Kitschy Suburbia

NerdLacquer - Webinarmy

2012-02-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! Another week is flying by and it's been just as busy as the one before it. Derby practice Monday (workin' my skillz), sick kiddo (Mason - again - this time with an ear infection), misbehaving kiddo (Nate - again), intense workouts, lather, rinse, repeat.

After seeing quite a few girls with their new NerdLacquer hauls, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and I purchased a trio. Oh, how I love Amanda's creations. They're pretty *and* they're geek-centric. Nail polish doesn't get much better than that!

Here's what I got...

LtoR: Webinarmy, ≠C, Event Horizon and I Think You Call Me...Sexy

How do you pick which one to try first? Really! So. I don't know how I decided, but I went with Webinarmy.

Webinarmy is a pretty green - not quite Army green, not quite Kelly green. The best I can describe it is a dusty green with a hint of blue. ANYway...this is an almost jelly base with a bit of silver shimmer thrown in there for fun.

And then the glitter...oh, the glitter! Small green and blue hex glitter with little tiny bits of round blue and green round glitter.

I had a couple pieces of the larger hex glitters that didn't lay quite flat, but it wasn't enough to snag on anything. The wear was good (at least 3 days) and the removal was the typical pain in the butt glitter removal. My *only* complaint (and it's not even really a complaint, but an observation) about this polish is the smell. It's not *horrible* but it's noticeably different than your mass-market polishes.

As always, these and other wonderfully gorgeous NerdLacquers are available from Amanda's Etsy page, however, she's on a short vacation and her shop is closed. But this is only temporary!! Be sure to check back there often so you can grab one when she comes back online. :)

So...now here's the question of the day: Which NerdLacquer should I try next?

Disco Smurf

2012-02-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! I apologize for the decreased postings as of late. Things at the clinic have been a little more hectic and I haven't had as much down time as I usually do. But, know that I'm still here and I love you all and I think about blogging often.

And since I have a quick couple of minutes, I thought I'd share a recent mani with you.

In December, I got an awesome ROAK package from one of my favorite nail bloggers: Nailstah. I was itching to try one of the beauties she gifted me and this was the first one I tried.

This is SH Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away and Kleancolor Blue Holo. Blue Holo looks *so* pretty in the bottle but it's super, super sheer. I matched the blue base as close as I could and I think the match with Blue Me Away was pretty spot on.

Serious bling, ladies! I wore this back in early January and it took me a few days before I could get some decent sun shots, hence the tip wear visible on the first pic. I loved this mani - it reminded me of a disco Smurf. LOL

source

Well, it's time to get my butt off my chair and get some stuffs done...even though my butt is sore and I'd rather just sit here. LOL Yay, roller derby! I'll post as often as I can but it won't be near as consistent as it was a few weeks ago. Yay for being busy with work. Boo for not having as much time for my blog!

Hello, Gorgeous!

2012-02-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! It's been another busy week over here in Suburbia. Work "restructuring", sick kiddo, derby, new part time job for the hubs. My head is spinning!! The bestie and I managed to make an brief escape on Saturday for lunch and some retail therapy - it was soooo good to get out of the house for some girl time (when are we going again, Ms Zombie?).

I have a gorgeous polish to show you today. I do NOT know why I waited so long to get this one. Seriously. One of, if not THE most, awesome polishes I own.

In the shade, this looks like your typical silver foil polish. But don't let that fool you because...

WAPOW! Silver holo awesomeness! I know all you lacquerheads out there know already, but this is Nfu Oh 61. Or, as I like to call it, the Queen of Holos. I used 2-3 coats (depending on streaks) over 2 coats of Nfu Oh Aqua Base.

Nfu Oh has the best holos, IMO. Strong linear rainbow-y goodness!

I just don't know what else to say. Just stare and drool. Stare and drool.

Happy Wednesday! I hope today is a good one for you.

Winning Makes Everything Better

2012-01-31T07:57:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies!!

I took too many of these last night...

source

So I'm moving a little slow this morning. To make myself happier and forget about the hurt for a bit, I want to announce a *winner*!

The winner of the Zoya polishes provided by Verve 360 salon has been chosen!! Out of 108 valid entries, who has already responded to her congrats email and chosen by random.org (which picked #35) was...

Thank you to everybody who entered!! Keep an eye out for another giveaway coming up soon. :)

Once Upon A Time...

2012-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's shaping up to be another busy day, so I'm going to put together this post while I can.

WAAAAAYYYY back in October, Mason and I took a road trip to Cali to visit my family. It was time for the annual Walk to Defeat ALS (I walked, well, skated) in support of my Mom who was diagnosed with ALS over 10 years ago. While I was visiting, I had to make a trip to their brand new Ulta to see what was up for grabs. I was happy to find two great polishes. But first, let's look at what I wore *out* there.

I started my trip to Cali with a holo, albeit not a strong holo, but a holo nonetheless. I mean, how can you visit the Sunshine State without sporting a holo on your tips?! This is 3D Fantasy from the ChG Tronica collection. It's a really pretty coral-y pink with a quiet linear holo.

On our Ulta excursion, I lucked out and found L'Oreal Owl's Night from the Project Runway collaboration. I loved this polish. Super dark but it has a warm copper glow to it. So, so pretty! I haven't worn this since but you can bet it'll see good rotation through my collection.

I also found Skyscraper from ChG Metro collection. It was the first time I had seen this collection and this was the only one that really jumped at me. I did two coats of this pretty navy blue jelly with silver glitter (except for the middle finger where I obviously did 3). This one didn't wear so great on me - I had some big chips within two days.

Seeing these pics makes me really miss my *long* nails. While the nubbins are more manageable, I like the way the long ones look.

OK...time to put my skates on...things are ramping up here. Have a great Thursday and don't forget to enter my giveaway (you only have a few days left).

A Nom for Wednesday

2012-01-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Hump Day, Kitschies!! It's been a bit chaotic here at the clinic the last few days and I haven't been at my work station much. It's lunch time now and I'm squeezing in a post because...how can I ignore you?

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes; I fix it at least every few weeks. Chances are you have the ingredients on hand! I originally found this in a Kraft recipe magazine but thanks to the wonders of the internets, you can now find it online.

Smothered Chicken & Green Bean Skillet
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups frozen green beans
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

HEAT large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet.

ADD beans, soup, water and thyme to skillet; cover. Cook 6 min., stirring frequently.
RETURN chicken to skillet. Cook 1 min. or until hot. Top with cheese.

NOTES: I go between using cream of chicken, cream of mushroom and cream of chicken and mushroom soup - it's whatever I have on hand and really, I can't tell the difference.

See? You have all that stuff sitting in your cabinets and in your fridge right now, don't you?

Soooo good! And the boys eat it without complaint (which is a miracle in my house).

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday! I'm off to eat some food so I can get back to the grind.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway (you do not have to be a follower). You can check it out HERE.

It's Giveaway Time!!

2012-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hey, Kitschies!!! I think it's about time to give back to my lovely readers, don't you?

I have been contacted by Verve 360 to host a giveaway! Wanna know what you can win? ONE lucky winner will get two new Zoya polishes: Anja and Jem. These two colors are great for all skin tones and are prefect for the Winter season.

Anja

Jem via The Polish-Aholic

These are both super gorgeous colors (I have them both)! So, what do you have to do to win these two beauties? Fill out the following form then sit back and relax!

And now for the fine print...

*Open to US residents only.

*Entries will be taken from NOW until 12:01AM EST on 1/30/12 (that's one week).

*I will verify all entries and will announce the winner by 1/31/12. The winner will have 24 hours to respond. If I do not hear from them, another winner will be chosen and announced. The same rules apply to them.

Good luck!!

A BIG thank you to Verve 360 hair salon in Pittsburgh for letting me give back to my readers and for providing the pretties for this giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Got Purple-itis

2012-01-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! We tried to take the boys to the snow play area on Sunday but that was a big fail. The snow area was closed for "unsafe conditions" - I don't exactly know what that means but I'm assuming that meant don't go sledding unless you want to run in to big, hard rocks. And seeing as I've sledded in to my share of hard, inanimate objects, we chose to sled at another place. It was cold and windy and we didn't have much fun, but Nate *did* enjoy himself for the little time we were out.

Every week, Polish-aholics Annonymous on FB runs a challenge. I've been participating in the challenges, but I haven't done a corresponding blog post about any of them...until now. Today's challenge was ombre/gradient nails. In case you don't know, ombre means having colors or tones that shade into each other —used especially of fabrics in which the color is graduated from light to dark. Don't worry...I didn't know the exact meaning, either. Yay! We learned something today. You can go back to bed now. :)

On to the pics, shall we?

I initially tried a white to black gradient, but it didn't turn out so well. I had to hand mix two shades and it just didn't work. So, I went back to my Helmer and dug around a bit - and viola! Here's my purple gradient nails!

In the previous picture, the index and middle fingers look pretty similar, but IRL and in more natural light, they're not quite as close in color.

You can see here that while they're similar, they are not the same. IRL, Mira looks to dry a bit darker than what you can see in the bottle. But in all the pics I took to compare the nail to the bottle, they look identical. Strange.

This is the first ombre mani I've done and I like it enough. I just don't care to wear a different color on each nail. It kinda drives me crazy even though I like the effect.

Here's what I used. If you click on the pic you can read the color names better.

Pinky

Ring

Middle

Index

I didn't get a good bottle/thumb pic, so check out this swatch HERE for a good representation of the color.

So...there ya go! What color(s) would you have used if you had done an ombre mani?

Why You No Green!?!

2012-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

Good day, Kitschies!! It's FRIDAY!!! It's supposed to beautiful weather this weekend, so we're planning on taking the boys sledding on Sunday. I can't wait! I think it'll be more for me than the boys, but it'll be fun either way. Saturday will be spent getting things done around the house so we can play on Sunday. What do YOU have planned for the weekend?

I have a fun mani to share with you today. I've done a few like this before, but of the 3 I've done so far, this is, by far, my favorite.

I started with a base of a pale, pale pink Color Club (I cannot remember the name of it right now). I wanted something light but not as stark as a plain white. This super pale pink worked perfect!

Then I splattered ChG Four Leaf Clover (yes, that really *is* green, almost a neon green, but it would NOT capture correctly at. all.) and Orly Charged Up (purple) alternately on each nail.

For a more color-accurate pic, check out this swatch by ALU. No matter how I tweaked the settings on my camera and no matter what I did in Photoshop, I could NOT get that green to look green. Strange. Usually I have trouble with purple.

I loved this mani! Some of the polish dragged when I put on top coat and usually that would bug me but this time it gave it an almost watercolor effect, a la David Mack.

And just as a little side note, I've noticed I've picked up a few new followers here and there and I want to say WELCOME and thank you! It's amazing to me that people are interested enough in what I do on my blog to follow me. Keep an eye open for a giveaway to be happening very soon! Happy weekend!

Perfectly Vampy

2012-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Thursday...what does that mean? Not a whole lot other than it's one day closer to the weekend. WOOT!! The last few days have been much quieter here at the clinic (thank jeebus) and we're getting back in to the routine. I'm still fighting a head cold (thanks, Mason) so I haven't done much in the way of exercise since the end of last week and I'm starting to feel like a bump on a log.

I have a pretty, pretty polish to share with you today. I picked this beauty up during Zoya's polish exchange program last spring but hadn't tried it until recently.

Zoya Anja (from the Smoke collection) is a gorgeous vampy deep wine creme. In the bottle, you can see a few random sparkles, but they're nowhere to be found on the nail. Indoors or with indirect lighting (this pic was taken indoors under "daylight" light), Anja looks almost black, but I love these kinds of colors!

In the sun though, Anja is a gorgeous deep purple wine color. So, so pretty. This is a color that would look good on any skin tone and is good for pretty much all occasions. Vampy. Sexy. Gorgeous.

See? Three different lighting situations (this one is indirect sunlight), three different colors. One of the many reasons I love Anja.

This is the only one I have from Zoya's Smoke collection, but I really want to pick up Cynthia, too. Do you have Anja? What do you think of her?

WWtKW: Thinking & Doing

2012-01-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It was a super busy, super sick-y day yesterday. I'm on the mend today and it's quieter at the clinic, so I'm taking some time to reorganize my desk (and my thoughts). I'm linking up with the girls (Mamarazzi, CrazyMama and Queso) for the 40th installment (!) of We Want to Know Wedensday.

Queso is asking the questions this week...

1. Which one of the following phrases characterizes how you live your life?

a. You only live once.

b. Test the water before jumping in.

c. Stability is the key to life.

2. What were you doing the last time you had a really good laugh?

3. Who is the last person you hugged?

4. What song always makes you happy when you hear it?

5. What was the first thing you thought about this morning?

1. Which one of the following phrases characterizes how you live your life?

a. You only live once.

b. Test the water before jumping in.

c. Stability is the key to life.

I'm going to take the easy way out on this one and say it's a good combination of all three of those, but definitely more of testing the water and stability. I crave stability and I very rarely jump in without checking out all options/possibilities/etc. first.

2. What were you doing the last time you had a really good laugh?

I was watching Mr Bean: The Animated Series with the boys and Mason jumped up and did a little dance to both the opening and closing credits. I wish I had a good vid to share with you of it, but my phone sucks. I'll take a vid of his cute little booty shaking to Mr Bean soon!

3. Who was the last person you hugged?

Speaking of Mr Mason...

This little boy right here! I always give him a big GIANT hug when I drop him off at daycare in the morning.

4. What song always makes you happy when you hear it?

That's easy: Michael Buble, Moondance
Oh, that sexy, sexy man.

5. What was the first thing you thought of this morning?

I'm glad I didn't go to the concert last night! (The hubs went to a concert last night and while I'm bummed I didn't go - because it sounded like a good time - I was was not bummed that I got more than the 3 hours of sleep that he got).

I wanna know...what are your answers?

Big Purple Monster

2012-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

Oh, Kitschies! I have a wonderful head cold that I picked up from my husband...or my son...or a co-worker. I'm not dying, but I don't feel great, so this post is going to be pretty short.

I went to the Albuquerque ComiCon this weekend, twice, actually. I went to represent Duke City Derby (of course) but I also went to see what all the hubbub is about. Now, it's nowhere near as big as San Diego ComiCon, but for Albuquerque, it was a pretty big deal. I picked up a couple beautiful prints by David Mack and I found a new artist that I liked a lot in Urban Myth Studios. It's too bad (or is it a good thing?) I didn't have more money to spend this weekend because I could've come home with a lot of really cool stuff. Who knew all my hubs' comic nerdyness would eventually rub off on me?

Anyway...I have a pretty, pain in the butt polish to share with you today. I came way of this polish courtesy of my bloggy buddy Emily at Wife, Check. Mom, Check. Now What? I mentioned I was looking for Studio M polishes and she said she wouldn't mind picking some up for me.

Studio M Purple Medallion. It's a red-based purple *full* of glitter, both pigmented and holo. This polish is *super* thick and it eats top coat for breakfast, lunch *and* dinner, but the blingy payoff is worth looking past this polish's flaws.

She's not very pretty to look at in the shade, though the purple color itself is pretty. But when you get her out in the sun and you see the holo sparkle, she lights up.

Blurry to show holo-y goodness. This one is super thick (even after a few drops of thinner) so the wear was not great. I only got to wear this for a few days without *big* chunks coming off. Either way, sometimes a polish is too pretty to set aside.

What do you think of Purple Medallion? You can see her sister, Big Red Monster, here at THIS post. Do you have any polishes that have such horrible formula but are too pretty to ignore?

Sugar Plum Yum!

2012-01-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies!!! I don't know about you, but I am *beyond* happy it's Friday. It has been a very, very long week. Work has been a roller coaster. The boys are being PitAs and the hubs is the hubs. So, I'm really looking forward to having a few days off. Well, not really off since I'll be at home, but at least I won't have to worry about work. Unless they call me. But I'll worry 'bout that when it happens.

I was at Sally Beauty Supply before Christmas and I had heard some girls who had found some Color Club glitter polishes there. I was skeptical because my Sallys has never had Color Club, but wonders of wonders, they had the holiday display!

This one was a little hard for me to photograph, but I started with two coats of WnW Black Creme and then used two coats (I think it was 2 coats) of Color Club Sugar Plum Yum (SPY). I was a little worried about SPY because it was scented and the last scented polish I tried, I couldn't stand the scent, but I pressed on.

SPY is a clear based *packed* with large purple hex glitter and smaller green hex glitter. The scent on this was not as offensive as Revlon Grape Fizz - I didn't even notice it by the next morning!

