Randomness

*peeks out*  Hey, there Kitchies!  How the heck are ya?!  I've been busy (yeah, shocker.  I know.)  I thought I'd take a few minutes and share some random manis with you today!  Ready?  I have no idea when I wore any of these.  Sorry about that.

This is one my top 10 favorite polishes.  Revlon Royal is a gorgeous, squishy royal blue jelly.  I made it jelly sammich with Jordana Pixie Pink glitter.  I loved this!

I caught flakey madness like everybody else did when Finger Paints released their flakey collection.  This is Orly Charged Up with Finger Paints Twisted.  You can't go wrong with a good flakey polish, but this mani was just kinda meh to me.

Zoya Faye.  I want to love this.  Really, I do.  But I just...don't.  I want the rosy purple to show through more.  Most of the time, all you can see is the bright gold glass flecks.  It is a pretty polish in theory.  Just give me a *little* more purple...please.

This was better in my head than it was on the nail.  The green is Sinful Colors Mint Apple.  I don't remember what the blue is, but it's a pretty sky blue with just a touch of shimmer.  Maybe a Milani?  Yep.  I'm pretty sure it's Milani Beach Front.  The flowers are Milani White on the Spot and Yellow Whiz (worst. polish name. ever.).

I don't usually like white nails because they're so stark.  But, when you pair it with a pretty glitter and make it a gradient, it's a win for me!  This is Milani White on the Spot with Fuchsia Jewel FX.  I say I don't like glitter because it's such a PITA to remove, but looks like I use it pretty often when you lump manis together like this.

There ya go!  Hope that holds you over for a little while.  Sorry I've been so sporadic with posting - life doesn't slow down anymore.  Be back soon...?

Primary Colors

Happy September, Kitschies!  How is it possibly already September?  Before you know it, it's going to be Halloween.  And then Turkey Day.  And then Christmas.  *sigh*  Time is moving impossibly fast.  And because of that, I haven't been posting much.  In fact, I didn't post at all during the entire month of August.  Shame on me!!

The highlights of August: Nate started 1st grade, I had my birthday, and the hubs and I got to go camping!

I know most of you aren't here to see pics of my handsome little boy or of my adventures around the state, so I'll get to why you're really here: the nails!

I'm going to start by saying that I have NO idea when I did this mani.  But, it's pretty and I like it, so I'm going to share it with you.

I believe I started with a base of white, but since it's been such a long time, I can't remember exactly.  It was either white or the yellow.

Anyway...

I liked the idea of this one more in my head than it looked on my nails.  I think I should've used a brighter blue rather than a navy.

This is my right hand.  I liked the pinky nail on this hand a lot.  And the thumb was good, too, until I knocked it on something and ended up with a big bald spot.  But, you know when you've finished a full water marble mani, you really don't feel like redoing one if it gets messed up.  Yeah.  That's what happened there.

See...if all the nails came out like this one, with the blue really bold, I would've liked it better.  Either way, it was a water marble and really...you can't completely go wrong with that.

And here's what I used.  I have yet to find a yellow that I really like.  A real, primary-type yellow.  Any suggestions?

So, there ya go.  I won't promise to post more but I can tell you that I have lots of pictures prepped and just sitting there, waiting to be shared with the blogverse!!

Happy September!

Breakfast Nom

Happy Monday, Kitschies!  I hope you had a great weekend.  We didn't do much this weekend.  I got in a good skate Saturday morning, but other than that, we were kinda hermits...and that's ok.  School starts soon and I'm sure once it starts, there will be plenty to keep us busy.

When my family was here visiting, I went trolling Pinterest for some good recipes (you can follow me on Pinterest HERE).  I always find lots of great things on there and this recipe I'm sharing with you today is no exception.

French Toast Bake

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar

1 loaf Texas toast
4 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Melt butter in microwave & add brown sugar....stir till mixed.  Pour butter/sugar mix into bottom of 9 x 13 pan....spread around.  Beat eggs, milk, & vanilla. Lay single layer of Texas Toast in pan.  Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on bread layer.  Add 2nd layer of Texas Toast.  Spoon on remaining egg mixture.  Cover & chill in fridge overnight.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (covered for the first 30 minutes).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve with warm maple syrup (I don't do the syrup part).

