The Foodie Diary L(a)unch

I'm a Foodie. No need to sugarcoat it. A Foodie and so damn proud of it.
And to cap it up, thanks to my metabolism my waist size is about '20 centimeters' (or so my colleagues say). Makes eating even much more fun!
Oh, what joy!!

Someone once told me I would make an awesome food blogger, like Eat.Drink.Lagos and the likes.
Always brushed off the idea even though I knew at the back of my mind she was about 95.9% right.
But then a time comes when your glass cup is filled to the brim and its overflowing hence you simply have to share the content with another pitcher or whatever.

My dear friends (and family), I have reached my 'brim' and it would be of great pleasure to share my 'content' with thee. Content being My Food Experience.
So I have decided to introduce a section on the blog titled 'The Foodie Diary'.

First off, I would just share a 'lirru' bit of my Foodie Moments of 2015 most of which were towards the end of the year. Hungry much?

Vanilla Chocolate Delight. Dave ordered only a can of Sprite and some lime. Made me feel like a glutton...not like I cared any less though.

#IceCreamFactory #TimeOutWithDave

Spaghetti Carbonara. Bukky chose this off the menu for me. She knows my foodie senses too well.

#411RestaurantAndBar #Bukoko'sBday

Tuwo Shinkafa and Ewedu soup with Pomo. Had Ewedu for the first time after 15 years. The Tuwo did the trick...
#ThePedroResidence #GRAIkeja #NewYearShinDig

Frozen Margaritaaaa. I usually go for Mojitos (gosh, I looove 'em) but then this was on the house...

#CrossroadsMexicanRestaurant #EkoHotelsAndSuites #LatinoDancePartyNight

Quesadillas. Had these with a glass of 'Wahalarita'. Yes. I got a taaad bit tipsy. The wahala was real yo!

#355RestaurantAndLounge #EatDrinkLagos #TheLunchClub 

Hotdog and French Fries. First time ordering off the HelloFood website. So worth it.

#RoadsterBurgersAndGrills #HelloFood #OfficeLunch

Well well...this is just a tip of the iceberg people. Trust me.
Boy, am I excited!!! *rubs palms in enthusiasm*

Blogiversary: Season 1 Finale

14th January, 2016.
I should have posted this yesterday as that date marked one year since my first post. Blame it on writer's block...plus I didn't want to seem so cliche.
A day after won't hurt now, would it?

Worry not. I won't 'shed' sentiments like I just won an award or something. This is going to be as brief as brief can be. So...

Yep. This fits. Well, not 'always'...

There you have it. 

That's all folks! (until I hit it big like Linda Ikeji...)

CheerZ!!! 

Empire

Most of you would agree with me that the preferred birthday gift in this current economy is cash.

A friend of mine once said 'I no want designer. I no want Ferrari. Just open a Swiss account in my name. Dassall.'
I can't say I didn't totally agree with her on that one.

Cash does make the world go round. Admit it. 

Sure money is the root of all evil, but the same Bible also says it's the answer to all things.

It all depends on how you balance the equation...

Nope. This post isn't to yammer on cash flow and business. So, moving on...

The Uzowulus. 

Not to brag but my surname has gotten so much attention in the past years till date and it's not just because of the 'intensity' of the intonations of its pronunciation. I would say its mainly cause of the aura with which it carries.

And for that, I duff my hat to the big sis for pretty much starting this 'popularity-legacy'.

Mum did as well, but in her maiden-name. But she does still earn major points too.

So the mother's birthday falls towards the end of January and as is our custom, we get her something as a family.

I used to have to budget for birthday presents and treats on specific months of the year, 5 months to be precise- January (mum), February (dad- RIP), June (the 'bigger' bro), August (the big sis and I) and December (the big bro).

After each month, I could take in a breath of fresh air. Done and dusted. NEXT!