The thing I didn't like about SPY was some of the large purple glitter wasn't all the way flat, so it didn't lay flat on my nail. But, overall, I did like this mani. I wore it around Christmas and it was a nice change to the other more Christmas-y manis I did. It was festive without being in-your-face. You can click on that image to see the pretty, pretty glitter better.

Did you pick up any of the Color Club holiday collection? What did you think?

Hope you all have a great weekend!! I have a lot to do this weekend (as always) and I hope I get it all done. Oh! And I have to remember to go to the store because we're having THIS for dinner tomorrow night.

Royal Jelly

2012-01-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

No, not *that* kind. Sheesh...get your mind out of the gutter!

It's Wednesday night and I'm prepping this post for Thursday morning. I have a very short fuse tonight thanks to a sore toe (the same toe I broke *way* back in October) and it's been a really exhausting week at work, so I'm going to keep this one pretty short.

Earlier in the Summer, I finally got my first jelly finish polish and I loved it way more than I thought I would. And a little while after I found that one, I discovered the jelly sammich. I had been eyeing this polish for a while because I loved the color but as soon as I found out it was a jelly, I went out the next day and picked it up.

This bright, bold blue is Revlon Royal. It's a royal blue (hence the name) jelly that is great alone but I was in a glitter sammich kind of mood and threw in some silver holo bar glitter.

Yeah, there's some VNL, but it's a jelly...and that's part of what I love about a jelly. It's full coverage but it's still a little transparent. The bar glitter is Rush UFO. I don't even know if you can get it anymore...I've had it since before I moved to New Mexico (so that means at least 13 years).

I love the concept of this, but the end result didn't live up to my expectations. You can't see any of the holo-y goodness of UFO so it just looks like white bars of stuff stuck in my polish. LOL As a side note, I already don't care much for bar glitter, so maybe this mani was doomed from the start.

Have you done a jelly sammich? Which polishes did you use?

OK. I'm done. It's been a long day. I hope Thursday is better because Tuesday and Wednesday left a lot to be desired.

We Want to Know Wednesday: Randomness

2012-01-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

Good day, Kitschies! I haven't linked up in a while, so what better time than now to get back in to the swing of things?

So, join me along with Mamarazzi, Queso and CrazyMama for randomness at it's best!

This week, CrazyMama is asking the questions...let's see what she wants to know.

1. What is your most commonly used word or phrase when you are frustrated?

Starting off with an easy one, huh? That would be: Oh, good god! Yep. I say it a lot.

2. What random questions do you usually get from strangers or casual acquaintances?

"Oh, you're letting your hair grow out?" 99% of the time, the answer is NO...I just don't have the time/money/energy to get my hair cut.

3. Did you ever correspond by mail with anyone? Who? Do you still have the letters?

Yes I have and yes I do. I used to have a couple pen-pals, one, in specific, I met while camping when I was a tween. Her name just happen to be Meghan and we wrote back and forth for a few years before we both got too busy to keep up with it. No, I don't still have the letters. Too bad because I'm sure those would be an entertaining read. I still send letters by mail. There's nothing better than getting something personal, like a letter, in the mail!

4. Do you dance in public? Why or why not?

Nope. I just don't. Why? Because I don't dance. I just don't. And if I did, I'd probably look like Elaine from Seinfeld. Seriously. You're lucky I can coordinate myself enough to roll around on skates twice a week. I'm one of those people who can barely walk and chew gum.

5. What's your favorite kind of chapstick/lip balm?

Funny...just the other day I posted on FB that I needed some cherry Chapstick...cuz I really needed some chapstick. I just wanted to see what kind of response I'd get. ANYway...my favorite is Softlips, any flavor as long as it's not *pearl*.

That was fun! Join us...you know you want to!

Caramel Corn: Recipe

2012-01-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitchies!! It's been an insanely busy morning, but I need to take a breather, so I thought I'd throw down a post. I'm pretty sore from derby practice last night and it's making the day that much harder to get through.

But good, sweet, not-good-for-you food always makes things better, right? You know I am! I was going to save this recipe for next week, but most of the comments said they were interested so I bumped up that post to today. You're welcome.

I was craving caramel corn around New Years and I finally remembered to sit down and find a recipe this last weekend. I started out looking for a salted caramel sauce recipe (because that's my new cooking obsession) and I stumbled across this awesome caramel corn recipe on my new favorite recipe blog: Recipe Girl. I had flagged another recipe, but this one just called to me.

Caramel Corn
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 cups popped popcorn

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

Melt butter in a 1 gallon pot over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer undisturbed for 4 minutes. Stir,then continue to cook for an additional 4 to 6 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture is a deep golden color. Turn off the heat and whisk in salt, baking soda and vanilla. Set the whisk aside and stir in the popcorn. Scoop up the syrup from the bottom and over the top. Keep stirring and scooping the syrup over the popcorn until it is evenly covered and there is no syrup left on the bottom of the pan.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the caramel corn has turned a deep amber color. Remove the caramel corn from the oven and spoon it onto a waxed paper-lined surface to cool. When completely cooled, store caramel corn in a covered container- it should stay fresh for up to a week.

NOTES: *You can use air-popped popcorn for this recipe or stovetop too. Here's an easy stove-top method to follow. Microwave popcorn will work as well, but it's not recommended as being the best choice.

My boys *devoured* the remaining stove-top popped popcorn...luckily they were already in bed by the time the caramel corn came out of the oven. It killed me to work in the kitchen while this was baking. It smelled soooooo good!

Now, my caramel corn didn't come out near as coated as Recipe Girl's did, but I'm okay with that because I think *that* much coating would be overkill. And remember I said I was looking for a salted caramel sauce recipe? This recipe kinda kills that craving because it's a bit salty, but not too much so. It's just salty enough to enhance the sweet. Soooo good!

I have half a gallon baggie full of this and now all I want to do is run home, park my butt on the couch and throw on some trash TV and eat the rest!!! Somebody asked about calorie content on this, and while I don't know what the count would be, I don't imagine this would be considered a "diet" food. LOL Not when your ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and starch.

Either way, you need to make some of this. NEED!

Marble Madness

2012-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, Kitschies! I hope you had a good weekend. I started my weekend a few hours early as the hubs had his office holiday party Friday afternoon/evening. I also had derby practice that night. It was such a small group that night, but we had FUN! We played games the whole "practice" but we still got a good workout. Then Saturday and Sunday were spent getting caught up on chores and stuff around the house. Nate got to go to one of his schoolmate's birthday parties. OH! And I made some caramel corn (maybe, if you're lucky, I'll post about that one later)...and it was goooood.

I have a water marble to share with you today that I can't decide whether I like it or not. I don't hate it, it's just not one of my favorites.

I *love* the colors, but the execution wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. The black seemed to bleed a little in to the pink. The colors? Zoya Elke and SH Black Out. Elke looks more red than this in the bottle, but it's a really pretty red-toned pink with a really pretty gold shimmer.

This is my right hand. I had a hard time getting good pics of this marble for some reason. Seeing these pics makes me want to give this one another shot.

My index finger was my favorite out of all my fingers. I like this pic because of the lighting - even though it doesn't show the water marble all that much.

They can't all be winners and it's not a complete failure because it *is* a water marble. I haven't used Elke for a mani since this - maybe I'll give her a chance to be beautiful on her own. Have a great Monday!

Funky Ahoy!

2012-01-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Friday. Finally. How is it the short weeks feel longer than the regular weeks? It's been quite tumultuous at the clinic the last few days - makes me wonder what's in store for us over the next year. Or maybe I'd rather just be surprised.

I have a mani to share with you today that's been sitting in my "waiting to post" folder for a while. How long? I have no idea. No clue. Either way, it's a good one. I was in a Funky French phase for a while and this was a product of that phase.

This is ChG Ahoy! from their Summer 2011 collection. I only picked up 3 from this collection (Ahoy!, Starboard and White Cap) and this is the one that stood out the most to me. Above pic taken with flash.

I love, love, LOVE this color! It's a raspberry jelly with raspberry shimmer. I think Ahoy! and Strawberry Fields are my ultimate favorite ChG colors. I liked Ahoy! on the tips alone but I can't ever leave well enough alone, so I used my black striping polish to line between the polish and my nail beds.

In the direct sunlight, you can really see more of the shimmer in Ahoy! and here you can see that my nail beds aren't completely nekkid. LOL I used a base coat (Nail Life Gripper) and top coat (ChG Fast Forward).

And one more picture for good measure. This was taken in indirect sunlight. I love Ahoy! no matter what light it's in. :)

I'm off to get some work done. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy day. I wish you all a great weekend and I'll ya'll next week!

Give Me Some Lovin'

2012-01-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Good day, Kitschies! It's been an up and down, roller coaster kind of day. I got to read my book for more than two solid hours last night = good. Nate woke up in a *bad* mood this morning = bad. Mason screamed on and off for the entire 45 minute car ride to daycare this morning = bad. Got to go to lunch with the hubs = good. Bad prognosis for a long-time patient of ours = bad. Helped a co-worked get caught up on referrals and such = good. *sigh* I'm ready for bed!!

I have a really pretty polish to share with you today. This came out with a Summer collection and I don't think it got the attention it deserved in the blogosphere, so I'm giving it a little love.

This beauty is Orly Rock Solid from this summer's Mineral FX collection. It is a gorgeous charcoal glittery base with scattered micro holo glitter. This one is a stunner and it's hard to truly capture it's true appearance.

It's pretty on it's own, but I had just gotten the new BM plates for my birthday, so I used the snakeskin full nail image (BM 209) with SH Black Out for a subtle effect.

I like how this one looked a little darker in artificial light and a little lighter in sunlight. Either way, those little micro holo particles glittered!

Here's the obligatory blurry shot to show the holo micro glitter. Yeah, I know. These pics make my eyes hurt, but they're so pretty! LOL

Sure...the other polishes in this collection were pretty, but this was the only one that jumped out at me. And I'm a little disappointed it didn't get the lovin' I think it deserves.

What do you think of Rock Solid? Do you own it? Do you want it? I know I've seen this at Ulta within the last month or so...maybe, if you're lucky, you can find it in one of the clearance bins now.

Fit It With Tape!

2012-01-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Wednesday...even though my mind keeps telling me it's only Tuesday. I got some good Mommy-Son time yesterday afternoon with Nate. We got to go to the park (he was *so* excited about that) and we played some MarioKart. He's back at school today (for reals this time) and even though he wasn't quite as excited this morning, he skipped off to his classroom, so I guess he had a change of heart. Mason is doing really well without his binkies - I'm glad we finally took that step. Now it's time to get serious about potty training; wish us luck!

This mani was inspired by Nailside and her *awesome* tape mani. She does the best tape manis...I can only try to live up to her example and for my first attempt, I think I did OK.

As soon as I saw THIS explosion mani, I knew I had to try it. I wasn't brave enough to try the 2-tone yet, so I settled with a single explosion.

I started with a base of Cult Nails My Kind of CoolAid (original post *here*). For the explosions, I used Zoya Posh. Posh is a gorgeous red matte, but I didn't want matte explosions on top of a shiny base so I used ChG Fast Forward to shine it all up.

I had a bit of shrinkage but I really liked the end result, especially for my first try. Oh, and if you haven't picked up Zoya Posh, you might wanna grab it because it was not available for about a year and who knows how long it'll be around this time!

Here's a close up of my best explosion. LOL I definitely have some room for improvement, but I like it!

Have you tried a tape mani? What do you think? Wanna give it a go?

Call It What You Will

2012-01-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

Good day, Kitschies! Other than a big parenting FAIL (we thought Nate went back to school today but it's really not til tomorrow), it's been a pretty good day. I went to my first derby practice last night in what feels like at least a month and I'm a little sore but nowhere near how I thought I would be. Work was super busy this morning which was also a nice change. And now I'm home with Nate.

I have a really, really good recipe to share with you today. I've made this before but it got pushed to the bottom of my recipe rotation and hadn't made it for quite a while. I made this the day I was waiting for my new stove to be delivered/installed since I didn't know exactly what time they'd get here. I got this from good 'ol allrecipes.com and you can argue whether it's a chili or a soup, but whatever it is, call it delish!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

NOTES: I used Heineken because I know that's a beer the hubs will drink. I don't touch the stuff. They sell small bottles of "cooking" wine, why not cooking beer? I'm just sayin'.

I don't usually say this, but I can't wait til my next office potluck because I know what I'll be bringing.

And like most soups, this is even better the next day. It makes plenty for a night's dinner, but there's plenty leftover, too. Don't let the idea of the beer in this recipe scare you - I don't like beer and I can't taste it at all in this soup.

If you've got some cold weather in the forecast, I definitely recommend picking up the ingredients for this soup. You won't be sorry!

New Year - New Mani

2012-01-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, Kitschies! It's been a while since I was 'round these parts. I've been so bad about posting and reading blogs over the last few weeks. Hopefully things will return to normal now that the holidays are over. Speaking of the holidays...how were yours? Was Santa good to you? My boys had a great haul from Santa - Nate got his first bike (complete with training wheels) and Mason got a construction site play set with a remote controlled car. It's been so much fun watching them play with their new toys...they really are spoiled. Over the last few days, the boys have been trading stomach viruses...definitely not a good thing. Today I'm home with them both and Nate's been up since 3:30 this morning with a yucky tummy and Mason's mad because I cut the tip off all his binkies. It's going to be a long day.

ANYway...

I did my first new mani of the year last night AND I decided to trim all my nails so I could start fresh for the new year. I knew right away I was going to use Zoya Alegra on my toes, but I couldn't decide what to use on my fingers. I knew if I asked Nate for his input, he'd pick the most sparkly polish I had, so I asked the hubs to pick. I reorganized my Helmer and other storage drawers yesterday so all he had to do was open one drawer to browse my untrieds (I have a lot more untrieds than I realized). He decided on SH Xtreme Wear Gunmetal. I was a little surprised at that choice, but I went with it.

Once I applied it, I wasn't all that excited about it. It's a pretty color (reminds me of a black pearl), but it's a little too frosty for my taste. So, I went digging through my BM plates and found a design I thought would work and I am *very* happy with my result!

SH Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal - 3 coats. I used BM-210 and Orly Luxe for the stamping.

I impressed myself with this combo. LOL It's pretty subtle but it's really classy. It's best viewed in low light and that's why this picture didn't so up as good - it was taken in bright, direct sunlight.

The longer I see this color, the more it grows on me. I doubt I would wear Gunmetal on its own, but as a base for stamping, it worked really well. I love it when an idea comes together when you don't think it will.

Happy 2012! I wish you all a great year and thanks for hanging with me for so long. I'll be around more in the coming weeks. Promise.

I'm Going Dotty!

2011-12-20T06:17:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's been a whirwind couple of days. We've been so busy with Christmas prep and holiday parties, I haven't had time to sit down and blog! Don't worry, though...I've still been doing my nails. Wait. I take that back. For my office Christmas party, I had one coat of a holo topcoat and that was it. That's just not right.

Earlier last week (or maybe it was the week before), I saw this cute little dotty tree on Simply Rins. She does the best nail art and they're usually pretty fool-proof! As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to give it a go. And wouldn't you know it...it *was* pretty much fool-proof. :)

I started with a base of ChG Glittering Garland (2-3 coats, depending on how careful I was with application) for all but the accent nail where I used Finger Paints Paper Mache.

To create the tree, I used a couple dotting tools, some greens, a red and a yellow.

The greens: ChG Glittering Garland, ChG Starboard, Zoya Gemma. Yellow: Let's Meet. Red: Zoya Sooki (that's been my go-to red this holiday). See the pinky? Yeah. I should've gone with 3 coats there.

If you click on this pic, you can appreciate the flecks in Garland and you can see the tree in better detail. See? This is a pretty fool-proof design. It didn't take but a few minutes and it's CUTE!!

So, now that it's December 20th...are you read for Christmas? I know I'm not! I still have some wrapping to do and I have to make my way to the grocery store to get the makings of a sour cream fruit salad (I know it sounds gross but totally isn't - trust me) and the hubs has decided we're having his dad over for Christmas dinner so I guess we need to figure out what we're making. *sigh* As much as I like shopping, I abhor the grocery stores any time after 5pm.

Classic Beef Stew

2011-12-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday, Kitschies! It was a busy day yesterday - finished the majority of my Christmas shopping (it's amazing what a difference shopping alone on a Monday morning can make), made a slow cooker dinner (not this one), got my new stove and finished all the laundry! Now the fun of wrapping can begin. Blech.

The weather is cooling down quite a bit (a damned lot) and that means it's time to drag out the slow cooker. I try to use the slow cooker at least once a week during the winter. I come home to a cooked meal and, more often than not, we have leftovers for the next day. I was looking for something new to try and I found this recipe at Real Simple during one of my hunts.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
4 lbs bottom round, well trimmed and cut to 2-inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 lb potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 lb peeled baby carrots
2 cups beef broth
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Coat the beef in the flour. Heat a few tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meat, a few pieces at a time, adding more oil as necessary. Transfer to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and coat the onions; transfer to the cooker.

