Goals versus the experience

Posted in hair journey, Not hair, Random by Jen

Hey guys,

I just dropped by to share some of my thoughts with you very quickly.

As I approach the 2 year mark (peep my countdown at the side/bottom of the page), one thing has been on my mind. Length!

A major feature in my thoughts is “is my hair long enough for 2 years? It should be longer than this at this stage”.

I’m going to share with you a quote from Okechukwu Ofili’s book, “How Stupidity Saved My Life: Life Lessons From An Overanalytical Engineer”

Unfortunately, it seems that as we get older, we lose that focus on fun. Instead, we focus on graduating at the top in college, being the number one employee at work, or being the best speaker in a speech contest. While all these may be commendable goals to strive for, what is not commendable is allowing them to displace the pleasure and excitement of the experience… We can all choose to embrace life more fully by moving our focus away from winning and instead enjoy the moment.

Let me summarize that quote in terms of hair: “Many of us are obsessed with and focused on length and hair goals and making our hair do things we see others do. We forget to enjoy the little successes and failures, the things our hair can do, the experience. We are so focused on other things that we forget to enjoy the moment”

That’s why I will never understand people who ALWAYS have their hair in a protective style to protect their hair and gain length. Why bother when you can’t enjoy the hair you protect and the length you’ve gained because your hair is always covered up.

I’m not innocent as I explained earlier. Many times I allow length to rule my thoughts and I look at my hair with disdain because it’s not as long as I want/expect. Thinking about it, my standard of length is based on other people’s hair. I forget that my hair is most probably different from theirs and that I am on my own journey. I forget to enjoy the experience.

This quote really made me think. It applies to so many things in life.

We let our goals, both self imposed and those imposed by society, cloud our minds so much that we forget about enjoying the moment, enjoying the experience, enjoying the journey, enjoying life.

If you are like me and you are guilty of not enjoying the experience (whether it’s hair, work, school etc) for any reason at all, let’s all hold hands now and scream “I repent!!!!”.

27Jun2015

Tip: Putting links in comments.

Posted in Not hair, Tips by Jen

Hi guys,

I want to share with you guys a super easy tip that will be quite helpful if you need to put links in the comment section of a blog.

You know when you see comments on blogs with links like this- Nigerian and Natural and you wonder how the heck the person did it because you’re stuck leaving your own comments with links like this-www.nigerianandnatural.com or http://nigerianandnatural.com ?

Well, I’m here to show you how!

Here’s the basic format:

<a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com“>Nigerian and Natural</a>

Just copy and paste in the comment you want to post. This will appear as “Nigerian and Natural” when you post the comment and when people click on it, it links back to this blog.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

Of course you don’t want to go around posting “Nigerian and Natural” on people’s blogs.

If you were to change that format to something else, here’s what to do.

<a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com“>Nigerian and Natural</a>

You can only change two parts in this format; the link and the name. (By link, I mean http://nigerianandnatural.com and by name I mean Nigerian and Natural).

Change the part with the link to the link of your choice and then change the part where I wrote Nigerian and Natural to what you want it to appear as.

e.g <a href=”https://jennyphar.wordpress.com“>Jennifer’s Writings</a> would appear as Jennifer’s Writings and would link to my other blog when clicked on.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

You can play around with this and change it as you please.

If you want to link to a specific post on a/your website, change the link in the code i.e http://nigerianandnatural.com to the link of the post. Then you can change the Nigerian and Natural to the name of the post if you like.

For example:

<a href=”https://jennyphar.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/cant-think-of-a-title/“>Can’t Think of a Title</a>

This is a link to a post called “Can’t Think of a Title” on my other blog and if you copy and paste it in a comment, after you post it, it will appear as “Can’t Think of a Title”.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

You can make it appear as whatever you want so play around with it.

