Monday, November 19, 2012

Mani Monday - Christmas Stripes and Dots

I've been away for a while. I've had a crazy busy schedule, then yesterday got knocked down by a flare...probably thanks to said busy schedule.

I'm hoping and praying that two days of laying around and resting will have me back on my feet enough to attend the Christmas party tomorrow morning at my women's Bible study. And, of course, I can't go to any kind of party without the appropriate nailwear. Which brings me to tonight's mani -

Elisa, Logan, and Ziv
I started with a base of Zoya's Elisa from their Fall 2012 NYFW Diva collection. I love this color! It is a bright red, perfect for Christmas, with a great shimmer to it. And, as is the case with every Zoya polish I've tried, the formula is smooth and flawless.

Elisa, Logan, and Ziv
To dress up my mani for a real Christmas-y feel, I pulled out two great colors from Zoya's Ornate (Winter 2012) collection. This entire collection is unreal! But for now, I just used a little bit of Logan for the stripes and Ziv for the dots, then of course topping it all with a coat of Seche Vite. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Elisa, Logan, and Ziv
I know it seems like all I use is Zoya, and I'll admit I've been on a bit of a kick with their polishes lately. They're just so gorgeous! I've yet to find one that is not beautifully pigmented and perfectly formulated. But I do have quite a few other brands. I've started cataloguing them all and coming across bottles in my stash that I forgot I had. It's really exciting!

And this manicure has me SO excited for Christmas! This is my favorite time of year and my brain is just buzzing with all the mani possibilities. How about you? Any ideas? Have you seen anything interesting?


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Night

I know what you're doing. You're sitting on the edge of your seat. You've got the news on the TV and several tabs open in your internet browser, hitting "Refresh" every couple of minutes so that you'll immediately know as soon as another district's results come in.

Calm down! I'm not looking in your window. You're doing the same thing everyone else is doing tonight. But not me. My nerves can't handle it. There has simply been too much drama in this presidential race, too much name calling, too many conspiracy theories, etc. And the race is far too close for my tastes. I did my part last week. I voted. There's nothing else I can do. So, I did what I always do when I need to de-stress - I found something on the DVR (tonight it was Sunday's episode of The Good Wife...I just love that show!) and I did my nails. Tonight, in honor of our great country, I took a patriotic route.


I used Zoya colors here; the red is Karina, the blue is Song. Then I used a silver Stripe Rite down the middle before dotting Purity on top.

No matter who wins today's election, I must say I am so thankful to live in a country where we can freely vote without fear of any retaliation. Where we can worship, work, go to school, etc. I don't think that we, as Americans, truly realize how blessed we are by that. There are so many out in the world that don't have those rights that we take for granted. Many men and women fought and died so that we could have those rights. And men and women, and even children, are dying every day still around the world so that others can have the same kind of rights. We get so caught up here by the petty things around us (yes, I know this is coming from someone who blogs primarily about nail polish, but just go with it), about who disagrees with us, about who's to blame for what, etc. that we forget about just how rich we all are.

If you're reading this, then you have access to a computer and the internet. You most likely live and sleep somewhere secure with a roof over your head. You have enough to eat every day. You have clothes to wear. Those things make you wealthier than the vast majority of others in the world. I'm not saying you have it easy. I'm a single mom making it by on disability and child support. I know it's not easy for most of us. But just take a moment. Look around you. Be thankful.