Pour the wine into the skillet and scrape up any browned bits; add to the cooker. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, thyme, and bay leaf.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7 1/2 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Add the peas and heat through.

NOTES: I reduced this recipe, basically, by half and still had PLENTY. I didn't measure out the carrots or the peas - just added what looked like enough. And I didn't thaw the peas - I just adjusted the heat to high and cooked for about 30 minutes.

As with most stews, this was better the second time around. I may or may not have added a little more wine than the recipe called for. I remember Nate ate this, but I don't remember if Mason did (he's been *super* picky about eating lately).

Do you have a favorite go-to slow cooker recipe for when the weather turns chilly?

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It was a busy weekend here in the Harmeyer house. I can happily say that the house is now decorated for Christmas! Now the shopping? That's a different story. The docs took the day off so I'm spending some of my day "off" waiting for my new stove to be delivered (yay!) and then the rest of it will be spent cleaning around the house and shopping for Christmas. I avoid to the mall area like the plague this time of year - especially on the weekends - but it's not so bad on a Monday morning.

In case you missed it, I did a guest post over at one of my favorite blogs, Housewife Eclectic, this weekend about Christmas traditions. Go check it out HERE - there's some great pictures to see!

I'm a member of Polish-aholics Anonymous (big surprise, right?) on FB and every Monday they have a new challenge. I've participated before, but this is the first time I've linked it to a blog post. This week's theme was snow. I could've done something out of the box, but I decided to play it safe and I'm glad I did because I really like this one.

I started with 2-3 coats of ChG Frostbite, a really bright, icy blue as a base.

Then I sponged Finger Paints Easel Come, Easel Go (silver metallic) to soften the bright blue.

The silver showed up a little too bright so I sponged a little more Frostbite over the silver.

And with SH White On, I stamped little snowflakes using BM14. This is much prettier IRL - the silver sparkles like snow.

Speaking of snow...it's supposed to snow here again today. We haven't gotten rid of all the snow and ice left over from the storm early last week! I usually really like winter, but I'm already ready for spring already. LOL

Do you have any Christmas/Winter manis in the works?

Black and Blue

2011-12-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! We're almost through another week...and I'm officially caught up on my days. Being off work on Monday and Tuesday really threw me off. But now I'm all back on track.

And what better way to celebrate being back on track than to share a really pretty polish with you? I thought you might like that.

This beauty is Zoya Kotori. I describe this as a blackened blue/teal shimmer. It. is. stunning. Kotori starts of a little thin with the first coat, but once you get 3 on there, there is total color payoff.

It's glowy and sparkly. In the sunlight, Kotori catches the best glints of blue and teal. LOVE this one!

And with a change of angle you can see how Kotori lights up - becomes less blackened blue/teal to just bright blue gorgeousness. This was one of the very first Zoyas I got - I've worn it before but I've never shared it with y'all.

I wore Kotori alone for a day and then that evening, went home and did some simple nail art with Orly Luxe and black and white striping polishes. It turned out very...nautical. LOL

So, what do you think of Kotori? If you have her, do you love her? If you could only pick ONE Zoya to have forever and ever, which one would it be? I know...that's a hard one!

I Loves Me a Glitter Sammich

2011-12-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday, Kitschies! I was catching up on my blogs this evening and I came across a pink Wednesday post and it made me realize that it was, in fact, Wednesday. I've been MIA the last few days because we had our first official Winter storm blow through New Mexico between Sunday and Monday. As a result, the schools were closed (which is good because the roads were not in good shape) and I stayed home with the boys. Then we heard that the schools were going to be closed on Tuesday. OK...the roads are still a little icy, so I guess I can agree with that. So, I stayed home with Nate and the hubs took Mason to daycare. I ventured out of the house and the snow and the roads weren't that bad - especially once I got down in to the valley. And *then* I got a text from a co-worker telling me that the schools were going to be closed again on Wednesday because of "hazardous road conditions on secondary roads". Seriously?! WTH?! Luckily, my MIL agreed to take Nate so I could go to work (for the first time in 4 days, which I'm not *really* complaining about). The roads were fine this morning - a 2-hour delay would've been fine. ANYway...Nate had fun with his grandma and he got to go to Explora with his cousins and I got back to work. It has been a long and short week all at the same time.

Speaking of pink Wednesday posts, it was THIS post by Ice Queen's Nail Parlour that made me realize it was Wednesday. And it reminded me that I have a similar mani to share!

I'm not gonna lie. I have *no* idea when I did this mani. I can tell you it was in the Summer, but beyond that...no clue. What I *can* tell you is this is OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y, a really pretty raspberry jelly. And sammiched in there is Milani Gems.

This was my first glitter sammich mani and I'm impressed that it turned out the exact way I'd hoped. That doesn't happen very often.

I can't remember *when* I did this one, but I *do* remember getting compliments on this mani. I remember "this is your prettiest one yet" being thrown around a time or two.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you probably already know I'm not the biggest fan of chunky glitter, but when it's in a glitter sammich or mattified (like I did HERE), I like it a little more. In fact, I liked this so much, I ran out and grabbed Revlon Royal. I had been looking for an excuse to pick that one up for some time and I finally found the excuse I needed!

Now a question for you, my lovely readers. What is your favorite jelly polish?

Have a great day! See you again on the other side.

He Picked It

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! How is it possibly the first day of December?! Only 31 more days left in 2011 - and I still have so much to do. And don't even mention Christmas shopping. I haven't even started...and I need to. Badly.

So, instead of thinking about the "C" word, let's look at some pretties, shall we?

Every now and again, I get to a point where I can't think of anything to do with my nails. That's when I enlist the help of others. This time...I asked the hubs. He said I should do something with purple, yellow and green. Not really my first thought when it comes to combining colors, but that's what happens when you ask somebody else for input. I went to my Helmer and dug around a bit. This is what I came out with.

This is Orly Velvet Rope - it's a really pretty deep purple...and beyond that, a description escapes me. It's not quite a shimmer and it's definitely not a frost. It kind of has a glow-y quality to it, but not enough to call it shimmer.

Velvet Rope also has some glitter particles in it, silver, if I remember correctly. It looked pretty in the bottle but it just ended up looking like little bumps once it was on my nails.

By now, y'all know how I feel about a bumpy finish! While I liked the end result of the nail art, I didn't care for the purple itself. I used acrylic paint to make the flowers. And, amazingly, I was able to do that design on ALL my nails! LOL

Pretty, pretty purple. Velvet is a very accurate description of this color. It's a very rich looking deep purple that has a glowy quality to it.

What do you do when you run out of ideas? Who do you go to for input? Do you search Google? Do you pull from the space around you?

WWtKW: Work Edition

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning, lovelies! I hope you're having a good week. After the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving last week, this week has seemed rather mundane - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I had an intense derby practice on Monday and I'm *still* sore. I'm getting the hang of this whole derby thing and I love it more and more with every practice. The bruise I got (over two weeks ago!) is finally fading but you can still feel a knot where the impact happened. Just goes with the territory!

I didn't hook up with this meme last week because of the chaos of the holiday, but I'm playing along this week! So, grab a cup of coffee and join Mamarazzi, Crazymama & Queso for some questions about work.

1. What is the worst job you've ever had?

2. Have you ever been fired?

3. What would your dream job be?

4. What did you want to be when you "grew up"?

5. How old were you when you got your first job?

1. What is the worst job you've ever had?

I was a hostess turned dish cleaner for a breakfast cafe. Oh lord, how I hated that job. It wasn't bad when I was a hostess, but once it turned dish cleaner, that's when it got bad.

2. Have you ever been fired?

Speaking of that breakfast cafe...I was *almost* fired...but I quit first.

3. What would your dream job be?

You know...I don't really know. I would love to do something with music, but that scene is so hard to break in to (just ask my sister), so that's out. I'd like to be a nurse some day, but that means I'd have to go back to college and I don't see that happening right now. Or...if I could make roller derby a full-time paying gig, I'd do that for as long as I could (you know...before I got too old - which is probably just around the corner).

4. What did you want to be when you "grew up"?

The first thing I remember is I wanted to be a gardener. Don't ask me why. Then, forever, I wanted to be a teacher - then I worked in a daycare in high school. Working in that daycare cured me of that. I also toyed around with the idea of doing graphic design but life got in the way so I let go of that idea. And, as you can tell from my answer to #3...I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

5. How old were you when you got your first job?

I was in high school and I didn't have a car yet, so I'm going to say 14 or 15 (probably 15). I was a file clerk in a small dermatology office. I ended up working there for 5 years and I ended up pretty much running the front office. Started in medicine and that's where I've been ever since!

Great questions, Queso!! Join me and link up to WWtKW - all the cool kids are doing it! :D

Nearly Perfect

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good Tuesday to you, Kitschies! I don't know how it is where you are, but it's really starting to cool down here in New Mexico. And that means it's time to get back in the kitchen!

I love to bake - especially when I can share my baking with family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I could keep all my goodies to myself, but I'd end up weighing a lot more than I already do. So, why not share the weight gain? LOL

A while ago, a co-worker and I got an invitation to a soft opening of Paradise Bakery. When they welcomed us in, they offered us a choice of cookies to try and I picked their chewy ginger cookies (that's not the name, but it's been so long, I can't remember the exact name). I loved it so much (and so did my co-worker) that as soon as I got in to work, I went hunting for the recipe! Now, this is not a plug for Paradise Bakery, but if you have a chance, go there and get one of their cookies - they. are. perfection! This is, however, the result of my hunt. This recipe isn't exactly the same, so I'll call them nearly perfect.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

NOTES: In order to make the cookies look like the picture you see on Allrecipes, you do not flatten them - at all. I just dropped them directly from the spoon and they cooked off just fine.

Of course I had my trusty kitchen helper with me for these! Nate loves to help me in the kitchen - but the crazy boy doesn't usually eat the sweets we make...he'd rather have candy. *sigh*

The end result of just piling the dough on the cookie sheets came out better than flattening them out.

Mmmmm! Warm cookies. Is there anything better than a warm cookie just out of the oven? Yeah. I didn't think so, either.

See what I mean? You can see the "slightly flattened" cookies toward the top. The dropped cookies look much prettier to me. Don't get me wrong - the flattened cookies tasted fine, they just weren't as pretty.

I shared these cookies with my office and they were gone by days' end. I'm sharing the recipe with you now so you can add something new to your Christmas cookie plates - you won't be sorry!

NerdLacquer: Pinin for the Fjords

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, Kitschies!! I had a super-long extended Thanksgiving holiday, which was really, really nice, but it's back to the grind for me today. We were lucky to share out Thanksgiving with Makeup Zombie and her clan - lots of great food, friends and conversations! I also got to spend all day Friday with Mr Nate. I went to derby practice on Saturday evening and about froze my fingers off - but I didn't come home with a gigantic new bruise, so that's always good. It's been a good mini-vacation.

I have my second NerdLacquer to share with you today: Pinin' for the Fjords! As much as I liked Data Squirrel, I liked Pinin even more.

Pinin' for the Fjords is one of 3 fun polishes from NerdLacquer's new line: Something Completely Different. These 3 polishes are Monty Python-themed. I. love. it!

Pinin' for the Fjords is a delicate periwinkle base with loads of glitter. Tiny specks all the way to large hex glitter. The larger hexes don't show up as much on the nail as Data Squirrel's, but the base on Pinin' is a bit more opaque. But don't let that get you down...there's still plenty of sparkle going on here!

All the pictures show 3 coats - I'm a chronic 3-coater. You could definitely get away with 2, I'm sure. The wear on Pinin' was great. I applied this early in the week and didn't take it off til Thursday evening - at least 4 days of solid wear with very little tip wear and only one tiny area of chipping.

I got tons of compliments about this polish. Tons. People couldn't believe that all this sparkle came from one polish. Granted, they weren't people in the know like us, but it was funny to hear their reaction, nonetheless.

The only drawback to these polishes is the removal. Because of all the glitter, you have to use the foil method, but it's a small price to pay for the awesomeness that is Pinin' for the Fjords.

Pinin' for the Fjords, along with her buddies Crunchy Frog (who doesn't love *that* name?!) and It's Just a Flesh Wound (again, awesome!) are available on the NerdLacquer etsy shop page either individually ($8, each) or as a trio ($24). If you hurry over there, Amanda has some great gift packaging available as well as a NEW holiday collection: Holoday.

A big thank you to Amanda, the creative genius behind NerdLacquer for giving me the chance to review her beautiful geek-filled polish!

*Product provided to Kitschy Suburbia for review - all opinions are 100% my own*

NerdLacquer: Data Squirrel

2011-11-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! I have a little something different for you today. I have been given the opportunity to try out and review a new-to-me indy nail polish company. Please let me introduce to you:

NerdLacquer by the one and only...

I was first introduced to NerdLacquer by Makeup Zombie and as soon as I heard about, it I loved it. Nerd-centric nail polish collections? Awesome.

The owner of the Etsy shop, Amanda, asked me what colors I'm interested in and lickety split...two pretty bottles of NerdLacquer showed up on my doorstep (super fast shipping!). This is the first of the two I've gotten to try.

This little beauty is Data Squirrel. On the NerdLacquer page, Data Squirrel, from the IRC-ing Sparklies series, is described as: "/msg nickserv identify DATA SQUIRREL tears through the dbase of glitters, picks just the right ones for maximum impact in a shimmering russet red base (turquoise, silver, red, copper, emerald) and hoards them away for the winter. Okay, screw hoarding. Let’s use them all now." OK...for you non-techies...IRC is Internet Relay Chat (think chat rooms, version 1.0).

The first picture was taken indoors with flash and you can see how the reddish-pink-with a touch of orange base has a bit of a shimmer to it. I don't know whether to call it a jelly or a creme because it's more opaque than a jelly but it's more transparent than a traditional creme. So...crelly? LOL This picture was taken outdoors in direct, bright sunlight.

Look at all those sparklies!!! NerdLacquer does glitter perfectly. I was afraid the finish of this would be a bit on the bumpy side and/or eat up top coat, but I'm happy to report (I don't like my mani to be bumpy - bug!) that neither was the case. All that awesome glitter packed in a shimmery base and the finish is very smooth. I used 3 coats of Data Squirrel (but I probably could've gotten away with 2) and 1 coat of ChG Fast Forward.

You get a bit of a different color depending on the light source. The above picture was taken in the shade and the bottom picture was taken in bright, direct sunlight. This is a work-appropriate color, IMO, with just a little bit of bling without being in-your-face. I got a LOT of compliments on this one Wednesday! LOVE!!

I've only worn this polish for a day (at the moment) but the wear has been great! No chips, no tip wear (I'm lucky to get a day of good wear out of some polishes) and no lifting of any of the glitter. Application was effortless - I didn't need cleanup!

In addition to Data Squirrel, Amanda threw in a *new* polish for me to try. I'll be posting about it soon, but it's from a new 3-piece collection with a projected release date of this Friday: November 18th! And...wait for it...it's Monty Python themed! How awesome is that?! And as much as I liked Data Squirrel, I have a feeling I'm going to like Pinin' for the Fjords even more.

Amanda was great to deal with - every question answered, happily! I'm so happy to hear that she's increasing her collections (as if 25 unique colors weren't enough?!) and I hope she adds more and more and more. And did I mention shipping was fast? Yeah, like, 2 days! NerdLacquer is available through Etsy for $8/bottle or you can customize a trio of geekery for $21.

*Product provided to Kitschy Suburbia for review - all opinions are 100% my own*

WWtKW: Musical Edition

2011-11-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! I didn't play last week (kind of a busy week that one was), but you can bet I'm going to join up today.

This week's We Want to Know Wednesday questions come from Alicia aka Queso.

1. Do you have any musical talents?

I played flute and piccolo in high school - was in marching band and everything! I used to be quite good (really, I was), but it's been a long time since I played. I played for a while back before Nate was born but I haven't really been all that interested in picking it up since.

2. What role, if any, does music play in your life?

Music is everything. It sets my mood (accents or augments), it helps me express myself when my own words escape me. Music is memories, feelings, markers in space and time. I would say I have music on 95% of my waking hours.

3. What is your all time favorite song?

Really? I have to narrow it down to just one?
I thought about this on and off all day on Tuesday. My favorite song isn't a song at all, but a piece of music.
A very old piece of music: Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major Op 92 Allegretto. Seriously. What a strong, passionate piece of art.

