Black With A Touch Of Ankara So I realized I’ve picked a habit of always talking about the weather in my outfit posts but I find that the weather really does have an effect on my mood. When it’s sunny, I feel happy and motivated to work but when it’s gloomy and dull, all I want to do is sleep. I absolutely dislike rain and cold so I won’t even go there… Speaking of cold, it was FREEZING (two degrees Celsius) and windy but sunny. That’s a rather horrible combination and I might be smiling in these pictures but it was COLD. The struggle was real… Wow I just spoke on weather once again lol. Sorry guys! For the outfit, I’m wearing another ankara skirt (if it’s not obvious already, I’m in love with ankara clothing soooo) and gloves were an absolute necessity! Guyyyyss, it’s Thanksgiving coming up! I’m soo pumped and I’m so thankful for a lot of things. Life, health, family, happiness and the list goes on. Hope you guys have a great break! And I’m sure I’m not the only one excited for Black Friday shopping! BRING IT ON! Always, Miss LAJA
Yellow Ankara Skirt This lovely yellow ankara skirt was quite a challenge matching up and I didn’t want to wear it just anyhow you know? I was kinda nervous cause the weather’s been bipolar all week so I was glad I got to where this outfit without freezing my butt off. North Carolina’s weather is really awesome! It’s amazing how warm it in November đ Have a swell week! Always Miss LAJA
Dark Flowers It’s November already… How time flies! The colours of this outfit are usually darker than what I usually wear but black is a classic colour so why not? Plus, it was kinda chilly so… Yeah đ My hair’s purple, check out the details here Have a fierce week guys! Always, Miss LAJA
School Blues Itâs no lie that school can be stressful, overwhelming and sometimes almost unbearable. Sometimes, I wonder if teachers consider the fact that their course IS NOT the only one I take in school. Like, seriously? Back in Nigeria in my former school, I used to think school was hard but now Iâve realized that I used to enjoy but didnât realize it. I miss sleeping from Friday night to Sunday evening knowing I wouldnât be screwed on Mondays cause I simply had no homework. Those good old days⌠Back to reality! Since the work load doesnât really get lighter (except you plan on failing your classes) but hey, donât worry thatâs why Miss LAJA is here⌠You could get better at handling it so you donât turn into a zombie. This is how I do it. 1) Exercise If itâs light jogging to swimming or even walking at least 2-3 times a week would do you good. If you play sports already, then youâre good like I used to row and had practice 6 days a week. It not only helps you look good but it also relieves stress and tension. I enjoy running and I do it at least 3 times a week from 45-60 minutes and also team it up with some strength training! Yeah, most of us have the debate where youâre thinking âIâm here and the gymâs all the over there and hmm⌠maybe Iâll go tomorrowâ. Sadly those âtomorrowsâ never come. *Abeg, Iâm not saying you should go and kill yourself in the gym o! Start small and work your way up. 2) Sleep âSleep? Whatâs that?â This is a very foreign word to most students cause youâre like âBut I have this and that and that!â. Donât worry, I do that too. When I said I could sleep from Friday to Sunday peacefully and be fine for school the next day? Hmm.. Iâd better not try it now. My parents always tell me âIf youâre tired, sleepâ and Iâm thinking âYouâve got to be kidding me! I donât want to fail o!â This is true, youâre not doing yourself a favor by working on only 3 hours of sleep why not try at least 7/8hours? Trust me, eventually you will crash. Been there, done that, got LOADSA t-shirts and eye bags and pimples. If itâs still not sinking (I understand) then try sleeping in during the weekendso youâre replenished for the week ahead. 3) Do something you enjoy I tend to forget that Iâm also a priority and if you do too, itâs time to change that! Watch movies/ TV shows, go out with friends, pamper yourself (manis, pedis, massages), read leisurely (NOT SCHOOL RELATED excepted reading your bio textbook is your idea of leisure reading then go for it) etc. You get the gist? For me, I LOVE reading novels! I could read and read and read. I also enjoy hanging out with friends. Usually weâd go out to the mall and have like a girlsâ day out then weâll have lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant or weâd go to the movies or do anything together. Itâs nice getting away from all the Calc drama you know? Iâm also a HUGE fan of The Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder is my future husband). So if Iâm lagging behind on some episodes, I catch up or I watch my favorite movie. It shouldnât be that difficult to find what you enjoy could it? 4) Talk to someone Whether itâs your mum, dad, friend, gardner, gateman, whoever you feel comfortable with. If youâre stressed out, donât bottle it inside. I talk to my parents and my friends. Sometimes you need people to remind you that you need a break. I know I do. Donât have any friends or one to talk to? Talk to God, heâs always there to listen. I talk to him too. 5) Dance I organize dance parties in my room by myself and for myself. I turn up the music really loud and perform in front of the mirror. Singing however I want, dancing however I want. Who cares? Iâm going to rock âCrazy in Loveâ even BeyoncĂŠ would doubt she sang it after she hears me. You think Iâm weird? Well, guess what? Itâs works. 