There are often some serious decisions that need to be made and emotions sometimes hold us back from making the right decisions. This last trip to Nigeria was one of such times. My calendar is often FULL of a few things going on at any given time from work (its fashion and entertainment so that means events) to personal and family events(my birthday, my son's birthday, charity events and school events)Its a constant juggle. Why? Well, you never want to let anyone down. I love being a mother,wife and fashionista...but sometimes I have to make decisions that I HATE!!
There were a couple of meetings that I KNEW had to happen before the end of the year. Traveling to Nigeria for Christmas wouldn't work because of our son's school calendar and our holiday obligations, so that meant I needed to go BEFORE the holidays. Here's the problem...we were already in October, my son's birthday was coming up, as well as mine and I was also cooking for thanksgiving and I usually take him to all of the parade's and trick or treating - HELP!!!
Now I have to talk about my husband for a second. He is absolutely AMAZING!! He is my best friend, my business partner, my fashion sounding board...and my biggest supporter!! He encouraged me to go and soothed my fears (yes I have them too) told me there would plenty of birthdays to come... I love my Husband. He makes me feel very fortunate to have him!!!
With that in mind, I booked the trip!
A lot of my work is done well in advance and its simply about finalizing things which is always a good thing.
Anyway...I have to say my thank you's to my friends in Nigeria who always make me feel welcome...Tola, Titi, Bukky, Ebi, Niyi, Bodunrin, Morin and Dolapo. We have been through so much together I am so happy to have had you as friends for the past 10+ years!!!
To my new friends...Nobs, Jibbs, Dayo and the rest who know exactly who they are - thank you for even understanding me and caring enough to know about me and attend my birthday dinner...it really made me smile - THANKS!!!
Enjoy the pictures. All at my birthday dinner.Thanks to my darling Tola for organizing this for me. Love you LOADS!! Thanks to everyone who attended too :-)
A day in my life, the Nigerian version filmed for Nigeria International while on this trip. Here we are in Emmy Collin's Store looking through some of his new gear.
Joy and I...We have our work cut out for us come 2009 darling...I cant wait!!!
Mr Taj Adepetu and I...Its a good thing I have a thick skin. this meeting was long overdue! Thanks!!
Chenna and I...I'm sad we didn't meet sooner. I enjoyed meeting you and can't wait till you get here next week!!!
D-1 and I , Thanks Dayo for taking the time to meet with me...I learned A LOT!!
I have been in Nigeria for almost 2 weeks now and I can't wait to get home!!!
I hate apologizing for lapses, so I won’t. But please know, that I know I should have …but been rather busy to do it.
I am up ridiculously late because I am finishing up a proposal…but I took a break to reminisce on my day. Had an impromptu show on Channels TV to attend (thanks to Mr. Debola Williams for thinking of me) and later went to a friend of a friend’s birthday party at a private residence. The celebrant walked over to me and we started talking. As is usual for me, I steer the conversation towards my family and what I do (I never want people to get the wrong impression)…his first comment is you don’t look married! I get this comment a lot and its part of why I am blogging this late at night.
What does “married” look like??
Since I deal with image, I cannot act like I don’t know what people mean when they say this. I have been very quick to point out that the women of today are not like the women of old. But as a wife myself I know it isn’t easy to look great all the time and be a wife, mother, daughter and business owner or worker. It’s much easier to do when you’re single because your focus is only on yourself. Once you get married, it’s so easy to fall into the ”why bother” phase. I mean you’re already married right? No point to get all dolled up for the man, right? WRONG!!!! If anything, this is the time when it’s even more crucial to keep your body looking right and stay on top of yourself as well as your family. Is it easy? HELL no! It’s actually easier to let it all go!! I have never liked the easy way out so I would rather keep myself looking the best I can, while I am still able to do so…I am known to be very STUBBORN!
