Image is Everything...: May 2008

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...

If one is to start, it should be from the top...

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...