Happy happy new year 🎉🎉🎈 everyone!

I feel so uplifted and lighter this 2021. I hope you do too. 2020 has been a tough year no doubt. In fact, it has been my worse year yet even though it has taught me another side of life.

That's why I'm so grateful to God that the year 2020 is done, dusted and gone! 

How We Spent New Year's Day 2021

On New Year's Eve, I was gifted a cake by my landlady. It was so delicious. We ate it until the morning of New year's day.

To celebrate 🥂 the day, we cooked Achu for New year's day. I already shared the recipe here on the blog.

To be honest with you guys this is my first time cooking Achu. I have only assisted and helped my mom and grandma to cook it but I've never cooked it alone.

I'm so glad the meal came out very delicious 😋🤤 and everyone loved it.

I made njama njama (contry-style) and njakatu (garden eggs) to accompany the Achu. It was fantastic.

In preparation to celebrate the day, I went to the market on New Year's Eve and bought the food items. Then I got most of them ready before the next day because I knew the pounding of the Achu will take most of my time. I cleaned and packed the cocoyam' in the pot, I also cooked the meat, canda and fish. Then I went and did my hair. I fixed the vegetable (njama njama) in the night while waiting for midnight to come. I finally finished it after midnight. I then wrote a blog post for you guys to wish you a happy new year then I went to bed. 

Also Read: Happy New Year 2021

                   How I Did My Hair on New Year's Day 2021

In the morning we pounded the Achu then sat down together in the evening and had a great time with family. 

Achu cocoyam and achu banana

Njama njama

Njakatu (Garden eggs)

Doing my hair

Fixing the vegetable while waiting for midnight

My drink to welcome the new year at midnight

Cheers!

I hope that the day was great for you guys too. 

Keep staying positive this new year.

I am sharing with you today my recent fashion purchases. It's been such a long time since I bought anything for myself and it feels good to shop for myself again. 

I needed some new clothes and other stuff which I talked about in other posts and I'm glad I was able to get them. So here are my recent outfits and fashion accessories I purchased.

My Recent Purchases | Outfits & Accessories

Clothes

I went for comfortable and stylish outfits. My tops and leggings are from okirika (thrift) and the others were sewn for me.

- Tops

I got cotton tops because of their stretch and softness. Also because they are comfortable and the colours are mature. Mostly black, navy blue and brown were the colours I went for.

These tops were super cheap so I got many of them at once. I try to avoid shopping too much at the same time because I usually regret some of my purchases when I get home. But this time I got up to ten tops at the same time and I like my choices. 

- Leggings

I got a pair of leggings in cotton as well and I love the comfort it gives me. I discovered that pairing a cotton top and bottom is not the best option because it doesn't look bright. But mixing colours and textures and also accessories makes it better. 

That's how I have been wearing my leggings with my cotton outfits.

- Dresses

A few dresses got into my wardrobe too though I wish there were more. I bought three from okirika and one boutique. 

One of the gowns I got is transparent and needed a gown to wear inside. So the two other gowns I got were meant to be worn beneath the transparent one. I was looking forward to buying black but the type I wanted was hard to find so I got blue and also a black one.

The boutique gown I got is from the guys who sell in trucks outside the market. It s more expensive and I bought it because I couldn't find what I needed in okirika. But after buying it I saw the black gown from okirika which was way cheaper. 

All the same, I'm glad I got both because I can still wear them with or without the transparent dress on top.

- Tailored wears

I added some sewn clothes to my wardrobe as well. They are made from Ankara and dyed materials. These clothes were supposed to be ready a long time ago but the tailor couldn't deliver on time. One of them I wore for Christmas and the other I plan to wear on New Year's Day. 

It's actually a family asoebi (matching outfits) made for me, my daughter and her father. I really like the outfits because they were well sewn and I chose good styles too.

I initially planned to wear the dresses I bought from okirika but when these ones came, I changed my mind as it was more beautiful to dress up in our family asoebi.

Accessories

I got myself one accessory which I love greatly. A handbag.

- Handbag

I feel so festive this year and I'm so grateful to God that I can celebrate Christmas well with my family and friends.

How Are Cameroonians Preparing To Celebrate Christmas 2020?

Christmas 🎄 represents the birth of Christ Jesus and it's celebrated in different ways around the world - according to our various cultures.

In Cameroon, preparations for Christmas involve getting clothes and food to celebrate 🥂 with family and friends. There's also a lot of drinking 🍷and sharing of presents in the form of foodstuff, personal and household items. Christmas is considered an occasion for kids.

Christmas this year is different because most Cameroonians are in great financial difficulty than usual. The year 2020 has been difficult for all of us, but in Cameroon where the standard of living is generally low, things can get really bad.

Nonetheless, the markets were full even though traders complained that clients don't seem to have money. Those who could do something did the best for their families to make them happy.

On my way to the market on the 24th, I saw a home 🏠 that killed a cow. It was an amazing sight as it's not something we see often. 

At the market, there were people lined up to buy Eru, meat and fish 🐟. I got some Eru to cook for my family on Christmas day and they are all looking forward to eating it. 

Cooking for Christmas requires waking up early on Christmas day to start or finish cooking. 

Christmas eve is for last shopping 🛒 and travelling to meet family and friends but it's the beginning of gatherings and 🥳🎉 partying with loved ones either indoors or outdoors.

As I write this, it's Christmas Eve and I am spending the evening with family. We just had Ndolé for dinner and now we are digesting with some wine (El Vino 😉).

