December 31, 2015

Berry Dakara in 2015

Last year I did a blog recap. Lots of other bloggers are currently posting how their blogs did in 2015. I want to do that as well, but not just yet. I had goals for the Berry Dakara Blog this year, and I will still write an update. However, what I really want to share now in this post is ME, not just the blog. 



I've decided to make it a little fun, in the way of numbers. So here are my 2015 numbers in no particular order.

December 30, 2015

Berry Dakara Instagram 2015 Best Nine

Yo yo,

I wasn't sure if I would do a 2015 Blog recap, like I did for 2014 - but I guess I should right?

Anyways, a couple of days ago, I started noticing the following hashtag on Instagram - #2015BestNine. So today I decided to check mine out and I thought it'd be nice to share with you :D

December 29, 2015

Favorite Ways to Relax

As the year draws to a close, I'm thinking about the things I want to do more of in 2016. One of them is true relaxation. I don't get enough sleep as it is, I spend too much time on social media, and I'm beginning to feel like I've forgotten how to relax. I think that it IS important to give yourself a break and do one or two things that you enjoy to help you feel refreshed. So here are a few of my favorite ways to relax.

December 28, 2015

Berry Beautiful Weekend

Hey everyone,

How was Christmas for ya? Who had fun? Did you get or give any exciting presents? Let me know in the comments. This was supposed to be a great weekend for me - the looooong holiday, Christmas, and then our anniversary (thanks for the well wishes by the way). Unfortunately, I started feeling funny on Thursday evening and by Christmas morning, I was officially sick. It's Sunday night now and I'm still pretty low. Cakes wanted to take me out to lunch today but I felt so weak and tired, that I simply said we should buy small chops at church and go home. We can always celebrate another day, aye?

Anyway, the other weekend I had a few events I wanted to hit in one day.

December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas

Hello darlings!
We wish you and yours a Berry Merry Christmas. May you be filled with Joy as we remember the precious Gift that is our Lord Jesus Christ.



December 22, 2015

Blog Business Cards from Printivo!

Have I ever told you guys that sometimes making decisions is one of the hardest things for me? I'm talking easy decisions like whether to get a pedicure or wash my hair at the salon. Or whether to drink tea or coffee on some mornings. Well, when it came time to order business cards on account of blogdom, it took forever and ever to decide! I started the process some time in August - yeah, 4 months ago! Actually, between August and early November, I completely forgot that I emailed Printivo in the first place.

When I remembered and contacted them on Twitter, they responded promptly. I decided to go with the option of them designing my card - which cost N2500, if I remember correctly. You can design it yourself and upload it for printing. I just chose the other option because I think I lack design skills :-|

I sent them a few photos and my information and these were some of the designs they came up with.


I decided to go with a square card because I think it's different from the norm, and it kinda fits my personal style. Some of my family/friends were concerned that it might not fit in a conventional business card case. They have a point, but I think a square card would make the average person do a double-take, since it's different. That being said, if you're in a serious business or profession, please go with the usual rectangular shape. 


I kinda decided on this photo above eventually because of the color splash effect. Again, it's quirky and different, right? My family/friends liked it too but they all had one issue - "Berry why aren't you smiling?" They said the card made me look somewhat intimidating, instead of approachable. I personally like the photo cos it shows my natural hair, my quirky side, and that I'm African. But I agreed that it should be a smiling photo.

And then the photo from my family photo shoot (and The Blogger, The Baker, and The Red Tree) happened and all was well with the earth. There was a bright smile, and somewhat naturalish hair!
I sent the photo off to Printivo, they made the design which I uploaded, paid for and hoped I would get them within 2 business days instead of the 3 they quoted (I saw for another blogger, they delivered in 24 hours). I wanted to have them handy for the Blogger Brunch event. Unfortunately their delivery guy... well, long story short, I got them after 4 business days with a weekend in between.

I'm quite happy with the cards. I'm not 100% ecstatic because it was only after I got them that I noticed the circle on the back of the card was not centered. I'm not sure how everyone of us missed that. Ah well. There's always next time aye?

I gave out a few of them this weekend at the Beauty in Lagos Beauty Party on Sunday. It felt good, I must say. I even put it on Snapchat - are you following me yet?


