LIfe In The DMV - Part 3

It's already December! Where did the time go?! Honestly, I still feel like I was just in Vegas yesterday. Time really does fly when you're having fun. 

I know this is going to sound bananas to most, but I just came off a 30 day social media fast/break. YES, THIRTY DAYS. It all started about 2 weeks before I actually started fasting. I was getting annoyed with social media so I did a social media cleanse. On Facebook, Instagram & Twitter I went and deleted anyone that I did not know. So when a friend recommended fasting for the month of November, I was more than happy to give up social media. It was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. 


The one thing I learned to do, while on this fast, was enjoy the company of those around me. I spent less time on my phone and more time actually engaging in meaningful conversations. 

Although I wasn't on social media, my social life didn't stop. I spent a lot of time with friends and family. A lovely girls night with my college roommates and friends, an eventful weekend with friends who came to visit from Indiana and South Carolina, and a fun midnight bowling where I saw old friends and met new people. As well as a wonderful Thanksgiving day with my family.

KARIS' 26TH BIRTHDAY

My friend Karis would have been 26 on November 8th so two of my very good friends came into town to visit. I showed them around, we did a lot of shopping, and we visited Karis' grave on her birthday. While my friends were here I was really able to spend quality time with them. I wasn't worrying about the jokes on my Twitter timeline or the latest celebrity gossip on Instagram. 

Destini and Kaylin came in from Indiana and South Carolina, respectively. I hate that we are so far apart in distance, but I am so glad that I can visit their home states whenever I would like. 

 

 Out of all the things we did, I think we mostly enjoyed going to Sugar Factory. It was small, but it was nice. The drinks were good, the vibe was great. They played all Hip Hop tunes and we were able to laugh and joke in a nice environment. It's great to be able to play party music without the stresses of having to dress up and do your makeup. It was the perfect way to bring in Karis' birthday and celebrate her life. We made a sad day, end in an eventful way, and I will forever cherish it.

 GIRLS NIGHT & MIDNIGHT BOWLING

There's nothing like spending quality time with your closest friends. And because most of us were fasting together, all of our phone were put away, minus a few, snapping away and finding a cool playlist for our mood. We talked about every thing under the sun from Jesus, to trap music, to our love lives. And we made a meal and drank wine while doing it. Probably one of my best chill nights of 2015.

I forgot how much fun bowling really is. I hadn't been in a while so I was very rusty. It took me a while to get that hang of it but I left with about 3 or 4 strikes. That's good, for me. It was nice to get together with all my college friends and meet some of their friends. I didn't realize how much fun doing an activity that I used to do as a kid would be. My friends and I definitely plan on going roller skating soon! Now, that's something I'm actually good at.Of course we took  

We took absolutely zero pictures both nights, so sorry I don't have any to share.  

THANKSGIVING 

 A major holiday came and went during the end of my fast, Thanksgiving. Besides social media, I was also fasting sugar and fast foods. Great time, right?! I totally didn't think about all the cake I was going to miss out on. Ugh, but my body thanks me for not packing on all those calories. My family had lemon glaze cake, sweet potato pie, apple pie AND ice cream. I'm not a pie eater but that lemon glaze cake and vanilla bean ice cream were calling my name, y'all.

 

I always enjoy spending time with my Grandmuffin, because that lady tells some good stories. And they are all funny! This picture was taken in between all the laughs we shared that day. 

HALLOWEEN

Right before fasting, literally the day before, I went to a Halloween party that my friend Brittanee hosted. It was a nice way to go out with a bang, so to speak. I normally don't  celebrate Halloween or dress up, but for Brittanee, I did. I was dressed up as a Chola (Westcoast Latina gangster) and I had so much fun doing my makeup for this look. 

    

Even though I was fasting, and haven't been traveling, I've still been enjoying life. I truly believe that sometimes we need to disconnect from everything that consumes us to really grow. I've learned a lot about myself during this time. I really encourage everyone to fast something that is consuming you for at least 15 days. You will most certainly see a difference. 


I hope I have inspired someone to fast or just to take a step back and get to know themselves better! See you in my next post!

