words by Terembe Cherono

photos by Guthua Ugo

To usher in my new chapter, I brought together my nearest and dearest to celebrate. Here’s how it went:

The Location

In searching for a venue for my celebration, I wanted a beautiful setting with natural lighting and great food. One fine afternoon, I visited Hemingways Eden, which I hadn’t been to before, and fell in love – it’s a charming and whimsical boutique hotel overlooking a lake, tucked deep in the Karen neighbourhood. The staff were super welcoming and excited to host me and my guests.

   

The Decor

I enlisted Kiki of Soothe my Space to execute the decor and design for my intimate lunch. She’s got a great eye so I knew she’d be able to put together something I love (she’s also written a post on my blog before). For the setup, I wanted an earth-toned palette with natural textures and leafy greens put together in an elegant and simple way for 15 of my loved ones. We did our first (and only) site visit on the day before the lunch and dealt with incessant rains the day of. Despite the challenges, everything came together beautifully. Special thanks to Afrodutch Collections who lent us a few of their pieces to use as part of the decor!

  

The Outfit

While in Dakar a few months ago, I tried on a gorgeous dress from Nigerian brand Wanni Fuga. It was a size too small but I knew I wanted to wear it for the celebration. So I sent my measurements over and had a custom dress made and shipped to me in late August. My favourite colour to wear is blue and I loved this vibrant, rich shade. I wore the dress with my favourite Titi Adesa heels (also a Nigerian brand) and multi-coloured diamanté earrings from Beauty Galore.

The Food

I curated my lunch menu with the head chef at Hemingways Eden. On arrival, my guests were offered sparkling drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), fresh bread and a platter of charred vegetables, tabbouleh, baba ganoush, falafel and beet hummus. To start, there were two options – calamari and sweet potato salad or a cream cauliflower soup. For mains, guests picked between a Beetroot Risotto, Chicken Changezi or Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops. We drank blueberry, dragonfruit or strawberry daiquiris while we ate. For the final act, my favourite dessert – lemon tart. The food experience was delightful and everything I wished for.

The Community

I was a little uncertain about how all my loved ones would connect given most of them hadn’t met but it was a perfectly pleasant, fun and easygoing afternoon. We chatted, played games, laughed and made merry for hours. My people are the best!

The Photoshoot

Later in the evening, we walked to the lake to see the main restaurant and take pictures. The hotel is owned and designed by an artist and it’s incredibly gorgeous from every corner.

The Gift Bags

I gave my guests a little gift bag to take home with a few treats including:

• Canvas tote designed by Nduleve and printed by Nala Gift Shop
• Personalised card from Lulu Kitololo
• Sticker from Endo Squared
• Coconut Face Masks from Miniso
• Tumbler from Miniso
• Hand Cream from Miniso

For anyone planning a party and looking for ideas for gifts bags, here are some other treats we considered: fragrance samples, mini jams from Good Grain NBO and seeds from Seedballs Kenya. I’d also recommend checking out House of Leather or Miniso for other bits.

That was my second and final celebration in honour of my new chapter. I’m now excited to get to work and step into new routines and rituals. Follow me on Instagram (@terembecherono) for daily updates!

Terembe Cherono is a creator, curator and convenor based in Nairobi, Kenya. For the last 10 years, Terembe has used her social media platforms (particularly Instagram and YouTube), to share lifestyle content using extremely compelling storytelling formats. In the last two years, she has developed a highly popular technique for Instagram Stories known as a ‘Daily Recap’ used by numerous content creators globally. She has supported several influencers and small businesses to leverage social media for brand building and sales.