December 21, 2015

Berry Blogger Brunch Weekend

So here are the photos I promised from the Blogger Brunch event I went to. It was hosted by Dee Mako, who's a Style blogger. Honestly, when I met her I was shocked. On her blog she's very quirky with her style, and I fully expected to see that when I met her that day. But she was very simple - didn't even wear makeup! Maybe I'm the one that does too much these days. Chick was just like, "Enh, I'll rub powder and that's it." Oh well.

December 18, 2015

Berry Lovely Links

Bonjour!!!

How's your week been? I hope you've had a nice one. Christmas is exactly a week away and I still haven't put up my tree!!! At this rate, I might put it up on Christmas Eve.

I hope you're checking the Events page - there are so many events within the next week or two. I've actually had to update it every single day this week!

December 17, 2015

Berry Good Marriage/Relationship Advice

Hello friends,

As you all know, I consider myself to be very wise and like dishing out advice to those in need and those who don't care. I've told you why using pet names is bad for you, why you shouldn't have "our song," etc. Today I'm here to tell you why you shouldn't reprimand your significant other for spending money and shopping. 

December 16, 2015

Berry Blogger Brunch Weekend - coming soon

Okay okay. I do have a weekend post. Here's why it's coming late

  1. I got back from Atlanta last week Monday and didn't get home till 11:30pm. I think I slept around 1 or 2am.
  2. I was back at work on Tuesday. Not too early though but morning still. I had 2 full days of training, which can be draining.
  3. I had the most embarrassing illness (still recovering) and the pain in my finger kept me up till 3am on Friday morning.
  4. Saturday morning, I woke up to pack and headed out to the Bloggers Brunch, and afterwards headed to the airport - flew to Port Harcourt that evening
  5. We had my grandmum's surprise birthday party on Sunday and it was a huge success.

    I ended up going to bed at 12:30am.
  6. And by 5am, I was up, got ready, went to the airport, hopped on my flight back to Lagos and went straight to work.
Basically, I've been on the move since I got back. In fact, since before I left Atlanta, because we were quite busy there. This week, from Wednesday until Sunday, I have back-to-back events, so I'm not seeing proper rest for myself until Christmas/Anniversary weekend.

That's why I didn't put up my weekend post this week.

Can I post it next week? If you agree, I'll add some photos and my Snapchat roll from my grandma's birthday :D

December 15, 2015

BERRY VLOG - The Whisper Challenge with my Brother

Soooooo, I had all these grand plans of doing a lot of vlogs while away on vacation. However, I was so busy and didn't plan my days well, so I ended up doing just one and a half.

In this video, my handsome brother agreed to do the Whisper challenge with me. Cakes was too tired :p

Making the video was fun and I laughed so much that my cheeks hurt!

Hope you enjoy it.



P.S. I don't know that I'm going into vlogging really, but it seems fun every now and then.

December 11, 2015

Easy Taxi Nigeria Takes a Stand On Violence Against Women

Ever heard of or used Easy Taxi? Easy Taxi is a mobile app that connects passengers to nearby registered and professional drivers with just one click, enabling an urban commuting experience that is faster, safer, and more convenient. They recently won the BEST TAXI APP award at the Nigeria Tech Awards, and also launched the Easy Taxi Safety for Women campaign aimed at creating safe commutes and standing against violence towards women worldwide.
2015 marks the 24th anniversary of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism International Day to End Violence Against Women.” This year, market leader in the taxi hailing app space, Easy Taxi Nigeria, joins over 5,000 organizations in 180 countries by publicly declaring its commitment to raise awareness about violence against women (VAW), and launching their campaign #ETSafetyforWomen intended to share gather insights around safety and security from female commuters.

The campaign was born out of a real need to address the global pandemic of violence women are subject to on a daily basis, including while commuting. Most notably, the campaign acknowledges that VAW is not just a “women’s problem;”the effects are felt throughout society, in fact, studies demonstrate that gender-based violence even slows down the pace of development and progress in our country.

The ETWomen Campaign

Needless to say, taking preemptive steps to end violence are not only necessary, but vital for all Nigerians - and Easy Taxi recognizes the solution will involve all of us. As part of their effort to address the issue, Easy Taxi’s campaign will have a multi-pronged approach, including:

Step 1: Stakeholder Engagement

The Managing Director of Easy Taxi, Adaora Asala stated that they are already speaking to a variety of stakeholders to discuss the issue of women’s safety in both Abuja and Lagos, where they operate: from security companies as potential partners on strengthening due diligence and performing more robust background checks on drivers, to women’s rights activists on driver workshops geared towards sensitization.

