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Sweet Baby Rose Birth Announcement

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Teal & Silver Zebra Print Nails

A while ago I watched a nail tutorial video on YouTube featuring the Konad nail stamping system. Being the sucker for cool artsy stuff that I am, I went on Ebay and purchased a kit. The kit sat in my nail kit box for about two months before I finally really used it, thus creating this nail art design. Before I go on I want to share my opinion about the Konad Nail Stamping Kit. I think it is an amazing tool and a great addition to any nail art collection. According to the Konad company, the stamp will only work with their “Special Polish.” While I am pretty sure that it would be much easier to use with their Special Polish, I have finally found a polish that works pretty well. The Sally Hansen Insta-Dry nail polishes are what I have decided are the best non-Konad polishes to use. They are pretty thick, thus making it easier to use. I do want to go ahead and try the Special Polish, but in the mean time Sally Hansen will serve as a cheaper, easier to acquire alternative. Ok, so on we go.

I started off by applying my base coats as I always do. I use one thin coat of the Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener and another thin coat of Salon Sciences Instant Artificials. This combo works great for me, and the Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener has helped my nails recover really fast from a horrible acrylics incident. The Instant Artificials provides an acrylic-like base that helps keeps nails stronger and makes the polish go on nicely, but removes easily and doesn’t cause the damage that acrylics do.

I then proceed to polish my nails. As my base color I used Milani Neon nail polish in #504 Fresh Teal.

Next step is to apply a quick-dry top coat. I used Seche-Vite, which combined with Envi Nail Enamel Dryer is an awesome combo to get nails dry in an instant. (If you never take any recommendation from me, take this one. This stuff works miracles. And with a 2 year old, a husband and a house to take care of, I know all about the need to have nails dry FAST!)

It’s important that your base color is completely dry before you begin the stamping process. If the polish is not dry, you will mess up your manicure.

For this design I used the Konad M57 template with the zebra print design. There are a lot of really good tutorials on YouTube on how to use the stamping kit, but basically you take the polish in your chosen design color and apply it onto the template. With the scraper you scrape off the excess polish then roll the stamper over the design to transfer it on. Line up the stamper with your nail and in a rolling motion stamp the design on. It really isn’t hard to do once you get the hang of it, but it is time-consuming.

The color I chose for the design was Sally Hansen Insta-Dry polish in #230 Silver Sweep.

When you finish stamping all your nails, apply another layer of top coat and allow to dry. At this point you can use nail polish remover and a small brush to clean up the sides. I use Beauty Secrets Pure Acetone and an ELF concealer brush to clean up the polish.

Once everything is dry and cleaned up, my final step was to condition my cuticles and the skin surrounding the nail with the Sally Hansen Cuticle Massage Cream. After using pure acetone, my skin gets really dry so I like to use this in order to make my nails and cuticles look healthy.

And there you have it. About 2 hours, 1 red Hawaiian Punch juice spill on my carpet, 45 minutes of trying to put the little one to sleep, 1 nail polish spill all over my carpet, and about 3 bathroom breaks later…I’m done. I hope this darn manicure lasts at least a couple days. Oh and I have the same thing on my toes, but I will spare you the pictures. Hope you enjoyed, and feel free to comment and post any questions below. Thanks!

Camel Ammo

So, I know I just put up a post, put I was trying to think of my first Jus Sayin post and upon doing some research, I came across the Camel Ammo. You see there is a new epidemic spreading across the U.S. as of late called Camel Toe. Someone has lied to many ladies letting them think that tights are the new replacement for pants, thus spreading this epidemic from coast to coast. There's a company out there (whom I like to think of as enablers) that has invented this Camel Ammo to help alleviate the side effects of this epidemic. The Camel Ammo is a pink camouflage printed U-shaped disc which you insert into the cotton flap in the crotch of your panties. In the words of the site were I found this, thus "preventing your lady bits from going toe-up." The best part, it's machine washable.
Seriously? Someone sat there and thought of this. And the best part is that they are probably making millions off of this.Oh, I almost forgot, here's the kicker. The product's slogan is "Waging war on the front lines." Don't believe me, Google it. This stuff is really our there.

(picture take from thefrisky.com)

Hot Mess!