E.g I can write “Read my latest post here” in someone’s comment section and for the “here” to link to my latest post, I would write this-

Read my latest post <a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com/2015/06/23/nitc-11/“>here</a>

Before posting comment

After posting comment

I can choose to write “I have a post about NITC 11 on my blog too” and for the “NITC 11” to link to my post, here’s what I would write-

I have a post about <a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com/2015/06/23/nitc-11/“>NITC 11</a> on my blog too.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

Points to note:

Whenever you are changing the link in the code to something else, it should always be in http:// or https:// …www is a no no!
It is only after you post the comment that it appears as what you want so don’t worry if it is still showing as a code before you post.
Never change any other thing besides the name and the link in the code if not it won’t work.
Once you have your basic format, you can save it in your notes for easy access so you can copy and paste it when need be. That’s what I do.
It works for both Blogger and WordPress as long as the comments are HTML enabled (almost all are).

There you have it! I hope I have succeeded in explaining properly and that I have not confused you.

Feel free to test it out in the comment section below to know you got it before unleashing your new found knowledge on the world!

26Apr2015

A few of my favourite things- April

Posted in Current faves, Not hair by Jen

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes; snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes; something something something bla bla bla bla; these are a few of my favourite things

I enjoy reading what people are loving every week/month on their blogs and I always wanted to write about things I was loving too here.

I’m not sure I can keep up with doing it weekly but I can do monthly.

So here are a few of my favourite things from April:

1. Cocoa butter:

I was recently kind of bored with plain old shea butter and decided to try something different.

I stumbled upon cocoa butter and other exotic butters such as murumuru, avocado, mango etc on the Beautifully Nappy blog shop.

I initially wanted mango butter because I love the smell of mangoes but a quick Google search informed me that it actually doesn’t smell like mangoes so I went for cocoa butter instead.

I loooove the smell of cocoa butter! It’s like chocolate but not Dairy Milk kind of chocolate; think Richoco or King’s Bite(That Ghanaian chocolate with a red wrapper).

My baby brother actually tries to lick it sometimes when I’m not looking and my sister and mum keep trying to steal it.

2. iOS 8:

If you’re not into Apple devices, this one won’t be interesting to you but I recently upgraded from iOS 7 to iOS 8 and I’m really liking iOS 8.

The camera features are better, there’s now a ‘recently deleted’ album so you don’t lose mistakenly deleted pictures (Love this!), you can send voice notes on iMessage etc

The difference between both isn’t so major but it’s the subtle changes that just make it so much better and cooler.

3. One-a-week styles:

If you’re like me and you like to dress up at the last minute and rush out the door, you will appreciate styles you can put your hair in for a whole week.

They save me time and stress and save my hair from excessive manipulation.

Here’s what I do these days:

Wash my hair on Saturday and twist.
Wear it in a twist out on Sunday.
On Sunday evening, put it in a style for the week.
Forget about it till Saturday.
On Saturday, moisturize it and twist.
Wear a twist out on Sunday.
On Sunday evening, put it in a style for the week.
Forget about it till Saturday.
On Saturday, start from step 1 again.

This means I now wash my hair every 2 weeks which is good for a lazy girl like me; although I must admit that it itches during the second week.

4. The view from my balcony:

You might be wondering “but it’s not a fantastic view”.

I’m moving to a new house soon and that house has no balcony or view.

I’m seriously going to miss sitting in this balcony enjoying fresh air, watching people and cars go by and listening to the sounds of Lagos (i.e shouting, car horns and generators).

I’m also going to miss my annoying dog, Kiara, who will not be moving with us. (Hopefully she annoys her way into the hearts of her new owners)

5. Cardboard:

Did I hear you go “huh?!”. Don’t worry I’m not crazy.

Sometime ago, I read on Cassie Dave’s blog about how cardboard makes a great background for pictures and I thought ‘Wow! How come I never thought of this?!’. Anyways, I have gotten myself a few and I will be using them when necessary as they do make great backgrounds for pictures.

