SWEET APOLOGIES

I am sorry i haven't put up the dessert pictures. Techincal difficulties are to blame. will get it sorted ASAP!

FOOD! YOU MURDERER!!

I was moseying happily through the mall with my mom when I inadvertently nearly killed her thanks to the subject of food, my true love. How? Allow me to begin at the beginning.

 I hadn’t eaten anything yet that day and it was almost 3pm so naturally I was tired. As you may or may not know, I am a food fiend! I just love grub, but, that doesn’t mean that I eat all the time. It’s a bit ironic that I love food so much but eat very little of it. I’m not one of those people who get up in the morning, showers, gets ready and has breakfast. I skip the eating part.

 Honestly, I don’t think I’ve eaten a breakfast “BREAKFAST” in years. I just don’t and if I’m busy during the day, I may not bother to get up and eat something till maybe 2 or 3pm or later. Of Corse I drink water and keep my fluids up. The thing is: When I am not thinking about food, I am literally NOT thinking about  it in any way, shape or form, I hardly feel hungry as such.

So, how does all this have to do with me trying to murder my number one hero?

 Well, being the Africans that we are, taking care of people around us is important, we are very hospitable and being Nigerian, hospitality is paramount, especially offering greeting people with food the minute they arrive at your doorstep and so on.

Mom commented on how I was looking so tired and I said I hadn’t eaten anything yet and wasn’t even hungry “HUNGRY”. Naturally, she chided me for not getting something to eat to which I said, I am not really in a food eating mood. I confessed that I feel bad sometimes when a friend visits and it takes me more than the record time of oh, 2 seconds to shove some food in their face!

I’m used to friends who come in make themselves at home; the fridge is your oyster so to speak, take whatever.

Then she hinted that I had better not do that with my husband, and there it was! The bait, I fell for it hook, line and sinker. My flippant response was:

 “well, my husband must know that I am his wife, not a cook”

 And that, my friends, is how I nearly killed my hero. The shock on her face was followed by eerie silence. I thought she was going to keel over or drop right there!  I cursed the day I didn’t go for the free CPR lessons!

I don't understand how food, my great love, got me in this mess. You see, in our culture, as a wife and woman, no matter what, you have to serve your husband diligently and with respect, which I believe in. I don’t think most African men are necessarily helpers in the domestic sense but they do work hard so we should do our best for them.

Obviously, my point of view showed that I plan to “starve my darling, hardworking husband to death some day”

I respect our customs and traditions and I am not looking to flout them, I am not on a mission to disregard the way things had been done before my time.

Trying to explain didn’t help. I think I dug my grave further by saying

“if I was a housewife who didn’t have hectic hours then yeah, sure, why not? But if I was working and all, then sorry, I can’t do that….. all the time, wife doesn’t equal domestic help”

This time, I invoked a look of pity and maybe a hint of shame. One of those “where did I go wrong with this child” sort of looks. The disparity in our generations cannot be over emphasised and both sides can’t come to terms with either’s definition of the status quo.

You can trust that things got awkward for a few moments after that. File this under SNAFU

From my world with love,

R.J.  

LIFE'S HARD DECISIONS

In this life, there are many decisions that we must make in order to move forward. For instance, should I get married to this person, or should I move to another country, should I go to university and study this or that, should I take my umbrella today? All these questions are important in order to do some things and move to the next stage. But for me, one question plagues my mind always, and that is :

“does that restaurant have a robust dessert menu”?

That is one question that ranks high on my list. I actually pick restaurants based on the dessert menu. I do my homework, I check online before heading out. I don’t care if they can make a rabbit into a duck with some magic sauce….yawn*  not impressed till I see the dessert.

It’s a terrible habit that I’m trying to break because sometimes I miss out on great cuisine.  I visited a restaurant with loved ones the other day and I was in dessert heaven. Pictures coming soon

From my world with love,

R.J.

SNAFU

The word SNAFU is an acronym for  “situation normal: all fouled up". It’s a well-known military slang. It indicates that something has gone wrong but that’s just the normal way it should be, so wrong is right, if that makes sense. I just love using it when describing a stitch up or a messed up situation because it sounds as interesting and as jumbled as the situation I could be trying to describe even if its not normal.

