Don't let anyone treat you like you're silver You are GOLD.

Hey guys, how you doing?

LOL, I bet you all have given up on me.

I did get all your encouraging emails to continue writing but I failed. I failed this blog. I failed myself. Once upon a time my blog was the only beautiful thing about my life and then I got a job and expectations started to rise and so much pressure started arising and then I lost my will to write.

I apologise.

I sincerely apologise.

Y’all were rooting for me in your own little way and I failed you.

I do hope you guys get to read this piece though.

Straight to the topic that finally got me writing again. Today I am going to be talking about value systems and how it is important to always always know your worth and not compromise on the quality that you associate yourself with.

Recently, I met this random person. We are going to call him Mr X. We got talking via social media and finally, I decided to meet with him. You know, take this conversation to the real world. Turns out he is a really cool dude and all. He's well spoken, well put together and just my exact spec (FYI, I don't judge people based on their physical attributes. I judge them based on the strength of their character).

Thing is, after my last relationship that didn't quite work out, I gave up on men and love. They don't deserve me (insert a straight face smiley here please). For real though. I just felt like it wouldn't hurt to get the minutest form of attention from a man, now would it?

After seeing him four different times, I noticed two distinct things. The quality of date venues he took me to kept declining. Also, the amount of money he gives me for transportation also kept declining. My take on this is that, the more he saw me, I mean the more I made myself readily available, the more he slipped. Like he must be thinking "She's not all that, why put in so much effort to impress her?"

For me, way I value people/ relationships is that I won't create time for you if you are not contributing to my life positively. Likewise, the more I see someone, the more I tend to give to the person. Yes, I am a loner but if I choose to spend time with you then it is because I value you and see something in you (this is not even love related. Chill).

Now, It is not the money he gives me that is the main issue (it is an issue nonetheless), it is how comfortable he seems to be. Thing is, it is not easy trying to restructure a person's mindset on what his value system should look like. It is a learned behaviour that takes a lot to alter. That is the reason why I decided to write this piece.

Look, I rate myself. I am not beautiful. I am not robustly endowed but I am not ordinary. I am not basic. I am smart, I am goodlooking, I am sound, I am entertaining. I am not silver. I am not an economy ticket. I am fucking GOLD. G-O-L-D! Now, it would have been easy for me to say "Oh, I enjoy his company and I will see how this pans out". Guess what? I am not settling. I will not say because the only serious man I currently like resides in Abuja and is not readily available to me I will continue with this dude. Lol. I know my value and it surely doesn't match his value proposition so I am moving on.

My story might not be entirely similar to yours but I am hoping you get the drift. Queen, don't settle. Don't plead the case of the half bread. Stick to your value. Be true to yourself. Don't let anybody price your market. Your market value should always be on the rise. Keep bettering yourself. Keep working on yourself. Keep pushing the limits of what is obtainable.

Dear Queen, you are not ordinary. Your scars make you even more beautiful. You are no silver. You are pure gold. Thing is, I can't brainwash you to believe this. I can only hope that one day you get to that point in your life where you realise that going after temporal happiness will never fulfil you and the way other people treat you is dependent on how you treat yourself.

And that is it!

XOXO,

The lagos rebel.

That time at HazelBerry Yoghurt.

Location: Hazelberry Yogurt, along Admiralty way, Lekki Phase 1

Hi guys!!!

It has been what? I think 3 months since my last blog. I must say that work has been exhausting. I wake up at 5am and get back home by 10pm. What about weekends? My weekends are sacred. I sleep for as long as I want to, do my laundry, cook for my family, make my hair and press my phone and sleep some more. I know, it is unforgivable but I am hoping we all get along.

So Sometime in July (I think), I visited Hazelberry yogurt. After eating yogurt at Sweet Kiwi I just fell in love with yogurt and I had read about hazelberry so I decided to you know pop in for a visit.

LOL!

First thing I noticed upon getting there is how small their space is. It can sit a maximum of 8 people at a time which in my opinion is tiny. Next, I noticed that their pricelist was very affordable.

I ordered for yogurt and just like in Sweet Kiwi, they weigh it and stuff. They had three flavors which were Vanilla, Chocolate and plain yogurt. I opted for the vanilla and the plain yogurt with coconut and candy toppings.

I must say I was very disappointed. The yogurt didn't have the same consistency as that of Sweet Kiwi. Also, there was absolutely no difference between it and your road side Fan Yoghurt!

