Plum Rose Manicure

Hello friends,
Today I have a manicure with a trio of colors and a bit of stamping. I took pictures in stages, so you'll get an idea of how it was done.

I didn't over think which colors to use on which nail. However, I did want the rose gold foil polish to go on the ring finger.

No striping tape for me. Nope, not today. It's not that I'm so level handed that I don't need help with straight lines, I just got lucky. Yes, the stars were aligned and the moon was in proper placement for the making of a miracle. And drawing straight lines (diagonal nonetheless!) is indeed, quite a miracle. Who says dreams don't come true?

I might never be able to do this again, so check out my straight lines one more time.

Ok, next comes my favorite technique, reverse stamping, also known as advanced stamping, decals...whatever.  It's all the same and fun to do. Unfortunately, I didn't photo my work station as I did the decals, but suffice it to say that I used black MdU with plum and rose gold polishes to fill in the spaces. Two fingers were enough, don't you think? For some reason, I wanted to use a rhinestone. There you have it!

Next week, I plan to do a silvery blue manicure. Until then, enjoy your weekend.
Ciao Bellas!

A Winter Wonderland

Welcome to my little winter wonderland!
There's no snow to be found where I live, so I'm creating my own snowy world. When I lived in Ohio, it was a guarantee that when we woke up Christmas morning and looked out the window (after ripping open gifts) we'd see a beautiful wintery snowbound world. It was truly beautiful. The crispy white snow on our front lawn was almost high enough for us kids to get lost in. And somehow, there were always deer tracks. Or, maybe it was just a neighbor's dog. Ahhh, those were the good ol' days. Back then, schools never closed no matter how many feet of snow fell overnight. Or so it seemed. Now, I live further south and I'm not promised snow until January or February, and even then, it's just enough to be annoying, cold, wet, and dangerously icy. An inch or two and the whole city shuts down. At least I get a few days away from the office.

This polish is actually pale blue, but shows up white underneath a cacophony of multi-glitter and stamped white snowflakes. Maybe I should duplicate this, (sans the snowflakes) to bring in the New Year. Very sparklingly appropriate. I just need to find a party. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I'll just enjoy my ten tiny winter wonderlands.

How's the weather in your town? Snow, no snow, blistering heat wave?
Ciao for now.

Canadian Maple Leaves Manicure

Hello friends.

Today I have a winter warm manicure for those who are in colder climates right now. Copper, green, purple and gold maple leaves stamped over a burgundy base.  The base color here is called Mommy Kissing Santa by China Glaze, from the 2010 'Tis The Season to Be Naughty or nice Winter/Holiday collection.

Till next time,
Ciao for now.

Fashion Mode Mani: Gotta Accessorize

Hey there friends,
It's finally the weekend, time for shopping and errands. Have you started Christmas shopping? Are you already done, or are you somewhere in between? I have a few things to pick up still. My family doesn't do a lot of big shopping for Chistmas. Just a few nice, well deserved things. Only one of my kids is getting coal in his stocking this year. Just kidding, we don't put coal in stockings. Who actually does that? Mine get their coal wrapped under the tree, the message is more effective that way. Again, just kidding. No coal here. I don't know where to buy any.

Coco Kitty was exceptionally good this year. She only spit up on my carpet a few times. She'll be rewarded with grass...I mean weeds...You know what I mean. Catnip. What were you thinking I was talking about?! Let's keep this rated PG. My kids might read this. Who am I kidding? They don't read my blog. It's about nail polish, they're boys, they couldn't care less about it. They only care about League of Ledgend. Whatever that is.

Well, today's mani was inspired by some of womens' favorite accessories, shoes and purses. Can you tell I've been dreaming of a DSW gift card?

Does this manicure make you want to drop some big bucks on designer shoes and bags?

Ciao Bellas, happy shopping.

Getting in the Mood for Holiday Cheer

Hi Friends,
I'm sooo excited! No, it's not a new polish or collection, not a new nail product, art stencils or cuticle oil.  So don't get too excited. It's just that a brand new Starbucks opened right across the street! You all know how much I love that wonderfully addictive brew. Yes, I'm a Starbucks junkie. So, I'm here soaking in the new environment, listening to live jazz Christmas music. Ohh boy, I'm feelin' the holiday cheer. Don't be jealous, Starbucks coffee +live music, what's not to be jealous of?

Since it's time to get into the spirit, I did a little holiday mani. Christmas green and snowflakes. How holiday-ish is that?

Ciao bellas!

Inspired by Another Yellow Chair

Hi friends,
I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Mine is filled with errands and sports, and carving out a little time for a manicure and blog post.

Once again, I found an upholstered chair that grabbed my attention. This one, I wouldn't want to put in my living room, but I find it interestng and likeable. This piece pulls together coordinating stripes and circular patterns with a bright splash of yellow. Very well done.

For this nail design, I used a yellow pattern similar to the back of the chair, and silver and black stripes on the arms, seat cushion trim, and side wings. Since the chair also has a horizontal strip along the back panel, I used a similar strip across each nail. Then, since I couldn't just stop there, I decided to bling it out with studs and rhinestones from the Born Pretty store. You can find these in the Born Pretty store in the link on the right. Just click the box to use my discount.