But then it seems I won't get a chance to breathe every month in a couple of years *gulp*

             

The empire keeps expanding. And I doubt my sis would be done anytime soon...even before I join the trail. Twins, she said...

But I'm loving every part of it, the journey of moving from one phase of our lives to the next. 

Sometimes, if not all the time, I wish he was still alive to be an integral part of this experience. 

He would have made a pretty fine grandpa *smiles*

Omo Naija

Lol.
I keep giggling anytime I think of the conversation I just had with a longtime friend of mine. 16 years of friendship to be precise.

We were BFFs and school sisters in secondary school. Both whiz kids always drawing wins together at the top of the class. That was till she left for the States in JSS 2 sometime in 2002 I believe. (Junior Secondary School 2 better known as JSS 2 is Grade 8)
Brainy. My classmates and I used to call her that. The whole school infact.

Then came December 2015 and she's been around for the holidays (Yaaaaay!) and of course we HAVE to meet up before she heads back.
In my terms, a hangout cannot 'not' involve food in some way. So I suggested pizzas, something 'Americana-ish'. But gurl was having none of that! Loool.

Haha! Once a Nigerian, Always a Nigerian

It was no coincidence that we had this chat say, five minutes after I had a conversation about the food at Terra Kulture with a friend and two minutes before a colleague of mine just got back from lunch of which he ordered from there as well. He even swore by the awesomeness of their fried plantains.

"Hmm...", I thought, "This must be a sign"

Well, I have never been, so this sorted my decision as to where we would have brunch over the weekend.

Going to see my padi  after donkey years! Who is to say I am not excited???

Well, food does make me giddy too...

The MixTape: GhaGeria II

I have always wanted to get the feel of being a part of a studio session. My sis and I used to joke when we were younger of how we would one day get a duet album produced cause everyone seemed to be going into music at the time. At least we had the voices to probably even get it certified platinum.

My 'school son' recently delved into hip-hop music and has a couple of mix tapes to his name. However, he needed a female voice to feature in the chorus of one of his tracks and well, I got the slot.
Nah, no payments nor incentives necessary. Let's just say I did it as a favor and also for the love of music.
Plus, he kind of scrapped one task off my bucketlist so I guess I do 'owe' him one.

The mix tape collaboration titled Ghageria II which is a combination of the countries, GHAna (Kula) and NiGERIA (KelZ, the school son) dropped on Christmas day, the 25th December, 2015 and I just had to promote it in any little way I could.

Need I add that Kula is really cool to work with as a producer. I was kind of nervous at first but he put me at ease. Plus I am more or less a perfectionist and felt I didn't deliver to the 'T' and yet they both assured me my bit was perfect.

There are so many raw talents in Africa yet to be discovered.
Hopefully someone that reads this post who knows someone who knows someone else who happens to be influential would get a hold of it and give them the break they deserve.

Do give the songs a listen by downloading the album through this link.
Of course I would shamelessly ask that you start off with track 4, Holy Matrimony which of course features my humble self *big grin*

Be nice with your comments on my 'not-so-fabulous' voice.

Jeremiah 17 verse 9

"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure"
- Jer. 17 vs. 9 (The Message)

I love The Message translation of the Bible. It dissects the verses into simple terms that anyone can grasp and understand.
I remember when I was about graduating and my friend-turned-sister and I went to the bookstore to buy ourselves convocation gifts. My bible was overdue for a change (had been using the same one since my first senior year in high school) so I searched the store for The Message version but was unlucky. Guess the last one was bought off before I got there.
Anyway, I opted for the New Century Version (NCV) instead. Good choice still.

Yesterday, I was surfing the net (as is my usual routine every morning. Hmm...wonder if that's a good or bad thing) and found myself on the MSN website. Some way or another I was linked to Brooke Shields' Wikipedia page and got some new information on her as to what brought her into the limelight of her acting career.
She played the role of a child prostitute way back in 1978 in the movie Pretty Baby. She was 13 at the time.