Step 2: Driver Engagement

Easy Taxi’s top priority is engaging its drivers to raise awareness on the issue, and equipping them as main partners in ensuring the safety of female passengers. According to Asala, “Drivers are trained adequately to remind them that there is a group of people at greater risk and it is our responsibility to make them feel more secure.”

For example, as part of monthly driver meetings, Easy Taxi trains drivers to drop off the female passengers, and wait for her to safely enter inside the gate before driving off.  Training also includes ;sensitivity training, and emotional intelligence where drivers are encouraged to handle any passenger dispute with care and empathy.

Step 3: Customer Engagement

Customers are not left out of the knowledge exchange. As part of the campaign, Easy Taxi is also encouraging customers to empathize with drivers, to see them as business people who have a job, as a service provider just like any other 9-5 worker. Again, the message is that we all have a part in ensuring everyone’s safety, especially women.

A World Of Possibilities

Ms. Asala stated “It is needless imagining a world of possibilities when ‘career women’ are scared of moving in taxis at night, and many others with decent means of livelihood have been denigrated for choosing to be pillars of support for their husbands and families”.

Asala also answered all too familiar question, Why is Easy Taxi getting involved with safety and violence against women? “At the end of the day, activities like this from not just Easy Taxi, but different organizations, will serve as a rallying point for other stakeholders to raise awareness and make efforts to influence behavioural change to end gender violence.”

The solution will not be easy, and it will take collaborative effort to win the war against violence against women. But Easy Taxi hopes that by joining forces with the Nigerian community, taking small steps together, and holding each other accountable, we can all create a future where women are safe - not just when using taxis, but in our society overall.

About Us-

Berry Lovely Links

Hiya,

I know that I've been really bad with updating my Lovely Links posts weekly. They are supposed to be up every Friday and I just haven't been keeping up - my apologies. I hope to do better in 2016.

Here's a fresh set of links though :)

December 10, 2015

6 Lessons I Learned from Planning the Meet and Greet Event

The TBC Connect event was about a month ago, and during the process I learned a few things that I want to share with you. Cassie did something similar after her Catwalk classes in September.

December 8, 2015

The Blogger, The Baker, and The Red Tree

I wondered how to title this post. I had a few options like

Berry, Cakes and A Red Tree

or

Actually, that was the only other option I had :p


December 7, 2015

Berry Atlanta Weekend

Hey hey hey!

Who's excited for Christmas?!?!? I'm looking forward to it but December seems like it's going to be really busy, and honestly, I'd really like to get some time to rest. While here in Atlanta, resting hasn't been possible - we've been out and about, and Cakes even had orders!

Anyways, my sister, brother, his friends, Cakes and I had a fun weekend that consisted of visiting a few places in Atlanta. Where we live isn't in Atlanta proper, so getting to go to the city made me feel like a tourist. Have you ever noticed that when you live in a city, you don't take advantage of what it has to offer tourism-wise? There are so many places in Atlanta that I've never been to and I lived here for 7 years! I think it's a good point to make a habit of discovering the city you live in. Have a staycation sometimes :)

December 4, 2015

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers

It's been ages since I did one of these. Atilola and someone else (I can't remember who, please remind me) tagged me in it, and so here are the answers to the questions Atilola asked (because she asked me first)

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I have a whole list. But let's go with people who always write in "text" format. E.g. HBD, LLNP, whr r u gng 2nyt. UGGH!!!! Didn't you go to school!?!?!?!

2. Team Whatsapp or Team BBM?
Whatsapp. Not too many people send broadcasts :)

3. Eat healthy, and watch what goes into your body? OR Life is too short, enjoy all the food while you can? Which of these two describes you best?
The second one! As picky as I am, I love the foods that I DO like.

4. Make a confession about anything.
I confess that I have a weakness for cocktails, small chops, ice cream and soft plantain.

5. Do you think ladies with natural hair take the “team natural” thing too far?
Some of them do, yes.

6. Can you marry a man exactly like your father?
I'm already married :D Is Cakes exactly like my father? Exactly being the operative word... No.

7. What is your opinion about premarital sex?
I think that it's hard to stay away from and very easily regrettable. God has reasons why we shouldn't do it.

