Tipsy Tuesdays: Mason Jar Margarita + Patron!

I'm still on somewhat of a buzz from yesterday.  If you didn't know, yesterday was National Margarita Day!  Which means tequila on top of more tequila!  I love margaritas, they're a tasty drink that puts you in that "festive" mood no matter where and when you drink it.  However this time around I wanted to think of a new way to prepare my margarita.  Maybe because I felt like being creative or the lack of margarita glasses in my house, either way, I was able to come up with what I like to call the Mason Jar Margarita!

Yes you heard right, a margarita in a mason jar.  Mason jars actually have been used to create a variety of drinks as I discovered recently, so hell, why not make a margarita in one?!

Here is what you'll need to make our Peachy Mango Mason Jar Margarita:

1 bottle of Patron Citronge Mango

Mango or Peach Juice (we used V8 Peach Mango)

Lemon Juice

Pour Patron into shaker (as much as you can tolerate, remember, it's tequila!)

Pour 3/4 cup of mango/peach juice in shaker

Pour 1 tbsp of lemon juice in shaker

Pour in mason jar

Serve with ice or bare, and add strawberries as garnish

Now for an added treat, throw this mix into a blender, and if you want, peel and dice 1/4 of a mango for a frozen mason jar margarita!  Both ways are yummy as hell and quick and easy to make!

So get you some Patron, make you a margarita, and get in your happy place, that's what happens when I get tipsy at least.  And in the meantime drop a comment below and let us know what you think of this recipe!

Foodie Fridays: Sushi Love (Thanks to Crab Classic)

A lot of people don't know this, but I LOVE sushi!  A lot of my friends hate the fact of eating raw fish, but I love it and it tastes so good.  But...I don't want to break my budget every time I want sushi, and I thought about it, why not make my own?!  And we know it's not Friday yet (hints Foodie Fridays), but this recipe is something we know you all will love and can get together for Friday's dinner!

With sushi, you can use a variety of meats, tuna, squid, really what ever you want, but for my rendition of my love of sushi, I decided to go deep under the sea and use crab.  Yes, crab, which is actually quite tasty if I do say so myself.  

And to my surprise, I was able to get more than enough ingredients for 6-7 rolls of sushi for the same price you would pay going to a restaurant.  One factor that made this dish so affordable was the Crab Classic crab meat that was used.  If you don't know about Crab Classic, they are the #1 surimi seafood brand nationally, made from wild Alaskan Pollock and King Crab meat. Their crab meat is also gluten-free, fat-free and certified by the American Heart Association as heart healthy. Besides that, Crab Classic is also certified by the MSC as a sustainably sourced seafood.

Wanna make your own delicious sushi? Well let me tell you how we did it!

What You'll Need (all ingredients were bought at Walmart except for the black sesame seeds):

2 cups of short grain white rice (listed as sushi rice at Walmart)

1 package of sushi nori

2 tbps of rice vinegar

2 tbps of sugar

1 tbps of salt

2 imitation Crab Classic crab sticks or crab bites

Your choice of veggies (we used carrots and cucumbers) peeled, sliced, and cut

Optional: 1/2 block of cream cheese cut into 1/2 inch sticks

Sesame seeds for garnish (Whole Foods)

Wasabi, spicy mustard, and soy sauce for sauce

Rinse your rice, then cook in a skillet for 15 minutes with 2 cups of water

Add your vinegar, sugar, and salt, and stir evenly into the rice

Set aside to cool

Lay your nori sheet flat on a cutting board or rolling mat

Place your rice, crab meat, vegetables, and cream cheese (optional) onto the nori sheet

Roll the nori sheet tight keeping the ingredients together.

At this point you can refrigerate your rolls for 30 minutes, or serve as is, using a sharp knife to slice your rolls.

If you are making your rolls with rice on the outside of the nori sheet, you can either use plastic wrap, sprinkle your sesame seeds first, then lay rice rice, then place your nori sheet on top of the rice, or dip into a bowl of seeds after the rolls are sliced.

Our recipe is a combination of two great recipes we found on Pinterest which you can check out below:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/78742693463403661/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/78742693463403654/

If you don't have a sushi mat like us, here are some great tips to roll your sushi without one!:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/78742693463403662/

We would love to see your tasty sushi treats you come up with, so drop a comment, share a pic or recipe and let us know what you think of ours!  And also make sure to visit www.crabclassic.com to check out other products under their brand!

Blogger Insight: Because We Love You...

