Mellow Prints and Yellow

Hey Guys! hope you all doing great? The trends this season with regards to prints, are mostly bold, vibrant, art inspired , nature inspired or digitally enhanced for even more emphasis. Fashion is constantly being reinvented and churned out to the waiting hands of eager consumers as new.  In fashion its all about newness, freshness, the next  thing......we are constantly searching for the "next new thing", when infact the "next new thing" is more often than not something that has been done before. 

I truly respect people that consistently try to follow the trends,  personally its way to much work for me, so I usually just have key classic pieces and mix it up sometimes with trends I really like. This approach works just perfect for me because I find that most items I have in my wardrobe are things I really love and would wear for longer than if they were pieces I bought to be part of the fashion pack.

What I'm wearing -  Dress - Jones New York ( available @ Dressed) || Cardigan - J.Crew || Belt- Ann Taylor ( available @ Dressed)||  Bag  - Dkny ||Pumps - Via Spiga ( similar available @ Dressed)

For todays outfit, I'm  wearing this gorgeous dress with classic animal inspired prints. when I first put on the dress, I didn't quite get the buzz I wanted, maybe because the prints on it is kind of mellow. So I amped it up with my yellow caddie and animal prints skinny belt....now that gave the spring in my steps I was hoping for.what's your take on constantly keeping up with the trends?

Catch You Soon!

Xoxo

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Food I love - Coconut Chocolate Banana Bread

 These days, I try to really watch my intake of pastries and desserts, If I have to have some, I usually watch my portions or look for healthy alternatives. However, there are some desserts that you just can’t pass on, today’s recipe is one of such for me, it has some of the unhealthy goodness my tummy just wants to have sometimes…. Cream cheese and chocolate hello! This is one of those times I gladly lose my will power and consume “empty calories”, which in my world is defined as any meal that is “worth” pushing your healthy eating habits to the back burner simply because it just tastes divine! However, If your resolves are made of steel and you really want to make this healthier, then try using low fat cheese, skimmed milk, low fat butter and maybe whole wheat flour and some nuts, I’ll try that next time, for today this is how I roll!

These are the ingredients you would need.

·         2 tablespoons butter, softened

·         2 tablespoons cream cheese

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1 egg

·         2 cups flour

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·         A pinch of salt

·         1 cup mashed overripe bananas (2- 3 large bananas)

·         1/2 cup milk

·         2 tablespoons liquor,  dark rum is especially very good, or rum flavoring 

·         2 teaspoons lime juice

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence, extract is better

·         Grated coconut

·         Chocolate chips

·         Topping

·         1/4 cup brown sugar

·         2 teaspoons unsalted butter

·         2 teaspoons lime juice

·         2 teaspoons dark rum, or rum flavoring 

·         2 tablespoons grated coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to about 175 degrees C. Lightly grease two loaf pans.
2. Beat together 2 tablespoons of softened butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until fluffy. Slowly beat in sugar until well incorporated. Add the egg and mix well

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

4. In a different bowl, mix together the bananas, milk, 2  tablespoons rum, lime juice, and vanilla essence; stir well.

4. Gradually combine all 3 mixtures, that is the flour mixture, butter and the mashed bananas. Continue folding in until completely mixed together.

5.Fold in grated coconut and chocolate chips.

6. Pour the mixture into the loaf pans, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about one hour. When finished, cool for 10 minutes in the pan, remove, and finish cooling on a wire rack.

7. After you take the banana bread out of the oven, prepare the topping by stirring together the brown sugar, remaining butter, lime juice, and 2 teaspoons of rum in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly; cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, about one minute. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut.

8.  Make incisions on the loaf then spoon the topping over the loaves while they are still warm, the incision would help the topping penetrate the loaf. The topping will harden slightly when the loaf cools.

The longer the bread keeps, the more intense the its flavours, It’s a great alternative to plain bread, I love to have it the morning after with coffee or tea for breakfast, heaven!

