Manicure of the Week & Stuff

Nails

So far I'm keeping up with my reinvigorated love of keeping my nails cute. Here's this week's manicure:



(I know this pic it crazy small. I did something funky with the editing and will fix it later.)

There, that's better.



I love this look! It's two coats of China Glaze Icicle topped off with the excellent China Glaze Crackle color Black Mesh. I remember first seeing crackle polish over a decade ago and I guess it didn't quite catch on then. It's in full swing now, or it might be getting played out. I'm old enough to only care if I like something, not if the masses think that something is still cool.

Being busy and all (have to still do housework even with pretty nails), in order to maintain my manicure I put a clear coat every other night and touch up the color as needed. I do a cuticle oil massage every day and the entire process only takes minutes.

Books
On the reading front, I'm currently listening to Rob Lowe's autobiography.



I only selected this book because of the great reviews and several recommendations. Rob does the reading and so far it's a very cool "read". Rob has never really been a blip on my radar because he's impossibly handsome and I like my guys to be less traditionally gorgeous (y'all know how I feel about a slight overbite, or long nose). In fact, I think I preferred his brother, Chad because he had a little goofiness mixed into his looks. So other than starring in some great "Brat Pack" fare, I wouldn't have gravitated to his biography.

But again, I'm finding it interesting to learn how he got into the business. I'll post a proper review later.

Crafting

My mojo is a bit off right now but the wax and wane of feeling like crafting is normal. I'm still trying to finish the gift for my latest yarn swap which was supposed to be mailed by Saturday. I'll throw in some extra goodies to make up for my tardiness. I also committed myself to knitting some chemo caps in colors for men, because they often get forgotten about when the call for caps is made. Men undergoing chemo lose their hair too, so a nice, soft cap should be a nice charity knit.

That's all for now!

What I'm Working On (and Nails!)

Below is my current knitting WIP (work in progress). A pair of fingerless gloves for a swap partner. For those not up on the goings on of Ravelry. There are many groups, with varying interests. Some of these groups host thematic swaps, where you get a package together based on your partner's favorite things (and I'll receive a package as well from my secret partner). This swap is based on your favorite color, but there are others, tea swaps, dishcloth swaps, ones that have a inexpensive dollar limit, etc. This one is the "Color Swap" and my partner's colors of choice are red and aqua. The gloves a nice 100% cotton, which is her favorite fiber.

The project bag the knitting is resting on matches very well, but is not a part of her package. I won that bag by entering a drawing from one of my favorite video knitting podcasts, "Craft Stash".



For this week's manicure I used the base coat and top coat of choice, Orly Bonder and Seche Vite which provides a nice shine. The actual polish is Zoya's Suvi. I tried the sandwich method of polishing, in hopes my polish won't chip as badly as the China Glaze mani from last week. Base coat, color, another layer of base coat, color, then top coat. I also was careful to wrap my nails good, which is putting some of the polish on the edges and under the nails to create a nice seal. I adore green and really like the shiny, shimmer for this color.

That's it for now. I plan on using a different color each week and posting.

I'm Fancy, Huh? Hair Done, Nails Done, Everything Did...

Look at me all up-to-date with the Drake lyrics, lol. My daughter would be proud, or embarrassed one or the other.

Alrighty, I got my hair done in kinky twists with extensions:



It goes without saying that I hate this picture. What am I doing with my mouth? I can't stage a photo if my life depended on it. However, I love my hair. The girls used a different color this time, a mix of reddish-brown and black. They layered it quite nicely too.



(Is that a look of sanity? I don't think so. Plus, Photobucket did something weird with the picture, but whatevs)

After my hair grows out of this style I'll be giving it a rest from the braids to prevent hair loss. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I'm researching now.

On my lips is some Cover Girl lip stain. I don't know exactly which line because I got it out of the clearance bin. Somehow my lips evolved to kind of hate the feeling of lipstick or lip gloss but I love the stain. I can't feel it on my lips, but they are soft (which they always were even when I wasn't wearing lipstick. No crusty lips here)and have color to them.



I'm totally flipping out on the nail polish, I'm picking them up whenever I shop, I'm checking out the blogs on the new colors. You know a geek has to go all the way with whatever they do. It's fun! I've worn tips before but I prefer my own relatively short nails and I have some crazy colors on the way.

I'm wearing China Girl Ruby Pumps with an Orly Bonder basecoat to prevent yellowing and chipping (which didn't stop the chipping) and a Seche Vite top coat, that is supposed to be fancy, but seems like just another top coat to me.

