Some Swim Suit Suggestions

Summer is almost upon us, which means it's almost time to get into those swim suits. I know some people, myself being one of them, dread having to expose all of that skin but here's some cute bathing suits to give you some motivation to get yourself out inthe sun and into some water.

One of my favourite bathing suit pioneers is Black Milk Clothing. Unfortunately their prices are a little out of my budget but they have some of the most creative, pop cultured inspired designs.

 

Another great website is ModCloth which showcases an extremely adorable selection of vintage clothing (thus the outrageous prices). Although the prices may seem a little bit intimidating you can always get lucky and find some just as appealing things in their sale category. 

 ASOS is a more reasonably priced place to find a vast selection. It's a great way to mix and match so you don't have to fish out 40$ on one bathing suit you're forced to wear all summer. They have a huge variety of colors and patterns including some in that retro style. 

The cheapest alternative I have found so far is from Forever 21. Most of their collection follows a similar patter of neon colors in that tradition bikini shape. Not particularly my choice but I thought I'd share them anyways because of it's extremely cheap price. I guess it's something I could learn to love for only 6$ a piece.

DIY Wave Spray

I'm trying to cut out as many chemicals as possible from my life so here is my twist on the DIY beach sprays floating around the internet.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup rose water
• 2 tbsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. organic non-dyed aloe gel
• 2-3 drops oil of your preference (I used sweet almond oil)
• 1-3 drops essential oil (I used rose)

Directions

• dissolve salt in hot water
• stir in aloe gel until dissolved 
• add rose water + oils
• shake up and spray on damp or dry hair

The subtle rose scent makes me feel a bit more classy :) 

I keep it in an old spray bottle and shake it before each use. 

*keep in mind that you can use and essential oil or infused water but make sure you distill the water before use so that it keeps better.

Qoola Frozen Yogurt

Yesterday, me and Emma went to Qoola Frozen Yoguert Bar at their Metrotown location. They have a ton of great flavors like strawberry banana and pistachio as well as some dairy free alternatives like strawberry lemonade sorbet and I think there was a mango sorbet as well. I had the strawberry lemonade sorbet and it was very pleased. It was slightly sour from the lemonade but the sweetness from the strawberry quickly balanced it out. There's tons of great toppings as well. Their selection included Lucky Charms, Butterfingers, walnuts, sprinkles, almonds, fruit and these little fruit things called "poppers" that remind me of the roe eggs you get on sushi except they were bigger and of course tasted like fruit as well as a ton of other things I am forgetting. It was a fairly reasonable price as well. Mine only cost 5$ and I was pretty full afterwards. The selection is far more vast than that of Pink Berry and I quite enjoyed my purchase so I highly recommend you try them out.

Spring Mixtape

Here's some light and airy songs to get you in the mood to go outdoors and enjoy nature.

• Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate 

  Daphne Loves Derby - Pollen And Salt

  Anthony Green - Miracle Sun 

  Valaska - Golden Age 

  Every song ever written by Copeland (it was tough to choose just one so I suggest you listen to all of them)

  The Used - Sun Comes Up 

  Taking Back Sunday - Didn't See That Coming

  The Dear Hunter - What It Means To Be Alone

  Circa Survive - Get Out (SoundCloud Sessions)

  Circa Survive - Everyway

  Brand New - Handcuffs

  The Venetia Fair- Only In The Morning

  The Jealous Sound - Your Eyes Were Shining

  The American Scene - Hungry Hands

  RayLand Baxter - Driveway Melody

   

  
   

As Worn On TV

I accidentally stumbled upon two sites that showcase outfits from tv shows and where you can purchase them. What a neat idea! I always find myself watching TV and wondering where they get their outfits from. Some of them are a lot simpler than you would think. They're both available on Tumblr so it's worth a follow or at least checking out.

• http://wornontvnet.tumblr.com/
• http://aswornontv.tumblr.com/

April Releases

April has just started but I've already been obsessed with several of its releases.

