"where do you get your nails done?"

i have never in my life been asked so many times where i get my nails done. all thanks to a little lady named sally hansen. my sister-in-law and two of her besties came to visit last weekend and they were awesome enough to bring me a set of sally's salon effects polish strips. i love them, they seem to be lasting forever, and like i said, have gotten so many compliments on them. i stocked up in tons of colors and designs at walgreens and cvs this past weekend - beware, some of the best designs are hard to find.



on my toes? essie's lovey dovey.

guest blogger: korie's san tan-tonio

what's better than a guest post to kick off my return from hiatus? :) - annie

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Loving the new OPI Texas collection. Tried the San Tan-tonio...love it! Def will do this one again sometime.

tart deco and coat azure

not only have i been buying spring/summer clothing lately, i've also decided i'm ready to go light with my nail polish. while opi's russian navy and essie's chinchilly have been my staples as of late, a trip to ulta over the weekend inspired me to lighten up with essie's tart deco on my fangers and coat azure on my toes. do you have a favorite shade for spring?

recipes: aunt linda's penne a la vodka

it has been WAY too long since i made this recipe. sourced from my lovely aunt linda back home on long island, this penne a la vodka will bring all the neighbors knocking on the door. it's super easy and super delicious - and it makes a lot so you can feed a few people and have plenty of leftovers. nick and i actually split the sauce into two parts and freeze one for a quick, delicious meal when we don't have time to cook.

below: onions, scallions and garlic in butter and olive oil (the recipe calls for four shallots but i usually do half onions, half shallots instead)

below: after adding the tomato

below: instead of getting the ginormous bottle of local dripping springs vodka down from the top shelf of the pantry, i used this nip that was randomly on one of the lower shelves. exactly the amount i needed. i'm wearing opi's opi on collins ave on my nails.

below: all of the ingredients together for a quick simmer

below: ready to serve. love! we also had these on the side.

i meant to pick up some fresh basil or spinach while at the grocery store and completely forgot. instead, we whipped up some gulf shrimp to add more lean protein to our meal. i'll eat more veggies for lunch tomorrow to make up for the missing food group (i'm guessing parsley doesn't count).

opi texas collection launches today

i'm back, bitches! and what better timing than to commemorate the launch of the opi texas collection? i haven't seen any of the hues in person just yet but i look forward to trying austin-tacious turquoise, san tantonio and do you think i'm tex-y. i don't think those names could be any better. i haven't seen many of the colors for sale online yet but this entire set could be yours for a mere $73.

ps. thanks for sticking with me during my hiatus. it's been a crazy long couple of weeks but it was also super rewarding. i finished up yesterday with a massive presentation and work product under my belt and i couldn't be more pumped. now i have time for my fun, non-paying blogger job, yay!

i'm not really a waitress...really.

over the weekend katy and i decided to use the bad weather as an excuse to relax our butts off and treat ourselves to a mani/pedi. i chose a "classic" color for my fangers - opi's i'm not really a waitress - one of their best sellers. i never ever wear red nailpolish, and although i wanted to try essie's fishnet stockings, the salon i like only carries opi. i really like it...and i can't wait to try some of the new spring colors in the next few months.

it's gettin' chinchilly up in here

my ski teal we drop manicure finally bit the dust (lasted two weeks, woot!) so i decided to go back to an old favorite from earlier this year - chinchilly by essie. i finished it after the second coat but i kiiiiinda think i coulda gone for a really thin third. a great transition color from bright summer hues to the darker shades of winter, chinchilly is a lovely option this fall. it's funny, though - it looks more green in the photos than it does in real life (it's really grey in the sun) and i kinda like it! goes with the military trends of fall.

opi ski teal we drop and funky dunkey

nick and i were lucky to have some of our best friends, christy and bobby, make a last minute trip from nyc to austin this past weekend. christy and i decided to steal away on saturday afternoon for some much-needed lady time at my favorite austin nail place. i decided on two OPI colors - ski teal we drop (from the swiss collection) on my fangers and funky dunkey (from the shrek forever collection) on my toes. i'm really loving both shades...so much that i might have to visit my local ulta store to add the hues to my personal collection.

