Group Wedding Outfit

I just wanted to share with you guys pics of my sisters and friends uniform that they wore the day of our traditional wedding.

In Congo and in Ivory Coast and in many other African cultures, when there is an event/celebration, people usually wear a commonly agreed fabric that is sewn either into an already picked style or a design of the "wearer's" choice.
In Congo and Ivory Coast (I'm only specifically talking about both countries because I personally know the culture but I'm sure it's the same for other cultures -- I believe my Nigerian people call it "aso-ebi", right? Please correct me If I'm wrong), the groups that wear the uniform are as often large groups of friends and family (mostly at weddings, baptisms, graduation parties, funerals) or even political parties, cultural associations, church groups etc etc.

In my case I was reminded how important it was to have it and originally the uniform was supposed to be worn by a very large group, but I hate being disorganized when it comes to things like that.
The fabric was going to come from home (sent by my mom) and we needed to have a final count plus, erm... I am on a budget, so yes, you pay for your own ooo.
Not only that, but to have it sewn would mean more money as it is not as cheap as back home to have it made here.

Now, I know my people okay? Always late, disorganized, always finding excuses and stuff. People would be coming from different states, it was summer which let me remind you is "wedding season", tailors are busy and often booked for weeks and months in advance. I just thought, let me make it easy on myself.

I only asked that everybody, please everybody be dressed in native/traditional attire, or anything African.
A few people wanted to show up in evening gowns, can you imagine? like seriously? (Told them they can't come if so... I know, but you gotta be firm sometimes to get what you want).

So I kept the fabric for close friends and my sisters only so that other people do not feel discriminated against (some aunties versus other aunties, some cousins, versus other, mom vs pop's families etc.)You guys know how frustrated people can get over these kinds of things.
My other concern was to remain zen at all times. If something got overly stressful, it got x'ed from the list of things. Not about to argue or have migraines over a day that is supposed to be joyful!

Anyhow, it made my sisters and friends (as well as my aunt representing my mom) feel special since they were the only ones wearing it and I was able to just give them the fabric and pay some of the cost of having it sewn for them. I was def a win win, plus it was fun looking for styles and all that.

I originally did not like the fabric. I trusted my mom to pick something a little trendy like this newer woodin type of fabrics with goldish and silverish accents or even little glitters. One thing I did NOT want was lace, too much lace everywhere around worn by everybody lol.

The fabric she picked is an old design, I'm sure one of your aunties or gdmas might have a different color or version in their closet somewhere. So I was really kind of disappointed as I envisioned something a little "fresher". But hey... it is what it is, my mom picked and bought it with love so that is all that matters at the end of the day.

As for the outfits, everybody kind of picked what they wanted, I did not care as long you are not looking like you "tried too much" lol. I'm not an extravagant person, and not trying to be "faboulos" (I hate the way girls throw this word around anyhow) so I didn't want anybody looking like they've watched too much of Project Runway or something.

 

Blue Birthday Cake

Time to share with you guys pictures of my second cake. It was made about 3 weeks ago for my auntie's birthday and it was a surprise!!!

Blue is her favorite color so there you have it. I did have a few issues with my bow, which this time collapsed entirely. I realized it was due to the texture of my fondant, and mainly because I used a different brand (store brand) of marshmallows. The fondant was very sticky which made it really difficult to make smaller shapes and decorations. I still have to perfect my buttercream technique which so far allows me to write and make smaller, finer details but not complex ones.

I'm really considering taking a few classes just so I can learn the tips and tricks of cake decorating.

I'm doing another cake for my little niece's birthday so we will see how that one turns out. I'm torn between a heart shaped diva cake or a more plain square buttercream covered cake. The thing is that a lot of people are really not fond of that buttercream.... too fatty. Oh well... I'll keep you guys posted!

Enjoy the pictures!!! (taken from my phone, sorry...)

Ps: It was a red velvet (you can tell it's my favorite right?) and chocolate fudge cake with lemon buttercream filling. It had 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling; so from bottom to top  ---->> chocolate fudge, lemon buttercream, red velvet, lemon butter cream , chocolate fudge, lemon buttercream, red velvet.

*** That wrapper is my signature lol. My other half
would love to have it thrown away or even better... burnt!!
But I love it to pieces lol ***

Feedback on "Giving Yourself" and Misc.

I received a lot of feedback on the previous post about how much a woman should give herself in a relationship such as marriage. A lot of your responses went in the direction of what I thought: There is way toooo much emphasis in the way we are raised and conditioned in general as African women into perfecting household and kitchen duties while other areas that are as important are being a little bit overlooked. People tend to quickly label a woman as a good wife if her house looks cleans, she can whip up delicious meals, she can be a welcoming hostess and shows respect and agreement with her husband publicly. I believe it's rather reducing even though those are some of the qualities African men and their mother look for in a potential wife.
Uche Anne summarized the point I was trying to make in that post:
"Women shouldn't wear themselves out trying to be perfect. And this applies in many other areas."

Now, at this point, it's a little challenging for my friend to communicate how she feels because there is just such a disconnect between how her husband perceives her and how she feels. But not only that, it just seems to me that they have a few issues communicating because one of them is not listening and is not putting him/herself into the other person's shoes. There are also a few other issues which I believe is best not to be shared.

Anyhow, hope you all had a nice weekend... I know lol, it's almost the weekend!! Where is time going?
What did we do last weekend?
Friday evening, nothing much, just unwinding. Me falling asleep on the couch while watching some of my fav reality shows as usual while my other half works on his computers (he is an IT guy in case you didn't know).
Most of my Saturday was spent whipping up a huge post of Eru, my hubby's favorite dish (which has also become mine) -- It's Eru/Okazi leaves mixed with spinach, spices, crayfish, cowskin, oxtail, smoked fish and cooked with palm oil, a delight I tell you. We ate it with oat fufu. It's heathier than yam and water fufu. And the rest of the day was spent ermm... **clearing throat** glorifying God by trying to multiply... with a little spice...

And with absolutely no transition...

Next week is Thanksgiving!!! Who is excited to have a day off?? For those of you guys in the US are you all scheduled to work on Friday too? My hubby gets Friday off so on Wednesday evening after he comes from work, we are off for a little road trip and a weekend with family!!! Exciting!!! Food, food, family, more food, music, dancing, laughing and more food!!! And y'all know I'm always excited about cooking right?