Meet Farrah: The Seriously Fun Lady

“You weren’t born to just live and die... what matters the most are the little pieces in-between... No one has it together. Just do YOU!”

— Farrah Said-Albert

So here we go!

Farrah Said-Albert is the one I call the Seriously Fun Lady! She has a serious job and does the serious work of parenting. But Farrah is also all about enjoying life. 30 seconds into scrolling on her IG profile and you can clearly see this is a woman who is many things to many people but is unapologetically herself. The bold lipsticks, hilarious dance moves, high fashion, girly hangouts don’t take away from the Mummy moments, prioritising her relationships and being a badass lawyer! I mean, I host supper clubs and dinner parties, but Farrah’s “Dinner & Bants” is the after-party that dreams are made of, I tell you!

I first met Farrah in 2009 (or was it 2010) through Nike Coker-Babalola’s SistaSista program in Abuja. Then I later realised she was also old friends with my sister-in-law. And the impression she made on me back then has turned out to be a reflection of who she truly is. A seriously fun, friendly, intelligent, cool, down-to-earth and amazing woman! I mean, we have very similar pet peeves - including but not limited to supposedly professional contacts referring to us as “dear” and “Sis” unnecessarily, people not RSVP-ing or disrespecting our dinner invite idiosyncrasies, having to be stuck in lockdown indefinitely with no hangouts and face-to-face gist sessions in sight! Arrrggh! Anyway, yeah, kindred spirits and that. You get the gist.

Farrah literally is the hostess with the mostest! But it goes beyond that. She’s a light that glows and her radiance touches everything that’s in her path and those in the general vicinity too! Not sure if you can tell but I really admire Farrah :)

Like you and I, she tries to balance the conflicting demands on her time and attention, and though we’re all winging it, hearing how she does it might help provide some insight and inspo to you, or simply help you realise that you are not alone in this busy-ness! And you have no excuse to not actively enjoy your life!

As you read through our conversation, you’ll see that she refers to me by my “house” name - Ilami… One day I’ll tell you guys about the fluidity of the Mabel/ Mae/ Ilami/ Ilamidi moniker. But for now, I’m confident you’ll be able to relate to some of what I’ve described of her as you read through an excerpt of our conversation.

Mae (M): So, tell us about yourself… The people wanna know!

Farrah (F): My name is Farrah Said-Albert. I’m a State Counsel (Fancy way of saying I’m a Lawyer with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Justice). Proud mother of two: a five year old daughter and two year old son. Married to the most imperfectly perfect man. I’m from Borno State (North East Nigeria), Pessimistic by default, optimistic by logic. Fiercely outspoken goal getter. Lover of fashion and liver of the good life!! I honestly don’t feel there’s a lot to tell about myself. I like to believe I'm an open book, but if i was to give it a shot; in a nutshell: I’m a fun-loving career driven woman who greatly enjoys (s)mothering my family and friends and loves to dress up.

M: What 3 words best describe you?

F: 3 words that describe me would be Live, Laugh, Learn (in no particular order).

M: What are you juggling at the moment?

F: 2020 hit us with the unexpected, and keeps throwing curve balls. So I’ve had to juggle work, online school for my five year old daughter, engaging my 2 year old son with activities that mould his mind and sense of wonder, the socio-political issues, finding time to DO ME and factoring in the new normal in EVERYTHING.

M: Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were losing yourself? If yes, tell us about it.

F: At some point it was super hard for me to wrap my head around feelings that my career seemed to take a lot from my home life, because I used to travel a lot for work . At that time I thought it was crucial for me to have it all perfectly worked out: finding ways to excel at work and being mom all the time. I learnt not too long ago that it’s okay not to have it all figured out, and that while my work is important, I have to set realistic goals with timelines and that the quality of time I spend with my family matters more than the quantity. Basically, I just started cutting myself a lot of slack.

M: Ahhhh! Firm grip on the good ol’ Mummy guilt. I love it! So tell us, how do you stay authentic?

F: Authentic. Hmm.. such a relative concept. I’m blessed to have people around me who tell me the truth whether I want to hear it or not and this keeps me very grounded. They remind me that I am enough and this makes it super easy for me to be me all the time.

M: I'm calling you "The Seriously Fun Lady" for this series. So tell me about that part of you that seems to be about the good time..... How do you make room for all that fun in your life and how has being this fun person shaped you and impacted others around you? It definitely has impacted me :)

F: Hahaha! Seriously fun!!! Ilami ooo.. Let’s see: Is there a way for you to love others if you don’t love yourself? I love myself HARD.. constantly do things that make me happy… be it clowning around with my family, binge watching TV (I'm a serious couch potato), stalking fashion or getting dressed and hanging out with my friends. I’m a firm believer of routines and I make sure my kids stick to it. On holidays I’ll give them maybe an extended hour or two to bedtime, otherwise I keep it tight. This allows me to make plans for me… I would be remiss not to mention that my husband is super supportive and because he steps up, I’m able to step out.

M: I absolutely love that last part! What’s your go-to move to “get back to equilibrium”?

F: Gin & Tonic…. Just kidding

M: Pan to Camera…. She’s totally not kidding

F: But seriously… what is this equilibrium of which you speak?!

M: LOL! Okay, what was the last lesson you learned?

F: How to protect my space

M: No elaboration required. We move! What is the most practical tip you have on any topic at all?

F: Everything that has happened was meant to happen (Don’t sweat it)

M: What’s the thing you do that’s surprisingly (to everyone else) easy for you?

F: I don’t think I surprise anyone …

M: I love that! Same here, but I think mine is really as a result of the fact that I’ve surprised people so much that they now know to expect anything from me and take me like that. Hahaha. Okay, back to you. What inspires you?

F: Making a difference.

M: That’s quite obvious to anyone who knows you. You invest so much in sprinkling fairy dust and making sure everyone around you is happy, I want to know; how do you take care of you?

F: I don’t take myself too seriously. I acknowledge that I am flawed and that things won’t always work out the way I want them to. I cry if I want to. I laugh if I want to. I remind myself that I am a priority and get myself gifts as a pat on the back for being ME.

Side note: Our fashionista could talk some more about these “gifts”, but we’ll park that for another time. I promise! ;) Let’s just say luxury local and international fashion is a whole other conversation we need to have with Farree, okay? Cool!

M: So, moving on to the practical stuff now. What tools do you use to stay organised?

F: Remember the Routine I mentioned?! That’s it… That is the only method to my madness.

M: And finally, what would you say to someone who feels like she has lost her essence at the expense of being busy and fulfilling “duty”, someone who feels fun-less/ has lost her mojo and wants to get it back.

F: First things first: breathe!!! There are no set rules to life and anyone who tells you any different does not deserve a seat at the magnificent table that is YOU. My Mum always said: "YOU MUST LEARN TO BE YOUR OWN BIGGEST CHEERLEADER". No one has it together, just do you.

Here’s a video of the tail end of the midnight gisting session where Farrah and I have one or two messages for you… Fun fact: We set up the call to record a 60-minute video. This video is 6 minutes, at the end of a 2.5 hour gist full of tangents and hilarity! Tip: Do this with your friends when you start to feel overwhelmed. Nothing like humour to bring you back to “equilibrium” and put things in perspective!

The End…. For now… :-)

You can connect and stay in touch with Farrah and her shenanigans on Instagram @shenannigansinstyle

In the meantime, let Farrah and I know in the comments what you think, what practical questions you have, what has resonated with you and let’s support each other as we enjoy the good life!