NOTES:  This recipe can be doubled or halved.  I made a full recipe for 6 adults and it was just the right amount.  I half it for the 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids).  The second time I made this, I made it up that morning and I couldn't tell the difference.

I was skeptical because you make it up ahead of time and put it in the fridge overnight.  Bread in egg overnight usually equals blech.  Not this time!  The top layer cooks up nice and toasted and the bottom, while soggy, is still delish!

My hubs doesn't do soggy bread but he eats this without trouble.  And trust me, you don't need syrup!  The brown sugar and butter on the bottom makes a great caramel sauce.

You should try this.  I've made a few recipes I've found on Pinterest but this one is definitely one of the best.

I'm going to try to post another Pinterest recipe later this week (along with some more nails, of course).

Green Things

**Notice anything different?  Yep.  I changed things around a little.  New background = new blog button!  Check it out and grab one!**

Good morning, Kitschies!  I hope all of you in the Land of the Internets are doing well.  Can you believe it's almost August?!  Where has the Summer gone?  I remember taking Nate to his first day of Kindergarten and now it's almost time for him to start first grade.  *sigh*

I've been seriously horrible about blogging lately and I'm not gonna apologize!  LOL  I've been skating, reading (a lot!!), visiting with family, eating (probably more than I should), and watching TV (not a lot).  I'm home with Nate today and I thought I'd take advantage of the quiet (it's 7:30 and he's still in bed - that's how you know he's sick) and do some picture prep and maybe get a post (or a few, hopefully) knocked out.  I was reviewing the backlog of pictures and I came across this one that I'd forgotten about.

This is the gorgeous Zoya Midori.  It's a beautiful lime green with a golden flash.  It's bright but not overly obnoxious (say, like CC What A Shock!).

I love how the gold flash makes this green glow.  I'm not usually too partial to green polish, but this one is so pretty - it's a Zoya must have.  I had a bit of a thin spot near the cuticle on a few fingers but I don't think it's the polish's fault - probably more of a rush fault on my part.

Sorry this one's a little blurry.  I used Bundle Monster plate BM04 and ChG Jolly Holly for the stamping.

I don't usually post makeup looks but keeping in the swing of green things, I thought I'd share a look I did for the Albuquerque Comic Expo in early June.

I said I'm not too partial to green nail polish...but I loves me some green eyeshadow!  The gold is Fyrinnae Rapunzel Had Hair Extensions, lime green is from the Maybelline Forrest Fury palette and the dark green is a base of the darker green in Forrest Fury with Fyrinnae Dark Fantasy over top.

I'm off to snuggle with Mr Nate.  Fevers are the worst!  Enjoy your day and come back soon - there will be more things shared on Kitschy Suburbia soon.

Summer Salad

Good morning, Kitschies!  I hope you had a good weekend and didn't melt in the heat.  It's been super hot and there's no rain in sight.  I'm really hoping we get some good monsoons this summer, but it's not looking like that so far.

ANYway...I've been trying to eat healthier (yes, I know you've heard that from me before), but this time I'm serious.  I kinda have to eat better because junk in = junk out.  You're probably tired of hearing me talk about it, but derby kicks my ass...in a good way.  I can practice day in and day out, but until I get my eating under control, I'm not going to see the changes I want/need to see.  So, as a way to keep on top of it, I went on a "healthy" recipe hunt.  You usually think healthy = tasteless (at least I do), but I did my best to make sure what I found was good for you AND tastes good, too.  This is the first recipe I tried.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup feta
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
Red bell pepper, diced
Spinach, handful, chopped small
Red onion, a few rings, diced small

Dressing
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp Cayenne powder (more or less, depending on preference)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Cook quinoa. To cook quinoa bring 1 1/4 cup water or chicken broth to a boil (basically the ratio is 1 part quinoa to 1.25 part liquid). Add 1 Cup rinsed quinoa, give it a good stir, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 30-35 minutes**

While your quinoa is simmering, make up your dressing by whisking together all dressing ingredients. In a separate bowl add black beans (rinsed, drained), corn (rinsed, drained), diced pepper, spinach and red onion.

Once quinoa is done cooking and has cooled, add it to the other ingredients. Pour dressing over everything. Mix up. Enjoy!