4. Do you sing in the shower?

In the shower? No. In the car? All. the. time. Mason tells me to sssshhhh! sometimes.

5. Has a song ever made you cry?

Yes. More than a few of them, actually. Here's a short list. These get me every. single. time.
Clair de Lune
Winter
God Bless the USA
Gravedigger
Charging Fort Wagner (and most of the Glory soundtrack)

I think these questions are my favorite out of all the 31 weeks of questions! Thanks to Queso for these great questions.

Believe Me!

2011-11-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! We're head long in to another work week. I had derby practice last night. Well, actually, it was skills test night and while I didn't expect to pass (yet), I did much better this time 'round. I made it about 2/3 of the way through this time. I was doing really well until I took a hit - I wasn't ready and I tumbled back and ended up with my right skate under my right hip and now I have a large bruise (that's probably only going to get larger) about 3" in diameter in the exact shape of my wheel. How my right skate wheels ended up almost to my butt, I'll never know. Either way, I stopped the skills test at that point and was happy I had made it that far. I did much better than I expected I would, especially for not skating for the last two weeks. There's a test every month, so I'm hoping to pass in early 2012.

Enough of that. On to the sparklies!

I've seen these polishes all over the blogs and I finally found them about 2 weeks ago. I picked up two but ended up giving one to Wendi because I had something really similar to it already. I had just chopped down all my nails because I was getting some bad breaks, so I used my new polish to console myself.

This is WnW Believe Me, It's Real. I knew it's a bit on the sheer side, so I started with LA Colors Static Electricity as a base and then used two coats of Believe Me on top.

The bling in this polish is pretty enough to overlook the fact that it eats top coat - two coats and still a bit bumpy (I use ChG Fast Forward).

I love macro shots! Believe Me is little blue glitter suspended in a sheer blue base with larger purple hex glitter thrown in for fun. The contrast of the purple against the blue makes it really pop. So pretty!!

I'm throwing this over-exposed pic in just for fun. I was having a hard time capturing the purple (who doesn't?!) and got this kinda cool pic.

The draw back to these beauties? They're a pain in the buttocks (kinda like the pain I have today!) to remove. You definitely need to use the foil or felt method for removal.

Have you picked up any of these glitter bomb WnW polishes? Which is *your* favorite?

Got It. Didn't Like It.

2011-11-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Friday AND it's Veteran's Day - both good things. It's been an insanely busy week and I finally have a few moments to do another post for you.

A while back, I took a coworker with me to Sally Beauty to take a gander at all the pretty polishes. She was amazed at how she could pick up any number of polishes and name them without even thinking about it. It's that whole got-it-got-it-got-it-need-it-got-it gag from The Big Bang Theory.

I loves me some BBT!! Anyway...this was one of two she picked up, and of course I had to borrow it from her.

This is ChG Tempest - a really, really pretty purple/blue duochrome. The blue shift is so strong in this one, it's easily more blue than purple.

I did this mani just before I left for work one morning and I didn't have time to add nail art. But, I did have a bottle of Revlon Grape Fizz I hadn't used yet, so I slapped on a couple coats on my ring finger and thumb. I love the color of this polish - a purple jelly base with purple, pink and blue shimmer. Sounds awesome, right?

The color *is* awesome. However...Grape Fizz is scented and it is WAAAAY too sweet for my liking. I hated to do it, but I had to take the polish off soon after I got to work. This mani didn't last more than 3 hours because the sweetness of Grape Fizz was sickening. I want to love that polish, so much, but I just can't.

Did you pick up any of the scented Revlons? Were you able to tolerate the scent or am I just being too sensitive?

Have a great weekend!! I've got more posts up my sleeve for next week.

I'm Blue Over You

2011-11-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, Kitschies! I had a pretty good weekend. I got to have some alone time with the hubs on Friday night. We went to dinner then a bar to see one of his favorite bands (Mr Gnome) perform. It was a super small place, so no matter where we were, we had good seats. I enjoyed their set and it's always nice to "find" a new group. Then Sunday, I got to skate! WOOT!! I was supposed to go to practice on Saturday but I didn't have my helmet and the woman who has it wasn't at that practice, so I got caught up on some of my shows. I ended up skating about 9 miles and my legs feel really good despite not having been on my skates a lot lately. I fell on my butt trying to walk down a hill instead of skating it and now I feel like I have whiplash (FUN!), but other than that, it was a good outing! LOL

I have a mani that's been sitting in my pending folder for a LONG time. I couldn't tell you when I wore this. If I had to guess, I'd say July-ish? I know...I'm bad. I'm trying my best to get all my pics prepped - I'm getting there!! On to the pretties, k?

This is OPI Austin-Tatious Turquoise from their Spring Texas collection. It's a gorgeous glass-flecked turquoise with a faint shift of purple. Sorry this pic is so blurry, but it's the only one I got that captures the purple flash.

Here's a flash pic. It's such a pretty, pretty color. The downside? It's super sheer! I ended up using a base color (LA Colors Static Electricity - a blue creme) and then using at least 2, if not 3, coats of ATT.

Natural light. I like that this polish changes a bit depending on the light source. It looks a lot more blue in this pic than turquoise, but no matter what way you look at it, it's great! It kind of reminds me of a sparkling blue pool.

What do you think of this blue beauty? Do you own it? I only picked up this one and Do You Think I'm Tex-y from the OPI Texas collection. Though I'm thinking about picking up the orange "sorbet", too.

Have a great rest of your day!

A 4-pack of FAIL

2011-11-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday, Kitschies! It's been one long ass week and I'm glad it's coming to a close.

I usually play along with Mamarazzi's Friday Confessional, but I don't much feel like confessing, so I'm going to share some nail fail with you. I guess that, in itself, is a sort of confession. LOL

These are all manis I wore but wasn't happy with.

This is a pretty color, but it's not as great as I wanted it to be. It's OPI My Address is Hollywood from their Fall collection. It's a work-safe color with just a hint of shimmer. Maybe I wanted the shimmer to be stronger? Whatever it is, it just didn't do it for me. I added the little hearts to try to change my mind about it, but it didn't work.

I liked the idea of this in my head but like so many nail art ideas, it didn't transfer very well from my brain to my fingers. The color is a neon pink Nina Ultra Pro and then I added lots of black and white dots. I think the dots ended up looking like bird poop. This mani didn't even make it out of the house.

I wanted these colors to be closer and create less of a stark transition between orange and red. These are Zoya Kimmy (red) and Tanzy (orange) from the Sunshine collection (Summer 2011). I should've used Tanzy and Rica instead. Anyway...I did some white nail art on these after wearing it for a day, but obviously it didn't impress me enough to take a picture of it before I took it off.

And one more...

I was on a French mani kick for a while back in August (?). The hubs has always said he didn't like the typical French look but I tried to do one anyway. I started with SH White On on the tips and ChG Whitecap to add a bit of shimmer on the nail bed. I liked it that way, even though the white was so, so stark. I wanted to soften it up a bit so I added green star bursts with green star rhinestones. That's where it went wrong. I didn't like this one at all. I don't think this one made it out of the house, either.

So, while these aren't fails per se, they're definitely not my greatest works. Tell me, fellow nail bloggers, do you post your fails or do you keep them hidden from view?

Why Go With the Flow?

2011-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Good day, Kitschies! I hope you're enjoying your week and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been an *interesting* week, to say the least. Halloween was good - the boys got TONS of candy. We went to see Harry Potter 7.2 (finally) and I loved it. I think it was the best of all the HP films. I cried a lot more than I expected I would, but that's not really surprising. I'm a cry-baby when it comes to movies. Anyway...I posted my Halloween manis on Monday and in case you missed it, go take a look at them HERE.

I know it's usually WWtKW or On Wednesday We Wear Pink, but I don't really feel like going with the flow today, so I'm going to share a purple mani with you today.

You've heard of my disinterest in neon and you've heard my love of the CC Electro Candy collection. This little neon lovely comes from that wonderful CC collection.

This is CC Ultra Violet. It's a really pretty purple neon with a blue flash. I love this color in person, but like most purples, this one was hard to capture.

No matter how I adjusted the color balance in PS, I couldn't get it quite right. It's more purple and less pink IRL.

It was too much POW just left as purple, so I grabbed my black and white striping polishes and did some racing stripes. And no, you're not imagining things - I've done a mani similar to this a while back with a Cult Nails polish (you can check that post out HERE).

I love the color of this polish, but I *really* love the blue flash. It's crazy strong in the sunlight! If more neons were made with a flash, I wouldn't shy away from them so much.

In other news, I had to chop down all my nails. *I haz a sad* I haven't chopped my nails for MONTHS and now I feel like I'm missing half my fingers! *sigh* I know they'll grow back but they're so SHORT!

Well, there ya go. I'm about outta here for the day - have to go take care of Thing #2 and have the hubs go to work. Don't ya just love sick kiddos?

It's Pronounced Fronkensteen

2011-10-31T06:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, Kitschies!! I have a compilation post for you today of all the Halloween inspired manis I've worn over the last week or so.

But...before I begin...a clip from one of my all-time favorite movies - Halloween or otherwise.

There is no more magical connection that Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder and Cloris Leachman!

Anyway...on with the polish! All pictures are click-able to make big-able. :)

These were my first two in my Halloween sets. I started with a base of WnW Black Creme then I used two coats of ChG Ick-a-Bod-y from the Awakening collection (Fall 2010). This gave me the effect I was looking for but I was a little disappointed because the orange glitter is a little chunky and made the finish a little rough. That's just me being a little over critical. The orange glitter is a perfect color.

Next up is Franken Fingers. LOL I started with 3 coats of Kermit with a Twist, a great franken creation from DragonRhi Creations. It's a pretty apple green base with darker green and gold glitter. I got this one is a box of franks from Chris and I don't know why I waited so long to use it. It's so pretty and wears like iron. Using my black striping polish, I created little Frankenstein stitches on each of my fingers. This is the mani I wore to the derby championships last weekend.

Speaking of derby championships, you saw the whole look in THIS post, but here's a better full-face pic of me that night.

I went with a green eye theme to match my nails.

Next up are my mummy accent nails. I used Ulta Underground on 3 of the nails and ChG White Out on the accent nails. Then using my black striping polish, I created "bandages" and I used yellow acrylic paint for the eyes. I ended up doing this just on the left hand because I was too heavy-handed to do good looking bandages on the right hand. And ignore the smearing of the black stripes - stoopid striping polish smears no matter how long I wait to put on top coat.

This is what I wore for the end of the week last week and through most of the weekend. This is Zoya Tanzy (from the Sunshine collection, Summer 2011). What I like about Tanzy is that it has a bright orange color but there's lots of gold glass fleck in there, too. I painted little flowers toward the tips of my nails using black acrylic paint and Tanzy as the center of the flowers. Somehow, this ended up kinda looking like leopard print, but I knew they were flowers and that was good enough for me. LOL

Last but not least, this is what I'm wearing for Halloween. I used two coats of WnW Black Creme and then I sponged on a few coats of ChG Zombie Zest (also from the Awakening collection, Fall 2011) using a makeup sponge, just on the tips.

I really liked this one because the slime-green glitter on the tips makes the black base almost look like a super deep green (think Nars Zulu). I don't know what made me think of doing this look...it just kinda popped in to my head on Sunday afternoon. I think it's a good end to two weeks' of Halloween manis!

Whatever you do for Halloween, be safe! Keep an eye on the little ones - they're super crazy tonight. I'll have pix of my little guys in a few days. Happy Halloween!!!

Fade to Black

2011-10-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies. It's a dreary, cold Thursday over here in my neck of the woods. You know the kind of day...a day where all you want to do is hide under the covers with a good book or a warm body and lay there...all...day. I'm flying solo today here at work, so it's probably going to be a short post.

To sort of reflect that dreariness outside today, I have an equally dreary (color-wise) mani to share with you today. But first, a little explanation as to the inspiration for this one. I was in a mood to do a sponge gradient so I sat down with a bunch of colors and turned on Douche Bagans and the crew of Ghost Adventures. Say what you will about ghost hunting shows (yes, I know, most of that shite can be disproved, but whatev), but they're good to have playing in the background when I'm doing stuff like doing my nails and want to have background noise. Anyway...they were doing a lot of work with black and white video and then it came to me. Black to white gradient!

After getting the bugs out with my You're Fired! sponging gradient, I had a better idea of what to do with this one. I started at the tips with Zoya Raven then sponged ChG Recycle and finished with SH White On.

To finish it off and maybe make it a bit more mystical (yeah, right), I added a layer of ChG Fairy Dust for a little sparkle.

The faded effect didn't turn out as strong as I'd have liked, but I still like the end result. Have you tried a sponge gradient before? What colors do you go to first? Any tips for a beginner sponger like myself?

Alright. I must get to gettin'. It's shaping up to be a busy-ish day here at the clinic - but nothing that I can't handle. Me strong like bull.

WWtKW: Shopping Edition

2011-10-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! It's that time of week again. It's time for We Want to Know Wednesday. With your hosts: Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama!

This week's questions are brought to us by Queso, who has been on a shopping spree as of late.

1. Do you shop until you drop or are you in and out as quick as possible?
2. Are you a price conscious shopper?
3. What store could you spend HOURS in?
4. What is the most frivolous purchase you have ever made?
5. What was the last thing you bought for yourself?

1. Do you shop until you drop or are you in and out as quick as possible?

It depends. If I'm grocery shopping or shopping *anywhere* with the boys, I am in and out as quick as possible (which is never quick enough). But, if I'm shopping with my bestie, we could shop for HOURS just because we're out of the house.

2. Are you a price conscious shopper?

Yes and no. If it's a big-ticket item, I do my research (cars, electronics, etc). But if it's everyday stuffs, I just grab and go.

3. What store could you spend HOURS in?

Easy. Ulta. It's my nemesis. Or Bed, Bath & Beyond. Seriously. I could so re-stock my kitchen.

4. What is the most frivolous purchase you have ever made?

I try not to make frivolous purchases, and when I do, they're usually not too costly. With that said, I think my nail polish purchases are pretty frivolous. As well as makeup purchases. And I have Makeup Zombie to thank for all of it. LOL

5. What was the last thing you bought for yourself?

Nothing exciting. Toothpaste, LifeWater and sour watermelon candy. See? Told you. LOL

Link up with us, won't you? It's fun to play along and all the cool kids are doing it. C'mon! DO IT!!

Happy Wednesday. Have a great rest of your day!

Red Hot

2011-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Good day, Kitschies! So. I went to derby practice last night. I skated about 40 minutes and that's about all I could take. My toe was kicking my butt! LOL Kinda sounds funny, but I couldn't take it. I should've listened and not pushed it, but I'm stubborn, so I thought I could work through it. I couldn't. So now I'm super frustrated and don't know what to do. I am *not* the kind of person who can just sit on the sidelines. Good god...it's just a little toe! *sigh*

Anyway...enough of the venting. I have a mani that was pretty enough on its own to not do anything to it.

This is Zoya Nidhi (from the Sparkle collection). On Zoya's website, it's described as a rich red, sparkling metallic. I agree with that, but despite what you see in this picture, it's a tomato red (read: yellow-based).

I waited for a long time to pick this one up. I have a few of the others from the Sparkle collection (Charla, Ivanka, Mimi) but I wasn't all that impressed with Nidhi at first.

But now I know I was wrong. Nidhi is beautiful. She is one of the few polishes that are pretty enough to be left alone. I love that the shimmer in this one isn't the typical gold shimmer you usually see...it's silver.

If you haven't picked up any of the Sparkle collection, you should! Really. They're all so pretty. I think, between the bestie and I, we have them all. LOL

One More Summer Fling

2011-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, Kitschies! It was a fun weekend over here in the Land of Enchantment - well, Saturday was fun, anyway. It was derby championships and I got all dolled up. I was stuck behind a computer for both bouts, but I got to don my skates and glide around the area a few times. It felt so good to be back on my skates - I hadn't laced them up since October 4th and let me tell you...I am itching to get back on the track!! I'm going to my first practice tonight since breaking my toe - wish me luck!

And yes...I hear you...rest that toe. :| I hear you.

Now...for the real reason of the post. Nail polish! LOL

Waaaaay back in August (yes, another mani from August), I got on a French mani kick. This is one of the few that survived the cut.

This mani *screams* summer to me! I did the tips with CC Tangerine Scream (from the Electro Candy collection) then I used Finger Paints Paper Mache for the flowers and dots with a blue rhinestone in the center of the flowers.

I don't usually go for neon polishes, but I dig the whole Electro Candy collection. They have the prettiest flash to them. The orange has a really pretty white pearl flash to it. Oh...and that's Nate's little foot over there in the corner of the pool.