Some of the kids and people are catching up with doing their hair to look good tomorrow. I'm glad I did mine yesterday. I wanted to avoid the pressure of last-minute hairdo. I also got my nails done 💗 and I love the switched up look as I really look put together 😉👌🏾. 

That's a description of how Christmas is going on in this part of the world called Cameroon, especially from my angle. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. 

Have a very merry Christmas and let the love of Christ our saviour be with you all.

So we wash our okirika for two reasons:

How To Remove Okirika Smell From Clothes

This detergent (Ozil) washes well and smells good as well.

There are two flavours of Soupline but I like this one most.

I was brainstorming on my content the other day and in the course of that my mind wandered off for a while. I was actually thinking about what value or plus I want to bring to the women who read my posts. Then this topic came to my mind and I started talking to myself (I do that a lot). I actually enjoyed the conversation and felt I should share it with you.

Why Women Don't Support Women

This problem started way back when women had no voice or right to do the things they wanted to do. Women got used to thinking low of not just themselves as individuals but also their fellow women.

This went on for years and years and women just got used to not seeing themselves going places or becoming better. Women rather got used to talking more about their problems, their struggles their difficulties and less about their dreams, successes or power. 

That is why when a woman's life changes for the better her fellow women around her could feel jealous and may want to pull her down. that's why women are constantly competing against each other in life and achievements like marriage, jobs, kids and social status.

One woman's success makes another woman feel more inferior and left behind. For ages, women have not been able to see and believe in their own abilities. They have gotten used to misery. They have gotten used to adapting to difficulty and have continuously measured their strength by their ability to endure their problems and not by overcoming them completely.

Even though there is a new generation of women who were born when the world has improved on the respect for women's rights, this mindset hasn't been eliminated. When are still used to misery, pain and suffering as well as limiting ourselves in other ways? 

This mindset has put us in a place where we feel jealousy and envy and don't want to support each other for fear that one woman's success will expose or highlight our inferiority or failure. 

We need to stop this and realize that one woman being successful doesn't take anything from another. 

We need to support and learn from each other to grow. We all have different paths in life and one woman may want a flourishing career while the other wants a thriving home. It doesn't make the homemaker a failure or the career woman a difficult person.

Let's start to support each other and let go of our limiting beliefs about ourselves.

What To Do With Your Overripe Plantain | How To Make Plantain Beignets

Ingredients

Process

Cameroon Duck Stew Recipe

Ingredients

Tomato paste. I love using this brand

Tomato brand

Carrot, green beans and onion

Leeks or green onion

Ginger

Garlic

Green pepper

Green spices

Pepper

Onion

Carrot and green beans

Sliced duck

Preparation

Boiled tomato pastes

Bon appetit!

Last Friday was the dedication of my daughter's paternal grandmother as a deaconess in the church. It was an exciting occasion and it reflected the typical Cameroonian way to party. 

Friday Parties Are Fun Too

The decor for the party

Usually, parties are scheduled on Saturdays in Cameroon but this one was programmed on Friday. Friday is a working day so not many people had the time to help out with the preparations during the day. 

I wasn't expecting it to be a big party so I was surprised at how much preparation was being made.

I sewed our 'asoebi' for the occasion. That's for me, baby and daddy. Daddy helped me with the sewing and we did it the day before.

Slicing tomatoes for the party chicken stew

The party started at about 8 pm. There were no long speeches - just a welcome speech and an apology for the late start. Immediately after that, the guests were ushered to the table to eat.

The good looking salad, bread, egusi pudding, etc

Opening the food and preparing to serve the guests

The rest of the menu

It went on well as we helped to serve the guests. Until we noticed a guest who dug into every bowl of meat taking at least three to four slices from each bowl. In fact, he helped himself to everything on the table. We had to stop him at some point because he kept on filling his plate with slices of pork after taking four slices of chicken.

The surprise was that he came for a second round. This time he wore a pullover over his shirt. I don't know if he wore it to go unnoticed but I discovered he was the one from the way he dug into the Ndolé and from the number of Miyondo he took from the table. The amount of food he took made me wonder if he could actually eat all.

Then came the time for dancing and this guy was one of the leaders in it as he drank his beer. Others had their moments to dance but this guy and a few others were on the dance floor nonstop. It was fun to watch them dance. I danced to a few songs that I couldn't help but dance. It was so much fun.

In between the fun, my daughter woke up from sleep a few times. By 5am I was tired and went to bed as well. We returned home in the morning still tired. I took home some leftover Ndolé and sweet potato which I ate once I got home before going to bed to rest again.

I just remembered that the same guy whom I talked about earlier - the one who kept filling his plate with meat almost carried away a pot of food. When the table of food was being cleared there was a tray of Khoki on the table. In fact, that was the only food that was left there. This guy after dancing would come from time to time and take some slices of Khoki. So when the rest was cleared it was taken behind to where the washing was being done. The plan was to save the food left and then wash the dishes. There was also a pot of sweet potatoes standing by waiting to be emptied and washed. 

This guy went behind, took the tray of Khoki and the pot of sweet potatoes and was leaving with them. When he was stopped he said he was taking it to his house. He was now asked to bring a bowl to get some of the food to take home which he did. 

When we talked about it in the morning it was so funny. From what I gathered the previous day, he isn't totally mentally stable. He actually did animate the party so much with his dancing steps.

In Cameroon, there are people who will come and grace your party like that. Most times they come with the desire to eat and drink to their fullest and even take some home. And most of the time they are uninvited guests. 

The Friday party was great because it was possible to rest on Saturday and Sunday.