Hot Mess: "Someone or Something that is such a mess... the level of it, is off of the charts. It's past pathetic, past pitiful. It's to the point you almost have to walk away to keep from bustin a gut. Hot messes can exist in levels." (www.urbandictionary.com)

So...this weekend I was away with my family for a mini vacation. As Yovani and I were walking through the park we had a blast looking at all the hot messes all around us. Let me start off by telling you that on Friday in Orlando, it was about 50 degrees as we walked through Sea World. Yet, we managed to see numerous girls walking around in the skimpiest shorts EVER. I mean, maybe its me but
50 degree weather+skimpy white booty shorts+wool turtleneck sweater+leather boots =
HOT MESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tried to explain to Yovani that one of the side effects of being a hot mess all the time is that you become delusional and you loose all sense of what looks good and what looks TOTALLY RIDICULOUS! Oh man. Then I started wondering, we're walking around internally laughing at all these fools, I wonder what people say about me when they see me walking on the street? Ever stop to think about that?

An Analysis

So my husband is so cute. He checks my blog all the time to see if I've posted anything new. Atleast I know I have one fan. Anyhow, today he calls me to ask me about the last poll I posted, the one that asks what you would like to have with you if you were stranded on an island. He asked me if I made that up to see how smart/dumb people were. I was confused because I didn't understand where he was coming from with this question. Then he took it to the next level with the following analysis: He says if you were stranded on a desert island, why would you want a laptop or ipod if there is no electricity. So on he went with a bit of over-analysis, which totally made sense, but was not what I had in mind when I made it up. I love him. He's always taking it the extra mile. I guess we have that kind of relationship, cuz I do it to him also. Speaking of relationship, 12 more days and it'll be 3 years! I can't believe it, time flies. I have all I could ask for. A wonderful husband who analyzes everything I do, a beautiful daughter who lights up my life. All I need is a dozen or so more kids and life will be super perfect.

Commercials Really Work

So I started thinking the other day, thanks to Yovani, that I am so gulable when it comes to commercials. I will watch a commercial about any product and feel an immediate need to try it out. I do control myserf 99% of the time. If I didn't, my house would be cluttered with more junk than it already has. But really. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the fact that I'm such a visual person. There can be two products on the shelf, both the same price, same exact thing, but I will always go for the one with the prettier packaging. Or the one that I actually saw a commercial about. But, I guess that's what they made commercials for right.
Now I'm all into watching QVC or ShopNBC (or whatever it's called). I've never bought anything from there, but it's getting so tempting. I just like looking at the stuff.
Anywho, just a random thought.

I LOVE Days Off

Yesterday was a good day. Spent some time with the family, had a few laughs, did A LOT of eating (there goes that diet again) and fell more in love with my hubby and my baby girl. I realized that the more time I spend with them, the more I love them. It actually hit me, I can't imagine life without my baby girl. She really does light up my life. My advice to all those young women out there is once you are married, take however much time you think you need before having a baby, but DO IT! It's the best feeling in the world, and even though it doesn't take a man or a child to complete you (because only God can make us complete), it sure does add joy to your life. And it's a love that cannot be expressed in words!

I love Fries!

So, recently I decided to go on a little "diet" to loose the rest of the baby weight, which just ain't cute no more. My diet really only consisted of stepping down on the junk food and eating more healthy meals. I ate salad for like a whole week straight and I was pumped. But then Saturday we were out at the mall and stuff and had to grab a bite to eat at the food court. So while they do have somewhat healthy choices at the food court, who wants to pick that when you can eat a Philly Cheesesteak sandwhich with fries and a coke from Charley's Subs. I mean really? Do you see my dilemma here? So I ate it. Now I can't stop eating fries again. I go to Wendy's to get a salad and somehow end up with fries again. Geez. There goes my diet, all because of french fries.

So what's your weakness?

What's Your Thing?

So we all have something that we love to do to relax our minds, blow off steam, or just be creative. For me, it's making stuff. My husband says that there's no way possible that I can relax while making jewelry, but I find it incredibly relaxing. Here's a picture of me wearing some earrings I made. BTW, keep a look out, God willing I will be starting to sell my jewelry.

What do you like to do to relax?

Welcome!

O.k. So I'm REALLY new to this whole blogging thing. So if you have any advice let me know. Hope you all enjoy.