Thursday Thoughts

Polish(es) of the Moment(s)

I have a couple manicures to show you this time.

The first one was on from Sunday to Wednesday before I peeled it off (I love Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps to use as a base coat. Besides making my nails noticeably stronger, it makes the polish easy to peel off when instead of using liquid polish remover, which I tend to loathe. Clearly it also makes your manicure more easy to peel off when you aren't trying, so I wouldn't suggest using it if you want staying power.).

So, basecoat of Hard as Wraps, then a coat of Sinful Colors Out of this World  (#842), a coat of China Glaze Dorothy Who? (#857) and a top coat of wet n wild While Shine Clear Nail Protector (#401A).  Loved the sparkle power on this one and it was fun to pair with some sparkly blue eye shadow I had been wanting to try.

My current look is one I'm calling Picasso's Don't Look Too Close or They Lose Their Beauty Flowers.

Let's see if I can  remember the colors I used for this monstrosity manicure...

Base coat: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Clear
Next two coats: OPI's Cute Little Vixen (HL E07)
Main flower dots (big one in the middle, six smaller ones around that.. dot, then drag from small to center with a toothpick or small dotter): Nicole by OPI's I Do De-Claire (NI F02.. from the Modern Family Collection)
Top middle dot (dragged outwards toward small dots): Sinful Colors Out of this World  (#842)

The very first flower (on my right thumb) turned out the best and the others kind of got gloppy and messy, but really, if you just glance at them, I think they look pretty.

And there you go.. two looks that I rather enjoy and worthy of being in the 'use again' vault.

For the love of January

I was recently watching a YouTube video on gurl.com's channel about one of their regular posters' 'Crush on January', although it really was more about how she is talking herself into not hating January.  As I was commenting on the video about all the things I don't dislike about January, I realized that I might actually have a crush on January myself.  Here are a few of the reasons for my crush..

• I don't really hate winter anymore, and besides the inconveniences of taking two small children out in the snow, I rather like it.  The cold temps that seem to cleanse my body of all the cabin fever toxins, the fat squirrels digging around for the fall stash, snuggling up in scarves and mittens and boots, oversized hoodies and sweaters with  jeans and leggings to stay warm, no humidity.. all things I enjoy.

• I look forward to the end of the holiday craziness and the much-needed post-holiday recovery. 

• Taking a look at the previous year and making mental notes of things I'd like to change and accomplish in the new year (more on that in an upcoming post).

• That 'fresh start' feeling that comes with the new year.. the feeling of 'I can totally do this..  moving onward and upward and doing  things to improve  last year's me, even if I was pretty awesome to begin with.

So yeah, after looking at my list, I realized that I kind of *heart* January and things that come along with it.  Except for maybe the slushy snow mess and the ice.  Yeah, those things can disappear.  But otherwise, hooray for January :)

Feel free to share your feelings on the month of January below.. I feel like maybe I'm in the minority with this one, but who knows.. maybe there are more January Lovers out there than I imagine... (like this blogger here and this article here)

What's In My Mug?

I am a coffee and tea fanatic.. I love drinking it, trying new flavors/types, collecting a variety of it, talking about it, photographing it.. basically obsessing over it.

Another recurring post that you may see here is a What's In My Mug? post.  Probably a short and sweet entry telling you what's in my mug (I also obsess over mugs.. see above for a description of obsess) that particular day, or talking about a certain tea or coffee that I've really been into lately, etc.

Today's choice is a tea by Good Earth called Original Sweet and Spicy.

It is the perfect tea for a day when I'm feeling like chilled-to-the-bone crappy garbage (thank you asthmatic lungs, for this round of probably asthmatic bronchitis).. it's the kind of tea that warms you straight to the soul and continues the warming long after the mug is empty.  I bought it awhile back and when I tried it over the summer, it  was too spicy/warming for me on the hot hot days.  But I knew it would be absolutely perfect for the cold Cleveland winter months and I was right!  Now I did notice at my local health food store a box of Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Tea that didn't say 'Original' but I think maybe it's just a redesign on the box.  I sure hope it's just as good as the one I have now because I see this one is going to be a wintertime favorite for sure.

And how could I not mention the mug and 'friend' on the rim?  That adorable elephant mug is from World Market and his lil rubbery friend on the rim is an adorable snail that you clip on the rim of your mug and wrap the string to your teabag around so it doesn't fall in.  Someone sent me a set of the snails last year anonymously and I still haven't figured out who it was, although I have my suspicions ;) Regardless of who it was, I LOVE LOVE LOVE those lil guys and use them all the time, so THANK YOU!

