Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things which may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, this week's subjects: March fashion tips, Finances, Air France, Burgers, Smoke and Barrel.

March fashion tips.

Remember, fashion is about expressing your individuality and celebrating your roots. Mix and match these tips to create your own signature style. Enjoy the vibrant colours, textures, and warmth of March with these few tips...
1. Maxi Skirts and Dresses:
Flowy maxi skirts and dresses are comfortable and stylish. Choose prints and patterns that resonate with you.
2. African Print Blazers and Jackets:
Opt for blazers or lightweight jackets in African prints. They add flair to any outfit, whether paired with jeans or a skirt.
3. Colourful Sandals and Slides:
Ditch heavy boots and embrace open-toe sandals or slides. Look for bright colours or intricate beadwork.
4. Embrace Ankara Patterns:
Ankara fabrics are richly patterned and versatile. Incorporate them into your wardrobe through dresses, skirts, or tops.
5. Support Local Designers:
Explore local markets, concepts stores and streets for unique finds: The number of local concept stores is on the rise due to the increased demand for African fashion brands.
Precision O at Farrar Avenue/Kojo Thompson Road, Adabraka has quite an extensive range of African brands like Odefille with beautiful Grande Dame collection and custom-made pieces, Ellen Gwen, Sangal Women, Victoria Grace, Mikoko Deluxe, and Funke Fashion House.

Finances, the difference between a debit card and a credit card. Often we have a bank card which allows us to withdraw money from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine, a teller is the person who receives or gives you money at the bank, a bank teller), or make payments at shops or restaurants. If this only works if you have money in your account then it is a debit card, the money you took or the purchase you made immediately gets taken from your account, gets debited. But say you receive a regular and substantial salary, through the same bank, from a reputable organization, you could ask for a credit card. The bank will scrutinize your financial behaviour, do you take all the salary out immediately when it comes in, or do you spread your payments over the month and often there is a surplus at the end of the month, do you have savings with that bank in the form of maybe treasury bills, in other words what is the risk that you don’t pay back if we give you money, if we give you a credit. Remember, the purpose of banks is to make money, for themselves, not to loose money through you not paying back. So if they now consider you a reliable customer you could be given a credit card, they will give you credit. First of all they will not immediately debit you but do so at the end of the month for everything you took and bought, and give you a nice statement showing how you spend your funds. And they may give you a little credit line, so say you can overdraw 5000 GHC, i.e. spend more than you have, but for that overdrawn, you pay interest of typically 45-50% per annum or 4% per month, and that's what where the bank starts to make money. They don’t risk much, after all your next salary will come in soon. And often they have made your employer sign for paying your salary through them, and no one else. Also, a credit card often costs more for the yearly subscription fee than a debit card. So, more financial flexibility, but at an extra cost. Next time some of the dangers of credit cards, and some of the hidden costs.

Air France is this year celebrating 90 years of existence but has only been flying to Ghana since February 2017, and is represented here by KLM, which is 105 years old. Anyway, congrats, and thanks for the invite to their fashion show at the Ambassador's residence. In the good old days air lines still had first class, now most of them only do business class, and the glamour is gone.

Burgers We were at Cantonments and felt like eating a burger, so we searched the net for best burger, and came up with Junkies Labone, 5 stars, 80/20, 4 stars and, Burger Boyz, 4 stars. We ended up doing all 3, though not the same night, and the results were baffling, like stars falling from the sky. Junkies was slightly OK but the waitress, though friendly and helpful, could not give me the burger I wanted, 80/20 was 2 pieces of bread with some undefinable things between them, and Burger Boyz was 2 pieces of soaky bread with plenty sauces and some other things, and as bonus there was a piece of minced meat, fried on 2 sides and raw in between. Shame, all 3 of you, sad beef burgers. And asking around I did not get very enthusiastic advices from anyone either. I'll continue the search for a beef burger with a crunchy warm bread roll, a piece of well spiced medium fried lean minced beef, juicy, some lightly fried onion rings, quality ketchup, and maybe some slices of fresh sweet tomatoes and a leaf of crispy freshly cut salad. The holy grail. And as for the stars, either those who gave those ratings really don’t know what they are talking about, or the system is rigged. I would ask all my friends to make a positive contribution to get all the 5 stars for my burgers, even if I had never made one in my life.

Smoke and Barrel 42 Dade Street Labone, Accra used to be crowded on a Friday night, have a live band and serve a good fish and chips and a nice cold draught beer. This time the place was rather quiet and had only bottled beer. We didn’t eat after our Burger experiment. Pray they don’t go bust, lots of places have opened recently and one wonders where the clientele is to come from. And I don’t like it if I have to ask for my change, is for me to decide to give you a tip, not for you to decide to take it.

Lydia...

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