The other day, I was speaking to a loved one when I made a comment that didnt quite hit the mark. To be honest, it wasn’t anything serious but during a conversation, the moment you say the wrong or awkward thing, it’s a bit hard to bring the other person back around to when they were enjoying it. I’ll confess that “sometimes” I’m a champion at creating awkward instances because I have a skewed sense of humour and I just can’t resist giving in to it even though there is the off chance the next person might not get it. Get it?  

So for me, it was just another day at the office; saying something that comes out awkward but wasn’t intended to be. Situation normal: all f*cked up!

from my world with love

R.J

LOOKING UP!

Tonight, i was walking through the city and as i waited at a pedestrian crossing, I looked up. for the first time on that intersection, i took a moment to look up and i saw a beautiful set of white and blue lights that had been nicely arranged across the tram lines, like a cobweb of sorts hovering over the entire intersection. I feel bad that i didnt have a camera on me.

The truth is, the lights arent the most beautiful thing i had ever seen, the point is that i had never for once taken a second to look up and see what was there. I, along with most other people are just looking straight ahead, tryin to get to our destination. there were buildings that i could have sworn didnt look quite like that until i took a second look. It's interesting how many things we miss when we dont take a moment to appreciate what's around us.

 So next time when you are walking along in a city or where ever, take a second look, just make sure you're nowhere near where you could get hit by a car or horse and carriage or a bus or bicycle! yes tha can actually happen, i have been hit by a bicycle once, when i lived in East Africa.......however, that is a whole other story for another day



from my world with love
R.J

ISN'T SHE LOVELY!

Today is my sister's birthday and she is turning 21! The big 2 1 ! So weird how time flies; It feels just like yesterday when she was in high school and was feeling too cool for school! lol. But in all honesty my sister is one of my favourite people in the whole world; we joke and laugh and usually find the same things hilarious and for some weird reason we could laugh for longer than normal over the same ol thing.

She has grown up to be a very admirable young woman with an amazing pure heart and lovely attitude to match. Always optimistic and open to try and make an effort. I wish I could be more like that, but ah whatever, I’m already too old and set in my ways, too bad.

We had such a blast living together and I remember making fun of her for being such an environmentalist and nature lover. I may or may not have almost reported her to green peace for not recycling that one time! Aaaaah those were the fun times. Anyhow happy birthday girl and I wish you good health, long life, prosperity and may God be with you always. I love you

 From my world with love,

R.J

Ps: if you ever read this, reply your text messages lazy-o

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

As you may already know, I am a decor lover. And not just the uber expensive and out of reach beautiful items, but very inspiring use of everyday items. Here are some of the cool stuff Ive come across while trolling the internet.

the hair dryer chandelier; i was pleasantly surprised when i saw this,how genious and unique, yet inexpensive(to make, i suppose) all at the same time!

this  lamp shade made of sunglasses reminds me of something James Bond would have in his lair! so smooth and baddass.  it probably morphs into a machine gun or a bulletproot glass shield or something! lol, all in my mind

And then there were the bottles! i am pretty sure there all sorts of DIYs on youtube on how to make these cool fixtures but for now, I am just happy to stare and appreciate

 These wine bottles are especially cool because it looks like fireflies. i guess the cables are run through the bottle and under the table to a power source.

and lastly, the cutlery fixture! its so cool, they are all sterling silver. I cant imagine how many sets of cutlery this would have taken

From my world with love!

R.J



FOR THE LOVE OF FEATHERS

Hello world!

Feathers are a big trend this season.

 I personally shied away because I wasn’t sure and one could very easily look like a drenched bird. But if well done, it makes a beautiful fashion statement. Most of them are faux feather which is quite alright but I found myself drawn to the more toned down feather peices.

These skirts are quite nice, its trendy, no doubt but a bit rigid, doesn't move on. I dont know why i always feel like if i wore one of these, i would look like I'm about to take flight!