Peace&Love,
Janisha

How To Pack For The Beach..

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HOW TO PACK FOR THE BEACH

 

Although summer is almost over *insert sad face emoji* you never know when you will be going to the beach next. Your friends might call you and say, hey get ready, we're going to the beach. Or your parents could plan a winter trip to an exotic island. Either way you need to be ready!

So, I TRY to make it my mission to head to the beach at least once every summer. Since its warm, pretty much everywhere in the summer months, local beaches are ideal. Near me there are about 3 beaches, that I would consider nice enough to visit for the day or a weekend. Ocean City (Maryland), Virginia Beach (Virginia) and Rehoboth (Delaware). I've been to all three, at some point in my life.

This summer I went to Virginia Beach, TWICE! Don't worry I'll cover those trips in another post. But I simply wanted to give you all some tips on how to pack for the beach. It's quick and easy to pack a beach bag, whether its a one day beach trip or a weekend trip.

ONE DAY TRIP

A one day trip to the beach is ideal for a nice family outing ,a day out with your girlfriends or a date with your boo. The options of what you can do on the beach are endless. Packing a beach bag is super easy, because its all about what you want to pack. There are a few necessary items, but other than those few, its your choice. So I'll make a list of things that I would take in my beach bag for a one day trip.

• Swimsuit & cover up
• Or you can wear your swimsuit to the beach if you like, totally up to you.
• Sunscreen
• Beach towel and/or blanket
• Beach towels are normally big enough for one person, but if you are going with friends, family or a boo, its sometimes better to take a blanket so everyone can fit on it.
• Sunglasses
• Have to shade your eyes from the sun.
• Water 
• Its so necessary to have water you guys. Being out in the sun can be draining, even in you're just laying around getting a tan, so make sure to keep hydrated.
• Also you could take alcohol (21 and up) if the beach allows. Be careful not to drink too much alcohol while you're out in the sun.
• Snacks
• You could bring a few snacks to share with your group. Or you could make a picnic and pack a full meal. It's definitely a way to save money. Boardwalk food can be expensive, depending on where you are.
• Change of clothes
• Just in case you want to walk around the boardwalk after the sun starts to set, but you don't want to keep on your wet swimsuit. 

MULTIPLE DAY TRIP

Two or more days at the beach doesn't mean that your beach bag will have many more items. Most of the items are the same from above, so I will only post the new items you may need for more days at the beach

• Beach chair & umbrella
• Let's say you've already spent a day laying out in the sun and now you just want to relax by the water and enjoy the breeze. A nice beach chair and umbrella will do the trick. The chair will keep you off the hot sand and the umbrella will minimize your sun exposure. These items won't fit in your bag but they are a must have. They can also save you money, unless you're big ballin' and you are willing to pay the crazy prices to the beach vendors for chairs, umbrellas or a cabana
• Picnic basket full of food
• A way to save money is to go to a local grocery store by the beach and purchase food. That way you don't spend money on boardwalk food everyday that you are there. Saving money is always a bonus!
• Radio or Bluetooth Speakers
• Both of these can be used for a one day trip, but I decided to put them in this section. One day on the beach you want to relax, lay out and soak up some sun. If you're like me you'll fall asleep. So I think that on a second or third day on the beach you'll want to add some excitement so that you don't get bored with laying out.
• Football, Frisbee, etc 
• After spending your first day tanning and being a beach bum, its nice to have fun with family and/or friends by playing a sport.Some beaches even have volleyball nets, so get creative with what you pack for your entertainment.
• Books, Magazines, Kindle, iPad, etc. 
• Reading is another way to pass the time while you're laying out, if you aren't sleeping. 

 I hope that these tips have been helpful for you all. I know that packing for the beach is easy but I wanted to give you all a few tips, just in case you were missing anything. Talk to you soon.

Peace&Love,

Janisha 

What's In My Carry On?

Hey loves! Most people carry on bags, and most times I like to use a carry on bag as my only bag. But sometimes I have way too many options and I convince myself that I need them all.

