As someone who works from home, it’s all too easy to blur the lines between work and rest. I used to keep going even on weekends—emails, projects, strategy—but recently, I’ve been learning to pause. To intentionally choose rest.

So I gave myself permission to have a slow, no-work Saturday.

My Best Banana Cake Yet & A Slow, No-Work Saturday

🌿 Starting the Day Slowly

The morning started as quietly as I hoped. I made up the bed and took a deep breath, grateful for a peaceful home and the soft rhythm of a day with no pressure.

Before heading to the kitchen, I checked in on my plants—something that always brings me joy. I noticed their new leaves had grown some more. Little things like that feel like magic when you're paying attention.

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🧁 The Star of the Day: Banana Cake Bliss

Now, let’s talk about the highlight of my day—my banana cake.
Baking has become one of my favourite weekend hobbies. It’s simple, grounding, and deeply comforting. There’s something about mixing ingredients, pouring them into a tin, and watching it all rise into something warm and delicious that makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.

And this time? The cake came out perfect.

Fluffy, golden brown, and proud—no sinking, no cracking. I felt so proud watching it sit beautifully in the pan. I did a little happy dance inside.

Because I’m doing intermittent fasting, I had to drink some water and hold off before cutting it. But oh, it was worth the wait. I sliced it, served some to my kids, and tucked the rest away for my first meal of the day.

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Took drinking water very seriously during intermittent fasting

🧖🏽‍♀️ A Little Home and Self-Care Doesn’t Hurt

After baking, I did some organising in my room and gave myself a bit of pampering.
I did a mini spa bath with my body scrub and sea salt, then treated my face with Sivoderm pomade - my current go-to for that soft glow. These little rituals are a reminder that rest isn’t just about sleep, it’s about treating yourself with care.

View before organizing and cleaning this side of my room

After

It all started with a desire to clean just my shoe rack, then I reorganised the whole side of the room

I used Sivoderm pomade to treat my face after all the organising. The review of this product is still up on the blog here (click here)

🎬 Cake, Movie, and Soft Living

To end the day, I curled up to watch a Nollywood movie on YouTube and finally broke my fast with a generous slice of that banana cake.

It was the kind of day that reminded me how much joy there is in simplicity. In baking without pressure. In letting a Saturday be soft, slow, and sweet.

Watch the vlog of the day on YouTube

💛 If You’re Reading This…

Let this be your reminder that you deserve rest too. That soft hustle is valid. That slow day still count.

My Banana Cake Adventures: A Hobby That’s Becoming a Lifestyle

There’s something so comforting about baking — the mixing, the waiting, the sweet aroma filling up the house. Lately, baking banana cakes has become a weekend ritual for me, and honestly, I’m loving every bit of it. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much since I've never baked and thought baking was so difficult. 

It all started with a simple desire to try baking at home for fun. I already had a banana cake recipe here on the blog — one I recorded while my grandmother was baking. Watching her make it so effortlessly made me want to try it myself. But as you can imagine, things didn’t go smoothly at first. 😅

Related: Easy Way to Bake a Fluffy Banana Cake All by Yourself

My first cake. It burned! It was so flat that it sank

This second cake was quite delicious, though. It would have been the best cake if it were fluffy

My second cake was heavier, but I improved by not burning it as much.

The first two cakes I baked were... well, not the best. They rose beautifully while baking, but sank right back down once they cooled. I was confused at first until I realised I had only been using baking powder, not adding bicarbonate of soda. So, on my third try, I added bicarbonate too — and guess what? The cake came out fluffy and soft. That was a big victory!

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The winning cake! I felt so proud that it was a success!

Since then, I’ve been tweaking the recipe, experimenting with measurements, and trying to make slightly bigger cakes. Sometimes they come out softer, sometimes they rise beautifully, and sometimes they fall flat again. Just the other day, I tried baking with only bicarbonate — like my grandma used to — but it sank again. I suspect the batter was too soft this time around.

This is my most recent cake, where I used just bicarbonate. It later fell like it never rose. It didn't burn at all or stick to the pan like some others; I'm proud of that.

This cake sank later. I was still experimenting, making a bigger cake

This cake was a success, too, though I almost missed getting it right because I wanted to make a bigger cake again

Still, each attempt is teaching me something new. I now know how to regulate the fire so the cake doesn’t burn. I’ve learned how to properly grease or line the baking pan so it doesn’t stick. My last cake didn’t burn or stick at all, which felt like progress!

One of the biggest wins for me, though, has been figuring out how to bake using a pot on my gas cooker. I used to think it wasn’t possible — or at least that I wouldn’t know how to do it right. But I tried it, and it worked! And now that I know how, nothing is stopping me from baking whenever I want.

My kids are always excited when I bake, even if the cake isn’t as fluffy as I hoped. As long as it tastes good, they’re happy — and thankfully, it always does. 😂

It made a delicious breakfast with yoghurt

Baking has slowly become more than just a fun activity. It’s now part of my lifestyle — something I look forward to doing every weekend, something that calms me, teaches me, and gives me little moments of joy (and sweet treats!). I plan to explore other cake recipes too with time, but for now, banana cake is holding a special place in my kitchen and my heart.

So here’s to more weekend baking sessions, more lessons learned, and hopefully, more fluffy banana cakes ahead!

Do you have any hobbies you are into right now? I would love to hear your experience in the comments. 

Mt Ngoa-ekele Yaoundé Cameroon 

Here are photos from the my hiking experience 

A view of the mountain we climbed (Mt Yéyé)

Hiking shoes about to get dirty

Selfie with my hiking initiator 😉

The Inspiration hiking team 👍🏾

The beginning was steep and hard. It got me thinking if I was going to make it to the top.

At this point, I wished I was at home spending my Sunday like I normally did because I was already running out of breath and I couldn't keep up with the pace of others.

It was clear that I needed to go at my pace. Thoughts of regret were full in my head at this point. To think that we only just started 😭. I was already sweating profusely.

Concentration 😂

I got used to climbing and it got better eventually.

Almost at the top 😺

Finally at the top.

Officially a hiker 😉

Refreshment

Catching up 😀 and resting before descending

Found this giant cobweb on our way down. I couldn't even take a picture of all of it.

Almost done and it was easier to descend though my knees were shaking and hurting.

We came, we conquered ✌🏾

Ok at this point I said this isn't different from 2:0 (deux zero)

Yum 😋 I enjoyed my meal ( pepper soup)

Caught making a selfie 😁 🤳🏾