6) Eating Healthy Ok, Iâm not saying Iâm 100% good at this because I do love my chocolates and foods BUT I do make an effort. Thatâs a step in the right direction right? I take hydration very seriously so I drink water as often as possible over the course of the day and try to control how much sweet/fried stuff I eat. Even with that, indulging in guilty pleasures isnât a bad thing at all. Iâm still young with a rocking metabolism so why not eat what I want while it lasts? I always tell myself after my 3rd bar of chocolate when all else fails, go to the gym. 7) Hi! I’m Prioritize, your new best friend! If you havenât taken anything away till this point, this is your best bet. Donât mix this up with procrastination because thereâs a huge difference. I usually got overwhelmed because I had so much stuff plus, I wanted to get everything done ASAP and If I didnât I started freaking out. This is probably the most important thing cause if you donât try to be organized, having time for the other things listed would be almost impossible. I have a planner where I write all things I have to do ranking from most important to least important so I know how to use my time. If I donât get it all done today, thatâs fine Iâll finish it up tomorrow. It really works for me because I realize that I donât have to fret about the English paper I have due in a month. Ok, easier said than done but hey, Jordin Sparks said âOne Step At A Timeâ and you should take that advice and start from somewhere. One thing you need to realize is that the work load never gets lighter or easier; you just get better at handling it. Yeah it sucks a lot but with practise and consistency, you’ll get better… B strong Why don’t you tell me how you handle stress in the comment box? I’d love to hear! Always, Miss LAJA
Obalende Suya First thing first, whatâs suya? Obalende? Where’s that? Suya is like an âAfrican barbecueâ where fresh meat parts (could be chicken or beef) is roasted on an open fire with lots of spices and pepper (especially pepper), chopped up and wrapped in newspaper with extra pepper plus fresh onions! Woop woop! When not chopped up, the meats are staked on sticks mostly for presentation so youâll find this more in restaurants. Suya originated from the Hausas and us Nigerians are meat lovers so this is an extremely popular snack or meal (in my case). Itâs heaven-in-my-mouth, bliss, yumyum, beautiful, mouthwatering, sumptuous, beautiful⌠Ok Iâm going off-point but itâs lovely⌠Just lovely! If it isnât already obvious, Iâm a lover of good food. Haha! One of the best places to buy suya in Lagos is Obalende (if you havenât been there, I highly recommend it!) so I took a much anticipated trip and bought some hot goodies with my parents. We didnât even wait to get home. We started munching in the car. Have you tried it with bread and a cold soft drink like Fanta? Mehn, youâre in for some good stuff! Honestly itâs one of the things I miss most about Nigeria so I made sure to over indulged before leaving! The fresh options: Take your pick… Roasting time It’s smokey! A closer look Chop Chop! Let’s not forget the extra onions and pepper! Newspaper wrapping Happy Customer đ Always, Miss LAJA
When In Ghana… I visited Ghana’s capital, Accra for a night and it was my first time. Despite my short sejour, I was very excited and decided to make the best of it. I didn’t get to see much but I’ll definitely be coming back for more exploring! Some things I learnt during my stay: Banku– A sibling to solid foods Eba, Pounded Yam,Amala, Fufu and Semovita. It’s made of maize! Who knew they had such an extended family? Amazing right? Yam Balls– They look exactly as they sound dearie! Balls made of yam or yam made into balls. However you want to describe it! I don’t know if I ate it right (maybe there was a sauce/soup to accompany it) but it tasted really good alone. Initially, I mistook it for “puff puff” due to their similar looks and shape. What we Nigerians call fried plantain, they call kelewele. Machi means “Good morning” Akwaaba means “Welcome” Me da se means “Thank you” Ya fre me Miss LAJA means “My name is Miss LAJA” Welcome! Their official currency Ghanian Cedis Pretty art refelcting African culture Sneak peak of my outfit post coming soon! Stay tuned! đ Always, Miss LAJA