8. What supernatural power do you wish you had?
Superman's powers. All of them. He's just well-rounded.

9. Tell us something you wish you hadn’t done in the past
I wish I hadn't studied Biology for my first degree.

10. Books or Movies?
Both! 

My 10 questions are as follows:

  1. Do you think there are grey areas in life, or is everything black or white?
  2. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
  3. Who would you pick to play you in a movie about your life?
  4. Would you rather read a book, listen to music or watch TV?
  5. Where is your dream destination?
  6. How many friends do you have on Facebook? Friends not fans.
  7. What TV station do you watch the most?
  8. Who do you think would win in a fight between Batman and Superman?
  9. When was the last time you laughed really hard and what made you laugh that hard?
  10. Are you loyal to any car brands? If yes, which one(s)? If no, why would you just buy any random car?!?!?!?

My nominees are... Love Ifeyinwa, The Chameleon Blogger, Wura's Secret Hair, Titi's Passion, and David Adeleke.

December 2, 2015

RANDOM ALERT: Matching Underwear

Hello Boys n Girls!

I've been thinking about this for a while - I know, I know... why am I spending more than a second wondering about matching underwear? Well, because I'm me and that's what I do.

So matching underwear... you know how you see Victoria's Secret and Fredericks of Hollywood and all those ads? All the chicks are ALWAYS wearing matching bras and panties - and sometimes garters and all kinds of frilly things. They all look very nice and attractive and all of that, but my question is...

December 1, 2015

GIVEAWAY and ASOEBIJUNKIE TEXTILE FAIR is here again!

The Asoebi-Junkie Textile Fair is here again and this year it's even more packed with free activities, and of course beautiful fabric to purchase!


Come shop fabrics, shoes, beads and all kinds of fashion accessories as well ready-to-wear pieces from designers at discounted rates. Tick off items from your Christmas Shopping List as there will be great bargains on every item at the fair.

THERE'S MORE! Get treated to FREE sessions on Fabrics, Makeup, and Gele-tying.
1. Patrick Ayanski Fabric Consultant Talk.
Our Main sponsor, The Patrick Ayanski brand will be having a one hour talk with everyone interested in fabric business. They will be talking about recruiting individuals as fabric consultants of their brand and teaching you everything you need to know to run a successful fabric business
TIME: 12PM TO 1PM
2. FREE GELE TYING SESSION BY OMOGE ADUNMARADAN
Talented makeup artist and gele tying expert whose brand is known as Omoge Adumaradan will be live at the fair to teach us how to tie gorgeous gele styles effortlessly and slay at your next event.
TIME: 1.00 PM TO 1.30 PM
3. FREE PARTY MAKE UP SESSION
Professional make up artist known as Adorned by Joy will also be live at the fair to teach us how to apply flawless party makeup with ease, so we can always  do our make up by ourselves and look gorgeous to that Christmas party.
TIME: 1.3O PM TO 2 PM
We will also be having other brand show case afterwards and most important is our raffle draw for purchase of 10,000 Naira and above.
You see why you can’t afford to miss this fair and please do me a favour -  invite your friends, family members,neighbors, colleagues and everyone you know that will be in Lagos next weekend to come take advantage of this great event.
ITS GOING TO BE EPIC!!!
GIVEAWAY VIA BERRY DAKARA BLOG
There's also a giveaway again ! This time, 5 yards of beautiful tulle lace is available to be won. I wish I was around to win it myself :(


GIVEAWAY RULES
1. FOLLOW AND SHARE in one or more from below
A. Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheAsoEbiJunkie) and SHARE the Textile fair photo OR
B. Follow @theasoebijunkie on Instagram and REPOST the textilefair photo with the hashtag #theasoebijunkietextilefair and
C. Follow @theasoebijunkie on Twitter and RETWEET the textile fair photo with the hashtag #theasoebijunkietextilefair

2. After doing one or more of the above, post a comment here stating which option you did, and your name so that we can verify.

Giveaway closes on the 5th of December and the winner MUST pick up the fabric on the 6th of December at the fair (or send a representative).

ASOEBI JUNKIE CONTACT DETAILS
Phone:     07033040834
BB pin:     7EFEDB78
Instagram: theasoebijunkie
Twitter:      theasoebijunkie

BERRY BEAUTY - GRWM for TBC Connect

As you know, the TBC Connect event was a few weeks ago. I blogged about it here, and if you check around Blogsville, you'll see a few other posts on different blogs about the event.