I really liked the contrast of the bright bold cobalt blue against the neon orange. And the white dots broke up the blank field of the nail bed a bit.

This is how Tangerine Scream looked in the shade. I don't know what it is about neons, but you can't really capture their heat unless you're in half-light.

Friday Confessional: Irritation Edition

2011-10-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Friday...can you believe it?! It seems like the last week kinda just flew by...again.

I haven't played along in a long time and it's time.

Time for Friday Confessionals! With your host, the lovely and awesome Mamarazzi.

I confess...

I get so irritated by Mr Nate. How can he refuse to eat dinner (something that everybody else is eating without complaint), ask to go to bed early then pop out of his room *the* second he hears popcorn popping in the microwave?

I confess...

I am super irritated at myself. Well, my toe, really. I broke it almost 3 weeks ago while at my parent's house and it *still* hurts. Still.

No, it doesn't help that the boys keep ~~stomping~~ accidentally stepping on it, but c'mon! 3 weeks!

I confess...

I am still super irritated by myself. I want to get back to skating so bad. So. bad. It's derby boot camp tomorrow and I can't go. I can't do it. Freaking. toe.

I confess...

I am irritated that with ALL my polish choices, I can't decide which one to use next.

It's like looking in to a closet full of clothes and not being able to find something you want to wear. Ridiculous, right?

I had a nail art idea in my head last night but I couldn't find *the* green I needed. I don't even know if I own the green I wanted, but I settled for the one that was close enough.

I confess...

I'm irritated that there are hundreds of miles between me and the people I want to be with.

Somebody needs to build a time machine...STAT!

And one good one (OK...maybe two) to balance out all the complaining...

I confess...
It's derby championships on Saturday and I can't wait. If I can't skate, at least I can watch!

I confess...

I officially picked my derby name: Dr. Girlfriend (bonus brownie points to anybody who gets the reference).

I feel better now. It's always nice to vent at a good friend (or two). What do YOU have to confess?

Inspiration

2011-10-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Good day, Kitschies! I hope your week is flying by and you're as productive as you want to be. I did not want to come in to work today. Not at all. And for good reason. It's super-de-duper slow today. Like, we had six patients between two doctors this morning. *yawn* Luckily the afternoon has filled in a bit and it looks like I'll actually have something to do. In the meantime, I decided to give you a post.

I finally sat down last night and prepped pictures. I now have enough pics for 10 posts. 10 posts! And I'm still not caught up! ANYWAY...I have had this mani sitting in my pending folder for months. I was inspired by a (ex)coworker's scrub top. I find inspiration in the strangest places sometimes.

I started with a base coat of ChG For Audrey then I water marbled that with ChG Goin' My Way (brown) and SH White On.

Wow. I'm horrible at taking pics of my right hand. LOL I like how this marble came out pretty consistent - with the exception of my right thumb.

My left thumb pattern was my fave out of the group.

And, in contrast, the right thumb was my least favorite. You can't win them all, right? LOL

Here's a little better pic of my right hand. Good thing I don't have to take pics of that on a regular basis!

And a pretty sunlight pic for you.

I know I say it every time, but I think this is my favorite marble to date. I have another marble hanging out in the pending folder - I'll get to it eventually.

I want to do another marble (maybe for Halloween?) but I'm horrible at pairing/matching colors. So, here's your homework: give me color combos to try!! Please!

I'm off to eat lunch. Hope you have a fantabulous day. I'll be back soon with some Friday Confessionals. It's been a while!

Like Pumpkin?

2011-10-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

I know *I* like pumpkin! Wait. Scratch that. I *love* pumpkin!!

Good morning, Kitschies!

Today I am guest posting over at the awesome Housewife Eclecitic for Month 'o Pumpkins! The very talented Debra asked if I'd share a pumpkin recipe with her and her readers - how can I pass that up?!

Click on the super cute button below to check out my guest post and to see all the other great pumpkin themed posts she's had this month!

WWtKW: Randomness At It's Best!

2011-10-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday, ladies & gents! I've been slackin' a this blogging thing lately and I apologize. It's hard to juggle life sometimes. Please accept my apologies.

I'm linking up with Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama for another installment of We Want to Know Wednesday.

So, put down that laundry, fill up your coffee cup and sit down with me for some great Q&A!

1. When was the last time you lost your temper?

2. What 3 words best describe you?

3. What movie could you watch over and over again and never get tired of?

4. If you could do something dangerous, just once, with no risk, what would you do?

5. Which is more important intelligence or common sense?

1. When was the last time you lost your temper?

Since I'm working on this on Tuesday afternoon and there's still time between now and when this gets posted, I'm going to say Monday. Monday was not a good day. Things got said that needed to be said, but, yeah. I lost my temper.

2. What 3 words best describe you?

Stubborn, stubborn and...oh...stubborn. LOL Oh, you mean 3 *different* words? OK...first is definitely stubborn. Then there's strong. Oh, and funny. I can crack you up! Really...I can.

3. What movie could you watch over and over again and never get tired of?

I can't pick just one so I'm going to say 40-Year-Old Virgin (that's my life right there), Meet Joe Black (I'm a sucker for a romantic story), American History X (hellooooo Edward Norton!), Whip It! (Ellen Paige is too cute) AND...Glory (great score, great history, great scenery).

4. If you could do something dangerous, just once, with no risk, what would you do?

I'd say roller derby but I'm doing that and it isn't as dangerous as I thought it was going to be. So now, I think I'll go with...I have no idea. A good answer to this question is escaping me right now.

5. Which is more important intelligence or common sense?

That's a hard one. I think common sense is better because without that, all the intelligence (ie: book learning) in the world won't tell you how it really should be. I have plenty of intelligence, but sometimes I have to rely more on common sense than what I've learned in "school".

Thanks for joining me today! Now why don't you join a bunch of other wonderful gals and LINK UP with us and share your answers to these great questions?

PS: My posts don't usually look so messed up - Blogger is being a PITA this morning and isn't formatting correctly, no matter what I do. Sorry!

I'm a Rock Star!

2011-10-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! I hope you had a fantabulous weekend. Mine started off swimmingly - the bestie and I went out for a girls night out and let me tell you...we worked it! We hit 3 different bars, got drinks bought for us and got home around 2 in the morning. Now, that may not be a big deal to you youngins, but to this old lady, that's a BIG deal. LOL We had so much fun! Thank you, Mz Zombie for a great night out! The rest of the weekend was spent doing things around the house (chores - joy) and I did a little baking for the peeps at the office. They got THIS and I don't mean to toot my own horn, but WOW! This stuff is awesome.

Anyway...I have another mani for you today that I wore back in mid August (yes, I'm *that* far behind - I told you!). This mani reminds me of a rock star for some reason, hence the title of the post.

I started with a couple coats of SH Complete Manicure in Midnight in NY. I drew two diagonal lines creating almost a triangle with a red glitter striping polish. I closed out the triangle with a red star rhinestone.

It was cute like that, but I added a bit of sparkle with some black glitter acrylic paint between the two red lines. I liked how this turned out but I was kinda disappointed how long the rhinestones last. Or, rather, didn't last. I applied them like usual (push them in to the still-tacky polish then cover with top coat) but they fell off within a day!

And it's not like the stars were pointy - they were rather rounded at the tips. So I don't know what made them come off so fast!!

So, what do you think? Are these rock star worthy?

OH! And another thing...I used Revlon Grape Fizz this morning as an accent nail and oh em gee. It's really pretty but that shite STINKS!! It is so sweet smelling - it made me nauseous. They lasted about 2 hours on my nails and thank jeebus I had acetone at the office because there was NO way I was going to last the whole day with that stuff on my nails.

Awesomeness pic heavy

2011-10-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!!! I'm baaaaaack...for reals this time. LOL My bestie's hubs un-exploded (read: fixed) my computer and now I have access to the internets at home again! And now I can get back to blogging. Yay! I can't believe it's been so long since I actually posted - my, how time flies. I have sooo many manis and recipes to share with you - it was hard to pick what I'd come back with!

I have a gorgeous polish to share with you today. I picked this beauty up at Dollar Tree a YEAR ago and it sat in my Helmer until about August. After wearing it, I do NOT know how I let it sit there that long. It. is. awesomeness. And though I wore it in the dog days of Summer, it really reminds me of Fall.

It looks like your basic red shimmer in this flash pic, but let me assure you, it is nowhere near basic.

This, my friends, is SH Nail Prisms in Amber Ruby. It is a duochrome (multichrome?) that starts off red, then flashes amber.

Just an FYI: I did not manipulate the colors in these pics at all. The only thing I did was crop them a bit and slapped on the blog name. This is just how full of awesomeness this polish truly is. This (and the previous pic) was taken in indirect sunlight.

In bright sunlight, the red comes through more than the gold, but you can still see a hint of the amber shining through.

At the right angle, you can get the amber to just glow when it's in bright, direct sunlight. No matter what color you see, it's awesomeness. I'm sorry...did I just say that again?

Clouded sunlight. LOVE this polish. I seriously don't know why I waited so long. I can tell you that the bottle has not been shoved back in to my Helmer - it's been sitting on my computer desk to remind me of it's awesomeness.

I know this pic is a little blurry, but I liked how it shows both the amber and a touch of the ruby, more of a bronzed ruby, really.

This is easily the best find I've made at Dollar Tree. AND...it came in a pack with another polish, so really, this only cost me 50-cents! SCORE!!! Have you had any great finds like this at Dollar Tree?

Like I said, I'm WAY behind in prepping pics and posting. If there's a color you'd like to see next, please, let me know. I think I have a bit of everything waiting patiently for me.

I'm Baaaaack...Sorta

2011-10-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies. Long time, no post, huh? I returned from my vacay with my family late last week. I had a great time (GREAT time!) and I was sad to come back to Albuquerque. I came back to a very excited 5-year-old who proceeded to Velcro himself to my arse the following day. It's nice to know I was missed, but c'mon! LOL Anyway...I'm back in to the routine, but...and this is a *big* but...I exploded my computer at home yesterday. *sigh* I'm only connected at work now and it sucks. Seriously.

So, I don't have much of a post for you today. I do, however, have a few pics to share with you. The biggest reason I went to Cali was to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS. My mom was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) 10 years ago. She is doing remarkably well considering ALS is usually terminal within 3 years (average), so every moment we get to spend with her is a blessing. I hate when we miss the walk and the hubs could tell I was getting depressed over it, so he told me I should go. Let me tell you...I am so glad I did! So. glad.

All pics are clickable for better viewing. This is part of the gang - family and friends. Oh! And I even got to skate the walk! More on that in a second.

I got to take Mason with me - he had a blast with everybody (even though he was being insanely shy that morning). Mason found a buddy with my dad (Beba) - they both loved it!

My mom and Mason. For some reason, it was all Mason could do to keep from smiling. Silly boy!

Auntie Chicken with Mason. I wish she could've stayed home longer but a double-header softball game called her and Uncle Ryan away the next day.

The night of the walk, we had a BBQ at my parents house. It was much warmer than we're used to this time of year and Mason was all sweaty! LOL

While I was there, I was able to skate the walk which was a nice bit of exercise. But...I managed to break a toe and let me tell you it sucks. It hurts. A lot. I wasn't even doing anything exciting - I was going over to pick Mason up out of a chair and I jammed my toe against the corner of the wall. It was all I could do to not scream obscenities (being in the presence of my son and my parents and all). I got to skate with the league in Bakersfield and in case you were wondering, skating (well, trying to skate) with a broken toe does not work very well. That practice KICKED my butt and the side of my foot went numb! Went to work on Thursday and had them take a picture of my toe - yep. Broken. So, I'm on orders to give my foot a break and even though I *really* don't want to, I didn't go to practice on Saturday and I probably won't skate tonight. Having a broken toe sucks WAY more than I thought it would. LOL

So, there ya go. You're updated. I missed you all and can't wait to get back to blogging. Cross your fingers that I didn't really explode my computer.

WWtKW: Food Edition

2011-09-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's been a BUSY week. Yesterday went by without me even logging in to Blogger - how does *that* happen?! Derby practice on Monday night was good - came away with two pretty good new bruises (it's not a successful practice if I don't come away without a new bruise). Tuesday (was that just yesterday?!) evening was spent getting ready for my trip to Cali on Thursday (tomorrow - eek!). So much still left to do without a whole lot of time to do it. *deep breathing*

I'm linking up with the ever-awesome Mamrazzi and Alicia aka Queso for We Want to Know Wednesday. This week's questions are all food-centric.

1. What is the one thing (food or drink) that you MUST have every day?
2. What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?
3. Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/a family favorite?
4. What are 3 foods you have TRIED, do not like, and will NEVER try again?
5. What's the one thing you love to eat that most people would think is weird/gross?
*the last question is courtesy of Dee at Homesick Cajun

1. What is the one thing (food or drink) that you MUST have every day?
That's easy: coffee and diet Dr Pepper.

2. What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?
That's not so easy. If I don't feel well, I'll go for chicken noodle soup or tomato rice soup. As for when I need comfort, I'm not really a comfort eater, so I can't really put my finger on one specific thing.

3. Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/a family favorite?
When we have office potlucks, people always want me to make dessert. When we're home and have friends over, they always want me to make sourdough bread with garlic and butter. Mmmmm! Sourdough isn't as easy to come by out here in New Mexico.

4. What are 3 foods you have TRIED, do not like, and will NEVER try again?
Next to the first question, this is the easiest. Fish, or, better yet, things that live in the water. Lamb (just gross). Venison (I want to like it, but no matter what I do, I just don't).

5. What's the one thing you love to eat that most people would think is weird/gross?
The level of weirdness/grossness depends on the people I'm with, so I'll just list a few things that I love that other people turn their noses up at: artichokes, bleu cheese, feta, olives (any kind).

Thanks, ladies, for some fun questions this week! I'll be super busy today, but I'll do my best to go blog hopping to visit all the wonderful people who linked up today.

I may not be around much in the next week, but I promise to be back to full force after I get back from visiting my family.

Good For YOU!

2011-09-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! Another new week is upon us. How did *that* happen? I can barely remember things that happened last week. One thing I *do* remember is that my hubs told me I should take a break (it's a good thing) and escape for a little while. So...I'm taking Mason and we're going on a road trip! We're headed "home" to visit my parents (and the rest of the family) later this week. We usually don't do spur of the moment things like this, but for this, we're making an exception. My mom has ALS and the annual fundraiser walk is this Saturday, October 1st. The last time I made it out for the walk, Nate was 2, the same age as Mason is now, so it's time to do it again! I'm so excited!! I am not, however, looking forward to the drive, but we'll survive. Somehow.

I have a great, easy, healthy recipe for you today.

About a year ago, my bestie's MIL told me about quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). Quinoa is one of those "super foods" you never hear about. It's a grain that is super-high in fiber (14 grams per 3.5 oz), no cholesterol and relatively low in carbs. And it tastes good, too! Sound too good to be true? It isn't - and here's a great recipe for proof.

Quinoa & Black Beans
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

NOTES: I'm not a big fan of cilantro, so I left it out. I don't think it was missing anything without it.

The hubs and I loved this and it was good even as leftovers. The kids? They ate it but I could tell it wasn't one of their favorites. One time not long after making this, Nate proclaimed: "I love quinoa!" but then quickly responded with: "Wait. What's quinoa?" When I reminded him what it was, he was very fast to correct himself. LOL

So...if you want a quick, good-for-you meal, grab that quinoa! I'm not sure of the availability, but I got mine at Sunflower Market (a whole foods kind of store).

Hang in there - Monday is going to be over before you know it!

Purple Flower Power

2011-09-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday, Kitchies! It's only Tuesday? *sigh* The entire month of September has flown by and it doesn't look like it's going to ease up any time soon. Between coordinating days off with Nate's school and derby practice and whatever kid party we have on the weekend and quality time with the hubs...there's no time left over!

Enough of the crazy! On to the pretty.

This mani was inspired by Simply Rins' Butterflies and Flowers mani that she posted in May. I know I didn't do this mani all the way back in May, but it *was* probably early August.

I started with a base of Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangea from their Summer 2011 collection. It's a really pretty dusty mauve/lavender/orchid creme color.

Then I added some shimmer with Nicole Count on Me. Count on Me was given to my by Frippery Digits in my box 'o goodies - she called it the best layering polish ever and I think I'm gonna have to agree.

After the shimmer, I stamped SH White On using BM11 on the tips. I should've stamped first *then* used Count on Me but, as I recall, this was the last of a long night of unhappy mani results so once I got to this point, I was done. LOL

Count on Me is pretty dang gorgeous! It's so sheer, all it does is add a little bit of sparkle. And the best part? The sparkle changes color from pale pink to blue/purple. So pretty and great over a bunch of different colors.