me time amidst the madness

i'm back! but we haven't moved yet. some loan stuff got a little tricky so our closing kept getting pushed back. as of now, we're closing wednesday afternoon and moving on friday (knock on wood). i decided to give myself a little break from the packing madness to repaint my toes, which had been neglected for quite some time. essie's lovie dovie is one of my favorites from a few years ago - something about bubble gum pink makes me feel really happy.

doing my nails out in deco

i've mentioned before how much i love stocking up on OPI and essie nail polish colors and doing my nails every week or so. my latest favorite color is OPI's done out in deco and i took photos of my step-by-step process of manicuring at home. it's a pretty basic process but thought i'd share anyway :)
step 1: after cutting nails nice and short (long nails are SO 1997), prep nails with a base coat of OPI's nail envy to strengthen weak nails ($8 - $12).

step 2: cover nails with two thin coats of polish, patiently letting each coat dry fully before moving on to the next. this'll help avoid bubbles. the photo below is after one coat.

step 3: top off with seche vita's dry fast top coat ($3-10).

all done!

oh and here's my toes in essie's marshmallow, as i promised last week!

wearing white before memorial day #4 / nail polish

i love wearing nail polish on my toes that brings out even the faintest hint of a fresh tan. essie's "marshmallow" polish is the best white i've found. not too shimmery, not too matte, not too bright white. i plan to replace my "done out in deco" toes with "marshmallow" this weekend.

you can usually find essie on amazon.com for about $3.50 or $4 rather than the usual $8. i picked up marshmallow at ulta last week during a buy two get one free sale. they have them regularly so stop in every once in a while.

rounding out the week with a fun-filled weekend

it's been a long couple of weeks...super busy at work (my boss quit...gulp), attending SXSWi, dealing with an anxious poop-covered dog, missing nick while he's in vegas gambling on march madness, yadda yadda...so i'm super pumped for this weekend. i'll be hitting up some SXSW music events tonight and tomorrow, driving to houston sunday for a day trip to the houston rodeo (yeehaw!!), and painting my nails with my new OPI done out in deco nail polish (sorry Essie fans, but i hear their lilacism is super streaky).

thanks so so so much for your readership, guys! really means a lot to me...don't hate me if i'm not much of a blogger early next week - i'll catch up as soon as i can!

grey nail polish for grey skies

the weather in austin has suddenly turned brisk again, with rain on and off to add to the "ick" factor. so my new go-to nail polish is this new grey shade, called particulière, from chanel's spring 2010 line. i picked it up at neiman's for $23 about three weeks ago.



can't find it or don't want to spend the bucks on it? opi's you don't know jacques from the france collection is a good substitute and can usually be found for about $8.

ps. i'll be in houston for work tomorrow so there probably won't be a post...will definitely be back on wednesday!

blue suede shoes...i mean toes

warning - if you're freaked out by feet, stop reading. you're about to see mine.

as i've written about before, i adore trying all the new shades of nail polish the second they arrive in my local ricky's store. i tell myself buying a new shade of polish here and there for $9 is much more wallet friendly than getting a mani/pedi on a weekly basis for $25. my latest do-it-yourself trial was o.p.i.'s russian navy from their suede collection. it's blue, it's semi matte and it's swirly. i'm still getting used to the transition from essie's ultra summery punchy pink but so far i think i like it! what do you think of the color?

the saddest weekend of the year (for me)

sad. very, very sad. that's the only way to describe my mood as we close in on what is considered the last real weekend of the summer season. in honor of summer, i've decided to list (in no particular order) some of my ultimate favorite things about such a wonderful time of the year. not surprising that the majority are beach related.

go ahead, post in the blog's comments section - i wanna know - what are your favorite things about summer?

lightning bugs


hot dogs burned on the bbq and covered in condiments


havaiana flip flops (on sale for $15.50 from piperlime, who also has free shipping and returns)



my victoria's secret ruffle bikini top (still in stock for $18)


swimming in the ocean. even though i'm afraid sea "critters" are out to get me.


my birthday (it's on flag day)


sand in my apartment accidentally dragged in from days at the beach


sweating for no reason



outdoor beer gardens


bright pink nail polish on my toes


tan lines


my bright blue beach chair


evening strolls with nick after dinner


plums

fire island sunsets