I've been in the giving spirit lately (lol).  First with our Polette giveaway, and now with something else we have up our sleeves.

If you didn't know, we will be in NC next Friday for The Literary Experience CIAA Edition as official bloggers.  So if any of my fellow bloggers or literary lovers will be in the building, we will have our own little table full of goodies, including a raffle!  And because we didn't want our friends back home and online to miss out, we're making this raffle available online as well!

This is what we're raffling off:

JUST BLOGGERS SERVICE PACKAGE INCLUDING:

1 month of free ad space
Blogger spotlight or sponsored post promoting your blog, brand, product, or service
Social media blast on our pages
Valued at $85

EXCLUSIVE CUSTOM MADE T-SHIRT DESIGNED BY US

Valued at $50

$25 OFFICE MAX GIFT CARD

For your needs as a creative!

$25 VISA GIFT CARD

Just a lil' something to say thanks for being a loyal reader

$50 SEPHORA GIFT CARD

For all of the makeup junkies out there

Very simple and similar to any other raffle you've participated in.  Each ticket is $1, and we have deals if you buy multiple tickets, such as 12 for $10 (2 tickets free), 25 for $20 (5 tickets free), or 60 for $50 (10 tickets free).  Then we will put all of the tickets in our handy dandy bin (if you buy a virtual ticket, I will be putting your name on the physical tickets I have equivalent to the number of ticket you purchased) and live on Periscope we will draw the names of the winners!

Our raffle begins on Monday, Feb. 22nd and ends at 4pm Saturday, Feb. 27th (time The Literary Experience ends).

If you will be attending the event and would like to wait and participate in the raffle then, sounds great, if not, you have an entire week to play, and there's no limit on how many tickets you can purchase!

As always if you have any questions hit us up below in the comments or email at justbloggers@outlook.com and good luck!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Tickets are non refundable and prizes cannot be redeemed for cash value.  This raffle is sponsored by Just Bloggers: No Explanation.

Fashion & Style: Our Favorites from the Grammy's Red Carpet

It seems like forever since we've done our last red carpet report, but for the Grammy's we had to break one out.

All in all, there weren't many looks that were too crazy, which I guess is a good thing, and I loved everyone's attire, it seemed that the going colors for the evening were white, black, white/black combo, pastels, or pops of color (in a tasteful way).

Check our our favorite looks of the night and let us know which ones you liked the best!

*image credit: Vogue.com

Fashion & Style: Trendy Eyewear for Half the Price! (+ Giveaway!)

For any and everyone who has asked "hey where did you get your glasses?" this post is for you!  If you guys didn't know I've been wearing glasses since I was in kindergarten.  Thanks to the "healthy" genes of my dad, I have shitty eye sight.  Once I got into high school and college I told myself that I wasn't walking around with old lady glasses, and I made it my mission to always have a stylish pair of glasses on me at all times.

One day I so happened to be chatting with a fellow blogger and learned of Polette, the revolutionists when it comes to trending, unique, and AFFORDABLE eye wear.  The fact is, they're geared towards people like me, online entrepreneurs, creatives, fashion lovers, and trend setters. Glasses have become so much more than an utilitarian item, and more so of a fashion statement, and that's what they cater to.

With Polette, you can get up to 80% off on your frames (including the lenses) and for me that's a steal!

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ak Brown (@akjapbae) on Feb 10, 2016 at 4:24pm PST

Normally, going through my eye doctor, I would pay between $200-$300 for frames and lenses (and that included insurance and our friends & family discount we received).  With Polette, I can get a pair of glasses for under $110, including my high prescription and the highest UV protection they have available...yep, no lie.  With Polette, you can get designer frames from $6.99-$49.99 with anti-scratching, anti reflective lenses from $9.99-$75.

If you're someone who doesn't need glasses, but merely wants them as an accessory, you can get a pair of frames for as little as $10 with the look and feel of something that cost way more!

So because I love you guys oh so much, and because I truly love the products Polette has and what they stand for, we're doing a giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a free pair of glasses, including lenses if need be!  This is how to enter:

YOU MUST comment on this post with a link to your favorite pair of glasses from Polette (this is mandatory).

After you completed step one above, choose any other entry option to increase your chances of winning, such as liking Polette on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or following us as well!

Winner will be selected on Feb. 27th and you will work with our lovely rep from Polette to get your prize!  Any questions?  Email us at justbloggers@outlook.com and good luck, contest starts at 1pm CST!

Entry-Form

Blogger Insight: Our Blog Tour Part Deux!