I suppose I should get back to work. It is, after all, what they pay me for. But wouldn't it be awesome to be paid to blog all day? Yep. Pretty much!

Friday Confessions: Skate Edition

2011-09-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! Can you believe it's Friday already?! I sure can't. Nate is feeling better and he's off to school today, but we'll see if he lasts all day. He had a very low-grade fever this morning but he had a lot more energy ~~and was a lot less whiny~~. I just hope he doesn't share whatever it was with his brother. Or me. Or his Dad.

I'm linking up with Mamarazzi at *Dandelion Wishes* for Friday Confessions.

I confess...

I have a new obsession.

I confess...

It's actually something good for me!

I confess...

It's roller derby. If you've been following my blog for about the last month, that will be no surprise to you.

I confess...

I never thought I'd love roller derby. I never thought I'd be one of *those* girls.

I confess...

I was afraid to go to my first practice.

I wasn't afraid of not being able to skate - cuz I knew I could do *that*.

I was afraid that the girls there would be all "Oh...you're the *new* girl..." and give me a hard time, but it's been great. All the girls are so helpful and willing to answer all my dumb noob questions.

I confess...

I got a little excited when I heard that practices go year-round.

I confess...

My new favorite movie is Whip It. I love Ellen Page (who doesn't?!). I recommend this movie, even if you don't like roller derby.

I confess...

I want this hoodie (but in different colors).

photo source

Awesome, right?

I confess...

I probably look like a derp out there on the track, all padded up and a bit wobbly.

But, you know what? I don't care because I'm having FUN!

I confess...

I'm old enough to be a mom to some of the juniors (which is rather disheartening), but I don't care because I'm having fun.

I confess...

I love the tape I have on my skates. It rocks.

I could go on and on...but I'll stop there.

You KNOW you have something to confess!! Link up HERE and bare your soul for the whole blogosphere to see!

Favorite Color Swap: Red!

2011-09-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

The alternate title to this post should be: Better Late Than Never. *sigh* It's been a super busy week and I'm finally getting around to posting about my awesome swap with Kelley from Kelley's Family Jewels.

Ms Mamarazzi did it again! Another great pairing for another awesome swap. Really. She's the best there is at blog swaps. Don't believe me? Join up next time around.

Anyway...I got my box full of goodies on Wednesday (after it traveled from Northern CA, to Tennessee and then *back* to New Mexico). Wanna see what I got? I know you do...

This packaged looked all basic and boring, sitting there, all alone on my front porch. But, don't let it's outside wrapping deceive you! It was FULL of awesome swap goodies all for ME and all RED.

There was a nice letter on the very top of the goodies. And just under the note was a little something for the boys. Yep! Kelley even included the boys (because it's hard to open a box of goodies for ME without the boys climbing all over me - you know it's true).

I got them to smile *just* long enough to snap a picture and then...

...they tore in to it! They each got a red Hot Wheels car - and they didn't even fight over who got which car. Amazing!

Then it was time to uncover MY goodies!!

Each thing was wrapped in red Cars tissue paper and had an explanation of why Kelley chose what she did.

"I started with a theme in mind of doing things for fall; but then I thought, does it even get cold in NM? The cuteness won me over, so I got it anyway. (I since Googled weather in NM and see that it in fact, can snow in the winter. Learn something new every day.)" Yes, it does get cold in NM...and I'm hoping it doesn't get quite as cold this Winter as it did last. Love the scarf - I'm starting a mini collection and this one fits right in!

"I always include a favorite food in my SWAP boxes; this is my favorite red candy. (I like licorice too, but seemed too obvious.) I loved to sneak this in my purse to movies! Another big plus, no one ever wants any so sharing is not an option. Muah-ha-ha ha" LOVE Hot Tamales! Nate asked for one and he ate it, but he didn't ask for any more. LOL Guess that box is ALL mine!

"Frag-ee-lay" "This is a little sample of an iconic treat from my hometown (Northern CA) so you remember your swap buddy." Red wine...SCORE!! My favorite wine is Merlot. I am liking Kelley more and more!!

"Now, this is not technically red...but I thought this OVER red would look awesome, especially during the holidays." Yep. You're right...this WILL look great over red. A sparkly red! Crackle polish is *awesome*.

"This is crucial for any busy mom and another of my favorite treats...There is one for when you are on the move and a second for relaxing at home. It's a yummy treat either way you go." Wine AND coffee (no, not together)? Girl...you have got me wrapped around your finger! I used my new "at home" mug Wednesday morning and my "on the go" mug this morning. I am diggin' this stuff!!

Oh! And one more thing. Nestled inside the "at home" mug were a couple more goodies!

A fully-loaded Starbucks card and cinnamon mints! You don't know how hard it was to stay out of the Starbucks drive-thru today!!

Thank you SOOOOO much Kelley!! You put together a *great* swap package - I love every single thing!! I think this has been the best swap I've been in so far (except for when I swapped with Mamarazzi, but that doesn't count).

Wanna see what I gave Kelley? Check it out HERE. Wanna see what other people got in their swaps? Check that out HERE.

Summer Closeout

2011-09-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Good day! I had yesterday off because of home schedule issues, but I'm back in the swing of things today. Sorta. Nate is home with a fever and the hubs is home with him and my doc is out this afternoon, so it looks like I'll have some free time to myself today. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to squeeze in some skating, but it's supposed to rain, so I don't know if that's gonna happen. I went to the track yesterday morning, but it was covered in puddles and since skate bearings and water don't mix very well, I had to call it off. Cross your fingers I'm not met with this scene again today...

Anyway...a while back, I decided to try some nail art that I'd seen all over the place. This time, though, I was inspired by Nail Nerd's Watermelon Nails. If you've never heard of Nail Nerd, I highly recommend you check her out. The girl's got serious skillz and she does a LOT of nail art. I mean a LOT! And now, since it's almost the end of Summer (September 23rd), I figured I'd better share this with you before it's too late!

Cute, right? I used Confetti Cherries Jubilee as the base color then free-handed the tips with ChG Watermelon Rind (coincidence?) and did the little seeds with Zoya Raven using a small dotting tool.

I liked this one though I think I should've picked a base pink that was a little lighter and less bold.

As for ChG Watermelon Rind, it's a gorgeous green glass fleck polish that would look great on it's own, but it was perfect for this mani.

Thanks to Nail Nerd for the inspiration! Check her out HERE if you didn't earlier in the post.

Cross your fingers for no rain today...I really am itching to get out to skate a bit today. Have a great rest of the day!

WWtKW: Road Trippin Edition

2011-09-14T03:37:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's just after 4 in the morning here and it's pretty quiet in the house. The hubs just left for work (much earlier than usual) and after not sleeping well because I was afraid the alarm wouldn't go off, I decided to throw in the towel at 3:45 and just get up. I took the day off, so I'm pretty disappointed about being up so stinkin' early. But, with all the things I'm planning on doing today, I'm hoping to take a little cat nap later, so I guess being up before the rooster crows isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'm linking up with the awesome Mamarazzi from *Dandelion Wishes* and Alicia from aka Queso for We Want to Know Wednesday. This week's questions come from the newly-returned-from-a-road-trip Mamarazzi. Join me for a jaunt down memory lane (pun intended).

1. What are 3 must-haves for a long road trip?

2. What was the destination for your most recent road trip?

3. What do you miss most about home when on a trip?

4. What is the furthest you have traveled on a road trip?

5. Will you stop for "the largest ball of twine", or are you a "hurry and get there" road trip-er?

Great questions, Mamarazzi! Since my last road trip wasn't *too* long ago (June), these should be a cinch!

1. What are 3 must-haves for a long road trip?

Music - for me, the hubs and the kids...individually and together. Nobody wants to listen to kids' cartoon themes over and over and over for hours. And nobody wants to listen to Joy Division over and over again. And nobody wants to listen to whatever I'm listening to over and over again.
DVD player - I know we didn't have one growing up but I can imagine how fast the time would've passed if we'd had one. I think portable DVD players are a gift from god. Seriously.
Snacks - I'm a bored eater and who doesn't get bored on the road?! Snacky stuffs, sweet AND salty alike, are always included on the ride. And don't forget the soda!
But you can't forget to throw in a roll of "just in case" toilet paper. Trust me.

2. What was the destination for your most recent road trip?

Well, there were kinda two destinations. First was "home": Bakersfield, CA to visit my parents. Second was Los Angeles for a concert (just me and the hubs). You can see the post about that trip HERE.

3. What do you miss most about home when on a trip?

My bed. Period.

4. What is the furthest you have traveled on a road trip?

Bakersfield, CA to Seattle, WA-ish (over a thousand miles).

5. Will you stop for "the largest ball of twine", or are you a "hurry and get there" road trip-er?

I would love to be able to stop at all the fun side-of-the-road attractions, especially now that the boys are older, but we're always short on time (not enough vacation time in the world). So, as a necessity, I'm a "hurry and get there" kind of road trip-er. Example: I couldn't tell you how many times I've been from New Mexico to California. What's between NM and CA? The Grand Canyon. Never been there. Blasphemy, I know.

How fun were those questions?! Thanks again to Mamarazzi for another week of fun Q&A. Check out *Dandelion Wishes* for the linky and other great blogs who participated this week!

You're FIRED!

2011-09-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

TGIF, Kitschies! I'm so excited it's the weekend!! It was a short work week, but it still feels like it took forever to get through. Got plans for the weekend? We do! Saturday is my bestie's oldest son's birfday and then Nate gets to go over there and spend the night (YES!). When I drop Nate off, the bestie and I are going to derby practice (practice for me, watching for the preggo) and when I get home, the hubs and I are going to crack open a bottle of wine and veg. I might have to come in to work on Sunday, but that won't be until after I get to sleep in (the hubs says he'll cover Mason). I can't remember the last time I got to really sleep in! We'll see if it actually happens...

A while back, I got a wild hair and asked my hubs what he wanted to see on my nails. He said he wanted to see flames. *sigh* Flames? Really? I thought about it for a while and couldn't come up with an easy way to actually paint flames on my nails. Instead, I thought I'd give sponging a gradient a try. I've tried sponging before and it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. And it didn't really work this time, either, but I took pics so I could share my sorta fail with you.

I started by painting my nails with a couple coats of Sinful Colors Let's Meet (yellow), then I sponged SH Xtreme Wear Crushed (orange) from the middle of the nails to the tips. And to finish it out, I sponged ChG Vertical Rush on the tips. The colors are good, but the pattern isn't very gradient.

The lines between the colors aren't subtle enough for me. I liked the concept, but I didn't like the end result.

It's even more obvious in indirect light. I wore it like this for a few days, then I posted a question on FB for those in the know. I got some good suggestions and decided to try it again.

This time, instead of starting with an all over base color, I started sponging the darkest color (red) at the tips. Then I sponged the medium color (orange), overlapping the red and taking it to about the upper third of the nail. Finally, I sponged the lightest color (yellow) at the nail bed and out to overlap the orange.

I am much happier with the way the second try came out. Maybe I won't fire my fire nails after all! For added sparkle effect, I added Nailtini Spritzer on top. Spritzer doesn't stand out too much, so it wasn't all glitter bling in your face, but I like the effect it had - kinda pulled it all together.

You can tell the lines aren't quite so bold this time. I was pretty happy with this one once it was all said and done. And the hubs? He thought it was cool, but he was a little disappointed I didn't actually paint flames on my nails. I told him he must think I'm a better artist than I really am.

Well...I'm off to lunch! It's a quick trip to WalMart for me - OH BOY! Enjoy the rest of your Friday and I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Pink Wednesday: Zoya Rica

2011-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! We're almost half-way through another week. How can the time possibly go so fast?! *sigh* It's a little cooler here today, which is nice, but all that does is make me more unhappy when it warms up again.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Summer to be finished. But, that doesn't mean I'm ready to change my nail color yet (even though I'm wearing a decidedly un-summer color today). I'm linking up with On Wednesdays We Wear Pink today and have a super shimmery, fun summer color to share with you.

I was pretty quick to grab Zoya's Summertime collection when it came out earlier this year. How can you resist gorgeous glass-fleck cool-toned colors? I couldn't!

This beauty is Zoya Rica. It's a pretty strawberry pink base with gold glass-fleck (shimmer). The Zoya site rates this as 4 (out of 5) for opaqueness, but I don't think it's quite that opaque. At 3 coats, there is some obvious VNL with flash in this picture.

I would *almost* call this a duochrome, but not in the classic sense. The amount of gold shimmer you get depends on the amount of light. With flash, there is definitely more pink that gold, but when you get in more indirect light, this is what you see...

I like the pink, but I love Rica even more when she's more gold than pink. It's glittery but not in-your-face like chunky glitter can be. Rica is definitely one of my favorite pinks (up among the ranks with ChG Strawberry Fields)!

What do you think of Rica? Do you have any of the Summertime collection? Which one is your favorite?

August Reviewed pic heavy

2011-09-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! Happy Labor Day to my fellow American bloggers. Happy Monday to everybody else. How was the weekend? Mine was pretty good...Saturday night was derby practice. I took a couple good falls (if a fall can ever be "good") and am super sore today. I'm working on a couple deep bruises which should make me look official in a couple days. Sunday, the fam went to the Jemez for a picnic and some fun in the mountains. It was lightly raining when we got there and it was so nice and cool!! Once it cleared up, it warmed up a bit, but not so much that it was hot. It was nice to get out of the city, even if it was just for a few hours. And the car rides to and from were so quiet! I don't know what we did different, but there was no screaming or crying in the car - I'd almost say that was the best part of the trip. LOL

I thought I'd do something a little different today and review our family's month of August...in pictures! Ready? OK!

In early August, the bestie and I went to our first Roller Derby bout and OMG...I was hooked! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to do it. Now, with about 5 practices under my belt, I'm loving it. I'm sore as hell, but it's a good sore. I haven't lost any weight, but I *have* lost a pant size!

One morning on the weekend, we decided to head southwest of the city to the dormant volcanoes and go for a hike. Good thing we went pretty early because it was HOT!!

While on our hike, we saw a collared lizard. These guys are so cool because they're pretty big (this one was at least 8 inches from head to tail). The hubs says he used to see these all the time out at the volcanoes, but I've only seen 2 or 3.

Once we got to the top of the farthest volcano, we took a short break to catch our breath, drink some water and have a snack. You can see how hot it is by how pink the boys' cheeks are.

The hubs and Nate were a little more adventurous than me and Mason - they went a little higher up. I took this pic with super zoom...and they're still pretty small.

A little while back, I heard the prettiest little song coming from one of the trees in our back yard. It took me a while to find it, but I saw a really pretty Lesser Goldfinch hanging out in the tree!

And with the good comes the bad. I found this ugly guy hanging out in the foyer of our house. This Wind Scorpion stayed under a small glass bowl overnight and we finally let him go outside. *shiver* I didn't like finding that at. all.

We have some beautiful sunsets in New Mexico, especially in the summer. This is one of the best sunsets I've seen in a long time.

It was Mr Nate's first day of school! Nate was so excited to go to school that morning - he kept asking me if it was time to go yet. Luckily, he's still liking school and he's doing really, really good. He's growing up so fast!!

And there are some quiet times, too. If there's one thing the boys will always eat without fail, it would be Otter Pops. Aunt Chicken might not like them, but Nate and Mason sure do! Isn't it amazing how these two little guys look so different but look a lot the same at the same time?

That was August...it already seems so long ago! There are things we did that I don't have pics for (like going to the aquatics center and celebrating my birthday) but I didn't want to bore you with *everything*.

Enjoy your day! Relax, if you can, and try to stay indoors where it's a bit cooler. It's cooling down a bit here in NM - and I am not complaining about that one bit!

Once in a Blue Moon

2011-09-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Good morning, my lovelies! It's Thursday (and sorta my Friday) and I'm glad this week is drawing to a close. Nate doesn't have school tomorrow (in service already?!) so he and I are going to spend some quality time together. I don't know what we're going to do yet, but we'll do *something*. I kinda wish he knew how to skate so I could get some practice in, but if I were to take him with me right now it would be rather counterproductive. Anyway...we'll do something...maybe bake a cake...

I finally got my stuffs together and prepped some pics for you. Well, for me, but I digress. Let's get to the pics, shall we?

I started with WnW Blue Moon as a base (2 coats, 3 in some areas). I picked this one up at Walgreens in July when they were on sale for 99-cents. This is outdoors in filtered sun.

This really is a pretty navy blue with just a hint of shimmer. And for 99-cents, even like this, you really can't go wrong! This is outdoors in shade.

But I didn't leave it there. I really wanted to do a jelly sandwich, but I couldn't find my one jelly polish, so I did something a little different.

