June 28, 2013

Look at what I did for 31 days...

Yo yo!

It's Friday night, didn't get paid, my feet are aching and I'm a tired bumblebee. *random sentence that came from my fingertips and is completely unrelated to this post*

So I have natural hair, as y'all know. And I contribute to a natural hair blog, African Naturalistas. In the past month, just before my birthday, I went on an impromptu self-imposed challenge and decided to change my hairstyle every day for a month. I've posted all the pictures over here: Natural Hairstyles for 31 Days, but I'll share my Top 5 Faves with you here.







Just thought I should share. Mefinks I'm going to crash now. It's not even 10:00pm but je suis fatigue.

BONNUIT!

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Make the switch to Bloglovin'

Hello friends!

This is just a short and sweet note to tell you how you can follow my blog and others that you read, very easily! Simply go to Bloglovin.com, sign up and add each blog that you follow. For those of you that use Google Reader, you can simply import your list of blogs into Bloglovin (you should anyways, since Google Reader becomes non-existent on Monday, July 1).

I like Bloglovin because it's so easy to use. I get an email in my inbox everyday, and I can access all the new posts from my favorite blogs at a go! In addition, I can find new blogs very easily, as Bloglovin categorizes blogs by interest - Wedding, Fashion, DIY, Beauty, Art, Photography, Decor and more!

Add my blog to your bloglovin' account by clicking on the button below, or my link on the sidebar.

See ya!

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June 25, 2013

June 25th, 2009

It was just another day at the office. I was seated at my desk, in the same office as 'Che and T. We'd been fielding calls from customers the whole morning, into the afternoon... and alternately watching Nollywood films online, and catching up on entertainment gossip. I decided to leave work an hour early, can't remember why.

I got home to a semi-quiet house. My mum had traveled to Nigeria to be with her boyfriend my dad. My younger sister was on her way to Houston. My brother was in the basement, no doubt playing guitar or his drums. And my immediate younger sister had just gotten home from work. We were in the family living room gisting, when my phone rang... I have this policy of separating work from my personal life. Once I leave the office, I'm not interested in phone calls or emails. Something told me to answer 'Che's call.

June 24, 2013

Eeeeeeeeeeeek! I have butterflies in my tummy...

No, this has nothing to do with Cakes, and EVERYTHING to do with HENRY CAVILL aka MAN OF STEEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh - Em - Gee!!

This guy is TOO FOINE for words! Like, I was watching the movie with Cakes and I couldn't take my eyes off this beautifully handsome specimen! His eyes are just gorgeous! THAT BODY!!!

*Dear Cakes, if you see this post, don't read it. And if you've read up until now, pretend I'm talking about you.*

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMMMMMMMMMMN, I want to marry Henry Cavill!

Look at that smile!


I'm going to cry because he's too hawt :(


Do you think it's the white shirt? *makes mental note to buy 10 white shirts for Cakes*

I dare you not to swoon over these eyes!


Ouuuuuuch! I totally bumped my head when I fainted just now.

#OkBye

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June 23, 2013

How to Perform a Closet Cleanse...

Another random post for ya...

I have come to the conclusion that I have WAY TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MANY CLOTHES!!!

As it stands now, I can go for 2 months without needing to do laundry. Well, 1 month comfortably - without batting an eyelid. By the time I'm looking for a specific item and can't find it, then I know it's been too blawdy long!

So what's a girl to do? Mefinks it's time to simplify my life wardrobe and go through each and every item, deciding whether to Chuck It or Keep It. (I was really looking for a nice word to go with 'Chuck' but I can't really be bothered to think about it right now.

Here are my rules for the Closet Cleansing...


P.S. For my purpose only, shoes are not included in the cleansing. I don't have enough shoes, contrary to what my dad believes.

PLEASE NOTE: I came into my bedroom 2 hours ago, with the intention of actually performing the cleanse. [Un]fortunately, I got distracted with catching up on blog posts I've missed (via Bloglovin'), and decided instead to WRITE about the Closet Cleanse. When I actually get to it, I might post pictures... OR NOT. I'll decide whether I don't mind embarrassing myself, when the time comes.

Have a pretty week.

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June 17, 2013

What I Did This Weekend

Hola!

How was your weekend? I hope it was pretty! Mine was unpretty, then pretty, then unpretty again, and ended up just there.

I'll only show you the pretty part, of course :D

There was an event - Women Celebrating Women - in Lagos on Saturday night. One of my best girls was one of the performing artists, and she graciously invited a few of us to come. So I wondered and pondered on what to wear. At such events, there are bunches of celebs, businesswomen, leaders, socialites and more. And of course, the RED CARPET.