Now men, this isn’t just for the ladies though. A lot of men that used to work out don’t anymore…and a lot of flat tummies of old which have disappeared are often blamed on the cooking of the good wife. Mind you, if you don’t cook, you’re an awful wife! Sharp dressing…out the window. Marriage is tough enough on its own without adding the additional changes that come due to lack of foresight or certain nonchalance to staying attractive for your spouse. So newlyweds don’t say you weren’t told…and for others who are in this rut and are trying to get out of it…CALL ME!! We can schedule a consultation!
Getting dressed is something we all do, that is unless you live in a nudist colony. But despite the fact that we all do it, HOW we do it varies. I have always been a huge fan of accessories (handbags, belts, sunglasses, necklaces, cocktail rings, earrings, cuffs, bangles..I have an endless list!) and they are an important part of my wardrobe.
So, why accessorize? Well, the obvious answer would be because you want to stand out, which is absolutely RIGHT!! My motto is Image is Everything and as such I want to make sure I always make the right impression. I don't wear an outfit without fully accessorizing the entire look. There is a big difference between wearing a simple black dress without accessories (you might look like you’re in mourning or attending a funeral) and wearing the same black dress with an AMAZING belt, a brooch (I am currently in LOVE with them) and a pair of killer pumps…sigh, I could go on and on with so many different variations!! It also makes your closet seem bigger than it really is. How? Well imagine wearing this same black dress with a chunky gold statement necklace, gold studs (never pair statement necklaces with elaborate earrings, doing that = OVERKILL!!!), bare legs with a lovely pair of hot colored pumps (I love purple right now, it could change in a month, lol) this is one look. Look 2 – same black dress, this time with a big colored belt, elaborate silver earrings (lacking in elaborate? Try big hoops), a brooch and boots…I could go on and on. But the point is your options are limitless as long as you have enough accessories to play around with.
Should I talk about shoes? Nah…that would be a really LONG post – LOL!!!
Anyway before I go totally off topic (I do have that bad habit at times) let me give the men out there a quick tip too. Guys, invest in some unique cuff links, funky bow ties/ties (you need a LOT of colorful ties to stand out) tie pins/clips (two different things that do the same job but achieve different looks), pocket squares, socks, an assortment of belts (don’t say one in black and one in brown is enough, or that you can wear the same belt for denim on slacks. The more effort you put into it, the better you will look. And women love to see a man who is put together …it leaves an impression.
One of the major disadvantages of long weekends...SLOW STARTS!! I feel like it takes longer to get my act together!
Now besides working on international shopping and shipping for my clients (and the rest of the world) outside of the USA, I have also been busy working on updating my own company image, sigh like I am not busy enough!!
I feel that in order to grow, you must be able to learn from your mistakes - right? So as I am revamping everything, I had to think of every single complaint or comment I had received in the past 3 years. Now its not like take every single comment to heart...but I do try and weigh comments against what I want and if they make any kind of sense - that's the only way NOT to become narrow-minded.
Now when I chose my plastic cards, I knew I wanted them to stand out. Are they unique? Totally and they said exactly what I wanted them to say...Style. I wanted something that showed it without opening my mouth and it definitely achieved that. But what it didn't do was tell people how I could help them(list of services) and some people even after looking at my card, still asked for my email address. Funny right? Not to me...all of that is going to change.
How often do you change your image?? I think that both professionally and personally, its very necessary. My image and wardrobe has changed dramatically in less than a year. Why? As an employee , I dressed down to work to make sure that I was appropriate to where I was in the corporate world. How would you feel if your assistant dressed better than you?? I got fired once for this and obviously learned a valuable lesson from it. So in this case...I kept the fabulousity for after hours.
Now that I am running my own ship - I can truly be me. And trust me, I dress accordingly and so should you!!!
Have a fabulous day everyone and stay tuned to the unveiling of the new improved Versatile Shopper.
xoxo Image is everything
P.S I am working on a few things with zappos. That's also why the website has to change. Above is a picture with me and the zappos men. Thanks Tony and Aaron for squeezing me into your busy schedule. Go Zappos!!!
There is so much going on in the world today and boundaries are shifting. Online shopping is alive and well over here in the USA, but it isn't quite as accessible in other parts of the world. Anyone who knows me, knows I started to think!!!
