Weekend Post #10- Photo Diary(Nigerian Vacation/Trip)

This is the final-ish sequel to my recent trip to Nigeria posts. I had an amazing time with my family and friends and although it was super short, I was really happy. Living away from your family is never an easy feat even though I am constantly communicating with them via bbm, skype, whatsapp, rebtel, phone calls, etc..thank God for technology. But nothing replaces seeing your loved ones face to face..it's a beautiful thing and it should never be taken for granted. Armed with my DSLR camera, I thought I would take loads of pictures but guess what? I just wanted to relax and enjoy my holidays without lugging around a fairly heavy DSLR camera and changing lenses. I had a compact camera but I just could not be bothered...lol. However, I still managed to take some nice pictures of my holiday and lovely memories of the highlights of my holiday...





  

One of my Best Friend’s Wedding

We call each other Yoyo because we are so silly like that and she just makes me so happy which is why I was delighted when she asked me to be her Chief Bridesmaid; I was beyond honoured. I took some pictures of her traditional wedding and she looked so stunning as you can tell. She was one of the happiest brides that I had ever encountered and she was as relaxed, calm and playful as ever; it was such a delightful day. The traditional and white weddings were done on the same day but I did not take any proper pictures on the white wedding because I was carrying out my Chief Bridesmaid duties rather seriously.

Aswani Market

Quite Close to my house is this market called Aswani which opens only on Tuesdays and it has been on for as long as I can remember. I used to go there with my sister when we were teenagers because you could find really nice gems especially fabrics there if you look carefully. They had nice materials ranging from Ankara Prints, Laces, Damask, etc. Going to this market with my sister took me back in time just like old times. Despite all the terrible kidnapping and abduction of school girls which has placed us yet again in a negative spotlight, people in Nigeria are still very happy people. When I whipped out my camera to snap, I had so many willing candidates models who were calling me “camera girl snap me na”. It totally warmed my heart and I honoured their biddings. I also bought some materials which I gave to my tailor to sew some outfits which I will be showing you soon.

Food

One of the favourite things I like to indulge in whenever I am in Nigeria is to eat some sweet Nigerian delicacies for a fraction of  the price of what they would have cost here in the UK. Just seeing these pictures makes my mouth water a lot. I went to my cousin’s house and this was prepared for us.  I swear I gained a few pounds after this meal. The first dish is Peppered Fried Chicken Gizzards and it was oh so delicious. The second dish is Sauteed Stockfish, Snail and Smoked Fish...oh my days!! This was amazing and I wish I could have brought some back with me.

My Sister’s Pup

His name is Jay. His full name is Jay Z..hahaha, I can’t!!! He is a Lhasa Apso breed and he is the cutest and naughtiest dog ever. I love him so much and I wish I could bring him to live with me here in England. He is just a year old and my sister got him when he was little. He is so playful and everyone in my family completely adores him which is why he is super spoiled especially by my Mum. He weighs just about 5kg or so and he is very lovable; always willing to give you a warm welcome when you come to the house. I miss him so much and I will have a little post on him later..

Nigerian Makeup/Beauty Haul

I could not go to Nigeria without buying some products which are difficult to find here in the UK especially London. More importantly, I was keen on trying out some Nigerian Makeup brands and I was so glad I got the chance to try a few. First stop was stocking up on some Mary Kay Foundation and Oil Mattifier which was much cheaper in Nigeria than here in London. I always used Mary Kay products when I lived in Nigeria and it was fantastic and it still is!! I bought some Nigerian indigenous makeup from Kuddy Cosmetics and the owner kindly gifted me some products when my sister told her I was a blogger-so watch out for some reviews on here soon. Kuddy Cosmetics is a renowned beauty, skincare and makeup store with various branches in Lagos and they recently branched out into making their own line/range of cosmetics and skincare which I will be reviewing in a separate post. My Mum, sister and myself of course have been patronising her stores for years because you can be sure to get authentic products at very affordable prices. I also purchased Cetaphil Cleanser and Neutrogena Acne Stress control Toner from her store. I also bought some eye shadow trios from Tara Orekelewa-another indigenous Nigerian brand and the shades I got were Uyayi and Omoge.  Lastly, I got some Dudu Osun (Nigerian Black Soap) which remains one of the all-rounder soaps I know because it serves as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-septic while keeping your skin healthy with an added glow. I will have a separate post on all these beauty goodies complete with reviews so keep your eyes peeled.