The coconut toppings was a life saver. I don't know what would have happened to my yogurt if I hadn't ordered them. I won't advise you to visit but if you do try something else. LoL.

Thank You for stopping by and feel free to drop your comment in the comment section below. I love you guys!!!


Damage Done:
Plain and Vanilla yogurt with Coconut and candy toppings: #1170

XOXO,
The Lagos Rebel.

2 Victors and a Victoria.

Last week Friday was WOW! I had a super awesome time and I cannot wait for you to hear all that I have been up to. So yeah, I was feeling guilty that I wasn't blogging as much as I used to so I decided to do a place review.

I looked up places and found two gold mines. I was going to visit Unusual cuisine and then grab an ice cream cone at Ice cream factory BUT I had forgotten to pick up batteries. Upon careful examination, only one place stood out- Ebeano Super Market. It was hard finding the required battery type as shop attenders kept misleading me and pointing out stupid isles. I was clearly exasperated when Dark Victor located me. I turned around  and found his face to be quite familiar. You see, he was drawn to me because of my pink dress and my natural hair. lol.

Together, we cruised through the isles trying to locate the battery section. Finally, when we did, we discovered they didn't have the type of batteries I needed. Turned out that we both use Nikon cameras although mine is a typical point-and-shoot camera and his' is a DSLR camera. Either way, I was thrilled to meet him. He later introduced me to his friends. Apparently, they had been together before he wandered away to find me. Yeah. 

That was when I found out that there were two Victors and one Victoria. So yeah I joined them and made them 3 Vs and a J! We all sort of clicked and within minutes we were chatting like old friends. Turned out that they were waaayyy older than I am but looking at us four you would never have suspected because well, age is just a number bitches!

Sweet Kiwi... A self service centre that is worth the hype

Seriously, everybody I know that lives in Lekki has once tried to get me to visit sweet Kiwi or has mentioned it to me in passing. So yeah it kind of stuck in my head. So every time I left the office with my boss I always kind of passed there if we are heading to ikoyi. Two words will pop in my head... sweet. Kiwi.

Two things got to make me want to go in: the beautiful exterior and the fact that they supposedly sold only yoghurt which were supposedly healthier as they contained lesser calories. This is something that they promote, more like their pitch.

So on Thursday while going home with M, we decided to branch off and check out the place.

INTERIOR DECORATION: it has a very colorful inside with the main popping colours being pink and green set in a white background.  It really makes you want to eat something cold though.

STAFF: they had very friendly staff who didn't mind that we just about tried every single flavour they had available.  And they also gave us advice on which one would go best with which one. Aren't they just witches, like how did they guess our plight?lol

THE YOGHURT EXPERIENCE: after tasting all the flavours they had to offer, we got out our cups and proceeded to serve ourselves... I had just about three flavours... I had the Greek yoghurt with the zobo yoghurt and one that I can't remember while motun had the coco yam yoghurt with several others that I just cannot comprehend why she went for. Overall, we packed on a sizeable quantity.  Up next we went for the toppings! I had some Kiwi, grapes, waffle sticks, and m&m candy while motun had waffle sticks, oreos, I think grapes and a host of other things.  Lol.

Mine is the colorful one on the left...

Finally, our yoghurt went on a scale and our price was given to us which we duly paid for. I ate mine in the car and what can I say? I became a believer. It was heavenly. All my flavours blended perfectly and I finished mine before I got to oshodi.
As for M, she didn't like hers so much.  She complained that hers tasted bitter. Too bad. Maybe it was the oreos.  But overall, we agreed it was  a worthy treat that we would happily indulge in next time.

CON: I hated that there was no room for transparency as we never got to see how they arrived at their price.  It would be good if we saw the weight and the price ourselves.

DAMAGE DONE: both cups of yoghurt came down to #4350... not bad.

I recommend you give sweet Kiwi a try. It is a place for everybody. Have you been to sweet Kiwi? Please don't forget to drop your comments.

PS: I asked for a back shot. My beloved friend Motun  took this. Does this qualify as a back shot girl? I give up on her photographing skills. I love you still honey.

Yours truly,
The Lagos Rebel 😍

Together again... After 2 whole years!!!

Yes, you read the caption right. I finally met up with my two mains after 2 years. Like the last time I was with them was on my convocation day and then life happened. I went on to serve Nigeria while they stayed back and graduated.