As an image consultant , stylist and personal shopper based over here in the US. I get a lot of questions from people in Africa and in Europe about how they can get access to items we have over here. The obvious problem is no one wants to ship internationally, in other cases, its simply not knowing who to trust or how to even factor that into your current business.
I personally feel that it is very possible to get everything we get in the US to clients worldwide. Shipping outside of the United States is something I am tackling head on for a number of people and its working.
So my question here is this...if you could shop freely on a great website such as Zappos.com and get guarantees from ME that it would be delivered to you in about a timely fashion, how valuable would you find such an idea?? Shipping and clearing would be paid by you the customer (the company I use handles that too and its reasonable) But you would be guaranteed the same phenomenal customer service that companies such as Zappos offers over here...
Would it be worth it for you??
Please comment and feel free to share. This is possibly a great way to get more products into Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Thanks in advance everyone I really need comments. Even if you disagree...comment anyway.
The Emmy Awards were yesterday and to be honest it is one of the most BORING of the award shows and I honestly never watch it for anything other than the fashion. Since I didn't style anyone this time around, it means I simply get to watch what everyone else has done - also a lot of FUN! Unfortunately because I had to take my son out , I wasn't able to catch the Red Carpet Arrivals, so I watched with the TV muted while I did some ironing before heading over to my friend's place.
I of course, have my personal views on the fashion choices made by others (not surprising). But I honestly never fully agree with the Worst dressed list. Pushing the envelope should never be viewed as a fashion no no.
I personally liked Eva Longoria's dress. One has to remember that they have a TON of these events to attend and of course you don't want to look the same each and every time. I also have a thing for Bows...
Glenn Close's black dress to me was very age appropriate! I understand that some people cannot stand the shawl, but please compare it to Mary Tyler Moore who wore a black dress as well but with no shawl, we could see exactly how her face and her arms totally DO NOT match!! After a certain age, those arms HAVE to be covered up. So in my opinion the shawl NEEDED to be there!!!
Cynthia Nixon's total lack of bling to me is simply her being simple. One doesn't always have to have bling to complete a look. She had something on her wrists. That is what she was aiming for...If I were to change anything, I would make the color of her dress a little brighter...just saying.
Brooke Shield's fuschia Badgley Mischka I hated!! Don't ask, something about it rubbed me the wrong way...and this was on the BEST DRESSED list!!
Vanessa Williams DID look stunning in her Kevan Hall dress...our skin always looks very good in neutral tones, the print also made it stand out.
However , for some reason, I feel like I have seen America Ferrara in several black dresses of late, so I was a bit bored by it! I love her as an actress, but unlike her character on Ugly Betty, I don't think she does anything edgy on the red carpet...but then again, that might just be the look she was going for!
I don't think Felicity Hoffman's dress did anything for her frame. She has an amazing body, but I felt this outfit made us focus so much on her shoulders and thats not necessarily a good thing...
Blah on Marcia Cross' dress -oh so bland!!! And the GORGEOUS number on Nicolette Sheridan. That color was DIVINE on her...
Julia Louis-Dreyfus looked and walked away a winner! The Narciso Rodriguez creation was divine!!! We all know I am a bit(ok, maybe very) partial to color.
This is obviously not a full list. I have to leave some for the rest of you to comment about - LOL! Were you watching the awards? Which ones did you love or hate. Remember we all have opinions and I would love to hear some of them!!!
Have a great day all...
P.S Congrats to Jeremy Piven on his win yesterday! He cracks me up on Entourage!!
Its Sunday evening, 6:38pm. I have just finished running through several blogs. Some of my favorites, some new ones and also thinking about my own. Its one thing to commit to blogging and another to actually do it! Fortunately, I can definitely see an improvement myself. Thank Goodness for the Blackberry!!! My one true addiction!!