I used pink for my what’s in my bag picture; did you notice?

I also used blue and white for the cocoa butter pictures above.

I personally think yellow is the most beautiful but my neighbourhood mallam didn’t have yellow.

I think I will go to a book shop and get sheets of coloured paper as well.

There you have it; my very first “current faves” post.

What are you currently loving? Share, share, share! I wanna hear!

P.S. you guys know you’re my favourites all day errday right?

Xoxo

21Apr2015

What’s in my bag

Posted in Not hair, Tag by Jen

My people!

I know, I know; I’ve been gone for exactly a month. I am so so so sorry for the long, unannounced and unplanned break. Forgive me pretty please *puppy dog eyes*

I hope you missed me oh because I missed you guys. And shoutout to sweet Debbie who sent me an email asking if I was okay and why I hadn’t blogged in a while.

I have a couple of posts planned so hopefully I can make it up to you guys.

So, I was tagged by Alex of Nappy Haired and Oyime of Oyime’s Musings to do this post and after an eternity, I am finally doing it.

I decided to remove all my work junk and leave the things you will find in my bag almost all the time.

1. Sunglasses: To avoid unnecessary headaches, squinting, eye contact, small talk etc. Also to look like a cool kid and so people don’t catch you staring. I bought these at Mr Price, Accra.

2. Phones: D’uh! What is life without one. (The other one isn’t in the picture)

3. Hand Sanitizer: Let me shamefully admit that I’ve had ‘OCD’ habits long before Ebola started being shared like party rice so I always had this. These days, I’ve sort of overcome it so this bottle is empty but I carry it around and squeeze out whatever I can in emergencies.

4. Wallet: A gift bought from South Africa by a friend.

5. Power Bank: For emergencies.You don’t want to be stuck somewhere boring/unfamiliar with a dead battery. How will you pretend you’re occupied?

6. Watch: I put it on when I get to my destination and take it off before my commute home. I don’t want anyone attacking me because my watch looks expensive.

7. Lip balm: One is EOS in blueberry acai and the other is Lip Smacker in Fanta grape.

8. Lipstick: I carry whatever lipstick I’m wearing that day in my bag in case I need to touch up.

9. Earphones: Because I like to listen to music. Also helps me avoid small talk from all these guys that be like “hexcuse me sister, can I meet you?” (Although some will tap you despite the earphones. One actually tapped me and asked if he could share my music)

10. ID Card: Just in case you need to be identified or you go to the bank. Also I need it for work.

11. Pad: For emergencies both for me and someone in need.

12: Charger: Emergencies again.

13: Bobby pins and hair band: In case I need to pin my hair or put it in a pony tail.

14. Powder and brush: For touch ups. And the powder mirror is also handy.

I usually have a pen too but I couldn’t find it until I was done taking the picture. You don’t want to be that annoying lady begging for a pen at the bank; or anywhere in fact.

So I’m tagging the following people to do this post (It’s so hard to choose because I feel like everyone has been tagged already):

1. Desola- Dee Mako

2. Bukky- The Life of Bey

3. Rachel- Beautifully Nappy

4. Chinwe- Igbo Curls

5. Ify- Ify’s Musings

6. Anyone who’s interested! Be sure to let me know so I can check it out.

What are the things that are constantly in your bag? Please share.

12Mar2015

What I wore: Charlie Harper

Posted in Fashion, Not hair, Random, What I Wore by Jen

One day I had nothing to wear so I went to my mum’s closet and grabbed this oversized shirt. It was quite big but I actually liked it.

I thought I looked like a female version of Charlie Harper(Charlie Sheen’s character on Two and a Half Men).

Fun fact: The day I wore this outfit, I sat on a table at work and literally five seconds later, the table and I were chilling on the floor. I was so dazed that I just sat there on the floor for some minutes after. The table broke y’all! I need to hit the gym or something. My butt broke a table!

