lady recommended going to Colours in Africa (it pains me to write ColoUrs, instead of Colors - it's the American in me). Anyways, I got there and fell absolutely in LOVE! Like I can't wait to get my apartment and buy up the whole place. And I want everyone I know to move, so I can get them housewarming presents. Or maybe they can suffice as birthday presents too? In addition to the decor and furniture, there's a pizza cafe/bar type place in the same compound that's on my list of places to visit - remember I'm exploring Lagos this year. Have a look at some of the pictures I was able to take - the staff was gracious enough to let me take pics.

Bottom right - We got this as the gift. It cost N17000+

Exterior of Colours in Africa

Bottom left - Isn't this the coolest Chess set EVER??? 

I'm definitely going back when I get my own place. If you want to visit, they are located at 13A Musa Yar Adua Street, off Idowu Martins in Victoria Island. Check out their website at Colours In Africa.

Off to get ready for the party! Wondering whether to leave my wig on or go au naturel... Pictures will show you.