I recently bought those silver stackable rings at a great discount from a co-worker. I think I'll buy more, you can get lots of looks from stackables.

Ok, until next time!

2012 Plans

It's 2012, a brand new, fresh year. Last year I hopelessly overcommitted myself to all sorts of goals. I had crafting goals, wanting to learn how to sew, quilt and make jewelry. The sheer ridiculousness of the book challenges I intended to finish is laughable now. I think I signed up for seven book challenges and didn't complete even one. I didn't walk a 5K last year, much less the two half-marathons I had penciled myself in for.

When a new year rolls around, it's natural for a person to look back, evaluate the previous months, with a view to making improvements in the twelve months ahead. But I got weary, overwhelmed with the sheer number of tasks I set out to accomplish and didn't follow through.

For 2012 I still have my sights on challenging and improving myself, but I have a more streamlined vision.

Crafing a.k.a.: the new spelling of Crafting obviously

I love crafting. For most of my life I considered myself to the type of person who had zero aptitude for being crafty, so to learn how to knit in my late thirties, fall in love with my needles and branch out to other crafts has been a joy. I want to do it all, more crocheting, knitting techniques, learn to sew, etc. But there's only so much time in a day and money in my wallet, therefore I need to temper my enthusiasm with a bit of rational planning.

Last year I did quite a bit of knitting, participated in some KALs (knit alongs), knitting swaps. This year I want to continue to knit consistently, using more yarn from my ever-growing stash. I want to focus on shawls this year. I have lots of yarn for shawls and a list of people I want to make them for..including myself. Conservatively, I'm thinking six shawls in 2012.

I've begun crocheting more, making my first hats last month. This year I'd like to crochet at least one afghan and one shawl or vest. The more complicated projects I'll have assistance by taking some leftover classes I have on credit at my LYS.

One of my crocheted hats. I love it! Go Lions!



I've collected a whole slew of cross stitching projects with all the materials to go with them and my goal is to finish at least one project. I'm setting my sight on the Pretty in Pink pattern (yay 80's!).

My crafting future looks bright for this year.

Reading

I discovered Audible last year and it rocks! At first listening to books seemed a bit like cheating, but I've been able to "read" while working, going grocery shopping, cleaning and exercising. I listen to the unabridged versions and while I'll never give up holding a book (or e-reader, on my wishlist for this year), it's another option to partake in literature with my super busy schedule.

I hope to get through least six books this year, a conservative amount. I have a few unfinished books as well, which I never used to do, so I'd like to complete those. With audiobooks I'm sure I'll be able to get in more reading and I'm thinking of doing one book challenge.

Health and Well-Being

I need to lose weight, period. I'm not getting any younger and I have a daughter I need to be around for. Exercise is going to be a top priority, mainly walking, cardio and a bit of weight training. I want to walk the two half-marathons I planned on doing last year. The half I walked in 2010 wasn't too taxing, but still very challenging and crossing the finish line was one of the most exuberant experiences in my life. I have the support of my co-workers who walk regularly. I also foresee a bike for this summer to get out more, be more active with Alexis.

Finally, I want to focus on my appearance. I've been in a funk when it comes to the outer me. Some of this neglect is due to me not being in a active relationship. I think there's been this underlying, "Who am I getting dolled up for?" sentiment. That's not the point, not at all. Looking good should be about putting my best foot forward for myself.

I need and will buy some clothes, 'nuff said. I'll spend money on yarn and that's fine, but I need to balance it out with some outfits.

I polished my nails for the first time in forever and the process made me happy. Seeing the glint of color on my hands while I crocheted made me happy. Back in the day, I had a polish obsession, rarely going out for a manicure because I, quite frankly, did a fabulous job on my own. I changed color once a week and you'd never see my nails bare. So this Friday I'm going out to get new polishes and equipment. I'm also going to get some contacts and wear eyeliner and lipstick whenever I go out.

I still don't know what I'm going to do with my hair. Right now it's in two-strand twists with extensions, but I love natural hair. I'm clueless as to what to do with it since it's longer now, but wearing braids continually can mess your hairline up with a fierceness. This is a plan in progress.

So that's my very long post for the new year. Oh, and speaking of posts. I plan on updated my blog much more often. I get caught up in wording, wanting to be witty and comprehensive. I want to blog more often, quick posts, pictures of projects, finished manis, etc.

2012 is going to be a blast.