Do I love to write? heck yeah (I was an English honors student-that should tell you something)... just as much as love to talk, LOL!! I always have an opinion about numerous things, but sometimes the bone of contention is figuring out which one to yap about. Would love to talk about work...but unfortunately that would be telling and I really do have to put my clients FIRST. And I doubt I would have any clients at all if I put them on full blast now would I?? So that's out of the question - LOL!! I guess I could also talk about my views on life in general...but my thoughts are sometimes sooo far left field it's not even funny! SO sometimes its a bit of a pickle isn't it??
As open as I am about my own life. I find that privacy is CRUCIAL for others. I am privy to so much information it is INSANE. I am also fiercely protective. I guess its the mother hen in me. But I am not even tempted to say anything or even give an opinion about certain things because I never believe its my place to talk about anything other than myself and my direct family. Does that make sense? I hope so...
Recently an old friend that I had just reconnected with(courtesy of Facebook), wanted to know something about one of my clients. She is a football FANATIC and so once she found out that I was his stylist she HAD to ask. This is not the first time this has happened to me, and since I am not a child, I obviously knew how to handle her. What was amusing(and bit surprising) was her response and how rude she became when she realized I wasn't going to tell her anything. I guess we now know why we lost contact in the first place...Sigh!!!
I have never believed like the rest of the world that Celebs aren't entitled to their privacy. If anything I feel very sorry for them most times. Who wants to see every pound gained /lost monitored and splashed across every paper/mag?? Every time you have a bad hair day/bad fashion day (not courtesy of me!)/bad fight...I mean you name it...they have had it, splashed as a headline everywhere!! Can you imagine every person you have ever dated being put under a microscope?? Whew...considering we have to kiss a lot of frogs to find that Prince charming. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that we were able to do it in peace.
Have a fabulous week and remember Image is everything!!!
Someone asked me a really interesting question the other today.What do you find sexy? I wanted to know why she asked (very weird question).She explained that she had just met a guy and asked me what I thought about him, because even though he was cute, she didn't find him sexy at all.
That made me think... I couldn't really give her an answer. Why? Sexiness for me is a lot of different things combined and its not purely just looks. I have dated guys that according to my husband, he didn't quite get what I saw in them!(I say the same about some of his ex's so we are pretty even on that one-LOL) But I always had an answer...it was just something about them!
So...that prompted me to ask people around me and obviously fellow bloggers.
What do you find sexy?
I find my husband's smile sexy (its also what attracted me to him at the airport in the first place), his confidence and his honesty...the day he picked me up and carried me across a huge puddle of water in Nigeria has got to be the sexiest moment of all time in our marriage (and trust me we had our moments)!! I am huge believer of what lies within and the fact that he KNOWS me (a little too well) and knows that those Gucci shoes mean so much to me and that if they got wet/trashed I would be SOOOO upset; all this without me saying a word!! That night...I paid up the way a good wife is supposed to!!
On a totally weird note, I find heels SUPER sexy!!! I find fashion done correctly sexy...either on men or women! Swagger...SUPER sexy! The same goes for good manners and chivalry!
I unfortunately don't find Denzel Washington, LL Cool J, Vin Diesel, David Beckham sexy! I know they have great bodies and I can totally see why people want to take off their underwear for them - LOL. But I don't view them as sex objects, if I got to know them...then maybe. I can hear women screaming across the world - LOL. Let me explain fully!! For me it's much more than skin deep. I am not the kind of person who would see LL cool J (which I have) and think of what he would be like in bed or what I would do to him - HECK no!! I don't know him like that and that makes it difficult for me to even include him on a fantasy!! I am also just too much of a professional to view people that way. However, I know most women look at him lick his lips and automatically think of what those lips would do to them or vice versa! I am very weird i know...but it did make me curious enough to ask post this question to everyone else.
So...what do you find sexy? I really want to know!!
Okidoke...its a two for one special, I am so trying to get better blogging, because it helps reduce the number of calls I have to make to update everyone.
So a few weeks ago my PR consultant extraordinaire Bobby Taylor sends me a serious email..."I HAVE GOOD NEWS"!! I am wondering to myself, what's up?
