31 day reset- Day 12

Today's task was to craft our ideal life narrative. I really enjoyed writing this :)

I am living in a quiet surburb filled with the sounds of birds, wind and children playing. Our house is spacious and has a lot of light coming in through the large windows, I especially love my home office because of the giant inspiration board above my computer. It is organized and messy at the same time. This is where I create. We own a lot of art and It's everywhere. Mostly by me and the people I love but also some prints of famous pieces. Our Decor is very DIY- Quirky. I love to entertain and my huge kitchen has been the home to lots of laughter, tears of joy and reunions. My partner and I host dinner parties often to catch up with friends and I hold a monthly book club meeting.


I am not "famous" but I am well known and respected in my field. I am good at what I do. I am a teacher, a creator and inspiration, a mover and shaker(lol). I run a successful cosmetic line and own an all natural salon and spa. I am active with the youth in my community especially girls and I am a mentor to many. I am part of a successful NGO in this area. I also run a blog/website where I share random things like recipes, book reviews etc and remind myself to stay happy and not forget me.


I spend my summers with my family in Florence doing some work, relaxing and continuing to practice my Italian. Travel is important to me and I try to experience a new area often whether 100km or 10,000km away. I enjoy and cherish my time alone and try to find at least a little time to spend by myself often. I take long baths in my vintage cast iron tub with claw feet to relax and often dance/go dancing with my partner for fun.


My partner is a handsome loving caring man who supports my quest to be a better person as I support his. I am very close to my parents and see them at least every two weeks. My brother and I are very close and he often spends a lot of time at my house. I am in touch with extended family members and often call, send gifts and visit.


I exercise often and cook healthy meals for my family. I am healthy physically and mentally. I earn enough to live the life I want and enjoy a few luxuries once in a while. I portion at least 10% of my earnings to helping others have a better life.


I am consistent on my self development journey and I continue to find ways to learn more, read more, give more and create more. God is ever present in my life and I bring him into my consciousness all the time. I stay on track with meditation, quiet time daily and prayer.
I am living my truth, and you can see it in all the love that shines upon me.

Book Review | Egg-Larva-Pupa-Woman - Ogo Akubue-Ogbata

So I've been wanting to do Book reviews here since forever but I've let a lot of things stop me, mainly fear but since this is a lifestyle blog and a big part of my life is reading, I'm throwing caution to the wind and doing it anyways. Thank you Ritzy for the encouragement ;)
First up; Ogo Akubue-Ogbata's debut novel, Egg-Larva-Pupa-Woman.

I decided to buy this book on Amazon after reading an excerpt on Bellanaija. I started reading this book on a road trip from Davis to Los Angeles. The drive was about 7 hours long with me alternating between sleeping and reading. I finished the book before the ride was over.

My friend who was driving would ask me every once in a while if I was OK as she saw me crying over the novel. It was that good.

The novel is follows Nkiru, the heroine's struggles and later triumphs through her life. It is particularly interesting as it seamlessly blends the political climate of the time with the story of a young woman quest for survival and finding herself. It is set in Nigeria, and later takes us to Sierra Leone, Uganda and Britain, I love historical references and stories of the 60's in Nigeria so this was particularly interesting for me. The colonial era and early post-colonial eras have been romanticised so much in my head. 

Nkiru is a privileged young girl who loses her parents young and is sent off to live with relatives after. She and her sister are separated and what happens thereafter is a series of life changing experiences, she manages to survive not completely unscathed but a better and stronger woman.

There are so many themes in this Novel but the strongest for me were Forgiveness, Love and Triumph. I really enjoyed this because in a lot of African literature the suffering usually overshadows a lot. The novel taught me a lot about Forgiveness and freedom through love and the journey towards finding oneself. There was a good dose of romance in here too that made me smile.

Maybe it was where I was at that point in my life- in 3days I was about to travel to Italy on my own for 6weeks, a journey towards learning myself as well- but this novel really moved me. I enjoyed it immensely so much so that I gifted it to the next person I came into contact with in Italy.

It wasn't only a Great read, it is a book I will buy again and keep on my shelf for years to come.

So how was my first review?

Have you read the book? how was it for you?

If not are you interested?


Love, 
Sabirah.