What's your favorite tea to drink during the winter? Any cool mugs to share pics of?  Tweet me at @knitwitgirly or leave it in the comments below!

Oooh.. shiny!

I swear I have multiple posts started for this blog.  Ideas jotted down everywhere and posts saved in drafts.  But somehow, whenever I sit down to finish one, my ADD says 'let's screw with Jennifer so she never accomplishes ANYTHING bwahahaha!'.

So today's distraction is Pinterest.  I took a few pics for some more blog post ideas and sat down to finish the ones I started and start the ones I've thought of.  Feeling all motivated and determined and stuff.

Sat down at the laptop with my cup of tea during the silence of naptime and realized that I had left a Pinterest search open on my browser, so I figured I better finish it up, and then to blogging.  Except that Pinterest is the anti-christ for someone suffering from ADD, let me tell ya. I of course stumble across twenty off-topic pins, decide that I need to create a new board for all of my new finds, and then decide that I can't leave a board with only a few a couple dozen pins and continue to search for more, getting off track once or twice a bajillion times along the way.  Blogging schmogging, these pins rock!

And there you have it.. today's blog post brought to you in part by ADD and by Pinterest.  Back to regularly scheduled posting soon one of these days :)

Must Pin ALL.THE.THINGS.

Polish of the Moment

Welcome to a recurring post that you will see on this blog.. Polish of the Moment!  This is just a way for me to not only show off my current nail polish look and also to have a picture file of all of the looks I've done so if I'm ever lacking the creativity to come up with a new look, I can go back and choose one of my old ones. Some will be awesome, some will be.. not awesome.  But I will post them all :)

The last couple of weeks have been super-busy and exhausting, so my nails have taken a back seat to the rest of the holiday to-do's.  What? Naked nails? Gasp!  I know painting your nails may not be something on everyone's priority list, but for me, it most often is.  It's a relaxing activity I can do after The Girl and The Boy are in bed for the night and it gives me something pretty to look at all throughout the day for the next week or so.  Gives me an outlet for my color-pairing and nail art creativity, too.  

So you can imagine how I felt spending the holiday with naked nails.. just not the same.  Especially since I had purchased a few new polishes last month specifically for the holiday.  Clearly I survived not having pretty nails for Christmas, but in order to feel like I didn't totally miss out on the possibilities, I decided to spend the morning of my first 'down day' painting a look that I would have chosen to use.  And really.. I do not discriminate when it comes to holiday wear.  My sister said it best when she learned that I used a Halloween bib she bought The Girl for an entire year, despite her vision of it being for that year's Halloween holiday only.  Her quote: "Jennifer knows no seasonal boundaries!".. I try my hardest to live up to that quote always, but dressing my kids in their holiday jammies and shirts all throughout the year.  Afterall, why would I waste clothing that fits just fine just because the holiday is long gone :)  I'm sure you will see examples of this throughout my posts to come.

Ok, back to the nails.  This is a very simple design that took me very little time, aside from the time it took trying to open the brand new bottles of polish.. not sure why they were basically glued shut, but thank goodness for my Pampered Chef Jar Opener!  (That thing has helped me open jars a bazillion times throughout the years.. great for anyone with weak hands or arthritis, like me.)

Started with a base coat (Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard As Wraps Powerful Acrylic Gel), then one coat of Sinful Colors Out of this World #842 followed by one coat of Sinful Colors Holiday Rebel #1382 and I sealed the design using wet n wild's Wild Shine Clear Nail Protector #401A.  Simple and subtle yet a fun pretty way to capture the holiday :)

Please nevermind the lack of manicure to my nails and cuticles before the painting was done.. I may have had time to swipe some color on, but the beautifying process takes way more time than I had this morning :)

Anyone else have a nail painting obsession---err, hobby?  I'd love to see pics and hear what polish brands and colors are your favorite!  Comment hear or tweet me @35andlifetogo :)

Slooooow down, please!

Ok, seriously.. The Girl is growing up waaaaay too fast all of a sudden.  Within the last few months, she has gone from still having a semi-chunky little girl baby face to one that definitely says she is no longer one of the littles..

1st Christmas Program ~ Pre-K, age 5

She may be growing into a school-aged beautiful girl, but she will ALWAYS be my baby.