Before I end this post, I want to congratulate my little guy and his team for winning their first game of the season. Congrats also, to my teen and his team for their win on Saturday too. To celebrate the occasion, they got to have their favorite pizza for dinner. A win, win, win for us all because I didn't have to cook ;)

See ya next week.
Ciao for now.

Navy and Neutral Manicure With a Splash of Gold

Hello friends,
I so love the weekends. So much to do, so many opportunities to relax, work on a hobby, run errands, housework...etc. Today, I have two basketball games to attend, and tomorrow I might catch a movie with my little guy. I wanted to wear a fun manicure this weekend, and with any luck, I won't be inclined to change it until Monday. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Enjoy your weekend!
Ciao Bellas

Fast Food Frustration and a Teal Mani

Hi there friends,

I'm happy to post this teal manicure today because teal is my favorite color. Well, it's one of my favorite colors. I was inspired, once again, by room decor, and a frustrating drive-thru experience. Ok, the fast food had nothing to do with room decor or nail polish, but after failing to get my hands on my favorite food, I had to de-stress by flipping through pictures that led to this manicure.

Everybody who frequents drive-thru eateries has encountered a bad experience or two. Well, try three bad experiences in one day from three separate locations. The aforementioned restaurant will remain unnamed, because I'm sure not all of them suck.  Today, I had to have a southwestern salad that includes a fresh salad, a small cup of chili and a little bag of tortilla chips. My taste buds were screaming for it, my mouth salivated just thinking about it, and my stomach was on empty and letting me know of its discomfort.  I reached the first driv-thru ready to order and pay, but they didn't have my salad. I was disappointed, but not discouraged. There was another location across town. To my frustration, they didn't have my salad either. Ok, now I was getting mad and my angry stomach growled like a hungry bear. There was one last location in my area. They had to have my salad there because three locations not having the same meal is crazy and I'd have to blog about it.  I cannot tell you what sort of out of body experience I had when they told me they were out of southwestern salads.  I finally told them to just give me anỳ salad, a small cup of chili and the same little bag of tortilla chips, all of which they did have. Is it just me or was this one of those times when a half dozen isn't available, but you can get six? So, you see how I ended up blogging about my frustrating fast food fail? When I finally sat down to have my non-southwestern salad with chili and chips (that come with a southwestern salad), I ran across this interior design photo. I loved the lattice design in the rug, and the decorative mirror and lamp shade seemed to complete the set.

I'm so fixated on furniture and interiors that maybe I should blog about that instead. I could be very happy living with these pieces in my living room. A girl can dream, right?
Till next time, Ciao Bellas.

Colorful Floral and Striped Manicure to Chase Away the Rain

Hello lovelies,
It's been wet and dreary in my neck of the woods. I don't know about you, but wearing a bright and/or colorful manicure helps to alleviate some of the dreariness from my day. For this mani, I thought of pretty flowers and painted them on my ring fingers, along with a little sparkle. I used silver and teal hex glitter, and a few rhinestones for the sparkle.

A few of the polishes I used are:

Talia is a teal crème from the Zoya 2015 Island Fun collection. Flying Dragon is from China Glazes  neon 2008 collection called Ink. It's not meant to be a matte, but the finish is rough similar to a matte polish. Flying Dragon is fuchsia with a hint of purple. Lightning, by Sally Hansen, is a bright sunny yellow cream.

Do you have a go-to color or design to combat dreary weather?

Ciao for now.

File Wise Nail Files, a New Concept In Nail Filing

Hello, my nail filing friends. Today I have a new product I came across that I think might be a terrific idea. Now, I haven't tried them myself, but the concept sounds solid. File Wise Nail Files are a new concept in nail filing. These ergonomically friendly styled files are designed for your comfort and ease while filing your nails. And they're cute too. They come in different colors, patterns and different grits as well.
Check out the website for details and pricing. File Wise Nail Files.

If you order a set of these files, drop a comment about your experience.
Ciao Bellas!

Inspired by a Brown Floral Print Bedroom Set and China Glaze

Hello Lovelies!
Today I have another China Glaze. Yes, I know, my last couple of posts highlighted China Glaze. What can I say, It's one of my favorite brands. This lovely, rich, glossy brown is Goin' My Way? from the 2010 Fall Vintage Vixen Collection. I'm attached to this lacquer; this is my second bottle. Don't know what I'll do when it's empty. Buy another or move on. It's the perfect brown, but there's got to be another one out there somewhere. If you have a suggestion, let me know. I'm up for trying something new.

When I came across this bedding set, I knew I wanted to do a mani just so that I could use Goin' My Way? I don't think I'd want to wear this manicure for very long, but it was fun to do.

What do you think of brown polishes? Do you have a favorite one?
Ciao for now.

China Glaze Hologlam OMG A UFO

Hello friends,
Guess what? I have another China Glaze Holographic polish for you today. I think I'm on a CG roll here. So, let's just go with it.

This is OMG A UFO. Cute name. You guys know that a well named polish goes a long way with me. Unfortunately, the name isn't enough to carry this one. Nice color? check. Fair application? Check (although a bit streaky), Consistency? Check. Holographic? Not quite. I have this Color Club Halo Hues meter, and this polish falls a bit short of the mark. In the light you can see a bit of the holo affect, but indoors it becomes just a gold colored polish.

OMG A I GO by China Glaze

OMG A DUO by China Glaze

For this manicure, I was inspired by fabric swatches.

Would you try out this collection or do you already own a few? What's  your experience?