I carried a decent sized duffel bag (click here for my exact bag from Target) on the plane with me. In my bag was a spare change of clothes and under garments, travel size toiletries, a pair of comfortable sandals, beats headphones, and my around the neck headphones (thanks mom!), jewelry and makeup bags. 

There's no special way of packing, I literally just throw everything in my bag. Probably because I'm so last minute, ha. But I try to place things that won't move around, in a neat fashion. 

I want to share a trick with my ladies about packing accessories. We have to have our cute necklaces and statement pieces. And I was mostly just putting all my jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, earrings) in a pouch. But whenever I would get to my destination my necklaces would be all tangled. So I was browsing YouTube one day for some travel hacks and I found a way to pack your necklaces without them getting tangled. 

Use a drinking straw! Stick one end of your necklace through a straw and clamp it together at the other end. I put three necklaces in one straw and they never got tangled. I am so glad I found that trick and I had to share it with you all. It wouldn't be fair to keep that gem to myself! I've heard of some other ways like using a notebook and taping necklaces to the pages. I also heard of putting them in a ziploc bag and leave some of the chain hanging out and close the top. I haven't tried the others, simply because I think the straw method is easier and it's cheaper.

Another thing I wanted to touch on was my travel makeup. Okay, so technically its like my whole makeup collection. I'm still building my collection, so bare with me ha. I have 3 different make up bags. I decided recently that I need to organize the bags so that its helps me find things easier. I especially needed to be organize for my trip to Vegas since I would be sharing a bathroom with 4 other girls.  Ladies, you know how stressful that can be.

Unfortunately the day before, when I was finalizing all of my packing, my mother was going on a trip to Tampa and she accidentally took one of my makeup bags, thinking it was hers. So I never got the chance to organize my bags, and I had to replace a few products. But it all worked out because I ended up taking less items with me.

When I do get to organize my makeup bags I want to separate the products by their consistency; liquids and powders (and other dry products). I believe that doing it will make the process of doing my makeup take less time. Yes, I am becoming that friend that spends 30 minutes on her makeup. And I believe it is because of my lack of organization skills. So hopefully, organizing the bags will help me with everything I also have a separate pouch for lipstick and lip liners.

So that's all I have for you all this time. I hope that this post was helpful to you. Talk to you in my next post!

 Peace&Love,
Janisha

What Happens in Vegas...

Hey loves!  I am back with a wonderful post about a trip I just got back from. It's a place I visited last year and had such a great time, so I decided to go back; Las Vegas.


Two friends of mine, who I consider to be like brothers to me, had birthdays this past week. And months ago I found out that they were both going to be in Vegas celebrating their birthdays. So, my girls and I decided to tag along. We already experienced Vegas the year before so we decided to do a lot of different things this time.

We were more on the adventurous side this trip. We zip lined at the Rio and we went on an ATV tour in the Las Vegas dunes. It was so exciting. Thanks to my wonderful friend Jazmine, we saved some money on each by using Groupon and Living Social to purchase the tickets. You can never go wrong with saving money.

We had a full itinerary mapped out weeks before we left Maryland. Everyday the itinerary changed and it all got so confusing, but we tried our best to stick to it. We barely had a moment  to spare because we had so many activities on our to-do list. But looking back, I really enjoyed having lots to do. We made sure that we experienced as much as Vegas as we could. 

Friday

Friday, we touched down in Vegas around 3pm. After we took a shuttle to the Palazzo, we met up with the guys at the Venetian to grab something to eat. Afterwards we walked around for a little before it was time to get ready to go out for the night. 

That night we went on the Las Vegas Club Crawl. The crawl took us to four different clubs; Sayers Club, Foxtail, The Bank and Chateau. Sayers Club and Foxtail are located at SLS, The Bank is located at the Bellagio and Chateau is located at Paris. 

Sayers Club was a rock-n-roll scene. There was a live band that played also. The music wasn't my thing so my friend Tasha and I went out into the casino to talk and people watch. For us, that was better than listening to rock music all night. Our other friends stayed inside and listened to the band. If rock music/club is your scene then I recommend that you attend Sayers Club.

