A not so Halloween-ish Manicure

Despite my disappointment with the Julep Mystery Box in September, I am still addicted to them. So I ordered the October box when it came time, as well as a couple add-ons. And I was not disappointed.

However, I do not have a picture of what I got. I did use two of those colors for the manicure, though.

Anyway...

Once again I took inspiration from Pinterest (Link):

And this is what I came up with:

And here are the colors I used (sorry for the bad lighting):

My base is one of my new Julep colors:  Dana (a white with a blue shimmer, that can't really be seen in this picture). The darker stripe is also a Julep color from October: Ledi (a black with a bit of a black shimmer...that cannot be seen in the manicure). I have three other colors in stripes, though you can really only see two:  Ulta - Glam Session, OPI - Brand New Skates, and Kiss Silver nail art.

Now, here's the fun part. I did this mani on Wednesday morning. I am now two full days in and we are still holding strong to the nails!! (if you've been around here long enough, you know that is a big deal for my nails) I even did dishes yesterday!!  HOORAY!!!  I changed up my bottom/top coat and so far so good.

Well, that's it for me this week. I'm back-logged in nail pictures, so I may actually have nail posts the next two weeks! They'll be older manicures, but at least I'll be posting.

And, as always, linking up with the lovely Jennie Shaw and the rest of the lovelies for:


Head on over and show off your digits!

Happy Friday!

The Nail Files - From Pinterest to Real Life

While browsing Pinterest one day, I found this lovely mani:

(here's the link:  pinterest )

I fell in love with the colors. And I've been wanting to do an ombre, of sorts, on my nails, I just haven't had the patience to go through my colors to find the right shades.

A couple days after pinning, I found myself by a Sally's Beauty Supply. I had some extra change in my pocket (goin' jing-a-ling-a-ling), so I stopped in to see what I could find. They didn't have the OPI colors listed on the picture, but I found some similar in Finger Paints (which I'd never bought before).

Here's what I came up with:

(forgive the icky edges...I had not cleaned it up yet when I took the picture)

The colors are a little darker, but I still love it! On the index and pinky is Finger Paints Masterpiece of Minimalism, on my middle finger is Sketch Me, and the thumb and ring finger is Rockin' Renaissance (which is actually a texture polish that I didn't realize until I put it on...but it totally works). This is definitely a combo I'll try again. And the colors would be great solo, too!

As always, I'm linking up with for:



 Come join in and share your mani/pedi with the rest of us!

The Nail Files

It's been a while since I've linked up. And, to be honest, I've not done a whole lot with my nails lately. There just hasn't been time...and I needed some bare nails for a bit (GASP!).

But, I broke out the nail art this week, so I thought I'd share what my nails were like for the majority of the week!



The inspiration (from my pinterest and this website):

The execution:

Two coats Ulta Glam Session on all nails.

 Left hand

Right hand

The "tail" of the star is from my silver nail art lining polish. The stars are nail stickers I've had for a couple years. They were a pain in the tuckus! The didn't bend very well, so they didn't fold down on to the nail. Which translates to sharp corners and a butt-load of topcoat around them to kind of "smooth" them out and make them stay. It worked, too. The first star fell off in the shower on Wednesday...after being on since Sunday.

This weekend I'm going to Comic-Con in San Diego with Mr S (his early birthday present). I'm planning an Avengers theme for my nails. Stay tuned to next week to see what happens!

Dinner and Dessert

I went all Betty Crocker last week. I think I shocked my husband cause I am not a cook. Now, I CAN cook, I am just not a fan. And I am not a fan of experimentation in the kitchen (that's Mr S). If I'm going to spend that much time on my feet over a hot stove, I want to know it's going to be good. So if I'm going to attempt something new, it will be well researched for reviews of the recipe to see if it's worth it.

Well, I found two that I decided to try:

Broccoli & Shrimp Pasta

and

Diet Coke Cake

*links will take you to my pinterest page and from there you can find the recipes I used*

**if it wasn't almost 10 pm on Tuesday night and if I wasn't on my crappy work laptop, I'd do the recipes for you...and I may still later...but I dont' feel like typing it all out right now...sorry**

The changes I made to the pasta were using whole wheat spaghetti, pre-cooked and then frozen shrimp, steamed broccoli, and regular Italian dressing (couldn't find the brand in the recipe). Everything else was "by the book". Here's what I got:

 

It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. But then I'm extremely partial to just about anything with shrimp (except coconut shrimp).

On to Dessert!!

I made no changes. Many of the recipe variations I read said use two egg whites, which I did. Others did not use eggs. Somthing about the egg whites making them a little fluffier. I don't have anything to compare it too, but I will say they were pretty good. Also, this can be done in cake form or cupcake. I did cupcake as I figured it'd be easier to do my points with. Toppings are optional...I went with 1 Tablespoon Fat Free Whip Cream and Strawberries:

  

Let me just say...AH.MAA.ZING!! And husband, approved...which is always a bonus!

Both were easy and required very little prep (thank you pre-cooked shrimp and steamable broccoli).

The pasta ended up being about 4-6 points per serving (it will vary what changes you make and the size of your serving). And the Diet Coke Cake was 0 points per cupcake, but 1 point for two. Even with the Fat Free Whip Cream and Strawberries.

Happy Eating, y'all!!