The weekend review – play, pause and rewind

Carpe Diem! Keep that phrase in your mind as you read through this article because it is “Context”.  As you approach the weekend, for maximum enjoyment consider the idea that   “life moves in seasons” which can be simultaneously enjoyable and frustrating. In Nigeria, approaching your weekend (and life) with a can-do approach is the best way to actually enjoy it.

Play a lot, and get silly with it. Simple but effective, a friend recently threw a kid-themed birthday party (it’s not the first one I’ve been invited to but it would be the first one I’ve been able to attend in a while). Mostly, because I would rather catch up on the sleep I’ve missed out on after working long hours during the week (the hours of most adult weekends are like gold dust, to be shared sparingly).

So why don’t you indulge yourself and play! Losing yourself to child-like abandon, whether its attending your mates beer pong party, playing on actual child bouncy castles, or finally attending a games night, taking the time out to be silly and play is the best way to relax!

If you don’t know of any actual events, there are great places you can check out which offer you just such an opportunity so you can take a friend and go wild with it. Empire Sports at Elegushi beach in Lekki is the ultimate adult play date: Paint-balling, Human Foosball, Bungee rope basketball, and baton boxing make for a very fun day out with mates or colleagues!

You don’t have to play rough though; hitting the Spa is sort of a play date too! As I girl, I loved playing with Barbies and now as a grown woman, I am my own Barbie and my own play time includes manicures, pedicure and lash appointments,For the glam playdates, peep the Vane Polish bar for delicious nail colour options and a little indulgence. For over extra glam book an appointment at The Lash Lounge in Lekki Phase 1 which just had me feeling incredibly feminine!

Pausing and savoring the moments are important too. Take yourself out on a date. The self date is a time-tested method of not only taking time to reflect on your day and your goals, but also to enjoy simple things. The relationship that all humans have with food is of a dual nature, it is necessary and it can be an incredibly pleasurable experience which captures all your senses. Indulge by visiting a fine dining establishment like Tarragon, the restaurant attached to the Culinary Academy in Ikoyi.

Thanks to The Food and Drink Fair in May, I met Chef Tiyan Allile who is the founder of the Culinary Academy. I had the opportunity to interview Chef Tiyan and Chef Alex Oke at the time and once they told me about the restaurant I was eager to try out the restaurant and XO Boutique Bakery run by Chef Alex who I also will be interviewing for Smooth 98.1 on #BreakfastInBed981 (this Saturday at 8am *wink*)!

At this point, let’s hit rewind: let’s say you are too exhausted to run around like a child on a soft drink high, you also need to be on a diet/have budget restraints and would rather not risk a fine dining option, or you simply would rather exert the minimum possible level of energy but yield maximum results? Your solution is to rewind and catch up with great television and cinema options.

There’s always something to watch so here are some of the top TV and cinema picks for this weekend which will have you feeling like your down time was well spent:

Game Of Thrones Season 6 – If you haven’t already, befriended someone with a copy of the episodes (all legally obtained of course), then you need to do that asap, and if you haven’t been on board the G.O.T (that is what the cool kids call it) train, then now is one of the best times to board, with practically a full 6 seasons of quality entertainment ahead of you. Now this suggestions works for a number of series, throw in some food and drink, and that’s quite the weekend planned, you could make it a GOT party if you really would like to be social!

Another great TV fix on the weekend is Music TV! Sounds ridiculous but I’m serious, there’s something to be said for turning up the volume to the hottest club songs while you tidy the house and practice your twerk game at the same time, and with a little bit of entertainment information thrown in, you might be surprised to find your youthful energy creeping back in.

Now while TV can be great you might be more of a film buff, in which cases two films to check out:Just Not Married – this light-hearted romantic comedy is a film by Judith Audu-Foght and is directed by Uduak-Obong Patrick for which the reviews have been really good!

WarCraft- the American fantasy film directed by Duncan Jones and based on the game series, which if nothing else delivers stellar animation.

Now the summary of all my musings and meanderings to help navigate you through the tricky waters of what to do with your weekend is this: your weekend is what you make it! So jump right in and live right. Now.