I put a coat (or 2) of Milani Gems over the top of Blue Moon and then finished it off with a coat of ChG Matte Magic. Now, usually I don't care for matte finish. At all. But, every once in a while, I find something that works and I like it. Like this one. Indoors with flash.

Outdoors, filtered sun. There's another thing I *want* to love but usually don't once it's all said and done: glitter bombs. Partly because it just looks like a mess on my nails and partly because I hate the removal. But, the matte finish really kinda subdues the bling of the glitter and that's what makes me like it.

I'm sure you won't see this kind of mani on my blog very often, so look while you can. LOL

I'm gonna get back to work. I hope it's not too hot wherever you are today and I hope work goes smoothly. See you soon!

WWtKW: Cell Phone Edition

2011-08-31T06:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday, Kitschies!! I hope you're sailing through your week relatively unscathed. I didn't play along with last week's WWtKW and I missed linking up, so you bet I'm going to get in on the linky action today!!

This weeks' questions come from the ever awesome Mamarazzi and all have to do with her latest addiction: her cell phone.

{1}Do you prefer to text or call?

{2}What is the last text message in your phone and who is it from?

{3}What are your favorite phone apps?

{4}At what age do you think kids are ready for a cell phone?

{5}Share a current pic or video taken with your phone.

1. Do you prefer to text or call.

It all depends on who I'm "talking" to and what the conversation is about. I text a lot because it's an easy way to keep in contact or to check in throughout the day. But, if it's a more in depth conversation, I'll call. If it's the bestie, we *rarely* actually talk on the phone but we text a lot. But if it's my parents and my weekly check-in, I always call (even though my mom and I text on and off through the week).

2. What is the last text message in your phone and who is it from?

I'm typing this up on Tuesday afternoon, so I know I've gotten more texts than this, but the last one (at this point) is from my bestie: "I asked him if he swiped those yest. I knew it!! He said he got them from home. LOL (he said yes). FYI: My kid's a klepto.

3. What are your favorite phone apps?

I don't have a cool phone like all the other kids (mine is circa 2009 *gasp*). I like to say I'm blissfully unaware of all the awesome things a phone can do. The hubs keeps saying that we're going to get iPhones for Christmas. I kinda hope he's kidding. With that said, my favorite phone app is Text Twist 2.

source

4. At what age do you think kids are ready for cell phones?

That's a hard one. My kids are still really young (5 and 2) and they're in no way even close to being ready for a cell phone. I'm thinking teens, like 14 or 15, but it really depends on the kid and the situation.

5. Share a current pic or video taken with your phone.

My boys: Nate, the hubs, and Mason, waiting impatiently in front of El Pinto to meet my Aunt and Uncle for lunch a few weekends ago.

So join me, won't you and link up with Mamarazzi for another great week of We Want to Know Wednesday!

Two Good Eats for Tuesday

2011-08-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's only Tuesday and it's been a crazy week, partly because it seems like the weekend took forever to get through and then it's bled on over to this week. I'll spare you the deets, but it was not a good weekend. And come to think of it, that *not good* started on Friday. *sigh* Anyway...I'm not going to let this be a Debbie Downer post, so let's get on with it, shall we?

I went to a derby practice on Saturday and then again last night. Saturday's practice was brutal - my legs were sore after that practice and then add in a couple falls last night (thanks stoopid berries from the damned trees and sand on the track) and I'm one sore mama today! I am so thankful to work with some great physicians - chiropractic/osteopathic manipulations are saving my derby-lovin' life! I may be sore and I may be bruised, but I'm lovin' every second of it.

I haven't share a good recipe with you lately, so I dug a good one out of my pending folder for today. These recipes came from my go-to recipe site: allrecipes.com.

BBQ Chicken
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 pounds cut up chicken pieces

Heat grill to medium heat.

In a small skillet combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and put over low heat. Add the poultry seasoning while stirring constantly; when sauce mixes well and starts to bubble, it is done.

Place chicken on hot grill and brush with sauce. Grill for 45 to 60 minutes, turning every 5 to 10 minutes, and brush chicken with sauce after each turning. Grill until chicken is done and juices run clear. (Note: Be sure to keep an eye on the chicken as it cooks, as it tends to have flair ups due to the oil and chicken drippings!)

NOTES: I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts, not pieces. And instead of brushing the chicken while it was grilling, I marinated it for a few hours. I think the flavor is better that way.

And a bonus, side dish recipe:

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated in to florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.

Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

NOTE: I did not use parsley - I didn't think it would add anything and it doesn't matter to me if my side dish lacks color.

I think the cider vinegar in the marinade really made the chicken moist. I really liked this recipe, and so did the others (boys big and small alike).

I liked the cauliflower but I don't remember if the boys did or not. I have a feeling they probably turned their noses up at it until they finally gave in and took a taste. And wouldn't you know it...they ended up liking it.

Mmm...and now I'm hungry. Great. Good thing I'll be going to lunch soon!

I'll be back tomorrow with a WWtKW (I haven't played for a few weeks) and hopefully an On Wednesday We Wear Pink post, too! Thanks for bearing with my slower than usual posting. It's been a crazy couple of weeks!

Favorite Color Swap

2011-08-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! It's almost the end of the work week - woot!! The week is going by at a reasonable pace, thankfully, and I'm looking forward to Saturday. The hubs and I are supposed to go see the final Harry Potter movie (late much?) but the showings are limited, so we might nix that, try to catch it at the dollar theater, and go see Captain America instead. Either way, I'm going to see a movie this weekend - thanks, in part, to the bestie offering to watch the boys. And then Saturday night is another derby practice. I'm ready for the week to be over!

Anyway...the real reason for this post is the announcement of the next blog-famous Mamarazzi swap! The people have spoken and the results are in:

Participants will be putting together an amazing package filled with items of THEIR PARTNER'S Favorite Color! Can you imagine getting a package in the mail filled with your favorite color? So FUN!

Sounds fun, right? If you've never participated in Mamarazzi's swaps, let me tell you...they. are. awesome! There are some rules (a necessary evil), so be sure to check out *Dandelion Wishes* for the deets.

I've signed up...you should, too!

Slimey Limey

2011-08-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! I hope you're enjoying your day. It's my birfday! How am I celebrating? Hopefully, by taking the afternoon off, getting some retail therapy in (thanks to my bestie), picking up my boys a little early then heading over to my MIL's for dinner. Other than that, I'm fighting a wonderful head cold, so it'll be low-key celebration for me tonight.

In other news...my son, Nate, brought home a SOAR award from school yesterday for "A+ attitude, Respect and Responsibility". How awesome is that?! I'm so proud of my little man!!

I have a pretty cool mani to share with you today. I can't remember when I wore this one. June? July? I dunno...it was a while ago. I'm behind in posting...we already went over that yesterday. I was inspired by THIS POST on Simply Rins a while back and I thought I'd give it a go.

Rins used Gosh holographic - I tried to use ChG OMG, but it wasn't coming out the way I wanted it, so I grabbed ChG Laser Lime from the Tronica collection. You've probably all seen it, but it's a lime green non-linear holo. It's pretty, but not awesome like ChG L8rG8r. I started with at least 2, but probably 3, coats of Laser Lime.

Then using dotting tools and black acrylic paint, I dotted on flowers and little dots around the tip of my nails. For the center of the flowers, I used Laser Lime.

Laser Lime really is more holo IRL. I couldn't get an accurate full-sun picture.

This is the best full-sun pic I got and if you click on the pic to make it bigger, you can really see the pretty holo in this polish.

And in the shade, Laser Lime is still pretty, but it's not sparkly holo...just kinda sparkly.

Flash picture FTW! LOL You can't see the holo, but it does look kinda sparkly. Of course Simply Rins' nail art was better, but I like how this turned out. I am thinking about doing this with another color combo again soon.

Enjoy your Tuesday! Take some time to relax (yeah, right). See you soon!

I've Been a Bad Blogger

2011-08-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Morning, lovelies! It was another busy weekend at the Harmeyer house. Friday night's derby practice was cancelled *bummer* but since I was already at the track when I found out, I decided to stick around and skate a bit. I'm getting a little more sure of myself on my skates, but I have a LONG way to go! Saturday morning was spent cleaning the house (it really needed it anyway) and then that afternoon, the bestie came over with her gang and we hung out outside and watched the kidlets play in the pool. We had indoor S'mores for the kids and then once we got them all to bed, we chillaxed out on the patio, had dinner and enjoyed the cool summer evening. Once we had had enough of the outdoors, we went inside to rag on Fab Bagans from Ghost Adventures and I did Wendi's nails...they turned out awesome! Sunday was spent getting caught up on laundry and such. Good times.

I feel like I've been a bad blogger. I haven't been blog hopping like I usually do. And I haven't been updating my blog like I should. I really don't have any good excuse like being abducted by aliens or being on some swanky vacay. I've just been busier at work than usual (which is a good thing) and I've been busier away from work (which is a good thing, too) AND my computer at home is stoopid slow. Like, it takes over a minute to open an unedited picture in Photoshop. So, yeah. Sitting, staring at a computer monitor for an hour to prep maybe 12 pix is so not the highlight of my day. LOL

I promise to get around to *your* blog soon. Promise. And if I don't follow you, this is your chance to plug your blog. Leave me a link to your blog in the comments on this post only and I'll go check it out! I recently went through my reading list and got rid of a bunch of blogs, so I need to replace them with other (new to me) blogs!!

And, since this *is* a nail blog, partly, I'll leave you today with a pretty.

This is a random bright red creme from Naughty Nails (don't remember then name of the color, but really, I don't know that you'd want to know anyway) with OPI black Shatter on top. This mani reminds me of lava that's cooling.

So...plug your blog. Don't think I don't love you because I haven't been to your blog in a while. I have so many pics to prep...it's not even funny!

WWtKW: Childhood edition

2011-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesdays, boys and girls! It's been another busy day and this post is getting up quite a bit later than I had hoped. Best laid plans, right?

I'm linking up with Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso for this week's We Want to Know Wednesday. The lovely and talented Mamarazzi gave us some great questions. Let's take a look!

1. Did you live in the same town or move around a lot as a child?
2. What were your parents like?
3. Do you have any siblings? What were they like growing up?
4. Share a short story from your childhood.
5. What did you look like? (share a childhood pic to win a prize)

1. Did you live in the same town or move around a lot as a child?

I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA (same with my parents). And we didn't move around a lot within the city, either. I can only remember moving twice, though I know we moved once more than that.

image source

2. What were your parents like?

My parents were really supportive and encouraged me to do new things. I was a busy kid: 4-H (rabbits, sheep, sewing), band, ROTC. And they were by my side every step of the way!

3. Do you have any siblings? What were they like growing up?

I have a younger sister, Chicken (that's what my boys call her). She is 19 months younger and since we were so close in age, there were more than a few times where we didn't get along very well. She always walked the straight line and I was always the trouble maker. She probably learned from my mistakes - at least I hope she did.

Me & Chicken at my wedding (June 5, 2004)

4. Share a short story from your childhood.

For a while, my family lived in the "little house" next to my grandparents (my dad's parents). Every once in a while, my grandpa would come over to our house and ask if we could come over and watch cartoons or make a cake. I love those memories! I'm so glad we lived so close to my grandparents.

Me & Chicken in my grandparents' kitchen (June 5, 1983)

5. What did you look like? (share a pic)

I think I look pretty similar now to what I looked like then.

February 1980 (3 1/2 years)

September 1981

The hubs says he likes the younger picture of me because he can see a lot of our younger son, Mason, in me. And crazy coincidence...the pics of me and my sister were taken *exactly* 19 years apart. How awesome is that?!

So...better late than never, right? Happy Wednesday!

Big Days

2011-08-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

~~Good morning, Kitschies!~~ Good evening, Kitschies! I started this post this morning and got as far as the opening. *sigh* It was a long day...and we didn't even have patients! We spent the day in training for diagnostic ultrasound. While interesting, I can only see "normal" joints for so long before I lose interest.

It was a big day yesterday! Nate had his first day of Kindergarten. *sob*

He had so much fun (even though he rolled his eyes at going outside a lot) and he didn't want to leave when I went to pick him up. And he was even excited to go again today! I know *that* won't last forever, but I'm glad he had a good first two days. When it was time to line up for his class on Monday, he told me: "It's OK, Mom. You can go now." OK...does that mean I can go to my car and cry for a little while? I was good - I didn't cry...much. My mom sent me a text about being and good parent and that made me tear up. I had it coming from both side on Monday! LOL

Then, Monday night, I went to my first roller derby practice. And...OMG...it was SO much fun! Seriously. I was a lot steadier on my skates than I expected I would be - I only fell 3 times (I think *everybody* falls at least once a practice). For being my first time in anything like this, I held my own. And all the girls were so nice and encouraging. I was afraid that they would be extra hard on the noob, but they really weren't. The only places I'm *really* lacking in skills are balancing on one foot (picking up my right skate and touching across to my left hand <and visa versa> is *not* happening yet) and hitting/blocking. I am so excited to do this! I've wanted to do something more active for a while but wanted to do something different. Ya think roller derby is different enough? Yeah. Me, too.

OK. Enough of that. Now for the *real* reason you come to my blog. The pretties! I've got a good water marble for you today. Remember my last marble (it wasn't all that great)? This one made up for that one.

I'm not saying this marble is *awesome*, but it's definitely better than the previous one! I wore this in the beginning of June for my vacay to Cali. I started with a white base (OPI Alpine Snow) and then marbled three ChGs from the Tronica collection: Hologram (silver holo), Hyper Haute (magenta holo) and Techno Teal (teal, duh). My index and pinkie on my left hand (pictured above) were my favorite out of the group.

I don't know why, but I only got 2 decent pics from this mani. And, wow! I'm amazed at how much my nails have grown since early June! It's hard to really capture the holoness of these polishes, but if you enlarge this pic, you can kinda see the holo effect on my thumb.

I want to do more water marbles, but I always have a hard time coming up with good color combos. I know I have a really nice one still waiting to be prepped. Suggestions for colors? Lemme have it!

Well, I'm going to relax tonight and do my nails with a new OPI color I picked up at Ulta yesterday. Have a great evening!

My Favorite Recipes: Chicken Enchiladas

2011-08-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday, Kitchies! How can the week almost be over?! It's shaping up to be another busy weekend over here. Saturday morning we're planning a trip to Jemez Springs or Sandia Peak...kinda depends on the weather. Then Saturday evening I'm heading out for my first roller derby practice. And Sunday, we're meeting up with my aunt and uncle for lunch. They usually make a trip to northern NM during the summer and they always make it a point to stop by and say hi. I really wish it was my parents who were visiting, but my aunt and uncle will be a good substitute.

As I've mentioned in the last few posts, I have some great recipes to share with you. I have one of my ultimate favorites today! It's kinda of a pain in the butt to make, but so, so worth it. I cannot remember where I got this recipe from but it is my go-to.

Chicken Enchiladas
1 medium onion, chopped
2 4oz cans chopped green chile
2-3 Tbsp melted butter
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
12 tortillas
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
1 lb cheddar cheese

Saute onions and chile in butter until tender. Add soup and broth, blending well. Simmer 10-15 minutes. While sauce simmers, soften tortillas by dipping in simmering sauce. Place small amount of chicken in each tortilla and roll. Place in greased 9x13 dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

NOTES: For the chicken, I usually grill it a little beforehand and season it with garlic salt and ground pepper. You probably don't need to season the chicken because there's plenty of flavor already, but it's what I do. I usually don't dip the tortillas in the *simmering* sauce because that's not so easy to do without burning the hell out of your fingers; I wait to dip them until after I take the sauce off the heat. The recipe calls for rolled enchiladas, but you could easily layer them instead. Also, you don't have to use a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken - I usually use two cans of cream of chicken and mushroom.

I could definitely go for some of these for lunch today! Too bad we're trying to stay away from processed foods...

Since I live in New Mexico, the home of Hatch green chile, I'm not allowed to use canned chile. That's blasphemy! I use frozen Bueno green chile instead.

Ooooh man! I want some of these NOW!! My mom makes awesome enchiladas, too, but I don't have her recipe. But, my family likes these, so I think I'm good.

Sorry if I made you hungry...but that's my job. If you have access to fresh green chile (it's getting to be about that time again!), I highly recommend that over canned. However, I haven't seen fresh green chile outside of NM, so good luck with that. *heehee*

WWTKW: Week 17 Edition

2011-08-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Wednesday again which means it's time for We Want to Know Wednesday. Today's questions come from Alicia aka Queso and I'm linking up through Mamarazzi. Join me!

1. If you could be on any game show, what would it be?
2. If you could chose to be any one age forever, what age would it be?
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
4. What would I find in your fridge right now?
5. If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be and why?