Notes:  I plan on trying it with a lot more dark rum next time, which is how it’s done in the Caribbean, I hear its flavour is even better when more dark rum is used. I would also try using half the quantity of milk and the other half would be coconut milk just so that I can have a more intense coconut flavour and finally I'll probably add some crushed nuts to the topping. Will let you know how that turns out! To get two large loaves like mine, triple the quantity of the ingredients. 

Tried it?  let me know what you did differently and how it came out.

Bon Appétit

Work It Girl !!! Mandarin Collar

What I'm wearing -  Jacket - Jones New York ( available @ Dressed) ||  Pant and Skirt - J.Crew  ( available @ Dressed)   ||  Pumps  - NineWest 

Hi Guys! Hope you had a great valentine weekend?  For our final work outfit inspired post I'm wearing a mandarin collar jacket and my printed pant worn previously here, love how the pants went from party look to work chic. I wanted a grayish palette with this look,  but decided to also pair with my purple grid skirt also worn previously here,  just to show how versatile the jacket can be and how you can create several looks with just a few items. This is my last work inspired post for now, it's February already and most people are pretty much settled into their work routine and wardrobe, hope you picked up a thing or two. Some of the items I used in this series are still available at the Shop. Sorry about the poor photo quality, just  one of those bad photo days. 

Catch you soon right here :).

Xoxo

Valentines Day What And How

In doing this post I wanted to give a range of gift ideas that would be appropriate for all kinds of relationships, because I believe Valentines day, is a day to share love not just among romantic lovers but to everyone around and to ourselves.  The bible says "Love your neighbour as you love yourself" - interpreted it means your need to have a certain amount of self love in other to be able to project that love onto someone else. In other words, if you don't love yourself first,  you cannot truly love anyone. In  loving ourselves we glorify God, empower ourselves and enjoy inner peace and acceptance that help us to continue to spread love to others. I also believe you do not need to break the bank to make the day special, little thoughtful acts of love is all you need. Here are a few  ideas I came up with on how to spend the day and what to give.

WHAT TO DO? 

Go for a valentines day musical concert, for those in Nigeria there are a couple of shows lined up for the weekend. Some of these events come with dinner and drinks, which is a great way to keep your budget in check. This is a great option if you are a music lover and/or spending the day with family and friends.

You can choose to go out for dinner at a nice restaurant in town, but I reckon most places would be packed full, the way around this, especially if you are looking for a quieter option for the evening is to consider ordering in some food from your favourite restaurant. You can make this even more special by adding a few romantic touches to your home.

If the game plan is to order in and share with family or friends, then you can go get a nice movie, some games and just have a fun night filled with laughter.

Another option is for either one or all party involved to do the cooking at home. You can get great recipes of restaurant quality meals off the internet and make a two, three or even four course meals for that special someone. Do not worry about how it would turn out, your partner would appreciate the lengths you went to show your gratitude for the relationship.

Alternativly, you can get the services of a professional chef to come into your home and basically do the cooking and wait on you restaurant style :).

A great way to spend the day is to have a spa day out with your spouse, family or friends, In these day where we are constantly stressed out, this a gift that is truly thoughtful. I got a spa day out from my friend for my last birthday and I truly enjoyed it and would enjoy giving this experience to someone else, highly recommended. There is a myriad of options for this kind of activities, just do your research and think of the kind of pampering the person would love. This option is a great way to bond, de-stress, detox and connect with whoever you are sharing the experience with.

Now, if your pepper is really sleeping, (Nigerian slang for being rich), then you can fly your spouse or family and friends to some exotic destination for a fab weekend.

Gift Ideas For Him

In terms of gifts, I would like to believe most people love thoughtful gifts. Given, for the most part, people would give the obligatory box of chocolates, cakes etc but I personally feel its always nicer to give what the other person would truly value and appreciate. That's not to say you have to break the bank, just think of what would really come in useful and what the person would love, i.e if your friend/ spouse love to read then get them a nice book. If they love sports then get them something sporty. If music is their thing then get them something that would help them enjoy their music even better....get the drift? 