She says "I got you on to a New york radio station" I could feel her excitement coming through the phone!! I always smile at how excited and passionate BT (when I am not calling her boobs, I call her BT) gets at her job. It's also why she is so good at what she does...her passion. I honestly think that's why we have been able to go past our "growing pains" and develop such a wonderful relationship. We are both extremely passionate about what we do.
Anyway, I'm running through all the options in my head...was it Hot 97 or The Wendy Williams show or Power 105.1 (remember I live in the nyc/tristate area and these are the top stations)?? WHAT ?WHO? WHERE?? LOL!! She then says its SARFM - which I had never heard of. Me being me, I said yes immediately because its one more person who can take me one step closer to my goal. Of course I got back home later on and I google it...I love the internet!!! I read up about the station and realized they had been around for quite sometime - an online station. Cool. It was also geared for West Africa, which is great for me...I am always up for explaining what I do to more and more Africans worldwide.
So here comes Saturday the 13th of Sept. I wake up nice and early , telling myself that I am getting there SUPER early...well, it didn't quite happen that way. I ended up being 10mins late for a live show. URGH!!!! Pamela Stitch was extremely sweet about it all...I however felt guilty throughout!
From what I had read about Pamela, I felt we would get along FINE! However the sunglasses indoors threw me off. It always gives off an unfriendly barrier(some even call it aloof!!!) which I mentioned to her as well. But besides that, I think the interview went well. I never really worry about interviews too much. Being an extrovert helps. I am also not shy (couldn't you tell?)so there isn't really a topic that I won't discuss!!
All in all, the interview went for 2 hrs instead of 1. We talked about fashion, The Versatile Shopper (my company - shameless plug), how I started, the recent article in the paper about how I met my husband etc. I had to call my dear friend Julie to apologize as she had to watch my son for longer than expected! Fortunately, she was fine with it. Thanks Julie!!!
Thanks to BT for putting this together. Thanks to Pamela Stitch for such a lovely discussion and for being HER!!!
New York Fashion Week Spring 2009 is finally over and I for one couldn’t be happier!! I truly love FASHION. This is all research for me, believe it or not. Knowing what is going on keeps me on top of things for my clients. I am the kind of person who would stay up all night (if possible) watching past runway shows , pondering how much fashion has/has not changed. Imagine someone like that actually having the shows in her neighborhood! I was in heaven!! I know this isn’t the first fashion show that’s been held in New York – however it’s the first one that I can honestly say I attended freely because I didn’t have as many conflicts as I used to.
My first show this season was the Edwing D’Angelo show, held at the Westin Hotel on,42 street, on the 5th of September. Should I mention it started late?? Almost all the fashion shows start late, so this wasn’t really a surprise! There are at least 2-3 per hour in these first few days, either at the tent or somewhere else in the city. Anyway, I went with my dear friend Lorraine Cruz, who is an international hairstylist and make-up artist( I need to bring her to Nigeria to teach a few people her cutting technique). I must say I LOVED it!!! Now mind you, I have never even worked with him before!! So this is totally unbiased. I haven’t pulled from him or bought anything from him ever. I was invited because we talked fashion at a Kerry Rhodes party and he asked his PR girl/assistant (I’m not quite sure what she was) to get my info. So I wasn’t even remotely familiar with his work. But I was truly a fan of the whole Aquatica themed show after he was done! There is sooooo much you can do with white. And everything coming down his runway was WHITE!!! Cat suits, lovely dresses mixed with other colors (he kept in theme though – white was dominant), lovely tuxedo pants, blouses for women, and there were the pieces with his logo embroidered tastefully on the back – LOVE!!! Pictures from his show are posted below… I didn’t say we had the best seat (hence the not so clear pictures), but at least we got a seat!!!