I was all giddy and wanted to look hawt! I thought about wearing a long evening dress (one of my grandma's) but thought better of it. After all, I wasn't performing. It's not like I'm a celebrity or anything, so what would be the point of a glam gown? So I ended up with a very simple dress, paired it with black sandals and a necklace I made a few years ago.

 



Oh, and Cakes and I stopped over at a friend's birthday get-together and shot some pool. FYI, Cakes won I ALLOWED Cakes to win both times - no matter what he says. I purposely put in the 8-ball in both games :p


The event started late - what else is new in Nigeria? And there was an hour and a half of speeches!!! Yes, women have accomplished a lot, but I was really hungry and couldn't wait to leave. As soon as my girl sang, Cakes and I were outta there and went looking for SHAWARMA!!!

And that was my pretty day for the weekend.

Have a gorgeous week ahead!

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June 13, 2013

Dakara Style - Vintage

You got a sneak peek at my outfit from Sunday.

Remember how I went a-visiting my grandparents and got a number of my grandma's dresses? Well, I've been wearing them here and there and thought to share.





The pictures were taken by Lumi Morgan who is a fabulous photographer... (help me beg him to take my wedding pictures for a BERRY BERRY sweet discount). :p

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June 12, 2013

Dakara Shout Out - African Naturalistas

Hello friends :)

This is not a paid advertisement (although maybe it should be - @ilola)

I regularly contribute to another blog, African Naturalistas. It's a website that's geared to the African woman who's interested in, curious about, or has natural hair.

*Dear friends, I've met a number of Nigerians who call relaxed hair, natural. It's RELAXED. There's relaxed, natural, texturized, and I heard of a new one, texlaxed.*

Anyways, I contribute on Fridays, and I think you should visit and take a look-see.

Some of my favorite posts since I started are below:

*Ish Girls Say - Natural vs Relaxed Hair
Do Naturals Discriminate?
Things that have been said to me because of my hair

Happy reading!




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June 10, 2013

Bonnie, Clyde and Speed Racer

Hey berry pretty people.

How are ya? How was your weekend? I hope you had a pretty swell time.

So here's the thing with Nigeria. Nigeria is FRUSTRATING! It is ONLY with the grace of God, His peace and patience, that most people can survive here. However, I believe there is a separate DIVINE grace, peace, and patience necessary to combat road rage!

The minute you get in your car, the hairs on the back of your neck stand, because they're thinking "Here we go again." If it's not the blind drivers, it's pedestrians with a death wish, or rivers for your car to practice it's breaststroke. Let's not talk about the inadequate lighting at night, which forces drivers to use their high beams, which in turn blinds other drivers in front of them and those driving in the opposite direction. Nigerian driving is a vicious cycle that tests your will to be at peace.

Well yesterday, our peace was tried. And well, we had just left church an hour before, BUT let's just say that there was a momentary lapse in 'anointing.'

I was driving (because I'm the best, most sacrificial fiancee in the history of the world), and Cakes was somewhat relaxed. That is, until a danfo bus driver decided it was his purpose in life to try and edge me out of the road. Unfortunately, I'm a stubborn South-South girl, who sometimes most times, forgets her daddy's advice to "Just allow them to pass." I won out at the end (Kids, don't try this at home.) and was on my merry traffic-laden way. In my rearview mirror, I could see the same bus driver competing with another bus to be behind me, and then BOOM!

June 7, 2013

Am I getting old?

Bonjour ma petite jolie!

I beg you to notice something. I didn't ask if I'm getting oldER. Because, well, obviously everyone gets older. But my question today is "Am I getting old?"

Here's why I'm asking...

At some point in my life, a good number of people, when asked about me, would say "Oh, yeah I know Berry - strutting around, catwalking like she owns the world..." At this point in my life, I feel like anyone who knows me would say, "Ah yes, bless her heart, she can't walk in heels."

EH?!

QUE?!

COME AGAIN?!

Anyone who knows me from my college days would probably find it very hard to believe that Mzz**** (my former nickname. It's still valid actually) would rather wear FLATS, WEDGES and KITTEN HEELS now.

*posting pictures for the purposes of those who don't know what I'm talking about*

BEFORE



AFTER
Flats

Wedges
Kitten Heels

The problem is that when I wear heels these days, my knees, feet and/or back start feeling funny, or even ache sometimes. It's really quite annoying. And because I'm in pain, I can't STRUT MY STUFF! *wails*

What's a girl to do???

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June 6, 2013

Have you signed up or been following the 3six5NG Project?

Hello berry fabulous people!