Anyways, I got there pretty early for the event - about 4.5 hours early actually. Cakes had cakes to deliver and wasn't sure when he'd get back to the venue, so we decided I should head to Ethnic Heritage Centre early. Since I had so much time on my hands, I decided to take photos of every step of my makeup process. That's what GRWM means - Get Ready With Me. So there you have it, I'm sharing photos of my makeup process. Forgive me, but I don't have a very nice shot of the end product *hides face*

November 30, 2015

Berry Thanksgiving Weekend

'Ey yo!

How are y'all doing?! How was your weekend? How many of you got into Black Friday shopping? Can I just say that it makes me chuckle that Black Friday is now a thing in Nigeria? Most of the deals I saw floating around were online though, so shouldn't it really be Cyber Monday? Ah well.

The whole week was really full - family photos, Thanksgiving dinner, outings, etc, so I'll break them up into different posts. This one will feature very few photos from the dinner itself.

thanksgiving, dinner, family, food, berry dakara, thanksgiving dinner

November 29, 2015

Berry Lovely Links - Thanksgiving Edition

Hey everyone,

I really meant to post consistently while away, but girls have been busy with family and tired. Although Cakes and I have been waking up waaaaaaaay too early - blame it on jetlag and also the fact that we wake up early normally - I just haven't had energy to post.

But here are some links for you to check out because it's Thanksgiving weekend.




  1. 100 Things to Be Thankful For - I like this list because it includes a lot of everyday things that we would otherwise take for granted.
  2. My Family - I don't want to post their photo on the blog, but check out our family photo on my Instagram page. I am immensely thankful for my family. We had a fun Thanksgiving dinner yesterday :)
  3. Thanksgiving With Black Families trended on Twitter with hilarious memes!
  4. Let's face it - sometimes it's hard to see the blessings around you when you have experienced pain. But When It's Hard to be Thankful, remember GOD IS. 
  5. Youversion has many Devotionals centered on Giving Thanks. You can try one or all of them out.

November 23, 2015

Berry Away Weekend

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey,

How are you my darling?! How was your weekend? What do you have planned for the week?

At this exact moment, I'm sitting in the living room, Cakes is on the floor watching CNN (aka the bringer of news, most of which is bad), and we're both wearing hoodies and socks because...

November 18, 2015

Shout Out to TBC Connect Blogger Guests

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give a shout-out to some of the guests who attended TBC Connect! Quite a number of the guests were bloggers, and I thought it would be nice to holler at them, and give YOU an opportunity to visit their blogs.

November 17, 2015

Berry TBC Connect Weekend

As y'all know, this past weekend, Tuke Morgan, Cassie Daves and I had our Meet and Greet event. It was dubbed TBC Connect (Tuke, Berry, Cassie for those wondering what TBC meant). It was something that had been a long time coming, as the first time we discussed it was during the Leading Ladies Africa event, which was almost 5 months ago!

November 16, 2015

Berry's Dad Posts - Why we should appreciate Nigeria

You read the title right. This post is coming from my dad. Not like he wrote it o, but he specifically told me this story for the blog. So... Enjoy.

We should all be grateful for Nigeria. Yes, our country has a lot of unnecessary problems but there are things every now and then that make you appreciate Nigeria.

While abroad recently I had a meeting with a gentleman. We had agreed on a venue and I set out to go for it. Just as I left the house, my phone crashed.

Easy Natural Hairstyle with Nazuri Curls

Hiya!

I know you're waiting to see photos from the TBC Connect event, which was a great success!!! The post will come tomorrow :)

For now, I have to let you know that the 10% discount on Nazuri Curls with the sale code: BERRYDAKARA ends on Wednesday, November 18th. So if you were planning on buying any of their wefts, wigs, or clip-ins using the code, NOW is the time to order.
berry dakara, nazuri curls, natural hair, clip-ins, natural hair in nigeria, nigerian hair, team natural

November 12, 2015

I Want to Meet YOU!!!

Three of Nigeria’s Favourite Lifestyle Bloggers have come together to plan this one of a kind event.


Tuke Morgan of www.tukesquest.com, Berry Dakara of www.berrydakara.com and Cassie Daves of www.cassiedaves.com invite you to Snack (thanks to Cake Factory and Ethnic Heritage Center), Sip (courtesy of Wilson’s Lemonade) and Share (Stories, LifeStyle Tips, Trials and Triumphs) at the first edition of TBC Connect.

CAKE FACTORY aka CAKESIENA

WILSON'S LEMONADE

This event was organized so that blog readers could meet the Bloggers in a fun and relaxing environment, ask questions and make new friends too.

