Good (far too early) morning all! As much as it pains me to say this, I’ve been up since shortly after 6am, despite falling asleep shortly after midnight… I promise, I used to be able to sleep in well past 9 am. But that time, clearly, is no more. Yesterday, as I mentioned, was a perfect day on the OCNJ Boardwalk with my mother and sister, and, after a tasty BBQ (done by candle-light as our porch light went out mid-grilling… it’s what the Pilgrims would’ve done), my tiny sister and I decided to head back there for some more summer fun.
Beach babes!!
When we were dropped off, we had a few things in mind:
- A summer souvenir
- Monkey Bread
- Salt Water Taffy
- The Henna Shop!!
The original Henna Shop: An Ocean City tradition
Fun story: Every summer for four years, from 2005-2008, I worked at the Henna Shop (and it’s sexy younger sister, Bad Kitty). If you’re unfamiliar with henna, it’s a traditional, semi-permanent [1-4 weeks] form of body art, and just looks beautiful, leaving a lovely reddish brownish stain on the skin (here’s more information on henna via the wiki entry!!) These stores defined my summers in Ocean City and, after working the cash register for the first year after graduating from high school, I was trained as a painter. Thus began my love of henna, and the only artistic talent that I feel I possess (though I’m fan-tastic at doodling weird peacock chicken hybrids in the middle of long conversations when I have a pen handy… be warned.) When I held the henna, smelled the mehndi oil, I felt like I was some sort of supa cool henna princess bringing a little bit of sexy Indian tradition to the shoebies. Then again, more often than not, I painted Tinkerbell and dragons on folks… but it was a trade-off. Even though most of the work we did was from stencils, every now and then I’d get a chance to free-hand some pretty intricate and delicate pieces, and it made me feel like a henna rockstar.
Last night, I got a chance to jump back into it, if only for a few. I volunteered to paint some of my old boss’ friends kids, pro bono. I was a little nervous to have the pen back in my hand after not painting for the past two years, but I jumped right back into it.
For the record, I'd normally never wear a dress to paint... too much squatting on tiny stools.
Check out my iron-clad focus. And my audience.
We always do the painting in the windows or on a raised platform, and let folks view the whole process. It’s seriously one of my favorite places to be. As a thanks for taking care of her friends, my old boss let me paint my sister and, as a fun treat, myself for a little extra bling/memory of Ocean City for my BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING IN A WEEK!! (don’t worry Caitlin, they’re very small and tasteful.) Here’s a bird’s sister’s eye view as I painted a brand new design on little Kiki (they added some new ones that are stunning, but veryyyy intricate!)
Can't wait to see how this turned out!
And here’s me… doing myself (ew, painting my own henna, you pervs)
For the record: Painting your own feet is hard!
We wrapped ourselves up, thanked my ol’ coworkers, and rewarded our hard work with….
sweet, warm, cinnamony, and delish
Don’t worry, Kiley wasn’t in a vicious gang fight resulting in her hands being bandaged… she’s just protecting her henna!
I also picked up some take-home treats for my coworkers at Shriver’s Saltwater Taffy, and may or may not have eaten a PB&J taffy for an early breakfast….
No wonder I have painful meetups with dentists and oral surgeons...
Since today’s my last day at the shore for another month, it’s time to get busy living or get busy dying (as the saying goes….)
Have you ever gotten a henna tattoo? How about ANY OTHER TATTOO?! TELL ME ABOUT IT!! (Real talk, I love tattoo talk.)
Food, Sweat, and Beers 
I have a few tattoos, a little phase I like to call college. I have breathe tatted on my wrist which sometimes I love and sometimes I hate, but overall, it works for me! Henna is fun! I think I’ve only had it done once, but its so pretty and fun!
The only permanent tattoo I have is from college too, but I have pipe dreams of another…. we’ll see.
I love henna tattoos! I’ve gotten several…and the best thing about them is you get to feel kind of bad ass for a short while, but then there is never any regret because they go away!
Haha, well I had a summer or two where I was guilty of PUI (Painting under the influence) and had a henna or two that I, or my friends, regretted, even if only for the next few weeks. One particular drawing of a crudely drawn manbearpig on my friend’s arm comes to mind….
I was wondering about the skirt and how that would work…. I want the word Grace on the bottom of my foot, inside the arch…. but I’ve heard it is nearly impossible to get done, being the bottom of the foot and all. I’ll always want it but the husband is not a fan, Oh well. Maybe someday!
Haha, yeah, it’s an ordeal with the skirt… oh well it’s a one time thing, so I’m not worried/doubt anyone got too much of a free show!
Also, one wicked bummer I heard about the bottom of the foot is that fading is a HUGE concern. As in not even a year. So it’s kind of a waste of money, allegedly. I got a wave tattoo on the inside of my right ankle and originally wanted it on the arch of my right foot, and he warned me of that, so VOILA migration of ink!
same thing happened with me… my 4 girl friends in high school (4 + me = 5) all got a small star (5 points to a star) somewhere on our bodies….
i wanted mine in the arch of my left foot but they said uh-uhh no way. so i got the star on my left side of my body, along my rib, right wear the bra strap covers! i totally forget it’s there!
and wow… henna! such an unexpectedly great skill to have!
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