1. If you could be on any game show, what would it be?

I don't remember what I answered last time, but this time I'm going to say something athletic like Survivor or The Amazing Race. I could totally see myself on Survivor, kicking all kinds of arse!

2. If you could chose to be any one age forever, what age would it be?

I don't want to be one age forever - they've all had their good and bad parts, but nothing that makes me go "Hey! I wanna be *this* forever!"

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

Let's see...30 minutes ago was 7:00 AM. I was helping the hubs get Mason together and out the door for the day. Usually it's me getting out the door for the day but I'm taking the morning off, so Mr Nate and I are lounging around, eating pancakes and drinking coffee. Well, he's drinking juice, but you get the idea.

4. What would I find in your fridge right now?

Lots of stuff...and I'm proud to say that it's not as much processed stuff as it usually is. The hubs and I are trying to eat more whole foods and stay away from the junky (read: tastes soooo good) food. Oh...and quite a bit of leftovers.

5. If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be and why?

I'd be the bench seat in my kitchen. It's not the most comfortable, but I love being in the kitchen...especially when friends are over. It's just a good meeting place. Besides, I'd always get to smell good food and I'd be handy because I could store useful stuffs in my underneath cabinets!

Those were fun questions, Queso!! Check out other great WWtKW on Queso's or Mamarazzi's blog.

Have a great day! See y'all tomorrow - I'll have a great chicken enchilada recipe to share.

And It Goes Splat

2011-08-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Good Monday morning, Kitschies! *yawn* It's Monday again...already. And I'm at work...sorta working. The docs are gone for 3 days and I'm pacing myself on the work I have to do. Nothing exciting - just working on EMR forms - but definitely not enough to keep me occupied for 3 days. But sssshhhhhh! Don't tel them that!

Saturday, the bestie and I went to see some Duke City Derby. Holy crap that was awesome! We haven't been out like that in soooo long AND the matches were so much fun! So much so that I want to do it - I want to be one of those Roller Derby girls! So. much. But...I have a crappy knee and I really think all it would take is one good fall and I'd be out for the count. Like, on the surgery table out. I have a good brace, one that would probably keep me from injuring my knee more, but that brace was fitted when I weighed at least 50 pounds less. GAWD I wanna do this but I don't see myself losing 50 pounds so I guess it's going to have to be one of those "when I was younger" dreams.

Anyway...I was going through my polish pix on Saturday and this mani screamed Roller Derby to me, so I'm sharing it with you today.

In early June, I saw this tutorial on The PolishAholic and I *had* to try it! This was my first attempt at a splatter mani (my second attempt can be seen HERE) and though there were some spots I didn't like, I do like the overall result.

I started off with 2 coats of Zoya Raven. If you click on the pic to make it bigger you can see there's a really pretty hidden sparkle in Raven. It's more apparent in the bottle, but I'm not really complaining. I did this mani in late June - I didn't think my nails grew fast but if this was only about 6 weeks ago, my nails have grown quite a bit!

Then I splattered ChG Spontaneous (purple) and SH Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away (blue, duh) over Raven. Love it!

It took a little practice but by the end, I had it down! The pinkie finger looks kinda like a blue blob with some purple dribbled over it. LOL

Here's my camera-shy right hand. I really, really liked this mani. The colors were great together! But I can't take credit for the pairing: The PolishAholic posted her blue, black and purple splatter mani - that's the post that inspired me to try a splatter mani in the first place!

I want to thank everybody who voted for me in the Styled On DIY nail art contest. Judging is today and they'll announce the winner on Wednesday...cross your fingers for me!

Enjoy your Monday! I have some good recipes coming up soon, so be sure to keep an eye out for those yummies!

Listening to: Gone Forever by Three Days Grace
Mood: It's Monday

Flashback Friday: Nate

2011-08-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! This is my first Flashback Friday in a LONG time and the first time linking up with Lauren from Heya, Sparky! My dear Tia has turned over the reins to Ms Lauren's most capable hands. Check out Lauren's blog if you have a moment - good stuff!!

So...without further delay...

I've been a bad Mom. Really. No, not like I-beat-my-kid kind of bad mom, just a busy blogger who's been posting pics of my pretty fingers and my yummy recipes and NOT my beautiful little boy. Today it's all about Mr Nate.

I have a question for you. How do you go from this:

to this:

In what seems like the blink of an eye?

Nathaniel Edward made us a family on Sunday, July 16, 2006, after 17+ hours of labor. Once he joined us, our lives were never the same and we're so thankful for that! He was greeted home by his Grandma and Beba a few days after he was born.

Then Nate turned one and OMGosh he LOVED his cake!

This is what a 1-year-old sugar coma looks like! That pic is one of my ultimate favorite pics of Nate, and it probably always will be. He was so purple - I was afraid he'd be stained that way, but he washed up just fine.

This is Beba (my Dad) at the park for Nate's first birthday party. Also one of my favorite pics! Nate couldn't say Grandpa and my mom was pushing my Dad's belly like the Pillsbury Doughboy and saying Beeeebaaaa...Nate picked it up and and now, instead of Grandpa, it's Beba.

This may not be a good pic of Nate (he was hot and tired), but it's a good one of my Mom. She doesn't allow pictures very often but if it's with one of her grandsons, she usually allows the exception. Nate loves to ride around with Grandma in her power chair! And if she's using her cane...watch out! It's not usually hers for long.

Oh, look at those little blond curls!! This is Nate at *almost* 2. I miss his curly hair and chubby pink cheeks.

3rd birthday = Big Wheels!! He still rides his Big Wheels (even though half the time he just picks it up or drags it behind him), but now his little brother has his eye on it. LOL And Wendi was right: 3 was MUCH worse than 2.

Where has my little baby gone?! Nate was a horrible 3-year-old and we started to see the light at the end of the terrible toddler age after he turned 4. Grandma and Beba got Nate a T-ball set for his 4th birthday. We went to the park with Nate's cousins for a little baseball action. That boy loves to swing a bat! Or a stick. Or anything he can get his hands on.

And now look at him! He's 5 and he's so super handsome and such a great kid. Super smart, constantly on the go. AND he starts Kindergarten in just over a week! How is that even possible?! I'm so excited for him and a little sad for me because that means he's not my baby anymore. He'll always be my little boy, but he's no longer my baby. *tear*

We love you Natey, very, very much! Happy belated birthday, big boy!!!

So, there ya go. That's how you go from being a cute little blob of a baby to being a big, bad 5-year-old in a blink of an eye!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

2011-08-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon, Kitschies!! It's Thursday...and that means we're ONE day closer to the weekend. WOOT! And a good weekend it's shaping up to be! The fam and I are planning on taking a morning hike along dormant volcanoes Saturday morning and then the bestie and I are going to check out some roller derby Saturday night!! If we had more money, we'd crawl downtown, but seeing as we're both pretty much next to broke, we'll be lucky if we hit up Lenny's for some dessert afterward. LOL Either way, I don't really care because she and I haven't been out like this in a LONG time!

Anyway...I have a cute mani/pedi combo to share with you today! I wore this back in early June and I've been itching to try it again.

For my mani, I started with a base of Tip Toe nail polish in Lime Slush. It's a pretty lime creme, but was a pain in the butt to work with! It was a little on the thick side and it left some bald spots. But after I spruced it up a bit with some flowers, it was all worth it.

For the flowers, I used SH White On for the petals and Zoya Tanzy for the centers. There are a couple leaves thrown in there, too, and for that, I used ChG Jolly Holly.

I like how Tanzy was a little less opaque so you could see the center of the flower petals coming together. What I don't like is my green leaves streaked a little with application of my top coat (which was probably ChG Fast Forward).

I thought this mani was really cute, but since Lime Slush was so thick, it chipped and cracked pretty fast. No matter - it was cute while it lasted.

And I'm not one to play matchy-matchy, but I thought the little flowers would look cute as a pedi, so I grabbed my pedi tools and went to work!

This is Zoya Dannii, a gorgeous purple shimmer? duochrome? from Zoya's Intimate Spring 2011 collection. I love so many colors from this collection, but this is and Gemma are the only beauties to have joined my stash (so far). To be honest, I think I like how the toes came out more than I did the fingers! I changed up the flowers *just* a little for the pedi. Instead of using Tanzy for the center, this time I used Hard Candy Lava and green acrylic paint for the flowers.

I *meant* to use Hard Candy Lava as the centers for my mani, too, but *somebody* (read Nate or Mason) moved the bottle and I had no choice but change oranges. LOL

So, my question to you is this: do you match your mani and pedi? Do you match colors or patterns? Do you do your toes? If you do your toes, why don't you share them with us? I know of one, *maybe* two fellow bloggers who share their pedis. Why are blogger so anti-pedi?

One more thing, if you have a free minute or two, please check out this post HERE to help a fellow blogger out. Thanks!

Need Your Help

2011-08-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

Morning, Kitschies!!

I don't usually do this, but I'm asking for YOUR help.

I entered a DIY nail art contest and I need your vote! All you need to do is log in to your FB account (I know you have one) and then click the link HERE then click the big green button that says VOTE!

Here's my entry.

I originally showed this mani off in THIS post.

Please let me know if you voted by leaving a comment here or on my FB page. Who knows...I *may* just decide to pull a name from a hat and give away a little somethin!

There are lots of great nail art entered - please vote for others, too!

Thanks so much! You guys are the bestest!!!

WWtKW: Full of WIN Edition

2011-08-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies! It's Wednesday (even though I thought all morning it was Thursday - bummer), so that must mean it's time for We Want to Know Wednesday. With your hosts: Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso.

Join me, won't you?

This week's questions come from the very lovely and extremely talented Mamarazzi, and they are FULL of WIN!!!

1. If you could spend a day with a blogger, who you haven't met in real life, who would you choose?
2. What website do you check first when you go online?
3. What is something you are saving money for right now?
4. What is your go-to silly face when a silly face is needed? {post a pic of it and be entered to win a prize from Mamarazzi!}
5. How do you relieve stress?

1. If you could spend a day with a blogger, who you haven't met in real life, who would you choose?

That's a hard one...and I definitely can't pick just one. Other than the obvious (Mamarazzi), I would love to spend the day with:
Nailstah - We were *supposed* to meet when I was in LA but she didn't check her email so we missed each other. I think Miss Annie and I would have a blast together - we have similar personalities.

Emily at Wife, Check. Mom, Check. Now What? - We both have young kid(s) around the same age and I think they would get along pretty well, which would give us time to gab.

There's more, but it's pretty busy at the clinic right now and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

2. What website do you check first when you go online?

It's a toss-up. Facebook and Blogger. I check them both, but neither one of them get top billing over the other.

3. What is something you are saving money for right now?

Saving money? What's that? LOL You kinda gotta *have* money to *save* money and right now, we don't.

4. What is your go-to silly face when a silly face is needed? {post a pic of it and be entered to win a prize from Mamarazzi!}

You get a crappy cell phone pic since I'm at work right now...

Nice, right? I know you're jealous you can't all look this good.

5. How do you relieve stress?

Well, naturally, I paint my nails! LOL I'd love to say that I sew to relieve stress but all that usually does is increase it. Oh! And I like to read. Give me a good book and I could sit there for HOURS, lost in another world.

Fun, right? Have some fun and link up with us! You KNOW you want to.

Happy Wednesday!

LONG Overdue

2011-08-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Kitschies!! I hope you're not melting away in to a little puddle in all this heat! It hasn't been *so* hot here the last few days, but it's still hot. Hurry up Fall!!!

I have a post for you today that's LONG overdue. Waaaaay back in April, as you may remember, Zoya kicked off their annual exchange program. The bestie and I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered a lot of polish. A lot. Good thing they were 50% off!!

This is what the bestie got, starting at the top left. Robyn, Indigo, Julienne, Sloane, and Jacy. On the bottom, starting on the left: Kelly, Delilah, Isla and Paige.

She picked out some gorgeous colors!! She got two more but they were on back order, so they didn't get pictured with their other sisters.

I had a harder time deciding because I already had quite a few Zoya polishes...it was difficult to decide which colors to add to my ~~ever expanding~~ collection.

I ended up with a lot of reds, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And I can't *really* tell which red is which, so I'm going to tell you the two I know for sure: Diem (nude) and Gemma (green). The other reds are (I think): Divincia, Nidihi, Blair and Quinn.

I adore all the reds I got...and I especially love Gemma. And I'm counting Quinn as a red because she shows up much more red in the picture - she's really a berry creme.

We both ordered a few colors that were on back order...and they got to us pretty soon after the large lot, but not soon enough for them to be pictured all together.

Here are the triplet that were separated at birth: Dannii and Raven were ordered by both of us. Now this is where I must've lost my mind when I was labeling the pic because that's not Quinn...that's Drew. *hides head* I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway...

There's our Zoya haul from the polish exchange back in April. What colors did you pick up?

Another Win From MBR!

2011-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, Kitschies! Can you believe it's August already? While I can believe it because it's been so freakin hot, I can't believe it's actually that time of the year again. In just two weeks, my baby is going to be in Kindergarten! KINDERGARTEN!! *sigh* I'm super excited and super sad all at the same time. How is it even possible my little boy is in school?!

I have a super YUM recipe to share with you today. I snagged this recipe from the most beautiful and talented Mrs Bettie Rocker. I've made this recipe twice and BOTH times I wish I had made more! Consider yourself warned...

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

1 roll of refrigerated pizza dough

2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon olive oil (or melted butter)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

mozzarella cheese

your favorite pizza toppings, chopped

marinara sauce for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll pizza dough out to about 12in by 8in, then cut into 24 squares. Fill each square with mozzarella cheese and your favorite pizza toppings toppings.

2. Bring ends together and pinch to form a ball. Place seam side down in a greased pie pan.

3. Brush tops with butter/oil and season with garlic and Italian seasonings.

4. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

What I really love about these is you can fill them with whatever you want! The hubs does NOT do olives, so I made his with pepperoni and green chile. And the boys had some cheese and some pepperoni and cheese.

I hate my oven. It cooks very unevenly, so part of the batch got super dark - the other, not cooked enough. If you check out Becky's post, you can see that her pizza rolls look better.

See what I mean? *sigh* I don't care, though...they ALL got eaten. And I could've easily made another batch and they would've all disappeared, too.

If you haven't already, go check out From the Kitchen of: Mrs Bettie Rocker...she posts some AWESOME recipes and she shares her little boys with us from time to time, also. She was one of my first blog loves - and my love affair with her continues.

Kitschy Suburbia

NerdLacquer - Webinarmy

Disco Smurf

Hello, Gorgeous!

Winning Makes Everything Better

Once Upon A Time...

A Nom for Wednesday

It's Giveaway Time!!

I Got Purple-itis

Why You No Green!?!

Perfectly Vampy

WWtKW: Thinking & Doing

Big Purple Monster

Sugar Plum Yum!

Royal Jelly

We Want to Know Wednesday: Randomness

Caramel Corn: Recipe

Marble Madness

Funky Ahoy!

Give Me Some Lovin'

Fit It With Tape!

Call It What You Will

New Year - New Mani

I'm Going Dotty!

Classic Beef Stew

Winter Wonderland

Black and Blue

I Loves Me a Glitter Sammich

He Picked It

WWtKW: Work Edition

Nearly Perfect

NerdLacquer: Pinin for the Fjords

NerdLacquer: Data Squirrel

WWtKW: Musical Edition

Believe Me!

Got It. Didn't Like It.

I'm Blue Over You

A 4-pack of FAIL

Why Go With the Flow?

It's Pronounced Fronkensteen

Fade to Black

WWtKW: Shopping Edition

Red Hot

One More Summer Fling

Friday Confessional: Irritation Edition

Inspiration

Like Pumpkin?

WWtKW: Randomness At It's Best!

I'm a Rock Star!

Awesomeness *pic heavy*

I'm Baaaaack...Sorta

WWtKW: Food Edition

Good For YOU!

Purple Flower Power

Friday Confessions: Skate Edition

Favorite Color Swap: Red!

Summer Closeout

WWtKW: Road Trippin Edition

You're FIRED!

Pink Wednesday: Zoya Rica

August Reviewed *pic heavy*

Once in a Blue Moon

WWtKW: Cell Phone Edition

Two Good Eats for Tuesday

Favorite Color Swap

Slimey Limey

I've Been a Bad Blogger

WWtKW: Childhood edition

Big Days

My Favorite Recipes: Chicken Enchiladas

WWTKW: Week 17 Edition

And It Goes Splat

Flashback Friday: Nate

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Need Your Help

WWtKW: Full of WIN Edition

LONG Overdue

Another Win From MBR!

Awesomeness pic heavy

August Reviewed pic heavy