Hey, boo’s. I’m back! I know this post is long over due (2 months and 10 days to be exact but who’s keeping count, right?) I’ve been super busy with life and stuff. I’m here now so let’s jump right into it. Since summer is right upon us, literally, I thought this would be the perfect time to create my own summer 2018 Bucketlist after being inspired by https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/ and I actually had a lot of fun creating this!

Supplies I used:

Colored pencils, sharpies, scissors, tape, pen & a pencil

I also clipped out pictures from Essence magazine using the April & May 2018 issues where I found a ton of inspo!

Here’s my finished project:

1.) Carnival

• One thing you will soon learn about me is that I love Caribbean culture, food & music (especially Soca music!) . The Baltimore/DC One Carnival is a must for me! I go just about every year since I was a kid. It’s a two-day event; July 14-15th.

• The West Indies Labor Day Parade is another popular Carnival that I never attended before but I would really like to.

•Attend the Maryland State Fair and/or York Fair

2.) Festivals

What’s summer time without the festivals?!

• Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest in National Harbor, MD Get tix here! (Lots of other locations too)

• R&B/Neo-Soul Wine Festival in Westminster, MD Get tix here!

• Chesapeake Bay Reggae Festival in Hampton, VA

• Latino Fest in Baltimore, MD

• Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn, NY Get tix here!

• Dreamville Festival in NC . I loveee J.Cole and I can’t wait to see him live! Get tix here!

• Baltimore Pride parade &/or festival

• Trifecta Food Truck Festival in Timonium, MD Get tix here!

• Baltimore Artscape

• Collective Minds (House Music) Festival in Baltimore or the DMV house music fest in DC (no dates released yet but they’re both usually during Labor Day weekend)

• Carifesta DC (no date has been released yet)

3.) Parties & Events

• The hip-hop club scene isn’t really my thing. I do enjoy a nice day party, house music parties, ‘R&B only’ events or a strictly reggae/soca parties.

• My job is sending me to a seminar on how to communicate with tact and diplomacy. Should be interesting.

• My grandma will be turning the big 70 this summer, so ya know it’s gonna be a celebration!

• I donated to ‘Walking to Cure Diabetes’ which is a 2mile walk/run dedicated to bringing awareness to diabetes. My dad recently got diagnosed so supporting this cause definitely means a lot to me. Donate here!

•Other events to do/attend: zoo, aquarium, visit an art museum, go to sixflags, attend my annual family reunion.

•Capture more memories, go to a drive-in cinema, read a good book or two (currently reading ‘Soar’ by: TD Jakes), roller skating, biking, make a new friend, attend a sip & paint event, and try a soca fitness class.

4.) Good Eats

• This summer I want to get serious with eating clean. I workout with a personal trainer but a healthy diet is also important to maintain if I want faster and better results so it’s going to be all about meal prepping and fruit & veggie smoothies.

• Next, I want to try out Thai & Ethiopian food.

Most specifically, I want to try “Buna”- an Ethiopian style coffee:

“key wat”- a spicy Ethiopian beef stew:

and “doro wat”- a spiced Ethiopian chicken stew:

Thai rolled ice cream:

• Explore vegan options (one vegan restaurant I have my eye on is called: ‘Breaking Bread’ that happens to be a black owned family restaurant in Baltimore)

• Visit my brothers coffee shop: ‘Nubohemia’ in downtown Baltimore. If you want a good cup of coffee, love art & good music..this is the place for you. Events and parties are also held here. Check out Nubohemia!

• Lastly, check out R.House (a huge warehouse in Baltimore with a dozen of restaurants inside) mostly for their brunch spots. Check it out here!

5.) Travel

I’m really looking forward to:

• My family trip to Miami.

• Having a beach day, maybe in Ocean City, MD.

• Weekend getaway to Jacksonville, FL

• Going to Raleigh,NC for the DreamVille fest.

• Visiting New York for Afropunk Fest & the West Indies Parade.

6.) Beauty

• I’ve been transitioning back to natural for a little over 2 years now & I’ve been protective stylin’ it up and I really want to give my hair a break from Braids (maybe even for good).

A deep curly wig will be my go-to. Simply put it on and take it right off at the end of the day! Here’s an idea of what I want:

• Save money by doing my own nails/manis (I’m leaving the pedicures up to the professionals though), try brow tinting by: The Loft, have my lashes slayed by: My Lash Gal and purchase some cute head wraps. Check out these beautiful wraps!

• I’m not that into makeup but I like a nice lippie from time to time, so ‘Fenty Beauty’ can just have all my damn coins! ‘Stunna Lip Paint’ and the ‘Plush Matte Lipstick: Full Collection’ I’m coming for ya!

• For my new skincare necessities: ‘NolaSkin Essentials’ is IT! I’ve been seeing ads all over my IG and Facebook for this company. Their products are all natural, vegan and cruelty free suited for all skin types so I’m excited to try them out and give a review on them. Get Your Skin Essentials!

•While reading through Essence magazine, I came across LoveCollins, a business that sells some really pretty sunglasses/accessories and they’re also affordable! Here are all the pairs I fell in love with:

7.) Ways to Slayyyy

I can’t forget: self care. It’s very easy for me to become drained after constantly being out and about and surrounded by people, so I will most def remember to take as many mental breaks that I need in order to recharge.

• Spend less time on social media. Just put the damn phone down!

• Go thrifting for some cool vintage clothing pieces.

• Get a new tattoo and piercing. I really want a serotonin tattoo to symbolize mental health/depression.

• Try to blog more before I start classes again in the Fall.

• Lastly, JUST HAVE SOME DAMN FUN!! 😜

Feel free to comment what your summer plans are and to let me know if you’ll be attending or doing any of the activities I listed above 🙂

Xoxo,