Gift Ideas For Her

Now for her, girls generally love jewelry, no? please don't have a heart attack yet, something nice, thoughtful and more importantly within budget will be great. You don't want to give a gift and later regret that you spent so much, there is no joy in that kind of giving if you ask me. If she is a fashionista or just loves to stay on trend then think dainty simple jewelry, they are 'in' right now, look out for simple, understated and elegant pieces. Valentine is a very romantic time to pop the question, no pressure here, but if you've been nursing the idea and you are absolutely certain its what you want to do, then by all means go for it! trust me she would love that :).

Sporting gears are also very nice gifts, if your friend or partner is sporty or trying to keep fit/lose some weight anything to help them through the journey would be nice. Think... work out dvds, cool work out clothes, I know a hot pink running shoes will motivate me to hit the trails. A great musical gift is to get an Ipod, inscribe a personal message on it and then download all her/his favourite songs on it, any music loving person would truly love this.

Other options are handwritten notes of love or poems, Gadgets, ties or cuff links for guys and for women  beauty products, perfumes, lingerie, flowers and of course chocolates!

Now go out there and put a smile on someone's face!

Food I love - Nigerian Style Spicy Oven Chicken

Today's recipe is a quick recipe post to share one of the ways I prepare my chicken. If you follow this blog, you can probably tell that I love chicken and eat a whole lot of it. Chicken plays a large part in my dietary habit because its quite easy to make into a gazillion of tasty and quick recipes and its also a form of white meat which is a lot healthier than red meat. I also share a similar love for seafood but I find chicken more easily accessible and a lot easier to cook and manipulate.

Today's recipe is quite spicy, because we Nigerians love spicy foods, usually I would use a mix of Nsukka peppers, Yellow and red peppers for that extra kick Nigerians love. But I had just red peppers available and it turned out fine. 

These are the Ingredients you would need

Chicken - Any parts works well with recipe, skin or skinless is also fine

Red peppers

Ginger

Garlic

White wine vinegar

Barbecue suace

Fish Sauce or light soy sauce

Honey

Knorr cubes

Vegetable oil

                 

1. Mix together white wine vinegar, fish sauce, honey, and knorr cubes and set aside.

                   

2. Blend together peppers, ginger, garlic and some vegetable oil.

                 

 3. Mix together the two group of ingredients from above and divide into two parts. (One part is reserved for basting the chicken while cooking).

                   

 4. Now, pour one part of marinade into already cleaned chicken and leave to marinte in the refrigerator for at least 2hrs, I usually leave mine over night, the flavour is richer when its left for longer.

                        

5. Line Chicken in a baking tray and pop in a hot oven to cook.

6. Pull out chicken tray from oven intermittently to baste with the other half of reserved marinade

Voila! Chicken ready, easy right? and quite tasty and juicy! serve with a salad, chips, rice anything you fancy.

Tried it?  let me know what you did differently and how it came out.

Bon Apetit!

Work It Girl !!! Lace Green and Peplum

What I'm wearing -  Dress - Banana Republic ( available @ Dressed) ||  Belt - Ann Taylor  || Bag- Dkny|| Pumps Xappeal ||
 Necklace - Free Press

New York Fashion week started today with Bcbg showing some super fab coats, excited to see what the other shows have in stock for FW14 season. I'm getting all my scoops on Instagram, and already spotting some amesome pieces. Isn't it amazing how you can get to see almost anything happening around the globe in real time these days, technology leaves me in awe sometimes.

Source

I am currently obsessing about these bold floral beauties, pretty right? Thinking spring/summer already! I bet they would make very pretty midi length full skirts.  

That would be all for now guys :)

Catch you soon!