The Camp Trip- Dropping the Kiddo Off!

Wow. I totally intended to write this sooner, but I seem to have spent the entire week resting. Well, most of the week, at least. But hey, last weekend was a hell of a whirlwind!

This trip totally snuck up on me. It seemed like one minute it was January and the kiddo was pestering us to register him for camp and the next we were leaving in an hour or two! Seriously, y'all... if time continues to speed up like this the older you get, then by the time I'm 80 days will last about 20 minutes each!

Thank goodness for the husband, who managed to pack everything, get the car ready, buy the snacks for the road and everything else. I was utterly useless other than the occasional snuggle and pep talk. He swears it's not the case, but yea... it really is! Fibromyalgia sucks!

But there we were, with the car loaded and everything ready to go. Husband even went to the library to get a couple of books on tape! We probably started our book 45 minutes into the trip, and before long we were all enjoying Christopher Moore's Bite Me. I love that whole series, and Abby is such a fun, complex character.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason I was so incredibly exhausted. I ended up sleeping most of the way there! Instead of having to stop every hour or two for me to walk, I think we stopped twice? We made the drive up in really good time (9 hours instead of the usual 12) and managed to check into the hotel early enough to actually get some good rest! At least, I got good rest... :D

The next morning I woke up to the kiddo's perky voice telling us he'd gone down to the continental breakfast to get breakfast for the husband and I! That's right... breakfast in bed! I'd say it was because he's a sweetheart but he was just really dying to get to camp. He'd been up for an hour or two already and just couldn't wait anymore!

So, by 7:30am or so we were back in the car to drop the kiddo off. OMG, everyone was so happy to see him! Counselors were calling his name, hugging him, campers were running up to him and leaping onto him with giant bear hugs... everyone was practically exploding with excitement! Then when we got through all the paperwork and drove him to his cabin, he actually got mobbed by campers and disappeared into the cabin without even saying goodbye! We teased him about it, but he did come back out (after a counselor said, "What, you're not even going to say goodbye?") and give us each huge bear hugs.

After that, we headed back to the hotel for some more rest before the drive home. I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until almost 2pm (our check-out time), when husband woke me. He'd packed the car, so we got back into the car again and made the trek home... and since I was awake this time, it took us the usual 12 hours. Go figure! :D

So yea, I've been pretty wiped out since then, but I am working on some fun stuff. Keep checking back... til next time!

My New Manicure CleanUp Brush!

OMG, y'all, I have the BEST news.

Some of you may think I have super-amazing nail painting skills and never ever make a mess. You couldn't be further from the truth. I have shaky hands, and I end up with quite a mess around my cuticles. It's ok, though, because once I learned how to clean up with a brush and some acetone (or regular polish remover, whatever) my nails looked great!

I went through a lot of brushes, trying to find one that would be perfect. Big enough without being too big, nice angles, the right shape. Finally, I found one that I fell in love with. Wet n Wild makes a creme eyeliner that is freakin' amazing, and the brush that comes with it is perfect for cleaning up your nails. (It sucks for lining your eyes, though- get a new brush for that!) Best of all, the eyeliner costs a whopping $4, so I don't feel like I'm breaking the bank when I need to replace my brush.

Unfortunately, that brush is almost a year old and it's pretty much died. Acetone isn't the nicest to brushes, and these poor bristles have lost their oomph. When I went to replace it, I couldn't find the Wet n Wild liner ANYWHERE!!! This was QUITE a problem!

Well, on the ride home from dropping the kiddo off at summer camp, we stopped every few hours to stretch our legs and walk a bit. Lucky for me, I checked the cosmetics section in one of these tiny little towns and found a new brand of makeup called Black Radiance. It's a lovely cosmetics collection for darker-skinned women, and they had my brush!!

At that point, I didn't care if the cream liner worked or not, or if it was even in the package. I just wanted that brush! The good news is that it cost even less than my original Wet n Wild liner! This lovely package cost a grand total of $3.88- a price I was more than willing to pay.

Well... ok. I won't lie here. I actually picked it up and carried it in the buggy with me for a good 15 minutes while I decided whether I was going to buy it or not. Cheap or not, we're broke and we still have to go pick up the kid in 3 weeks! But eventually, I decided to go wild and bring it home with me, and I'm SO glad I did! The brush is utterly gorgeous and even works for putting on eyeliner, if you don't have any other brushes. I'd still recommend using a nicer one, though.

As if this wasn't enough good news, the liner is actually amazing! I have a feeling it's the same liner as the Wet n Wild, since it comes in the same colors and is made by the same parent company as Wet n Wild. Since I already have black liner, I went with the chocolate brown and couldn't be happier. I applied a test line onto my hand just to see how well it lasts, and after countless times washing my hands, sleeping with it, etc, it was still looking exactly the way it did when I put it on. This stuff STAYS!

I also love it on my eyes... the brown is dark enough to really make my lashline look thick without screaming "Look At My Eyeliner!" I'm loving this stuff!

So if you're looking for a new cleanup brush, head to your local cosmetics department and look for some cream eyeliner. If you can find the Wet n Wild, grab it, but the Black Radiance is just as good!

Til next time!

I bought this one with my own money, and I'll buy another when I find it!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Cute Nail Art- Milani Bright On Marbelizing

OMG, have you guys seen this? I saw this on the Milani FaceBook page and absolutely loved it! I'm going to have to pull out some fun bright colors and see what I can put together... I have to say I'd use a toothpick instead of a paperclip, though, since I've cut the top of my nail with paperclips before.

Just a quick tidbit to hold you over til I get this video done.

Also- thank you so much!! We leave to take the kiddo to camp in about...EEP, three hours! I'm TOTALLY not ready! Gotta run, and finish up those last-minute tasks! Til next time!