Lacoste and Abaete were shows I RSVP’d for but didn’t end up attending because I had a conflict (don’t you just hate that?). Lorraine went with her sister Jocelyn and had a blast! The Tracy Reese show was super nice, though I was rather upset as my name wasn’t on the list even though I SPOKE to L.H who assured me that it was. URGH!!!! Rather annoying as I would have stayed my butt at home!! Oh well…I missed the first few minutes of the show – I swear that place MUST have been a fire hazard. As it was PACKED!!!! My friend and fellow stylist KB was supposed to meet me, but he stood me up!!! He is soooo in my bad books right now! However this is me!! Talking to people has never been something I couldn’t do, its called networking!! I ended up staying an extra 2hrs.
The Bryant Park Tent ambiance is amazing - it truly is. Free giveaways at various times of the day , from blackberry phones, havainas flip flops, magazines, magazines and more magazines! Celebrity sightings, free drinks (yes, alcohol, but I stuck to coffee) and my favorite pastime …people watching!!! Sigh…it was HARD to pull away. It’s also a good place to get your creative juices flowing!! I just kept thinking of the various things I need to put together.
I was meant to go to the W magazine party on Monday, but couldn’t because I had to get ready for the photo shoot on Tuesday….WORK!!! Gotta love it!!
Best of British show…didn’t attend – Emmy wasn’t there so what was the point? However, the Custo Barcelona show was INTERESTING!! There were several members of the cast of Ugly Betty, one of the Danity Kane girls (I think it was Aubrey O’day) was also there…but I must say the show was the most disorganized thing EVER!!! The music was soooooo LOUD, I felt I needed earplugs!! Many people were promised seats and didn’t get them (we did, but barely). About the show itself, very few of the pieces would I wear together…I would HAVE to break them up…it was just waaaaay too colorful for me!! Seriously and I am not conservative at all, I actuall LOVE color!!! But I do have an issue wearing too many colors all at once. The funniest part was the paparazzi attack after the show…it was was crazy and I HATED every minute of it. We had our pictures taken several times (Lorraine more than me, thankfully) simply because of how we were dressed. We looked fabulous! Oh and Steve Zak came too and he took some pictures too. I seriously don’t know how celebrities deal with this every minute they step out of their house!! Jeeze!!! And before you ask, I wasn’t in anything scandalous… I was wearing a black strapless cat suit with my big ‘ole D&G belt which I LOVE!! The belt could walk by itself if necessary – LOL, it has a life and personality of its own!!! On our way out, we bumped into Mrs. Jada Pinkett-Smith rushing into the Zac Posen show with her entourage. She is so tiny!! Gorgeous…but tiny, in my heels I felt like a giant beside her. I could see the middle of her head and she was in her Louboutins too - that must have given her a good 5 inches!!
Since Thursday was also Lorraine’s birthday – we had plans to go to a comedy club, dinner and a club. Dangerfield’s and Cain…deadly combo! I laughed so hard I cried…the Puerto Rican guy was the funniest and I can’t even remember his name!! We were picked on all night because we were late and we were a bunch of great looking girls with a smattering of guys. But I love jokes and knew going in that we would get picked on-I truly love comedy. If you need to use me as material ,go right ahead…isn’t that why we sat in the front? Lorraine had fun and that’s truly all that matters!!
This is my week (or two) in a nutshell. Oh, I am also sporting a spanking new haircut courtesy of Lorraine Cruz of Bio Ionics. She always gives me amazing looks...this one is turning heads and I LOVE IT!! Thanks Lorraine.
Of course the juggling that I call my life continues…did I mention this was also my son’s first week of BIG school? He is super excited and we are sooooo proud of him! The fashionista, wife and mom!
***Pictures taken by Remi Fagbohun and Steve Zak.
People with us...Outside the tents...
I wonder if I could survive 20 mins without this phone? According to my darling Sunny, she thinks it stays on my boob :-)
Remi Fagbohun and Lorraine Cruz , Bryant Park Tent, having one of our interview/paparazzi moments...
Here's another...
Ambiance in the tent...can't remember which day.
Us again...too many peeps taking pictures. Eyes in different directions...I havent quite mastered this picture stuff - sigh! Lorraine on the other hand is a PRO!!
Interview...I can't remember which magazine . Definitely foreign though...
