Agápe means love in Greek, however, my husband and I call each other Ahabi pronounced (ag-ha-bi). We have been calling each other this since we started dating in 2007. As a matter of fact, our children were convinced that daddy and mummy have the same name until they started formal school at 4yrs. I remember the shock on our eldest’s face when we sat her down and told her our real names. Ahabi came up as a written malapropism when we were dating as we got into a habit of emailing or texting each other by using ‘ahabi’ instead of ‘agápe’. This has carried on to date and was the natural name for this blog as it is encapsulates everything we love in written form. Allthingsahabi is an ode to our love for our children, family, friends and all the things we love about life.

We are privileged to live in a world where our children and future generations can have a digital life-map into the lives we lead and how our love, which has transcended so much, is transforming us as a family. I wish I fully knew how my father and grandparents grew up. I wish I could see how my grandparents coped in a war-torn country with a young family and the effect of regime change. I wish I had a video of my father holding me singing and dancing along hospital corridors the moment he held me for the first time, I hear he was so joyful, they had never witnessed a 6ft 4inch man of stature break into song over the birth of a baby girl…in those days it would have been understandable had I been a boy but daddy said he fell in love and could not contain his joy…he just had to sing.

This blog is a song of hope to every parent who has lost a child, anyone with a disabling condition and for every child who dreams of someday having a platform for inspiring others despite beginnings and circumstances, which at first dictate otherwise.

I was born in Kenya with Ugandan and Somali blood, my love of food and fashion came to life in India. I credit New Delhi with awakening my taste buds, this is where I started experimenting with dishes, learned about spices from visiting the markets and acquired a love and appetite for all things food!!! I adore West African, French, Greek, Italian and Chinese cuisine and will always incorporate various aspects of them in most of my dishes. I am currently obsessed with all things Japanese. Izakaya dishes will be making their way to my kitchen table and I cannot wait to interpret and share my version. Just imagine the fusion of all these cultures.

My sense of adventure, discovery, and growth has given me an encyclopaedic knowledge of all manner of things from food to fashion, interior design, motoring, the arts, history, and culture. I am happiest when I am giving or sharing. I seem to always get more than I bargained for, but in a positive way. Let me save you some bucks and show you how with just a few small changes here and there you can live your life Fabulously.

I am the mum on the climbing frame with all the toddlers in the park, the one playing hopscotch whilst grocery shopping and making up silly songs, the one cat-walking the pavement with her kids like it’s a runway, (the world is a runway and if you feel like dancing and rocking, why not?) I am funny, always singing and dancing. I cannot drive or swim, (I have mastered poolside style like a pro, who needs to swim!) I do not have any piercings, I am petrified of the dark and will make up songs and poems to calm myself at night. I will be conquering all these in ways that will make you laugh and possibly cry at the same time. I want my readers to feel like they are sitting across the room from me. I will give you access to new, strange, helpful and sometimes just wow moments because a life lived without awe and wonder is a dull one if you ask me. I am the person who tells everyone to try ABC because they simply must. Hubby and the kids have gotten used to sudden changes, random swapping of everyday items from toothpaste, to moisturisers to bedding, we are always trying new things and reviewing them. 7 years of this has prepared us all for this blog. Life is too short to live a dull, overly serious existence and I refuse to act my age whatever that is because I honestly do not want to be constricted to societies’ views on ageing.

Join us on this journey; we hope and pray that what was initially meant for our children and future progeny will extend to and inspire others.

Stay tuned… Ahabi Love.