Deborah Lippmann: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Oh my goodness, I am absolutely loving this look. Let me start by saying that I'm really not one to wear corals... they tend to make my skin look kind of oogy. On other people coral looks amazing, but on me? Meh.

So I had a massive problem once I had Deborah Lippmann's Girls Just Want to Have Fun in my hands. It is such a gorgeous coral and I wanted to wear it! Something about this color just absolutely won my heart- it's pigmented, it's bright, it's all the wonderful things about a hot summer day without all the ickiness of actual humidity and frizzy hair! I kicked some ideas around in my head, trying to figure out what I could do to make this color wearable for me.

Before long, it hit me. This was dying to become a Hawaiian print! I've been stashing adorable little floral nail stickers away here and there in my nail art box, always wanting to wear them but never knowing how to do it without looking silly. I'm not sure I managed with this look, but I don't care... I love it too much. The beauty is that even if you're all thumbs, you can do this look too!!

The most important part of this look for me was variety. I used four different sheets of floral stickers in colors that worked together, hoping to make a playful mishmash of pattern that worked together as a fabric, almost. It's not as good as it could be, but every time I see my nails, I giggle a bit to myself!

It really is as easy as picking the stickers off their little sheet and placing them onto your nail wherever you like! Rather than try and keep all the stickers complete, I cut some in half and some in thirds so that the pattern seemed to continue past my nails. I used a pair of nail scissors to cut the stickers and a pair of tweezers to place them gently. After that, a couple of Seche Vite pulled everything together, giving it a coherent look.

However, it still needed something else... something fun, something silly. A quick dig through my nail art box gave me just the thing- Love My Nails Dazzling, a super-fine glitter that made the whole design pop! One more coat of Seche Vite finished it off, and now my nails are perfect for a Louisiana Luau, complete with ice cold beer and a pretty flower in my hair! Now... to find that luau... ;)

Let me know if you try this look. I've love to see photos! This could work with any bright base color, too- yellow, pink, orange, even lavender would be gorgeous! Relax, have fun with it, and remember it's only nail polish!

Til next time!

Polish and stickers were provided by the manufacturers for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

15% Off Crazy Rumors Vegan Lip Balm!!

Wow- I just heard about this and I'm LOVING it! Do you know about Crazy Rumors lip balm? I didn't either, but now I'm really tempted to try!

See, while I love the idea of lip balms, I don't actually love most of them. They've got so much artificial gunk in them and they make my lips feel funny. Add in the fact that so many of them are mint-flavored (which I absolutely HATE!) and you can tell I end up with pretty chapped lips a lot of the time.

Enter Crazy Rumors. Everything in their lip balms is organic and vegan! No petroleum products, no names a mile long I can't pronounce. They're made from stuff like organic shea butter, jojoba oil, and extra virgin olive oil! Add in a list of flavors that is to die for and I am in utter heaven!

The best part? You can now get your own for 15% off! Just enter the code FRESH at checkout on the Crazy Rumors website and the discount will be applied! Sweet!!

I just love a good sale!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

A Quick Update, and a Look at My Other Half's Work

Wow. I seriously thought I'd have my video look at the various full-nail sticker/appliques up by now, but man, video editing is hard! It's getting there, though, and I'm really excited. I think you guys are going to like this one. I know I'm happy with it already!

However, since I've been either sick or getting ready to take the kid to camp, I thought I'd give you a glimpse at what my other half does. (OMG, 1300 miles by car in 2 days... man, we're insane!) We leave Saturday, so posts may be a bit more sparse than usual around here. Don't worry though, I'll be back! But til then, I have such cute things to show you!

See, I'm not the only artist in the family. My husband actually has his master's degree in it! His day job is teaching, and then we both have lots of fun working on various other artsy-type things in our spare time. One thing we work on together is MazeParty.com. If you have kids, you guys will definitely want to check this one out! It's a site filled with free activity pages for kids, and you don't even need to register! There are mazes and coloring pages so far, and we're adding to it all the time. So if your kids bug you this summer with, "I'm Bored," head over to Maze Party and give them something fun to do!

 Then there's my husband's redbubble site. This is where he puts his adorable designs for tee shirts, stickers, and more! I've been dying to get my own Monkey Power tee shirt, just because it's so darned cute.

 And sometimes, he'll put up something he made especially for me, like the Shy Bug illustration that works so well both as a tee shirt and as a sticker. So if you're looking for adorable tees or gifts, definitely stop by his redbubble!

Unfortunately, I've still got a LOT of editing to do on the video I'm working on, so I'm going to go bury myself in my video editor and my books. However, next time I've got an adorable Hawaiian-inspired look using the latest Deborah Lippmann polish and some adorable KISS nail decals! If you can put on a sticker, you can do this look!

Til next time!

I love monkeys, they're so adorable!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Thank you, and updated videos for Glitter Gal 3D Purple

This is just a quick message tonight to address a couple of things that have been on my mind. First off- to those of you who threw a few bucks in the camp fund, I thank you. To those of you who haven't, but continue to read and support this blog? Thank you as well... You all bring me more joy than you realize.

Second, I had a mini breakthrough while digging through AfterEffects this morning. And this afternoon. And... well, tonight, too. What can I say, I really want to up the content quality around here! So, I'm including the videos I shot for Glitter Gal 3D Purple Holographic polish.  That first video sort of accidentally got deleted, and I'm still not sure how, but as a result I was able to upload a better version of it! Also, I shot a VERY short video of the bottle, so you can truly see how holographic this beauty is.









In short? If you like holographic polishes, you're going to love Glitter Gal. Til next time!

Glitter Gal Polish was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.