Tracy Reese Show in the Promenade - Bryant Park.Me after the Tracy Reese Show.
Remi Fagbohun & Lorraine Cruz at the Edwing D'Angelo Aquatica show.
More from Edwing D'Angelo Aquatica show
Edwing D'Angelo...
Since it seems very apparent that I can't seem to consistently just blog daily, why don't we just start calling my half-assed efforts - Random Musings? I know my own faults - I am the least consistent blogger out there...I don't even bother apologizing anymore (it stops being authentic after the first few times).
So today , I watched a woman cross the street in my neighborhood , wearing 5 inch heels and holding onto a toddler. It looked PAINFUL!! She wasn't very comfortable bending down to reach the baby and anything could have shifted her balance. I am a mom as well and I LOVE my heels! But I wouldn't be caught dead simply walking my son in them when he was younger. He could need any number of things and my heels would conflict with my motherly duties...So I never wore heels. I wore sneakers. Now that he is older. I happily go back to my heels (within reason) knowing that I wear them best when he isn't around, and its just either my husband and I or friends all older than 5 - LOL!! I am sure the guys reading this are probably wondering why women wear heels in the first place.
Sigh...
Heels are soooooo sexy!!! With the right set of heels, your butt gets a nice lift, it gives you a sexy swagger, you feel like you could conquer the WORLD!! I mean I could be here for awhile (and I am running out of time).
But there is a time and a place for our lovely little obsessions... lets ponder that shall we?
Some pictures from the NEA 2008! We came... We saw... Didn't conquer much (was only there to present!!!) ...went to Hiro where Biz Markie was spinning at ; a quick pit-stop at Pacha... the after-party of course (should have stayed at Hiro!!!!)
Life is good.
Thanks to my darling husband for coming and to Alee Garcia for learning about "Nigerian" time and being so understanding!!
Check out my website in the next week or so for all the pictures taken during the show!!
Getting back from this long a trip has had its fair share of hassles. I feel like a fish out of water, trying my darnest to get it all together.
I was gone for just three weeks, came back to almost 35 messages on my voicemail. No joke!! From store associates, to work related calls, (I missed a lot since they didn't know to reach out via email, which i could have responded to) friends coming into town and wanting to catch up, sigh! Now in usual Remi-type fashion, I wrote a list (remember I said I was a little TOO organized??). Mind you, this is only PART of what needs to get done. My husband doesn't do mail, so I have all the mail for the past three weeks to go through and shred (I am sooooo going paperless after this), my son's teachers to speak to and find out how he has been, my husband to romance (its not easy now - i was away for three whole weeks!!) , emails to respond to , invoices to put together for clients and...the list goes on.
The point is that I am soooo happy to be back, but there's a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, most of this (if not all) has to be done by me. One would think that one job would give you enough time to sort out a lot...I am finding that I have even LESS time to do stuff. How did I ever manage before, doing both jobs???
There go my dreams of updating my blog daily!!! Might have to settle for a couple of times a week...
I quit my job and I was SUPER emotional about it. It had been my safety blanket of sorts, for over 3 years. I loved my bosses and my co-workers, and although I will miss them, I needed to make a decision...and I did!
Moving on...
I am always analyzing myself and what I want for my company. I always have about three years worth of plans floating around in my head. Why? Just the planner in me I guess...who knows! I can be that way at times...a tad bit anal (as my husband lovingly calls it). It's something you will either like or dislike about me. My goal was to get more people aware of The Versatile Shopper outside of the clients I already had, family and friends, I needed to finally build on it. I needed a PR guru!!!!
Bobby Taylor was someone I had read about via her blog. I had not met her, but I had heard of her work. I have a few friends in PR in the US, so I wasn't really as concerned about this part of the world. However, Nigeria was foreign territory for me and I needed to fix that ASAP!! So in comes BTC...to my rescue.