• The first one I got my hands on was The Dear Hunter's Migrant album.  I have always been a huge Dear Hunter fan and was very excited to hear that they were releasing yet another album. I think most of the hype came from the fact that I am lucky enough to have tickets to their Vancouver show this month. As soon as I heard that Billboard was streaming their album online, I got on my phone and listened to it on repeat several times. Although their previous released songs are really catchy, I must admit that my two favourites include "Bring You Down" and "Don't Look Back". I think one of the cutest things about this release is that Casey featured his sister and mom on it as well as the obvious addition of his brother who is in the band and plays drums. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1554459/the-dear-hunter-migrant-exclusive-album-premiere
• My second album came in the form of a free download of the new Transit album Young New England. I have been a fan of these guys ever since I got a free download of their last album so I was very excited to receive a repeat. In addition the guys have a special place in my heart since I met lead singer Joe Boynton at last year's Warped Tour and he signed my CD. Although the new album doesn't sound that similar to their last album I still adore it. It's got a good nostalgia feel to it and I must admit that it's quite catchy. I immediately fell in love with their previously released songs "Weathered Souls" and "Nothing Lasts Forever".http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giSnVQ0S26w&list=PLKcGEIO7V0rVlVYdPhi6hqYWjgqBUysCu&feature=player_embedded
• Last but not least, Some Stranger put up their debut EP for stream today. These guys were brought to my attention because it features Tym from Daytrader. I had previously listened to their first two releases "On and On" and "Points East" on repeat several times since it was the only material I had heard from the band. The rest of the EP follows a similar format although the first two are definitely a favourite of mine. The band are releasing their EP as a "pay what you want" download http://somestranger.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

DIY Dry Shampoo

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1-2 drops of essential oil or a spritz of you favorites perfume

Mix them all together and store in a cute container (preferably with a lid just in case you are a clumsy goof like myself) Apply to your roots (I use an old make-up brush), wait a few minutes and comb through.* 

 This will save you tons of money and is less wasteful and damaging to the planet. PLUS you can customize your scent which is super cool.

*I have curly hair so I can't comb it out so I just rough up my roots with my fingers and it blends in nicely and makes my hair look more voluminous.  

Open Faced Avacado Sandwich

The idea for this sandwich entered my mind quite randomly. It's quite easy to produce as well. 

Cut up one avocado into little chunks, do the same with half of a tomato. I'm not a huge tomato fan so I only used half but feel free to add as much as you like. Smoosh both together onto two piece of bread. I have found that French bread works best because it is sturdier. Also make sure to use fresh bread or it will taste dry. Next drizzle on a little bit of olive oil for some extra fatty content. I then put on some sun dried tomato seasoning I found in my cupboard but I'm sure you could use whatever yummy seasoning you enjoy. I then topped it off with a little bit of Pank-o bread crumbs for some crunch. If you want a healthier alternative, may I suggest some chopped up cashews! To finish it off I added this sweet barbeque sauce that's meant for chicken and fish. I'm sure a Sarrachi sauce would taste great as well. 

I know it's not the healthiest thing in the universe but I thought it was super delicious. Feel free to test it out yourself and create your own alternative. If you have some healthier suggestions leave them in the comments.

Ingrid's OOTD

Me and my fellow lady bloggers headed to the park to celebrate St Patrick's Day with nature's greatest supply of greenery-the outdoors. We decided to take some fun photos along the way.

OOTD: Sunglasses-Bluenotes

Necklace: Thrifted
Green Button Up: Bluenotes
Black Leather Jacket: Moto Gear
Shoes: Keds

OOTD- St. Patrick's Day

My St. Patrick's Day attire

 I had a lovely day off being out and about in the sun with my friends. Even treated
myself to a chai tea latte. It was so much fun to go out and explore, I  love being
outside in nature, especially since it just so happened to rain on all my days off for the
past couple weeks. Today was a much needed break from adult life and I even got to
climb on some monkey bars at the park (in my socks of course since wedges seem a bit
scary to climb in). I hope you all had an equally splendid St. Patrick's Day :)

Skirt: DIY

Dress: H&M

Shoes: Aldo

Sunglasses: Old Navy

Wantering

I just discovered this site called Wantering. The site starts off with you answering five simple questions so they can figure out your style. Then each day they suggest some fashion items you might like. It's a pretty cool idea if you have some extra cash to spend or are struggling on some fashion choices. There's also a little section where you can "like" things and check out items that other people have liked, quite similar to Pinterest. They're located in Vancouver so I thought I would give them a little shout out.

Lazy Oaf Cat Bodysuit

 Found this on Tumblr and thought it was just too cute not to share. This adorable bodysuit is from a British company called Lazy Oaf. You can purchase one for yourself for £45.00

 I personally, would style it with a cute skirt or shorts for spring, a nice pair of heels and nude tights so I don't freeze. It would also look super cute with the addition of a pair of black nylons if you're comfortable with your behind. Definitely don't cover up that cute cat tail with a jacket or cardigan though! If you must be chilly at least you will look adorable doing it. 