We hit the road yet again!  If you didn't know, we have a blog tour underway (pretty cool I know).  Our first stop was ATL (recap coming soon) where I hit the south to see what ATL had to offer.  This time we're hitting Charlotte, NC next Friday for The Literary Experienxe CIAA Edition.  Bloggers, authors, and celebrities come together for this exclusive literary event, diving in between the pages of some of the best selling novels and chat with notable bloggers and celebrities on the red carpet!  I'm so excited not only because this is one of the first events we're attending as our new brand, but also many of our blogging buddies will be there as well!

If you're a blogger, author, or book junkie, this is the place to be!  Click here for more info including ticket pricing and we'll see you in Charlotte!

Fashion & Style: What to Wear for V Day?

What to Wear for Vday 2016? by akjapbae featuring ankle strap sandals

Love is in the air and Valentines day is among us!  Since Valentines Day falls on a Sunday, many of us (like myself) will be celebrating V-Day tonight with our lovers.  The question is what is everyone wearing? Well whether you're going with the classic red color scheme, sexy pastels, or vibrant prints, we have a few outfits that'll make your V-Day that much more special.
Outfit #1 consists of a red and black lace flower intarsia dress (by Balmain, but there ae many replicas for way less) and fringe ankle tie sandals.  Outfit #2  is all about showing off what you're working with i.e. this pastel bandage dress (only $90).  With any pastel, I love to pair with some type of white, because well, white goes with anything (hints the shoes) and the main focus should be on your dress, more so the curves it's trying to make pop.  Outfit #3 is my favorite because this is something I would wear if I actually decided to dress up for V-Day (I'm wearing jeans...idc).  This fun and festive Alexander Wang Airtex Weave Tank Dress (only $185, what a steal!) is great for an unconventional date night for V-Day weekend, and paired with these pom pom tie ankle sandals, you get a great pop of color added to your already bomb ass outfit.
We would love to see all of your outfits you wore this weekend for lovers day!  Wanna share your #OOTD? Tag us on IG so we can like and comment!

Hands On: Tipsy Thursdays are HERE!

"Yummy, yummy, in the tummy", that's what I say every time I have a drink.  Yes, alcohol is a favorite among this group and while we always promote drinking responsibly that doesn't mean you can't have fun with your drinks.  Do you know there's like a BAZILLION drink recipes out there?  Yea us either, which is why we created "Tipsy Thursdays".  Each and every Thursday (for the most part) we will share tasty drink recipes, product reviews of alcohol and other related products, and even do a few live demonstrations!  Sounds fun right?

So until we get things moving in full swing make sure to follow our Pinterest board below and browse some very unique and creative drink recipes that we found interesting and appetizing!

       Follow Just Bloggers: No Explanation's board Id r u n k n e s sI on Pinterest.    

Blogger Insight: Get Organized for a Bomb Ass Blogging Year!

Many of our New Year's Resolutions were to have a set game plan for a better blogging year.  Well it's 2016...what's the hold up?  There shouldn't be!  In order to elevate your blog and expand in more ways you could imagine you HAVE to get serious.  So the first step to do so is to get organized.  Blogging is definitely a job whether you bring in income or not and in order to do your job effectively, you need to prepare yourself in more ways than one. If you're looking to get yourself "in check" when it comes to your blog and how to structure yourself to be a better blogger, here are some helpful tips to get you started!:

GET A PLANNER!

There's no other way to get organized unless some type of planning system. What I highly suggest over anything is to get a blogging binder/planner that includes an editorial calendar, social media management system, and various other tools one needs for better blogging.  I recommend the free printable from Blogger Babes or the Epic Blog 1 Year Editorial Planner

Invest in cloud/USB storage

If you're serious about blogging, after awhile your computer is going to be filled with all of your blogging material and if your laptop is like mine, you will run out of space sooner than later.  When that issue comes up, it's time to invest in storage.  For me, cloud storage is very easy to maintain, simply drag and drop what you want to transfer to sites such as One Drive (linked to a Hotmail or an Outlook account) or Google Drive.  Both One Drive & Google Drive offer 15GB of free space, but if you want to get an additional 100 GB of free space with One Drive click here or an additional 2 GB of free space with Google Drive click here (I did it, it's worth it).

If yoiu rather have access to your storage at the palm of your hands (literally) then an USB drive is the way to go.  We've all used them in school and it's the same concept.  Retailers such as Office Max carry fashionable USB products that go as high as 1 TB worth of memory.