Soon enough, it was time to leave again which was sad times but I really enjoyed myself. I miss my family and friends every time but I know I would see them soon enough when I plan another trip so it's not too bad. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the highlights of my holiday and see you in my next post..

Food Memories - Home Made, Takeaway and Restaurant Style

              

Let's talk about food. I am not writing about health or fitness or anything related in this post. I am just talking about food and meals i have enjoyed. Hopefully, a healthy food/fitness blog post will be up soon. Back to this post, I enjoy eating good food because i see food as a fuel to re-energise your body and supply nutrition to our bodies. Most times, I create time to prepare home-made meals, other times, I opt for a restaurant made meal or just a normal takeaway meal. I love trying new food but i find that i am more drawn to meals that are spicy mainly because of my background and culture. I am just going to share a few pictures of some home made meals or take away meals which I have wonderful memories of.

                  

Home -Made Corned Beef Pasta with Garden Salad:

Basically, I just boiled some pasta with a dash of olive oil and salt and drained it when it was done. For the sauce, I sauteed some corned beef, peppers, tomatoes, pesto and tomato sauce into a nice spicy sauce. I added some chunks of beef because i love meat. I mixed the sauce and pasta and voila!! My corned beef pasta was birthed. I really love this meal because it is really tasty; the corned beef gives it a rich taste and it is very filling with the garden salad which i just bought from sainsburys. This meal took about 30 mins to prepare.

Gianni's Grilled Salmon, Salads and Chips:
This has to be my favorite Eat-In meal from a Takeaway restaurant near my office in Central London. The Eat-In is called Gianni's which is an Italian owned shop with lovely pastas, sandwiches, chips and any nice meal you can think about. They do breakfast, brunch and lunch which i think is really good because some people just want to grab a quick breakfast before work or have a nice brunch with clients or just a nice home made style lunch with colleagues. I mainly just have lunch there when i can afford to. This meal is grilled salmon served with thick cut chips and salad of the day. It is very very filling and i suggest you eat this when you do not have many meetings to attend afterwards because i felt very fuuuuuuulllll. I am a ig lover of salmon and this salmon was well prepared with all the juices intact. The chips were equally good and crisp which i love. I hate soggy chips and the salad vegetables were very fresh. I don't have my meals in Gianni's often because it is about £5 for this meal which is not too bad but it is not what i would want spend every day.

              

Restaurant Style Potsu Medium Chargrilled Chicken accompanied with brown wild rice and spruced up with Ithai sauce: This meal was one of the most delicious and healthy meals i have eaten in a long while.  It is from ITSU shop in London. It was so good i actually dedicated a whole blog post to it. See link

Buffet Style Semi-British Breakfast Medley:  This is not quite an English breakfast but different mixes. I have some Croissant which was the most divine chocolate croissant ever. On my plate, my greedy self has croissant, sausage, bacon, potatoes and egg. It was in a buffet for a work conference in Warwick and I absolutely looked forward to breakfast every morning. It is a sure way to get fat but hey! this was for only 3 days. Hahaha!

Home Made Rice and Beans with Beef Stew: This is my favorite lunch for work because it is very filling and nutritious. The beans and beef provide protein which balances out the carbs in the rice. It is so easy to make as well and it reminds me of home a lot because this was one of my favorite meals when i was younger. The Beef stew could be a bit tricky but it is so worth the stress and I make it really spicy. Yum!!

Home Made Nigerian Poundo Yam with Egusi Soup: This meal is delicious and very very filling. You don't want to eat this at night at all. A little background info; this is a typical Nigerian meal which is made up of the Soup and the Swallow. The Soup is obviously a soup but it is not runny or watery, it is more like a thick paste. It is called Egusi Soup because it is made of Egusi (Melon Seed) which is well blended and made with some crayfish, palm oil and dry fish with some spinach and bitter leaf for good measure. I may do a recipe soon( Leave a comment if you want it). The Swallow is basically Poundo yam which is made from powdered Yam flour made with some hot water to a semi solid little ball. Teamed together, this makes the most amazing and satisfying meal. I feel hungry just looking at the picture. :-)

I hope I tantalized your palettes and I am sure you can tell i love good food. Let me know in the comments section which meal you would like a recipe of. Enjoy the rest of your week..xx