ETHNIC HERITAGE CENTRE Source

There will be loads of GIVEAWAYS from amazing Sponsors like Shay’s Treats, Ajali’s Handmade Naturals, Nuella Michaels, The Kink and I, Luxe Beauty Lounge, African Naturalistas & Vane Polish.

SHAY'S TREATS

AJALI HANDMADE NATURALS

NUELLA MICHAELS

THE KINK AND I

LUXE BEAUTY LOUNGE

AFRICAN NATURALISTAS

VANE POLISH

Illustrator, Stylish Artist, will also be on hand to make quick sketches of guests. 

STYLISH ARTIST
Simply email tbcconnect@gmail.com to register.


Venue: Ethnic Heritage Centre
Address: 35A Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi, Lagos
Time: 2pm – 5pm

Entry Fee: N1,000 only

I WANT TO MEET YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 11, 2015

My other famous cousin!

Hey guys and gals!

So you know how my cousin was the captain of The Nigerian Super Eagles football team until he retired in 2014? Remember how I mistakenly disowned him after that own-goal? Well he's no longer disowned and he's back to being my cousin

But I'm not here to talk about him. I want to introduce you to our other cousin. This our cousin is soooooo beautiful enh. Like I feel like you should be jealous of me for having such great talent and beauty in my family.

Oh you want to know who this fabulous cousin of mine is? Simply the newly crowned Miss Nigeria, Pamela Peter-Vigboro Leesi. I call her Mel for short.

JY (that's my nickname for Joseph) and I are so proud of her. She even won 2 cars. But out of the goodness and humility of my heart, I declined to take one of them that she offered to me as her favorite cousin.

Aren't you happy you know me?

I would have posted her photo but your screen will explode, so... sorry. 

OkBye

WaitComeBack

P.S. Don't ask her if she knows me, because I will deny you. You in particular. 

November 10, 2015

I have a new crush!!!!

So I have a confession to make. 

I have a new crush. This is not like my perpetual crush on Flavour's voice or Phyno. This one hit me like a ton of bricks! As in, breath left my body for a hot minute when I saw his photo. Should I reveal his identity? Okay. His name is...

November 9, 2015

Berry Erm Weekend

Hey there!

I didn't have a busy weekend like last week o. I had the total opposite - barely left my apartment. I did have quite a bit planned but they fell through, and I'm sure my body was grateful for it. I had the most stressful week last week. I'm talking the kind of stress that could make me burst into tears! So when the things I had lined up for the weekend didn't happen, I was secretly happy. [Un]fortunately, that means no gist today :p

Let me ask a question though... if I stopped going out most weekends and didn't have events and outings to post, would you keep coming back to my blog? Please answer as honestly as you can. If you would, why? If not, why not?

In other news,

November 8, 2015

TBC Connect: Meet and Greet with Tuke, Berry and Cassie

Hi y'all!

So now that everything has been confirmed, I'm VERY VERY VERY happy to post the final details for our Meet and Greet event! I have to apologize for the short notice, but we were trying to get a bigger space because the one we had at first was going to be too small.

If you ARE coming, do email tbcconnect@gmail.com so that we have a final head count before the event.

We're absolutely grateful to all our sponsors - you guys RAWK!!!!!



I can't wait to meet you (or see you again, if I've already met you before).

Have a great week!

November 6, 2015

Travel Nigeria with these Travel Bloggers

I'm going to put these up on the Events page, but thought I should do a separate post so that you don't miss out.

Unfortunately, these travel bloggers have refused to have their trips on days I'm available - it's okay o. Keep leaving me out. No problem. I'll still be nice and tell others about the trips. Don't worry. I'm not hurt or offended. I'll get over it. No, I don't want your tissue! I'll wipe my tears with the hem of my shirt. LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Okay, don't leave me, just ask me before you decide on dates for your next trips.

Now that that's out of the way, my darln's check out these opportunities to travel Nigeria! If you go, make sure you tell them Berry sent you, and please send me photos, okay?

November 5, 2015

Natural Hair Half Updo Tutorial with Nazuri Curls

Hey everyone!!!

I finally published my first natural hairstyle tutorial!!! The first time I had this protective hairstyle was from a couple of weekends ago, and it was really easy to do - so easy, I didn't even need a mirror to do it!

Here it is!

Please give me feedback on the video. It's my first one and I'd like to know what I can do better next time. And if you liked the video and want to see other hairstyles with and without the clips, let me know.