For women, its often tough getting along, mainly because its sometimes hard to understand each other, especially if you work together closely, without a breaking in period. Fortunately I am a very good communicator in regards to making sure we understand each other!! Bobby and I clicked immediately on a personal and professional level...but I think I would be honest enough to say that she had to get used to me and how decisive I am about what I want. Bumped heads a few times over my never ending questions...happily we got over it, and I am completely satisfied! She has done an AMAZING job so far!!!
There are certain key people in my life that I know if they need me, I will drop whatever I am doing for them. They all know who they are, no need to put them all on blast...but one of them was getting married in May and I HAD to be there. Bukky and I have been through a lot together. As hard as it is for people to believe that men and women can be friends and just friends, we are a true example of that. I know every single member of his family and when times were rough with my family, they were there for me...I will NEVER forget that!! I met my husband through Bukky (even though he put me on the spot...lol, but he still made it happen), I cried on Bukky's shoulder tons of times!! I learned how to hold my own in any argument from Bukky...that's how much we argue!! (Note to folks...arguing isn't a bad thing, you feel the need to explain yourself to people you truly care about - the others you simply watch and smile - LOL !!!) People think we are fighting – lol !! But that's my big brother for you...I love him to bits!! As his wedding was coming up, of course I knew I was going to be there (would kill myself if I wasn't) and I also had a new strategy drawn up by the team @ BTC so ...Nigeria here I comeee.......
May 1- 4...sorry that was all wedding stuff. Had to get my clothes together - thanks to Mrs. Iwajomo in Opebi for making my stunning dress in 3hrs!! No joke!! I was in SHOCK!! Our new wife yetunde chose some AMAZING colors! But then she is an event planner, and she KNOWS her ish!!! She was gorgeous as was the lucky groom. The wedding was very much a society wedding so it’s been all over the TV’s and papers...everyone was happy...it was a lovely wedding!! Once the fun part was over...I got down to work. Bolutife Shokunbi was the Sr. Pr consultant for BTC in Lagos running things, she was great. She handled everything perfectly.
We did Starhost on Soundcity...thanks to D and Mike. It was great meeting you both. I had a blast!!
Business TV ...thanks S.O....you are such an angel. Seriously!!!
Tosyn B, Niyi T, Dayo E, Ayo A ,Abiola A, Adeola B, Noble I, Gbemi O, Latasha N, Symon A, Tolu O, the guys at Metro FM...thank you all for taking an interest in me and my company. I know how tough it is getting around Lagos and how busy you all must be, yet you all went out of your way to meet with me...THANKS!!! Trust me, I wont forget...with me its the little things!!
Despite the harrowing schedule, which I totally LOVED!! I had a blast. I checked out Louise Priddy's Posh Cafe...not bad at all. Louise and I are also planning to talk about her closet...hmmmm!! La Casa...took some pounds off as I danced my life away with Titi and Tola...the ever trendy No. 10...where I met Olu Maintain (we are in talks to see how we might make that happen...who knows) ate and danced several times!!
All in all I had a wonderful trip. I accomplished what I set out to do.
What’s next?? Stay tuned... I am back and fully in The Versatile Shopper mode. It’s all good from here on out.
A special thanks to my darling husband for always supporting his stubborn little wife; Bobby, Bolu, Noble, Titi, Tobi ,Tola and the Ajayi's...you all helped me in so many ways on this trip. Love you guys! Enjoy the pictures below...
I should be used to going a mile a minute...but I still shock myself from time to time. This trip to Nigeria & London is a good example of that.
Let's see what I can accomplish in 14 days if I don't sleep!!! I want to attend one of my best friends wedding... I want to see my new little niece... I want to see my in-laws... I want to do the interviews lined up for me...courtesy of the lovely ladies at Bobby Taylor Consulting. I want to see my clients, delivering items they have already paid for. Trying to also get new ones... I want to see my dad... Shop for LJ in London...gotta get those exclusive sneakers and tees!! Go to Abeokuta and Akure too... Also try to hang out with my friends...yikes!!!!
All this in 14 days...
Stay tuned to see how well I did. Trust me a lot got done...but a lot didn't get done too!! The picture above is of me , trying my HARDEST to figure out my schedule!!!