Worst mascara I have ever purchased!

Scandal Eyes by Rimmel London. The product is the worst. It's clumpy, greasy and smudges very easily. It was on sale so I wasn't too upset but still. I usually won't buy a product unless I have read good reviews or have tried it before but this was definitely a makeup disaster. It ran down my eye an hour after finally cleaning up the smudges and it just made my lashes look ugly. So if you're thinking about purchasing this product just think again cause it's not worth it.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a fantastic mascara I would recommend Colossal Volume Express by Maybelline in the yellow packaging. This was my go-to mascara in high school and all my friends loved borrowing it. It makes your lashes look thick and black, doesn't smudge or run during the day and lasts a  good 15 hours without  having to reapply.

Alternatives To Pirating Music

 I know that pirating music has always been a big issue. In some places it’s even illegal. I thought I’d help out by sharing some cheap/fre alternatives I have found so you can stop feeling guilty. Feel free to add your own!

• Tons of bands have a bandcamp page and if they’re fairly unknown or generous they will have some of their songs as free downloads or at a “pay what you want” price
• Noisetrade is another website that has a “pay what you want” option
• Tweet For A Track offers a free download of a song in exchange for a tweet promoting their site
• Certain bands on Purevolume will put up some of their songs for free download
• Some record labels will release “samplers” of  some of the bands on their label. This includes several free songs and is a great way to discover some new music. They usually come out as seasonal releases. Examples have been released by Dine Alone Records and Top Shelf Records
• Some bands will also release a free sampler in promotion of an upcoming tour
• I help write for a music blog and I tend to get a lot of emails from band’s management with free downloads to albums for review purposes.
• Libraries (or at the least the one I go to) have CD’s you can borrow and sync to your iTunes
• You can also borrow some from your friends/family!
• You can usually find some cheap CD’s on eBay as well. There are certain accounts that start bidding off at 1 cent
• Some record stores also sell used CD’s for fairly cheap. Audiopile has a section in front of their store where they sell CD’s for as cheap at $3 and they’re also willing to barter
• You can also check out thrift stores and garage sales
• Bands will also sell their CD’s at concerts for a cheaper price than you would find at the store
• Absolutepunk.net has Free Music Fridays which has a list of a ton of free EP's + songs for download

DIY Natural Toner

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup strong green tea
• 1 drop lavender essential oil
• 1-2 drops chamomile essential oil

Directions

• Let the green tea cool and add a drop or 2 of each essential oil. 
• Put in a glass spray or pump bottle.

I usually follow with almond oil at night or grape seed oil in the morning to moisturize :)

The Hawks & The Found - "Man On The Moon"

The Hawks & The Found - "Man On The Moon"
 I followed one of the guys in the band on Tumblr and therefor started listening to them. I must say it is not that bad, considering they just started out. The video is quite good quality as well.His voice is super chill and laid back and its got this upbeat beat to it. They're defs worth checking out so make sure to give them a "like" on Facebook www.facebook.com/Fthehawksandthefound. They've also posted a couple of songs on their Bandcamp.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eye Shadow

I am really liking these new Maybelline Colour Tattoos. The colour pay off is really nice and the amount of product you get is fantastic. I only like three of the colours though because I like to stay with neutral colours. I have found that it is cheaper to buy these product at Walmart. and in the States. I paid $8.99 here in Canada at Shoppers and then went to the States and only paid $5.99 at Walmart. that's also another reason I haven't bought any other colours.

I have Inked in pink which is a Rosie shimmering pink.

And I have Bad to the bronze which like the name states is a bronze brown colour.

 I also have barely branded which is like a champagne colour.

Vanilla Rooibos Tea Breakfast Shake

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of vanilla rooibos tea*
• 1/2 cup pecans** soaked overnight
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 handful of spinach (more if you really like it)

Directions

• Allow tea to steep and cool slightly
• blend tea pecans and bananas in blender and enjoy :)

*If you don't want to splurge on Starbucks tea Celestial Seasonings 

       has a tea called Madagascar Vanilla that I personally really enjoy.

**Any soaked nuts or seeds will do, I prefer to use pecans or walnuts 

        because they have a richer taste.

A good thing about this recipe is that it needs no refined sugar.
The natural sugars in the banana come out when you freeze it.