Foxtail  was a little better. The music was more pop and house music. The DJ did play a R&B or hip hop song here and there but overall he played more house music than anything. House music really isn't my thing either, nor is it my friends thing but we tried to make the best of it. Halfway through the club the girls and I decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants at SLS. Once we finished our food we had about 20 minutes to spare before it was time to get on the party bus.

The party bus was so much fun, we enjoyed dancing to the latest hip hop tunes and having a few drinks on the way to the Las Vegas sign. After we took pictures at the sign, we got back on the bus and made our way to the Bellagio to attend The Bank night club.

The Bank was our favorite nightclub on the crawl. They played all the latest hip hop and R&B music. It was big enough for us to enjoy ourselves without feeling crowded. We debated not going to the last club on the crawl just to spend more time at Then Bank. But we decided to attend the last club just to say that we did.

Chateau was also a nice club. It was rooftop at the Paris hotel and the DJ played the latest hip hop and R&B there also. It's nothing like finding two nice clubs that play great music sto start off your weekend vacation with your friends.

Saturday

Saturday morning we woke up around 7am to get ready for our first adventurous activity. We got picked up at our hotel by the ATV shuttle and it took us to the middle of nowhere. Our instructor explained to us how to operate the ATVs. After the short instruction, we were off. Somehow, I ended up at the front of the line, leading the pack. I was so nervous but I ended up having a wonderful time.

I was surprised at how much fun I had. Going into it I was very nervous, but once I got the hang of it, I felt like I was an expert.

After ATVs, we went to a few pool parties. We went to Azure at the Palazzo because it was free for us, since we were hotel guests. After spending a little bit of time there we then went to TAO Beach at the Venetian. We had a wonderful time at both pool parties. I had such a good time that I couldn't make it out that night to go see Meek Mill at Drai's Night Club. My friend Anita and I slept in but everyone else went out and had a wonderful time.

Sunday

 

 Sunday morning we slept in a little from the night before. Jazmine, Anita and I decided to go to breakfast and let Tasha and Brittanee sleep in a little longer. We ate at a place that was downstairs in our hotel called, Grand Luxe Cafe.

Originally I ordered the red velvet pancakes, but they ended up being too sweet for me, so we all got chicken and waffles. The pancakes looked delicious but I don't have as big as a sweet tooth as most and things that are too sweet don't agree with my stomach. 

 

After everyone was ready we went to the infamous Rehab at the Hard Rock. It absolutely lived up to the hype. DJ Pauly D, yes from Jersey Shore, was the guest DJ and Super Bowl Champion Ron Gronkowski aka Gronk was there. It was a lot of fun to experience the greatness that is Rehab.

We stayed at Rehab for over 5 hours (talk about time flying when you're having fun) but then we got hungry, so a few of the girls and I went to Pink Taco. The food was okay, I wouldn't recommend going, BUT if you love to try new restaurants, give it a try. You might find something that you like on the menu.

After Rehab we took a cab over to the Rio where we got once in a lifetime chance to zip line. I've zip lined before in high school, but this time it was so much fun, and little more scary. The experience was one that I wouldn't trade for the world. We got to see Vegas from the rooftop of Rio and we got to say that we flew from one side of the hotel to another. If that isn't exciting I don't know what is. 

Sunday night we went back to The Bank. It was the same environment and music from Friday night which made it an obvious decision on where to go. Everyone was tired from partying the nights before but Tasha, Anita, Jazmine and I decided we were going to fully enjoy our last night in Vegas.

Overall, this trip was short and sweet. It was exactly what I needed to take away some stress that I have been dealing with from my jobs. I was very happy to be able to enjoy this trip with some of my closest friends. Of course, I couldn;t cover everything we did in Vegas because, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Haha, I'm so corny. But I hope you all enjoyed this post, and as always there are pictures below for you all to enjoy.

Gondola river in the Venetian

Sunrise

Night Lights

Gronk having fun

DJ Pauly D

P.S. If you all couldn't tell, I chopped off all my hair. I had been thinking about doing it for a long time and I finally did it about a month ago. 

Peace & Love
Janisha