I'm talking about my two sisters from different mothers... Nasa and Dinma. Quick history tho. Back then in my first year they were in computer statistics and I was in computer major so we got to attend most classes together. They were always together and I used to admire them from afar. Lol. But they HATED me like crazy cos they just didn't like how I rolled or maybe they were just plain jealous 😒 but anyway we kind of hooked up in my 3rd year after they had transferred to economics department. So I was now a year older than them in class. 😝. And in my final year we became sisters. They came through for me every time. I remember when I will be out and it would rain and they would go to my room and help me take down my mattress (long story bro) and how dinma made my hair one time and how I go to their room to eat and stuff. I love these girls, can you tell.

That's Dinma in the middle

This is Nasa

But hey we had not seen in years and we have been making plans to see but it just never happened. So when Dinma called me last week Saturday telling me that I must be at her birthday the next day I knew I had no choice but to show up. Lol. For lack of what to wear I dressed down... way down.

So I pulled up at Amazon spurs in the landmark building ready to ball and yea I met my babies. It was an emotional reunion for us but hey it was someone's birthday so we started off taking pictures.

Then we ate and shared stories.

There was a particular staff that attended to us.  He was so kind and attentive. Give it up for Luciano.  He was god sent. He never got tired of our demands. The staff at spurs also cheered Dinma and sang for her. It was so beautiful.

We ended the day at hard rock cafe where dinma had their signature drink called hurricane while nasa and myself had their mojito. I also had chicken logs and Mac and cheese. Delicious something. I even got to take the remaining mac and cheese and extra chicken wings home.

Here is to wishing Dinma a beautiful 23rd birthday.  I love you bitch and I am so happy for everything you have accomplished. I am also very happy that you are happy. You were too beautiful for Jones anyway.

Yours Truly,
The Lagos Rebel😍

In case you missed it, the philosopher's muse art exhibition was DOPE!

So sorry this is just coming in but yeah, it has been on my mind to blog this but work and lack of a phone... well you heard me right, home girl is finally working. Yes bitch.

Lol... myself and Motun having being through hell and back arrived at the blue mahogany, Lekki phase 1 by some minutes past 7. Just in front of us stood Todun Obaigbo. Look, I hadn't seen Todun since ss3 in 2009 so I kind of panicked. I got nervous but with a little tug from Motun we went in to register our presence. Todun lit up. We laughed and complimented one another and we all gelled like old friends that we were. No awkward stuff. How sweet right?

After all that mushy mushy stuff, motun and myself went in for the exhibition proper. The exhibition was staged in a little white space/room and this room housed several forms of art by various artists.  I must admit that when I started out for the exhibition I had not expected to be wowed. But I was. In fact ,I clearly was not alone as the place was filled with young art lovers cooing and ahhing over the different art pieces. Owing to the fact that I got to the venue late, I couldn't speak with all the artists but the ones I did speak with had amazing stories to tell with their art.

Morountodun Obaigbo:
At just 22 years, Todun had a dream to put together this exhibition... and she DID! Go baby! It is so amazing that "other artistes like herself could relate to her dream and then make the dream about them too," Todun's workspace seemed scanty but in between planning this exhibition, she still managed put forth two amazingly detailed smoking pipes.

Now, Todun believes that smoking is an art and that smokers can choose to express their style by picking the right pipe. Her pipes come in wood, acrylic and plastic. I asked her if she was facing any challenges in getting her works out there and she cited two problems. She says the lack of efficient 3D printers and a mediocre plastic industry makes her work more difficult.
peep the detailed sketch of her works below:

Francis Sule:

I could not get any background detail about this artist but this work by him took my breath away. How amazing is this?

This work was inspired by sex, love and drugs. This art piece seeks to portray how often these three come hand in hand. It also hopes to depict how these can destroy or influence a human being. He emphasised that the lack of an eye colour gives off the impression that this painting could be me or you. Impressive stuff. Peep another work by him below. So surreal. Picasso stuff if you ask me.

Sadiq Williams: he was arguably the star of the night. Sadiq is an architect with a love for art. He just relocated from the UK and having seen the best of both worlds decided to put together a piece of work that lays great emphasis on the need for us to look beyond skin colour. He begins his story with 7 local peanut shells and 4 foreign peanut shells. The 7 peanut shells represent the western belief that the world was created in 7 days while the 4 peanut shells represent the yoruba belief that eledumare created the world in 4 days.  He goes further to explain that the foreign peanut breed represents the white man while the native peanut breed represents the black man. He adds that we don't choose ourselves and our race and so he is unapologetically black, this he achieved by including a faceless man in the art work. He makes me understand that as black people, we deserve to be respected and our values are important and thus should be embraced by whites too just like we embrace theirs. We went on to discuss migration.