Lagos is scaring me with all the rain and violently loud thunderstorms. I'm not joking when I say that last night, I mentally sang "Girls in white dresses, with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes... these are a few of my favorite things" a la Sound of Music. Remember that scene? I coulda sworn the lightning ENTERED the living room, because I saw a huge spark! I wish I had Fraulein Maria to sing to me :(



ANYWAYS! I've posted about The 3six5NG Project before, and also made my contribution. What is it, you ask? It's 365 days of a singular photo, post (with 365 words) each, from 365 Nigerians around the world. Do you blog? Do you write? Do you just want to be part of something fun? SIGN UP NOW!!! June's full, and July's pretty much up for grabs. Pleeeeeeeeease DOWEEEEEEEEEEET!



No, they're not paying me. I just like fun, group thingies. :)



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June 5, 2013

Eeeeek!!! Wedding Nightmares

Ok, I know I can be a tad LOT dramatic. But I promise you, this isn't about drama.

I, LEGIT, had a nightmare about my future wedding!




The dream was as follows:

Cakes and I are seated on a high table (I DETEST High Tables - NIGHTMARE FACTOR #1)...

There are a thousand and one guests (I like SMALL, INTIMATE weddings - NIGHTMARE FACTOR #2)...

My dress is huge and poufy (What is this, the '80s? - NIGHTMARE FACTOR #3)...

Nobody was paying attention to any of us. (Large crowds are hard to control - NIGHTMARE FACTOR #4)...

I stormed off because I was upset (Bridezilla much??? - NIGHTMARE FACTOR #5)


Erm, that's all I remember from the dream. But I woke up in an utter panic, wondering whether we should just elope and call it a day.

Isn't it too soon to be having wedding nightmares? YIKES!

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June 3, 2013

Twas my birthday!!! - PART TRES

Sooooooooo, I've been sharing about my birthday here and here.

My initial plan was to go to Ghana for my birthday, as I've never been. Plans were thwarted due to unhelpable circumstances - 'Unhelpable' is a new word :)

Cakes and I went on a road trip from Lagos to Warri on a Meeting-The-Rents mission.





I wasn't exactly thrilled because of the road and safety situation in this 'ere part of the globe. I was exhausted for most of the trip and slept, but I was looking forward to something... The Ethiope River.

Twas my birthday!!! - PART DEUX

Ciao miei cari!

Bonjour mes cheris!

Hola mis queridos!

Hello my dears!!!

So, in my last post, I was sharing about my buffday, innit?

Carrying on...

These girlfriends of mine were dillydallying, while I was itching to go out and do a little dancing. Mostly because I'm taking part in this Global Corporate Challenge and I've set my daily step average to 12,500 (My average is currently 7,000 or so, so I gotta step up - pun intended :p). I stayed rocking by myself. All I need is music :)




Anyways, the dillydallying continued, until I got tired of dancing in the living room by my onesies and went to the dining room with the other girls.


 We were gisting about random things, and then it happened...

Twas my birthday!!! - PART ONE

Hello beautiful ladies, and handsome gentlemen!

Isn't it such a glorious day?!

Actually, not quite. The clouds are meh, my office is cold, and of course I have the sniffles because I thought it'd be a smart idea to wear a halter top to the office.

So, a lot has happened in the past week.

I'm soooooooooooooooooo sawry I haven't put up a post. Between being extra busy, and my Swift modem having epilepsy, there wasn't any way I could put up a nice post.

In any case, I'm BACK!

I've been making noise about my birthday coming up, and wondering what to do - get a phone, go shopping, travel, etc. Well, I didn't get a phone (not yet but it will come). I kinda went shopping the week before on JCPenney online (they have some nice stuff, and they were ON SALE!). And I did travel - just not to Ghana.

Let's start with May 28th
I had Pineapple cupcakes delivered to my office to share with my coworkers. YUMMY!!!

Provided by Cake Factory

Office celebration, check!

One of my very closest friends shares the same birthday as me. So we had planned to have a Girls Dinner In - NO BOYS ALLOWED! My friend had arranged for 8 of us ladies to have dinner at her house, with a 5-course meal by the fabulous CHEF FREGZ! The theme/dress code was 'Glitz and Glam.' I was looking forward to it, because it had been a while since I hung out properly with my girlfriends, and I really wanted to dress up too! The plan was to leave my office at 4pm, head to the salon for the pedicure, go home and relax a little bit, dress up and head on my merry way.

How about I left the office at 5pm, waiting for a serious storm to subside, AND there was maddening traffic everywhere! I was so discombobulated and it seemed like everything was topsy-turvy. I finally got home at 6pm, reluctantly painted over glittery nail polish that refused to come off, and started dressing up. Cakes and his cousin came over, and we agreed that Cakes would drop me off at my friend's house and pick me up in the morning (Girly Sleepover Time!). Dinner was supposed to start at 8pm. Guess what time I left my house. Rhymes-with-ATE-PM. And of course, the traffic hadn't subsided, so I got to her house pretty late. Luckily, 3 other ladies were later than I was.

Eventually dinner started and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!