Create folders for pics, drafts, etc

Once you have a central location of where you will keep your "blogging life", create folders to make it easier to work.  For us, we have a folder for stock photos, photos for current blog posts we're working on, videos that need to be edited, invoices, style guides, etc.

Clean out your email and start fresh!

This is a tip I stumbled upon while reading New Order by Faye Wolf (review coming soon) and it's a tip every blogger and creative should live by.  It's more than a month and a half into the new year, and as much as we want to save those hundreds or thousands of emails in order to respond back to, it's not worth it.  Instead of torturing yourself with sorting through what email is important, anything from January should be permanently deleted.  After that has been done, sort through the month and a half's worth of emails, put them in corresponding folders, and make it a priority to check your email at least once a day and get rid of what you don't need.  Also take this time to unsubscribe to email lists and block junk mail senders/

Have a set plan for the day

Having an idea in your mind of what you want to accomplish for the day helps you focus.  Whether you plan on the day beng all about social media, or editing posts for them to be scheduled, having a clear objective is the only way to be productive.

Want more blogging tips?  Be sure to check out our other posts to help and inspire you on your blogging journey!

Lippie Review: Pantone + Sephora Color of the Year Collaboration!

Sephora has become my new best friend (I don't know if that's good or bad) and being that I have been there constantly for the past 2 months I've been hip on the new products and collaborations to hit the shelves.  One collaboration I was eagar to try was the Pantone + Sephora collection.

If you don't know who Pantone is, they are the color masters of the world.  Being the biggest and probably the top color company to go to, they provide thousands of color swatches, products, and services including trend reports for each season and each year of what colors will be, or should be used.  This year however is the first time ever that TWO colors are "the color of the year".

Serenity and Rose Quartz are light, soft, and very much colors for spring and even in fall, so there's no question on why these colors were picked.

The color of the year layer lipsticks not only comes in packaging that is almost something you want to collect, but the formula of the lipstick is very creamy, not drying, not sticky, and long lasting.  Best of all you can pair these two for a bomb ass ombre.

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ak Brown (@akjapbae) on Jan 8, 2016 at 5:40pm PST

Another feature item in their colletion is the modern watercolor lipgloss set consisting of 6 pantone water colors including both Serenity & Rose Quartz, but also including Cantalope, Fox Glove, Pale Banana, & Sunlit Allium.

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ak Brown (@akjapbae) on Jan 1, 2016 at 1:01pm PST

Unfortunately, I didn't like this set at all.  Not only was the application of these glosses horrible (applying 5+ times just to see and feel shine) but all of the colors looked the same on the lips. Understanding that these are depicting and mimicking watercolors, the end result fails epically.  There were even Sephora asociates who said this lip gloss set sucked...major balls.

All in all I give the lipsticks a 4.5 out of 5 and the lip glosses a 0.  I do not recommend anyone buy the lip gloss set, you can get better quality lip gloses at your locaak beauty supply for $2 (if you're from the hood you understand).

Have you tried anything fron this collection and want to share your thoughts?  Drop a comment below and let us know what you think!

Blogger Insight: March Photo Challenge!

Happy Monday everyone!  I am sleepy...I am cold...and it really feels like a Monday to me.  So in spirit of promoting perkiness on a Monday we decided to gear up for our next photo challenge!

We did our first photo challenge in December and it turned out to be a hit!  In the month of March, we will do the same thing by challenging ourselves and our blog readers to post a different photo each day in March.  From food pics to selfies showing springtime cheer, this will be an engaging, easy, and FUN way to gain new followers and connect with the ones we already have!

The list will close February 26th and I will confirm the list before February 28th on who's participating.  On March 1st 12:15pm CST everyone will post the challenge pic and tag every blogger participating, encouraging other bloggers and followers to follow and participate with us as well!

Any questions?  Email me at mindofafashionista@hotmail.com and we hope to see you on the Instagram trail!

Blogger Insight: How to Grow Your Instagram-The Non Expert Way

Why does everyone want to position themselves as an expert?  Everyone seems to be a "social media guru" or a "marketing extraordinaire".  And while I don't want to take credibility away from those who are "experts", I'm not, and don't ever want to be.  Instead, I rather share tips from the experience I've gained on this journey as a blogger rather than seem as if my way is the only sure fire way.  So allow me to introduce a new series we like to call "The Non Expert Series" (like the name?).  And to kick off our new segment, let's talk about social media, specifically Instagram.  Instagram is probably the most difficult social media site there is when it comes to gaining and keeping a consistent following.  So how does one do it or where does one even start?  Check out a few tips we compiled and that question will soon be answered:

Sync your Instagram with your Facebook

This should have been the first thing you did when you created an Instagram account.  But if not, it's never to late!  By syncing your Facebook contacts with your IG account you can already follow people you're connected to, which makes so much sense because these people already know who you are (interest wise) and will be more prompted to follow and like back.