NOTES:  I didn't use fresh limes - I just use the prepared juice.  Next time I think I'll use a bit less cumin - it was a bit strong for my taste.  And...it didn't take anywhere near 30 minutes to cook the quinoa...maybe 15-20 minutes.  I didn't use all the dressing but kept the remaining dressing for a marinade - I think it'll be great on chicken.

So colorful!  I really, really like this, which is good because the hubs...notsomuch.  And the kids?  I didn't even ask them to try it because my previous quinoa recipe didn't go over so well with them.

 

I have been eating on this over the weekend and it's definitely better the second day - all the flavors have had a chance to marry together.  I described this to my sister and she said it sounded like Greek salad, which I think is a good description.  Kind of a southwest Greek salad!

It's shaping up to be a busy week, so take it easy and enjoy some great summer food!  Oh...and I promise to get my blog background changed soon - though it's nice to think of winter when it's so flippin' hot out!

Blue Skies Ahead

Happy weekend, Kitschies!  I hope you're busy doing things that make you happy and you have nothing but blue skies ahead.  Here in the Kitschy household, I'm keeping down the fort while the hubs is on a camping trip.  On today's agenda?  I hope to get some cleaning done and I need to run a few errands - tomorrow is Father's Day and ideally, I'd like to get out while the hubs isn't home but that's not really looking like it's going to happen.

So...in the meantime, I have a mani to share with you.  I haven't a clue when I did this mani - you all know how seriously behind I am in posting.

This is 2-3 coats of a powder blue creme from Color Club (Blue Light, maybe?  It probably came in a set - those don't usually names on the bottles).  As with most pastels, application was horrible.  You can see drag marks on my index and ring fingers.  With a dotting tool, I started with SH Thinking of Blue (navy), then combined it with white to make the cornflower blue dots.  I finished off the gradient dots with SH White On.

All in all, I was happy with this mani.  I have a question, though...how hard is it to make a pastel without it being super streaky and a pain in the butt to apply??  Do you have any tricks when it comes to applying pastel polish?  I'd really love to hear them.

Happy weekend!  See you soon. :)

I'm Still Alive

Helllllooooo, Kitschies!!  Hold on to your hats.  It's going to be a long one...

Have you forgotten about me?  I haven't forgotten about you...promise!!  I can't believe my last post was in MARCH...where has the time gone?!  I have been really super busy with...life...but I'm taking a break and going to get you caught up a little on what I've been doing.

And before I forget...thank you to those of you who've sent me emails recently.  It's you who've *inspired* me to post tonight.  As always, all pictures are click-able to make big-able!

So...last time we talked, I was getting ready for my first derby bout.  That was March 19th.  The season opener was a blast!  We had a packed house and DIA (my team) won their first bout.

That's me (in front) and Carson B Demented (our team captain).  Man...that first bout...I just felt lost through the whole thing.  Well, the first half, anyway.  Then just before the first half was over, I jacked my knee and had to sit out the rest of the time.

I believe this was during the intros...they pronounced my name (Sinestra) wrong...they always do.  LOL

Me after my first bout.  I wish I could've skated more but there was no way my knee was going to cooperate for that!  After about 2 weeks of rest, I was back on my skates, ready for another go at it!

I don't have many other pics of anything else in March.  Oh!  Easter!  Or was that April?  Either way...here's a few from Easter.

I love all three of those pictures!  We had Easter at my MIL's house - always good food...always a good time!

We took the boys to ABQ Jump for Mother's Day...and even I got to jump!  We had a nice lunch and the kids had fun and that's what really matters.

Nate graduated from Kindergarten in May, too!  Awww...my little Monkey is growing up so fast!  They had a cute little ceremony for all the "graduates".  I remember his first day like it was just a month ago...next thing I know, he'll be graduating from high school.  *sigh*

We had our second bout on May 19th - there weren't as many people but we skated great!  I didn't feel like I was completely lost the second time around and my knees held up.  I even got a couple of good blocks in there!  Oh...and we beat the HoBots.  Yay!

This is my current favorite picture of the boys.  It's so hard to get them to settle down long enough for a good picture, but I lucked out on this one!

We celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday on Memorial Day weekend because I was out of town on his actual birthday.  We had family and friends gather at a park and had cupcakes to celebrate!