Tip: Laugh with the people laughing at you. When you get home cry to the Lord to wipe their memories overnight. Alternatively, move to Cotonou and start a new life.

(Edges in need of Jesus and edge control)

Jeans: Random (I always wear them rolled up because they’re too short)

Top: For my mama

Shoes: From Jumia

Bag: Borrow pose

28Feb2015

2015 thus far

Posted in events, Not hair, Weight loss by Jen

It's the last day of February already!

Remember my Pounds and Inches post? I talked about two areas I wanted to work on in 2015.

Seeing as we're entering the third month of the year already, I was thinking about my progress(or lack thereof)

One area I wanted to work on was that I wanted to post more on the blog this year.

In that aspect, I hope you will agree with me that there has been some improvement. This is the 9th week of the year(if I'm correct) and there's been 11 posts on the blog so far(including this one). That's about a post a week as opposed to 2 posts a month last year. I hope to still improve but so far, I think I can give myself a pat on the back.

The other area I wanted to work on was losing weight.

I wish I had worked on this but honestly I have so many excuses that I'd rather not share at the risk of sounding ridiculous.

I even started my day today with hot akara and sugary creamy pap while my mates were probably lifting weights and gulping down smoothies *sigh*.

I'm not going to even lie and say I've made any effort because I haven't in all honesty. I know how to lose weight, really I think I do. My problem is the lack of willpower aka laziness and the fact that I have a job now and less time for workouts and meal prep.

In other news, next week Saturday (7th of March) is NITC 10.

Venue: The Social Place, 33 Sinari Daranijo street, VI

Time: 1:30 to 5:30(Don't be late, I missed a lot the last time because I was late)

Gate fee: N500

As always, there will be hair talks, giveaways and stands where you can buy those hair products you have been lusting after. There will be a product swap also so bring those products you don't want(not more than halfway used) to swap for other stuff.

And as always, everyone is invited; natural, relaxed, texlaxed, on a healthy hair journey, curious etc

I will most probably be there so if you see me, do say hi! 😀

How are your 2015 goals coming along? Do you have any weightloss tips for me with my newly busy life? Please share; I love to read your comments.

Xoxo

22Feb2015

It’s my birthday!

Posted in Not hair by Jen

It's that day of the year where I can stuff my face full of cake and annoy people and get away with it.

I've never really been much of a birthday celebration kind of person. Spending the day watching TV, eating and replying birthday messages is fine by me. I do that almost every year and I don't think it'll be different this year(and no I'm not boring).

I would have taken myself and a few friends out to lunch/dinner but I think I'd rather save the money and get myself an iPhone 6 as a belated birthday gift in the near future(Team aka gum)

(Can I sue the person that did not put this cake in the fridge early enough?)

(4 already missing from yesterday)

Here's wishing myself a very happy birthday from me to me!

I hope you enjoy my beautiful day and it brings you goodluck.

Oh and I am now on Bloglovin even though I don't fully understand it yet so please follow me

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

21Feb2015

Review: The BoonBox

Posted in Not hair, Review by Jen

Hi guys,

Ever heard of the CurlBox? It’s a subscription where you get a box every month that contains hair products either full sized or sample sized. The products are a surprise and are different every month giving you the opportunity to explore and try a variety of products.

Imagine my joy when I found out that we have our own version of this American wonder and ours is called the BoonBox! The BoonBox is put together by a Nigerian online beauty store called The Beauty Boon.

Somehow I never got around to ordering one until I read a review about it on She Is Out Of Control.

HOW IT WORKS

Just like I explained with the CurlBox, the BoonBox is literally a box that contains hair, skin and beauty products. The products are different every time and can be either sample sized or full sized.

You fill a form about your likes and dislikes, preferred brands and products etc. This helps the team putting the boxes together know what to put in yours. E.g if you say your hair is natural on the form, they won’t go and send you Profectiv relaxer in your BoonBox.

There are two subscription options: monthly and quarterly.