MY SOLUTION: i stick to more subtle feather types, likes the ostritch feather which is softer, moves better and arguably more elegant.

jackets with a subtle hint of feather are also very chic and vamp up any outfit                   

 this Elizabeth and James feather jacket is just beautiful and chic to the max

Now lets take this feather thing into overdrive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! feather wedding dresses

this feather bouquet is just amazingly different. very few people can pull it off!


From my world with love!
R.J

SKIRTING AROUND THE MATTER

Hello world!

Since last year when I saw SJP in this shoot for Marie Claire, I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. The skirt been haunting me, maybe because of its sheer volume and the fact that I am skinny and I like volume. But the skirt moves and photographs beautifully, just pure heaven. One day, I will own you, skirt! One day Lol, or make something close to you. One way or another, I will have a piece of this skirt.

christian Siriano fall 2011 RTW skirt

Isnt it just orgasmic? I just want to burrow in it, wrap myself up and fall asleep, then wake up, put it on and work it! Here is how the beautiful SJP was styled for the shoot. i love it because everything else was toned down and the skirt did the talking.

Lilly Collins also wore it on the cover of teen Vogue october 2011

The super talented Natasha Bedingfield also wore it at a perfomance

Natasha Bedingfield

I love this last picture because it gives a sneak peek into the inside of the skirt and the smooth satin lining, I can see the frame of the skrit on the ends, thats the wow factor and it sets it apart from other ruffled skirts. soft smooth satiny gorgeousness on the inside and fierce fabulous flower ruffles on the outside

Krysten Ritter

From my world with love!
R.J

DNA

Now that i have begun, its only right that I mention the things that interest me and what i like to go on and on and on and on .....about.
                                                            

                                                                           FOOD!

To say that I am a food addict is putting it lightly. i'll just go ahead and say it, I am very very unashamadely into food porn! there! phew! It just makes me happy, i love food. who doesnt! if you dont like food, i just cant trust you. don't know what else to say for now. i dont want to get distracted by the thought but rest assured, its the most dominant thread in my DNA.

           SHOES! (actually, more like heels)

(pics courtesy jak n jill)

I am a big lover of shoes, much like the typical girly girl but I enjoy collecting them too. the power of a good heel or shoe cannot be over emphasised.it just can't, beleive me, I've tried. They have the power to take your appearance from "there's that girl to THATS "THE" GIRL!

 MOVIES!

i absolutely love a good story. i love movies and i like a good plot. I dont ask for much in a film's story; just a beginning, middle and a conclusive end. It sounds simple till you realise alot of films don't get to that. But! i do have lofty dreams in the area of film so I'll see how i go.

                                                                        STYLE

We live in a world where fashion is everywhere and accessible to all. but! what you do with whats available to you is whats important. not everyone can follow every trend so I am always excited to see something fresh and inspiring!

                                                            DESIGN AND DECOR

I adore a good set design. Things that give a space more character and charm draw me in and i surrender. whenever i am out in th city or shopping or wherever, i often look out for awesome decor and great sources of inspiration and most of all, ingenious use of everyday items.  

THE REALISTIC EQUATIONS AND LIFE HAPPENINGS

This is my way of trying to figure out a few things with the help of economic regression equations. This is not my favorite thing to do but it has managed to sleasily insert itself into my DNA through education. I did economics for ages and tolerated equations because sometimes, they answer questions better than any words can. so, it's only fair they make an appearance once in a while as i journey along life .

these are just a few things I can think of now, my list goes on and on and on and on and on................

thanks for reading!

from my world with love!

R.J.

I HEAR A BEAT!

Hello world! I finally decided to start my blog today after so many months or years of contemplating. i realised that everyday that passes when i am not pursuing a goal is a day wasted; so, WASTE NO MORE i say!
This blog is going to be a chronicle of my journey from where I am at right now, a bit of a limbo, to where I want to be. The quiet space inbetween the dream and the realisation of the dream; where the ups and downs of life happen is where I am and some days its fun, others, errrr, well anyway.....In all, i am thankful to be alive and well and hope I have fun along the way with whoever else is reading!

Thank you.
R.J