DIY | Flash Tats

Nail color: Essie's Topless & Barefoot (new obsession)

I've been seeing these babies all over the blogosphere lately and only one thought popped into my head; I NEED THEM. Of course, I quickly went online to purchase a package for myself...and then I saw the price tag. Although $22 may seem somewhat reasonable for 4 sheets of these beautiful tattoos, I knew they wouldn't last long in my house. Since the tattoos only last for 1 week, I wanted to come up with an alternative that would allow me to create whatever I want, whenever I want.

I was walking into my room this morning and noticed a couple of sharpies from an old DIY project laying on my desk; one silver, one gold. A lightbulb switched on inside my head as I found my solution.

I've tried to tattoo myself in the past with metallic sharpies and they never seemed to come out very shiny, or how I pictured they would in my head. These sharpies differ in that they are essentially paint pens, of the "heavy duty" variety (I last used them to write on glass). The markers are oil-based paint pens in the colors metallic gold and metallic silver. You can get them at any local craft store, or you can buy the set of two from amazon for only $9 (the best deal IMO).

Now, I'm not advocating the use of sharpies on skin, as I imagine they can't be that good for you. But, I can recommend this alternative if you don't have sensitive skin and you want a temporary flash tat for a fraction of the cost!

Hump Day Jams

I know what you're thinking....stop that!

A lot of people ask me about my taste in music, and what I would recommend them to listen to. That being said, I've decided to start a new(ish) segment on my blog where I'll post some of my favorite jams.

If you've seen my other post, I created a playlist via 8tracks highlighting some of my favorite Spring deep house tracks. Since we're approaching the warmest weather of the season, I thought I'd make a chill, beach-inspired mix. 

Coincidentally, two of the tracks on this mix are titled "Waves" so it's only right that I entitled my playlist "waavves".

Hope you enjoy these tracks, let me know what you think!

waavves from Jenna Souza on 8tracks Radio.

Happy (Fifth?) of July!

I've been meaning to get a post up for quite a number of days, but this weekend has taken busy to a whole new level. Cookouts, fireworks, family and friends consumed my time and I'm 110% okay with that.

Living in New England has it's ups, and it has it's downs. Weather would most definitely be on the downside of things. You couldn't predict the weather here even if it hit you between the eyes (literally). Unfortunately, everyone's 4th of July plans were cancelled or postponed on Friday due to hurricane Arthur. While I didn't have the most exciting of holidays, I was able to spend some quality family time, which took the edge off of my severe cabin fever.

American Flag Scarf: Charlotte Russe
Dress: Paper Crane
American Flag Bikini: Amazon
Lace Crochet Socks: Urban Outfitters
White Converse High-Tops

Our family friend's annual clamboil had to be postponed until Saturday, which thankfully turned out to be the most beautiful day; around 81 and sunny with NO humidity (rare for this time of year). We had some coney island hotdogs, pulled pork, and some sangria (almost all-American). After a day of full bellies and fun, we went down to Battleship Cove and watched our city's firework display and so concludes our perfect 5th of July.

The Boathouse | Dining

If it's outdoors, it's for me. That's basically my mantra.

If I ever get the option of eating a meal outside, I'll take it. 

Today is my Vavó (grandmother, in Portuguese)'s birthday, and also, my half birthday! We decided to celebrate along with my mother and my great aunt with an amazing lunch at one of my favorite waterfront dining establishments, The Boathouse.

Located in the small town of Tiverton, RI, The Boathouse is home to some of the freshest local seafood in the area.

For starters, we decided on the Lobster Fritters; think a southwestern chipotle style clam-cake. As always, they were incredibly delicious. They were so delicious, in fact, nobody could wait for me to take a picture before delving in (sorry!)

As for our main courses, we all decided on the fish tacos; can you tell we're related?! They were amazing, to say the least. The fish was a light corn-battered cod, so flaky and perfectly cooked. The cod sat atop a mango salsa packed with fresh cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. They were wrapped in tiny flour tortillas and drizzled with fresh avocado. I'm not usually one for side dishes, but the saffron rice customary to the dish was so delicious I couldn't help myself!

And for the most important part of the meal, the dessert, we decided on a grasshopper pie. A fudgy browny topped with a delicate peppermint chip gelato and served with a peppermint creme on the side; needless to say this was the perfect ending to a perfect lunch.

If my photos look less-than-perfect, it could be due to the fact that I broke my Canon point-and-shoot yesterday and all of these photos were taken on my iPhone 5. Mehhhhhhh.

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Kiwi Pineapple | Green Juice

As an avid lover of all things green, its no surprise that I have somewhat of a green juice addiction. Usually I use whatever I have on hand, and today that happened to include kiwi and pineapple. 

I've never made a juice like this before, but let me tell you; it was probably the best green juice I've ever had! It was sweet, tangy, and just about had the consistency of a creamy smoothie. It was soooo delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 kiwis
• 1 large handful of fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 cup kale (any kind)
• 4 romaine leaves
• 1/2 of a medium-sized cucumber
• 1 1/2 tbs chia seeds

Directions:

Slice fruit/veggies small enough to fit in your juicer (or blender, if you prefer)

Juice/blend until you reach your desired consistency (I like to run the left over pulp through the juicer one more time, to get more fiber and a thicker consistency)

Top your juice with some chia seeds

Refridgerate your juice for about 10-20 minutes to give the chia seeds time to expand, and your juice time to chill

ENJOY!

This particular recipe makes somewhere around 14 ounces of juice. 

Feel free to make any adjustments/additions to this recipe if you decide to try it, and let me know how it turns out!

Bloglovin | Update

As the mid-summer vacation stretch approaches, I (finally) decided to join Bloglovin. I'm hoping it will encourage me to start blogging more and to create better content.

If you'd like to join me on this journey, I'll post a link to my profile here

New posts to follow!

// Spring '14

If you know anything about me, you'll know I love me some music. In November, I joined a site called 8tracks, which is essentially a site where you can create shareable playlists. 

In my opinion, this site is on a whole 'nother level from anything like Spotify. You can search for playlists through tags, and all of the music comes from SoundCloud's library. I was SO impressed with how large the selection of music is, and even more so with the quality of each track. So if you like a large variety of cool new music, you'll love this.

I created my first playlist // Spring '14, and it's basically just a really chilled out warm weather playlist. 

It 's aim is to make you feel good with some deep house roots. I've really been into this type of music lately, I think it just emotes good vibes.

Listen with some good headphones and let me know how you like it,
maybe I'll start posting some more. (:

// Spring '14 from Jenna Souza on 8tracks Radio.

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