Olympic Worthy Nail Polishes

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 Silly, I know but what better way to support the US athletes than to sport some fun colors on your nails during the next 2 weeks. We all know that sitting on the couch watching the Olympics painting my nails gold is the closest I'll ever be to the games so I figured I might as well suggest some of my favorite gold, silver, and bronze polishes.

 There's a whole collage here of different colors (bronze was the hardest to find) and the great thing is that they range in prices so that you can find one that fits your budget! How cute is this? Butter London even released a fun little Olympics pack with 3 bottles of polish, one in every color.

 I think my personal favorites are the Deborah Lippmann gold glitter and the Revlon silver. It's only been 2 games and I'm already completely wrapped up in Olympic mania, I woke up at 3:30 AM my time just to watch the women's gymnastic prelims. That being said I'm thinking about writing a post dedicated to the Olympics outlining my favorite events and athletes. #goUSA

Wishful Monday

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I had one of these room sprays a few months ago and I loved it.  It was more of a clean linen smell but I think that getting something like this would be great.  For my dorm room freshman year my roommate and I had those jelly air fresheners that smelled like vanilla and our entire room always smelled amazing.  These are great because they give the same effect as a candle but they are so much easier.  (They're on sale right now!  2 for $10!)

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This lace scarf from Free People is absolutely gorgeous.  I've been holding out on buying it, hoping that it will eventually go on sale but it is still priced at $48.  Since I'm going to school in Chicago I really need scarves that are of a heavier/warmer weight but I think that this would be cute for spring or fall outfits.  

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At $20 for 10 notecards these can get a little pricey but for special occasions or extra nice thank you notes they could be great.  I love everything about them, the gold and creme striping on the inside of the envelope, the bright raspberry color of the card and the dainty gold bow on the top, they're just so adorable!  

Sephora by OPI: Teal We Meet Again

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I usually go for creme finish on my nails but sometimes when I want something a little more fun I like to go for a glitter or a metallic.  Polishes like these {1, 2}are a great middle ground, they have micro shimmer particles that give off the glitter effect and they go on like a foil which makes the colors look metallic and shiny.  

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'Teal We Meet Again' is a fun bright color that I actually really like on my skin tone.  It goes on smoothly allowing me to get a perfect application without any clean up but I don't find the color to be all that long lasting.  I applied it a day and a half ago and I can already see the tips of my nails poking through.  If you're someone like me who changes their color often this won't be too big of an issue.  

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*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.  

Recipe: Pizza

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I've been trying to cook dinner at home more often which has resulted in me trying recipes out of my comfort zone.  First up was pizza. When I say comfort zone I mean the dough because we all know that spreading the sauce out and adding all of the toppings is easy but when you get to baking your own crust it can get a little tricky.  

If you are thinking at all about attempting to make your own crust I say DO IT!  I've made this recipe at least 4 or 5 times now and it couldn't be any easier.  Baking times and oven temps can get fidgety, but all else was smooth sailing.  I used this recipe for the crust and added my own toppings.  

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For the first photo I used pesto, mozzarella, grilled chicken, red onions, tomatoes, and peppers.  In the second photo I used a mixture of honey and regular BBQ sauce, mozzarella, kalua pork, red onions, and peppers.  After I had all the toppings on I sprinkled a pinch of salt and pepper on each pizza and brushed the edges with olive oil before popping in the oven.  

The recipe for the crust is pretty self explanatory but if you want to know how I did mine I'll explain in detail.  After you roll out the dough into the desired shape (I still haven't perfected the circle, oh well) I pop it into the oven on a piece of parchment paper for about 8 minutes.  It puffs up a bit and creates air bubbles so push those down after you take it out.  Then I spread with sauces and toppings and bake until the cheese is all gooey and the edges are golden brown.  

Believe me, if I can do it you can do it.  My family loves this easy recipe and I've been asked to make it for friends as well.  Have fun in the kitchen!  

Essie: Olé Caliente

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I'm sure everyone has a color like this in their collection, but if you're in the market for a new red I highly suggest Essie's 'Olé Caliente'.  Shown here is one coat, ONE COAT.  I'm not even kidding you this color is so opaque and perfect that it would be a great supplement to any red polishes you already have. 

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Personally I like the darker reds most of the time but a great tomato based bright red is good to have on hand as well.  I can see someone with a lighter skin tone loving this color, it would really make their nails look nicely polished and defined.  As for the lack of description or story behind this polish I apologize, I still can't get over how opaque it was! ;) 

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*natural sunlight, 1 coat, Canon T3.

Wishful Monday

Etsy Obsessed!  If you can't tell by all of the contents in this post, I have been loving browsing Etsy lately.  These are just a few of my favorites, but trust me when I say that my Etsy wish list is miles long.

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Back to School: Nails!

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Whenever I was bored at school I would stare at my nail polish (beginning signs of an addict!) and my teachers would think that I was reading whatever was on my desk, win win!  While I am not encouraging students to not pay attention in class ;) I'm simply saying that if you were to get bored at school these would be some awfully pretty colors to look at.

Bright colors like these will nicely go with any outfit and the instant pop of color will make you feel like you're out at the beach enjoying the summertime instead of stuck in a classroom.  There is a range of prices in the little collage above, something for everyone I like to think, the prices range from $4 at the drugstore to $20 at a department store.

Award for the cutest name goes to Essie with 'Bikini So Teeny', you can't get anymore summery than that!

This series has flown by, this is officially the last post so....here's to wishing you a great school year!

Back to School: Essentials

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 Colorful notebooks, fun pens, and a cute planner are the only things that get me through school. If you've noticed I've mentioned bright colorful items in practically every post, I figure if you have to go to school you might as well make it as fun as you possibly can.

 I really like the look of the notebooks in the lower left corner, they'd be cute to have one for each class and when you line them up on your desk it'd be like a bright colorful rainbow. The printed file folders are great too, I like to assign one to each class and you can fill them with all the necessary forms and hand outs.

 Pencils really aren't my thing, I think my handwriting is a lot nicer in pen. These Pilot pens are some of my favorite because the ink comes out nice and smooth. Black is great for taking notes (although I like to color code and highlight things) and I use the colorful ones to fill in my planner after I assign a color to each class.


This series is quickly coming to a close, but you know I saved the best for last...nails!

Back to School: Hair & Beauty

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 Let's be honest here, if you had an extra 10 minutes in the morning would you rather spend it getting ready or sleeping in? I'd pick sleeping in over doing my makeup any day, getting out of bed in the morning is the by far the worst part of my day. So to speed up the whole getting ready process I've picked out some of my favorite beauty items.

 For your school makeup it's best to keep it simple. I like liquid foundation to give your skin a nice even color, good concealer to hide those dark circles you have from staying up too late studying ;), a simple eyeshadow color to wash over your entire lid, liquid eyeliner to make you look more awake, and mascara to accentuate your lashes and open your eyes up. Revlon lip butters are great for everyday use because they give your lips a tint but moisturize them at the same time, two in one!

 I like to curl my hair but I can't always spare the 30 minutes, so a nice simple solution is a hairband (bring out your inner Blair Waldorf). Cute bobby pins, hair bows, or plain ole' plastic clips do the trick as well, I use anything to get my hair out of my face. It's always fun to have brightly colored hair ties in your bag as well, and these are my favorite.

Next up is essentials!