Don't forget, with the code BERRYDAKARA on www.nazuricurls.com, you get a 10% discount! The discount code expires on the 18th of November, so you have less than 2 weeks to use it. You can get your hair in a wig (most popular, and minimal manipulation on your own hair), wefts (for sew-ins), or clip-ins (most versatile for styling, in my opinion).

November 4, 2015

New on Berry Dakara Blog

Hey everyone,

I announced this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but forgot to do it here. I've added an EVENTS page to the blog.


I realized that a lot of times, you guys (and even me) find out about events too late - usually a day before, the day of, or even AFTER the event has passed.

I don't like that, so I want to keep you guys in-the-know about upcoming events. These are events that are more along the lines of those I would usually attend - not that I'll go to all of them o, but they're the kind of things I like to do.

So if you're organizing an event or a promoter and would like to have your event listed on my page, email me - berrydakara@gmail.com with your flyer and details. Please note that paid events attract a small charge, but will also be posted across my social media feeds.

The Lagos Home Show is THIS SUNDAY

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

November 2, 2015

Berry Busy Weekend

You guys!

Let's all just thank God that I'm actually putting this post up today. Yes, it's late but at least it's still Monday. If I tell you how tired I am enh! As in, I've been dizzy for the past how many hours but managing it. I just want to put up this post and crash. I wish I could take a day off work - I really need to sleep.

Ah well.

I had the busiest weekend ever!!! Friday, Saturday, Sunday - full of activities. I think I slept at 2am or so on both Friday and Saturday nights. And no, I wasn't clubbing. I just got home really late - past midnight - and it took me a little bit to finally fall asleep. Anyway, let's get started on the weekend gist, aye? It's long o. Just balance well in your chair or bed or wherever.

October 27, 2015

Ask Me Anything Post

Erm, I might end up regretting this post but honestly, I'm bored and I feel like I have nothing to write about (which is a lie, because I have 2 posts in my drafts that I've been postponing for weeks - plus 1 or 2 collaboration posts that I simply haven't had time to write out).

Anyways, because I just feel bored, I have decided to do this "Ask Me Anything" post. So, from now until midnight on Thursday, feel free to ask me anything [within reason] in the comments. It can be about me, about life in general, my opinions on topics, etc. Whatever question you ask, I will copy and paste into the post and answer it.

Guidelines

  1. Please don't ask rude questions. I try to be polite as much as possible, so kindly treat me in the same manner.
  2. If you will not answer the same question you're asking me on a public platform, chances are you shouldn't ask me that question. E.g. utterly specific questions about my marriage.
  3. Have fun! 
P.S. I almost want to insist that you don't ask anonymously, so that any trolling is prevented, but let's see how it goes.

Q&A begins....................NOW!

Berry Cake and Lace Weekend

I'm sooooooooo bad! I'm sorry! This is the third week in a row that my weekend update is late.

*hiding face, bending down and asking for forgiveness*

Sorry o!!! See what had happened was on Sunday, I practically spent the whole day out, and by the time I got home, I was weary. Do you know what it means to be weary? As in, I could barely even smile. I walked into my apartment and straight to my bedroom. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep for a few more hours, but yeah... I was just beyond tired. So please, forgive me. Next week I shall be on time!!!

October 23, 2015

Special Event coming up!!!

Hey everyone!

How's your week been? I thoroughly enjoyed my time on radio with Uwanma and Valentine on Inspiration FM 92.3 on Wednesday. I'm sorry I gave such short notice... it won't happen again.
Which is why I'm thrilled to announce that in collaboration with Tuke Morgan and Cassie Daves, we are having a Meet and Greet event!!! 


I'm telling you ahead of time now o. Saturday, November 14th is the day! The time, venue and other details will be communicated soon. We've got amazing gifts from some great sponsors already - so much so that I'm actually jealous of the people who will win. If you'd like to sponsor a gift from your company or brand, please email tbcconnect@gmail.com and let us know before November 7th

If you're in Lagos, I fully expect you to be there! The price is just N1000. I'm sure you can sacrifice less than a movie ticket for me :p

To indicate interest please email tbcconnect@gmail.com or leave a comment here saying "I want to Meet and Greet!"

Sending all my love to you and yours!

October 21, 2015

Berry Dakara on Radio TODAY!!!

Hello dahlings!