He achieved this by mixing both shells in a rhythmic pattern. He says that over the years people from far and beyond have relocated and migrated to other parts of the earth.  How amazing?
when I inquired about his choice of colour, he added that his choice of gold/ silver represents people's or the world's value for these elements as they are often luxury items and denote wealth. He added that he wanted to add richness to his work. Sadiq is one talented artist.
Even Motun and myself could not resist taking a picture with the genius. We love!

Olufemi Orogundade: I finally caught up with this dude. He is also an architect but paints part time.  I guess one cannot separate an architect from art itself. Well, he does oil painting with a bit of acrylic. I found his paintings to be very real and something I can relate to.

This painting was inspired by the typical Nigeria graduate who isn't sure of what lies ahead for him.this is him or her frustrated with the labour market. This was me just recently. This is you.

This painting talks about life and death. How we are all tools in the eyes of our maker. The mighty hand above the creature spells impending doom. I don't know what to make of it though but it did appeal to me in an odd way.  This painting also features acrylic.

This painting tells a tale of love. Olufemi thinks it demonstrates how relationships bud, blossom and die and how a new prospect then comes into the humans life and then the cycle begins anew. This is very typical stuff.
I think Olufemi is a great young artist who pays great attention to little details.

If you could not make it to the philosopher's muse, you missed big time. Lots of drinks and small chops plus admission was totally free. Amazing stuff. Peep some other art pieces that were displayed.

Motun and I had an awesome outing. Peep us goofing around.

Your turn. Which art piece was your favorite? What do you think? Feel free to drop your comments.

I Have Gone Natural... what's up #teamnaturalhair?

Yes, this is my new look. I finally cut my hair and let me tell you, I am completely proud of my new look. 

I never imagined a day would come when I will be on low cut but hey, what did I know. I had been hearing and witnessing the natural hair movement for some time but each time I always discarded it as "not my thing" simply because I already had not - too - fond memories of being on low cut all through my senior secondary school phase. So nope, I had zero interest.

However, it started to grow on me each time I ran into some really cute fashionista on instagram rocking her natural hair. I would say to my self, "that could be me!" It got me thinking. I began to ask myself questions. Who says I must keep a low cut forever? Why can't I love my natural hair? Who says i can't slay while rocking my natural hair? What's stopping me? And then I realised that I was just scared of how people will perceive me plus I was not sure how I would look like. In other words, I was the one stopping myself. So I began to research on natural hair. It really helped that about 3 of my friends had gone natural so they had lots of helpful advice and information to dish out. Then I made up my mind... I was going to blow caution to the wind and just do it. 

I let my hair transition for about 6 months and on the 10th of April, I went in for the big chop. I didn't cut it too low so it is more of a mini afro but I can tell you this, I feel so free and I am glad I have chosen to begin this new hair journey. It was really an easy decision for me because I already knew I had good hair genes and I knew that I could always relax it later if the stress got too much BUT what really matters right now to me is that I dared to be different. 

A lot of people give me queer looks but it's nothing because as soon as I get paid my salary, I will definitely make wigs. I mean while my hair grows I can still slay right? Lol. What do you think of my new haircut? 

PS: M is on natural hair... look at my home girl? Mentor or not? S/O to my day 1 for daring to be different. You greatly inspired me.

Yours Faithfully, 

The Lagos Rebel 😍

My Fave fashion Item for the Month of March: OFF SHOULDER tops.

Hello Rebels,

How are you all doing? What have you been up to?

I got an email from a Rebel asking me why I had not put up a post in more than a week. Really? You guys check out for me like that? My God! I don blow. lmao. Well, err Rebel, truth is I have not put out a post because I have been very busy since the past two weeks. I knew I had a little legion of regular visitors but what I didn't know was just how much you cared about this blog. This is just got me feeling all loved up! awwwn.

Anyway, back to the post. I have been raving about off shoulders to anybody who cared to listen in my house. I am totally mind blown by them and then I thought, why don't I share the passion with you rebels?

Well, the off- shoulder trend has been growing on me for some time now. I am absolutely in love with them, by "them" I mean the complete off shoulders tops with frills or full sleeves. I can not wait until I can make or buy one. they are absolute statement pieces that are best worn over tight fitted high waist jean trousers.

They are a complete steal. If you are a fashion lover, please could you just get one already? lol.

Let me leave you with these pictures I copped off www.fashpa.com 

Yours Faithfully,

The Lagos Rebel <3