And...I think you're up to date.  The hubs and his hetero life partner have their first ever COMICS booth at Albuquerque Comic Expo this weekend!  This is at least 15 (probably more like 20) years in the making.  I am proud of them for finally getting their stuff together and presenting their baby to the world!  I can't wait to see how it goes.

I've still been doing my nails and take pictures from time to time, but I haven't done any prepping.  Maybe some day (soon) I'll post a "highlights" post of the best ones from the last few months.

I promise not to be gone so long this time.  And I need to give my blog a facelift.  It hasn't felt like winter here in New Mexico in a long, long time!!

Laters babe.

Talk Nerdy Derby to Me!

Yes, yes.  I know.  I've been a stranger.  Let me tell you...it's been so chaotic schedule-wise over the last few weeks.  I will get everything sorted out...eventually...and get back on a more regular posting schedule.  In the meantime...

Let me share something pretty cool with you.  On Sunday, my derby team (DIA) had their photo shoot for the new season.  We met at Skate City and we had a blast!!  A *huge* shout out to Shelia Lucero Photography for getting some awesome, awesome shots.  All images are clickable to make biggable. :)

Team DIA: 2012

Left to right: Gunz N Road Rash, Carson B Demented, Midwife Crisis, Taint Francis, God Jam It, Sinestra, Slagathor, Connie, HBomb (in pink), Max the Arctic Blast (behind HBomb) and Justin Beaver.

That's me in all my nerdy glory.  See...DIA are spies.  And we're awesome.  And we like to change it up when it comes to themes.  That night we were disguised as nerds.  We can't be like the other teams who go for the tough, sexy look.  No.  We're nerds.  And we're proud of it!

This is such a fun group of gals...and they're pretty badass at skating, too!

And, in case you're in the Albuquerque area and in case I haven't already told you, our first bout is March 10th - that's a week from tomorrow!!  Come out and support some great athletes and have a good time.  The bouts are held at the Albuquerque Convention Center and tickets are $15 at the door (or you can get them from me ahead of time for $10).

WWtKW: Pamper Yourself

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking up with Mamarazzi, Crazymama of 6 and Queso for WWtKW again this week.  The questions come from Crazymama and are all about pampering yourself.



1.  What is your go-to color if you paint your nails?  Do your toes and fingernails match?
This is kind of a funny question for me.  See...when you have over 300 (*gasp*) color choices at your beck and call, it's hard to have a go-to color.  Seriously.  When I get tired of my current mani, I pick whatever catches my fancy at that moment.  As for the matchy-matchy...that never happens.


2.  Have you ever gone for a mani/pedi?  How often do you go?
The last time I went for a mani?  I can't even remember.  However, I can tell you I do my nails 2-3 times a week at home.  My last pedi was probably about 6 months ago.  I usually do my own every 2 weeks or so.  I think I'm pretty good at doing my own nails and since I have all the supplies already at home, why pay somebody to do it?


3.  Do you color your hair?  Do you have a salon do it or do you do it yourself?
I hadn't colored my hair for a long time...like...before Nate was born.  But, all of a sudden, I got a wild hair and decided to do it myself.  I liked the color enough, but I wanted more.  So I employed the assistance of my bestie to put in teal streaks.  It didn't go so well...

And then I decided I needed a cut, so I got a cut and the salon was running a special, so I got it re-dyed.  Usually I'll do it at home but the sale was for 50% off - how can you pass THAT up?

LOVED this color but anybody who does their hair in reds knows how high-maintenance it is.  It's been about 6 weeks now and it's much more brown than red. *sad*


4.  Facials...have you ever had one?
Yep.  But, again, it's been YEARS!  I used to work in a dermatology office and we'd get facials for a super reduced price.  Can't beat a good deal!

5.  Would you, or have you ever, done Botox?
Nope.  Never have.  Never will.

6.  Beauty knows now pain.  Do you believe in waxing, electrolysis, eyelash extensions, anti-aging creams, micro-dermabrasion, peels, etc?
I've done it all - including being a guinea pig for laser hair removal (*ouch*).  OK...maybe not *all* (I haven't done electrolysis or lash extensions) but I have had my lashes dyed and I've had more than a few micro-dermabrasions.  I say, if you wanna do it, do it.  Who's to tell you not to?  And if it makes you feel better about yourself, why not?!