So I'm here to announce that yours truly shall be on radio this afternoon/evening. It's the August Meeting with Uwanma show on Inspiration FM 92.3. The show starts at 5:00pm (West African Time) so please make sure you tune in.



Uwanma is a fun personality and I started listening to her either late last year or early this year. And then we followed each other on Instagram, and the way we comment on each other's posts, someone would think that we've been friends for a while... and we haven't even met!

Anyways, the show's topic is usually centered on Dating and Relationships. Today's particular topic is "What Do Women Want in Mr. Right?"


It should be an interesting show, innit? It's interactive, so please please please listen and call in to the show. If you're in Lagos, it's 92.3. If you're outside Lagos, listen by clicking here or try one of them radio apps.

And just for fun if you can't call in, why don't you tell me in the comments what you're looking (or looked) for in a partner?

October 19, 2015

Berry New Beginnings Weekend

Hiiiiiiiiii!

How are ya? My Monday's off to a funny start, but I'm praying for a great week regardless. What did you get up to this weekend? Mine was full of new beginnings for friends of mine - I went to a baby shower on Saturday, and yesterday was one of Cakes' best friend's introduction. For non-Nigerian readers, an Introduction is held after a guy proposes to his girlfriend - his family is required by tradition to visit her family to introduce themselves and make their intent known. It's pretty funny because it's usually stated as, "We're from so-and-so... our son was passing by and saw a very beautiful flower in your garden... we want to pluck the flower with your permission." LOL! It isn't usually a big event, but these days, affluent families are turning it into mini-weddings with canopies/tents, catering, new outfits for everybody, etc. For OUR introduction, I wasn't even there. I was in Lagos, and I heard about it afterwards. Oh well.

I don't have too many photos and didn't take any of myself this weekend - for some reason, Cakes and I "disagreed" quite a bit this weekend, so I did a lot of sulking. And sulking ain't cute, so no photos of me *hides face*

October 16, 2015

Berry Lovely Links

Hello everyone!

I hope you've had an awesome week. Mine's been so-so and I'm definitely looking forward to relaxing this weekend.

October 14, 2015

BERRY BEAUTY: Eyebrows Class at Luxe Beauty Lounge

Eyebrows on fleek anyone?

If you're social media conscious, and into makeup and beauty, you know that one of the "greatest" achievements is getting your eyebrows looking as fleeky as possible. Lol, that didn't sound right but you get the gist. In Nigeria here, where women are generally image conscious, you see a lot of us doing everything possible to look good - eyebrows on fleek, check; winged liner on fleek, check; matte lips on fleek, check.... it's all about the fleekdom. *rolls eyes*

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the free eyebrows class happening at Luxe Beauty Lounge in Lekki. The last time I went to a makeup class was st Stella's Addiction's studio. While I learned a lot there, I still felt (and feel) that I need more practice and help. I watch tutorials on Youtube sometimes, but there's nothing like having a live teacher in front of you. A lot of makeup classes are springing up all over Lagos and Abuja, but I find that most of them aren't hands-on. I think the best way to learn these skills is via classes that allow you to practice at the same time. I'm not knocking classes where they show you and you watch, but that's only slightly better than watching Youtube videos.

October 12, 2015

Berry Edo Weekend

Hello my dahlns!

I started to type this post yesterday (Sunday) night, and then Cakes saw how tired I was and forced me to go to bed. He's such a tyrant! But when I woke up this morning, I thanked God that I had been forced to sleep because I woke up sooooooo refreshed. How was your weekend? I hope you had a nice one.

If you follow me on Snapchat and Instagram (BERRYDAKARA for both media - and also Periscope too), then you saw all the fun I had this weekend. Cakes and I had a traditional wedding to attend in Edo State. Since he was making the traditional wedding cake, that meant, you guessed it, another road trip! I've gone on several road trips this year (see here, and here). I hope I don't have to go on more than one more this year. I mean, they're fun but they can be stressful. Maybe that's why I'm sitting at my laptop now, feeling under the weather.

Anyways, let's talk about the trip shall we?

October 9, 2015

Berry Lovely Links

Hey,

Sorry o. Every week, I mean to put up these links and then I end up not doing them. My apologies. :(

October 8, 2015

Straight Hair versus Coily Hair

Hola!

Before anybody starts thinking this is a natural hair versus relaxed hair post, it's not. It's simply me trying to decide which of my Nazuri Curls hair I prefer.

nazuri curls, protective styles, clip ins, natural hair