To Buy Or Not To Buy? That is the question… Markets here in nigeria are busy, open and very different from supermarkets. Things are generally cheaper because one is able to âpriceâ aka bargain the choice item as low as possible so the buyer and seller are both satisfied (though this isnt always the case). Pricing is a very important skill if you plan on shopping at the market because since prices aren’t fixed, certain vendors could cheat you of your money and you wont even realise it (or youâll realize it after and itâll be too late). You canât learn how to price an item overnight; practise makes perfect. Somethings Iâve noticed in the market: Once the sellers view you as a potential customer, literally everyone is calling you to do business with them. Youâll hear things like âAunty fresh fish dey for here o!â, âFine girl, you won buy tomato? Fresh tomato dey!â, âCustomer, come and do business with me!â If youâre a JJC (Johnny Just Come aka beginner), it could be overwhelming because everyoneâs calling out to you and youâre confused. The normal thing to do is ignore them and go your way. Youâll get used to it with practice but it still bugs me sometimes. Once you purchase from a particular vendor, youâre automatically a âcustomerâ. This means youâve kind of pledge an allegiance to the vendor that youâll purchase from them in future despite other competitors. Some people are affected by this “customer syndrome” more than others. My dad thinks the whole customer thing is crap and he always goes for âthe best oneâ even if itâs right next to the vendor he always buys from. The customer syndrome could be good in the sense that you get really good discounts but itâs bad when you become so loyal to a vendor they take advantage of you (especially if you donât price the items with other vendors before making a final decision). You canât NOT price an item EXCEPT, there is a universally fixed price or youâre a JJC or youâre just plain dumb. Pricing helps you realize whose cheating you and who isnât. Even after the price has been agreed, customers always want âfusiâ or âjaraâ. These two words both mean extra of whatever it is you purchase. If itâs tomatoes, we want extra tomatoes added to the tomatoes we already bought. This jara could be voluntary or prompted by the buyer and is a determining factor of whether you become a âcustomerâ or not. You canât just flaunt how stylish your bag or wallet is. Most markets get really crowded and you could unknowingly attract watchful eyes. You hold that bag/wallet like itâs your life! Shakara is acceptable especially from the customers. If you and a vendor canât agree on a price, itâs ok to walk away to price other places AND/OR come back to them if you realize they gave you the best deal. Iâve accompanied my parents to the market since I was a young caterpillar but I went alone for the first time and it was uncomfortable. Why? The market I went to, my parents are usual customers there so they all knew I was âtheir daughterâ and the customer allegiance pressure was more. I did a pretty good job but it was so uncomfy. Next time, Iâll go where no one knows who I am. Maintenant, quelques photos!¡ Writing the “receipt” :O Are those chickens?! Tomatoes so fresh! To buy or not to buy? Paying for our stuff Always, Miss LAJA
Trying Something New Dear Miss LAJA, I want to try new things but Iâm afraid of the outcomes. I feel like what if Iâm not good enough? Or what if others donât appreciate what I do? Iâm young and I have nothing to loose but most of all when Iâm older, I donât want to regret NOT having done anything. I want to do something with myself but Iâm overwhelmed by my doubts. What do I do? -Skeptical Lion Dear Skeptical Lion, We all have our doubts and insecurities but if you really want to do something, youâll have to fight to overcome them. Like you said, you have nothing to lose but youâll regret NOT trying if you donât do something now. When you want to try new things, you usually donât know what to expect but you donât learn anything if you donât do something. What Iâm trying to say is you have to start from somewhere. Do something you love and overtime, your confidence builds. Itâll surprise you that people will benefit from your hard work. As for your fear of being accepted, who cares? People will always be skeptical when you start new things because itâs unusual. Youâll have to show them what youâre offering is worth their time. As long as itâs something you love, there will always be people who appreciate you and people who donât. Why waste your time on people trying to bring you down? As long as you have God, determination and those to encourage you, haters can fall into a canal. Always remember that success has many friends⌠and enemies. J I used to be so scared of trying a center parting on my hair because I thought it wouldnât suit me. I wanted to try something new so while I was getting my hair done, my stylist was about to do my usual slant parting but I told her I want a center parting. She was surprised because she knows how I much I hate (or used to hate) it. She also made my braids shorter than I usually have it which made me very worried but hereâs the outcome and I ended up LOVING it! This might not be a hardcore example but you get my point? đ For more details on my hair, click here Always, Miss LAJA
Spikes ‘N’ Glitz I attended another graduation ceremony (yes, another one) and it was wonderful! Voila mon ensemble! đ Always, Miss LAJA
Keepin’ It Classy I attended a sibling’s graduation with my family. It was a successful event and I thank God for the graduant! The pictures look kinda funky cause my camera died and I had to make do with the iPad. Always, Miss LAJA