Use hashtags!

Hashtags are what we use to help when we search and find stuff on IG.  When you use relevant hashtags the likes and followers will come!  So for a OOTD pic, use hashtags related to clothing, fashion, fashionista, etc.  Even use the company name you're showcasing as a hashtag!

Use your tag and location tools!

From the biggest unorganized creative ever...THANK YOU @faywolf for this 💜 #bookofthemonth #neworderbook #books #bookreview #justbloggers #werejustbloggers #creative #creatives #forcreatives #declutter

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ak Brown (@akjapbae) on Feb 2, 2016 at 7:45pm PST

Whether you're showing a new lippie you bought or the new restaurant you're at, tagging the companies and putting on your location can help bring in new likes and followers, and maybe even get your post re-posted by the company.

Pick a day or two for engagement

This is important and something we need to work on ourselves.  Just like with blogging, engagement is something key when running an active and successful IG.  So pick two days that are good for you to not only like and comment on pics of people you follow and who like your pictures but also search your hashtags and like, comment, and follow people that you resonate with.

Consider investing in advertisement/promotion

If you use your IG as a business tool, then consider investing in promotion.  No I don't mean buy followers and likes, I mean buy to have a company promote you.  Just like you would buy ad space, you're essentially buying a "slot" on another person's IG account with more followers.  I recently tried this out to see if and how it would work.  @Fashionistaview (Shoutout Factory) has over 91k+ followers and receives 1,000+ likes on each picture they post.  They have packages from $19-$240 guaranteeing a certain amount of followers per package.  I purchased the "forever" package for myself and our blog and tested it out.  Sure enough....it worked.  Both of our pictures received 1,200+ likes and we received 1200-1500+ new followers within one night.  Even after a few days our followers are still in tact and growing each day.

You might have read somewhere else on those "cliche" sites other ways to grow your IG which I am not fond of, including:

HAVING A THEME/COLOR SCHEME

I can't just use the same filter over and fucking over again.  Yes, our blog is mostly black and white, but if you can tell we post lots of pics to showcase the color in what we're wearing or in the products we buy, so posting in black and white all the time does not work.  However, picking a few filters that you already use the most is something I would suggest.

USE HIGH QUALITY "SIMILAR" PICS

Guys, it's Instagram, not a damn magazine.  The initial thought behind Instagram was to capture what you were doing at that moment, and I doubt many of us have the time and energy to bring our professional cameras around and make each picture look like the next.  If anything, it takes the authenticity and personable attributes away from your profile.

I'm not an expert, and never want to be, so I think it's safe to say these tips are much more relatable than the rest, don't you agree?  By utilizing these simple and easy steps, your Instagram will start to grow faster than you expected it to!

Rants & Raves: Crazy Lady Crew Episode 1!

Guess what we did last night...we dropped an episode.  Yep, first official episode of Crazy Lady Crew is here and in full effect!  I don't want to say too much but just know...you're going to laugh, and may even dream about taco meat afterwards.  So check it out, drop a comment, and let us know what you think!

Jaunts & Junkets: Night of the Original

This has been one of the more event-filled weekends in a long time.  Full of culture, creative flare, and like minded individuals all in one place, you could say the place was jumpin', and so it was.

Friday we took to the Central West End and attended the Projects + Gallery's showing of "Haute Hip Hop", displaying magnificent pieces from our community and the hip hop community as a whole.  Not only did I see my husband (Kendrick Lamar) be brought to life on canvas, but there were so many other pieces that tastefully depicted our culture, the African American culture the way we would be proud of it to be displayed.  And most of all, a stunning multi-canvas painting of Mike Brown.  Even though it's been a couple of years, looking at that piece still brings the anger and chaos a lot of us hold dear to our hearts today. 

After leaving the fantastic exhibit we didn't realize that the gallery on BOTH sides of us and the one across the street were having exhibits as well, including some work shown by my former art professor!

Inspired downplays what we felt after that night.  Seeing the different exhibits, different styles and mediums of art really makes you wonder "how can I contribute?".  I'm not the best painter but hey, I would love to dabble into some splash paint and see where my mind takes me!