THE BAD

I chose to go with the monthly/one-time subscription so I ordered and prepaid for my BoonBox on the 17th of December. I chose to prepay instead opting for cash on delivery just incase I wasn’t home when it was delivered. Guess when I received it guys. 18th of February!!!

2 months later!

Sometime in January, a month or so after I ordered it(in fact I don forget sey I order something by then), someone from The Beauty Boon called me to confirm that I had ordered one, had prepaid and was yet to receive it; she also informed me that I would be receiving it soon.

By February 4th I had still not seen the shadow of the BoonBox so I sent an email to them about it and they replied saying it would come that Friday(February 6th).

Alas, it came February 18th.

THE GOOD

I was pleased with the BoonBox (even though I grew old and wrinkled waiting for its arrival). I got 5 items in mine:

1. EOS lip balm in blueberry açaí (Been wanting to get one so I was happy about this)

2. Clearasil daily clear daily facial scrub (Been wanting to try the Clearasil moisturizer so let’s see how this one works. Hopefully it won’t be too drying/harsh seeing as it’s for acne and acne is currently not a problem for me)

3. Mac lipglass in famously fab (Even though I think I mentioned on my form that I don’t like lipgloss but then I could be wrong. It’s a nice pinkish lavender shade)

4. Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie (I already had this. Nooooo!)

5. A scented candle (The scent is called garden party and it smells divine even unlit)

6. ~~A handwritten apology note~~ (I wish! I was half expecting one but I got a hot ela as they didn’t send any)

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love the idea of being surprised with different products and I love the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone and my staple product bubble and trying new things. I love the idea of the BoonBox. It’s a winner if only it could be smoothly executed. I was really mellow about the delay in the delivery timeline even though it was pretty unacceptable but not every one will be. So what if it were the quarterly subscription? Would you be getting each one 2 months late?

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

Maybe. If and only if I am assured that it will arrive on time.

BOONBOX DETAILS:

Where to purchase– The Beauty Boon

Price– N5,000 monthly or N19,000 quarterly

Would you be willing to try the BoonBox? Ever tried it or ever tried something similar? Share please.

P.s anyone know any good WordPress blogging apps for iOS? I keep losing my posts because the official WordPress app keeps crashing on me 😥

By the way have you noticed?!?!

The blog is now a “dot com”!!! *confetti*

It is now http://www.nigerianandnatural.com

But don’t worry if you forget and type http://www.nigerianandnatural.wordpress.com (this one is so long to type though; I can say that now 😀 ) because it will automatically redirect you to the dot com website.

Also, the email address is now contact@nigerianandnatural.com but don’t worry if you send it to the old one (nigerianandnatural@gmail.com) because I will still get it.

We are moving on up! *shakes bottom*

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t- @nigerianandnatural

Peace!

14Feb2015

What I Wore: Lady In Valentine’s Red

Posted in Fashion, Not hair, What I Wore by Jen

Ello baes! Happy Valentine’s!! Kisses all around! *muah*

No hair related news for now. My hair is still in braids but I’m not sure the braids will see the end of today because I am so tired of the style already.

Anyways, I decided I was going to wear this red dress yesterday with sneakers to work and I thought to do a day to night look for the blog as well.

And because I like to goof around

Dress: Papaya
Plimsolls: Primark
Heels: Asos (borrow pose from my sister)

To be honest, I am liking the outfit posts and I hope you are too.

Hope you’re spending the day with the one(s) you love. If you’re like me, you’re going to be in bed all day falling in and out of ~~love~~ sleep. Enjoy it either ways.

And if you’re feeling sad, remember self love is what’s most important and remember that I love you and God loves you too!
Here’s a really awesome post to lift your spirit(watch the video; it’s the best part)-> How To Be Alone

Also, Lagosians the 10th edition of NITC(a natural hair meet-up) is on the 7th of March so save the date.

Lots of love and warm hugs from me to you!
Xoxo