Honestly, I never really read up on child prostitution until then, and it gave me a sickening feeling afterwards. I always thought these children were a little less than teenagers and then I saw this:

                         

'as young as 4 or 5 years old...'

Sometimes, when I think of such evil being oppressed on these little ones with innocent souls I can't help but imagine if heaven forbid, my nephew and niece are mishandled in anyway and it enrages me. And to even think of my own children? Urgh.

I can't fathom how people in their supposedly 'right' minds can take a child in their arms and do insane things to them. Be it an infant, a pre-teen or even one that just hit puberty it doesn't matter. These are children still discovering who they really are.
As far as my opinion goes, such act is linked to a mental disorder. Infact,  it's beyond physical. It's definitely spiritual.

If how I feel can reflect through my words this page would be on fire right now. Somethings are tagged 'unforgivable'. But then, thank God we are not God. He knows how he handles this sort of absurdity. All we can do is work towards making what He wants manifest in any situation as such that we may find ourselves.

Yes, it can be tough. Even our own 'demons' can be the hardest thing to succumb. But then, we have to make the conscious effort..

People may wonder why human rights activists take their beliefs to a whole other level. Most of us don't know what their loved ones, children, spouses even they themselves have been through. And this is their only means to fight and live with the pain of their past. Some, even their present...

If you stand for nothing, you would most certainly fall for anything.

Stand for what is right. Stand for what is just.

ArtTwentyOne:TwentyOneArtists:TwentyFirstCentury

Art.
A simple three letter word that encompasses a million ideas in one.

Sometimes I just realize how awesome it is to have a talent that is so rare but yet spans within the family.

Dated back to primary school when my classmates used to line up at my desk just to get a helping hand from me as regards their art projects.
Then to my brother who made lots of cash off his mates in secondary school for the exact same thing. He and my sister always represented our school in art competitions and won a handful of them. Three of us were also members of an art group in the University as well.
My other brother...well, he is an architect. Need I say more?

And my folks? Mum is super creative when it comes to music (singing to be precise), poetry (she was an English & Literature teacher) and textiles. You should see her 'bespoke' wardrobe.
Dad had the most 'perfect' handwriting I have ever seen till date. It was a blend between calligraphy and just plain beauty. Always keen on dotting all his i's and crossing all his t's.
Even his signature! The time he always spent signing my report card though...(lol)

I was invited for an art exhibition a few days ago at the Art Twenty One Gallery tagged Platform: Twenty One Artists and the scenery really got my nod of approval.

 
The African art culture is so rich! Now I sense why the British were in awe and how the idea of the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture better known as Festac'77 must have come into view.

We must admit that even in this modern day, the African culture truly doesn't appreciate art in general especially, Fine Art. So seeing so many people (even familiar faces from way back in school) at the exhibition really made me smile.
Guess it's relatively safe to say African Art is finally getting her groove back.

I happen to be acquaintances with an art dealer/manager @hrh247 and his artist @johnmadu_art whose works were showcased that day alongside 20 other talented artists (hence the '21 Artists' title).

So without further ado, here are a couple of shots I took of the works that caught my fancy.
Let the art speak for itself...

Yeanzi.

Melted plastic portrait. My best piece...

Dennis Osadebe

Chinenye Godsproperty John

I love the 'irony' of the only female gender picture of this piece. Who says a girl can't aspire to be an engineer or any 'male-tagged' profession for that matter?

I.Am.Isigo

Can conveniently pass as Lady Gaga's preferred designer wardrobe...

Maxivive

I asked Max what sprung up this idea. He said It's the 'Agbada of the future'. 

Well I say, 'Raining season? Problem solved!'

Tokyo James

Yinka Ilori

Can imagine these cute pretty furniture pieces at my sister's. So her.

And of course...John Madu

Always a message behind his works. Love the depth


I for one certainly couldn't leave without a complimentary glass of champagne...and a few tapas to go...
#FoodieNation