2014: My Year in Review

Hey everybody.  *Cathartic Post*

I don't like it when people complain.  I hate to be perceived as complaining about something.  Whiny women irk me.  Was that a complaint or a statement?  I think it was a statement.

It has always made me feel rather uncomfortable when people say "good riddance" to the end of a year.  It always sounded so ungrateful. But I have been so tempted to say those forbidden words regarding 2014, here at the start of 2015.

I had some really great times in 2014.  My stepdaughter graduated high school with honors and is now in college.  I got a huge raise.  I bought a new car.  I got several important certifications pertinent to my occupation.  Angelo, at the ripe old age of 1.5, seems to be almost housebroken.  As a blogger, I was named a top MUA on an international beauty site, due to my somewhat artsy photos.

But sometimes things happen that just sort of crush all your memories of those good times.  My Mom had knee replacement surgery in June.  That was really rough.  It's a bad thing to see your Mom in the hospital bed crying because she can feel where her bones were cut.  I was out of state on Christmas Day when I got the news that my father had had a heart attack, septic shock, and was in kidney failure.  In the summer, I lost a relationship with somebody I loved second only to my husband and immediate family, and I can't seem to get over it.

My anxiety has made my nails weak and just plain stop growing.  I feel decidedly non-witty...any nail post I would create at this point would only be ugly and un-funny.

I don't want you to feel sorry for me.  I'm just very sad.  I hope you all are doing fantastically well.  <3

Nail of the Day: Zoya Seraphina and Zoya Vega

Hey everybody!  How has your Saturday been?  I've been quite busy with housework and the like, and I've finally broken down and started wrapping presents.  As a side note, Marshalls/Home Goods/TJ Maxx have the best wrapping paper, period.  Their Christmas paper always appeals to my fancy side...which is really both sides. :D

I've got a very pretty duo on today, Zoya Seraphina with Zoya Vega accents.  I purchased these two bottles about six weeks ago at Ulta, where they were $2.50 each.  Yep.

Seraphina is a silvery-white shade with silver shimmer from the 2013 Zenith Collection.  I liked Seraphina from the very beginning, even though shades like this don't really look all that swell on me.  Seraphina was a naughty girl on me...very, very sheer.  What you're looking at is FOUR coats, and opacity may as well be a fairy tale.  The good thing is the coats dried very quickly.

Vega is a light blue/aqua textured holo Magical Pixie Dust that was released in their first collection of Magical Pixie Dusts, which according to many people, seem to be constantly morphing in terms of formula and finish. :)  I confess, I was kinda on the fence about Magical Pixie Dusts.  I thought a couple of them were a total crusty-looking mess.  But I picked Vega and Cosmo up (at $2.50 I pretty much HAD to try them, right?), and whoa!  Changed my mind!  Vega is like OPI Tiffany Case-does-Vegas.  

Oh, and I'm currently in the process of decorating the house.  Did I give myself away?

I really love this duo.  It's an icy-snowy-frosty-just plain cold look to which I'm always attracted.  Living in the tropics during perimenopause will do that to you.

Don't forget to enter my Pretty Jelly giveaway!  The prize is the entire A Novel Christmas collection, which I personally guarantee you will love. :)

So, my question for you is...where do you like to buy your Christmas gift wrap??  :P  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day!

Pretty Jelly A Novel Christmas Collection... and a Giveaway!

Hey everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week.  Anytime I get 4 days off in a row AND get to hang out with Mr. Sweets is a wonderful time for me. Not to mention, Thanksgiving is just a special time, period. :)

I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks due to some rather inconvenient breakage, but I'm back tonight with the new Christmas collection from the incomparable Pretty Jelly.  The collection, entitled A Novel Christmas, is comprised of six beautiful holo shades all named after well-known Christmas stories.

I will begin by saying that all six of these had great formulas with little or no cleanup.  And you know how much I love creator Liz's fabulously classy polish names. ;)

The Night Before is an indigo blue scattered/linear hybrid holo.  I probably don't need to tell you that my love of all things indigo was further deepened with this beauty.  This is the color of the velvety night sky that saw the arrival of St. Nicholas during the Clement Moore family's long winter's nap.

Christmas Carol is a raspberry red linear holo.  This gorgeous polish has enough gold shimmer to impress even Ebenezer Scrooge...AND all the Spirits.  Well, maybe not Christmas Future...that guy was incorrigible! :P

He may be a mean one, but The Grinch's namesake polish is totally wonderful.  The color is a slightly darker emerald with a blue and pink shimmer.  It is quite the chameleon in different lighting...Christmas fir one minute, seasick crocodile the next!  Cindy Lou (and Whoville) - approved!

Poor Jim and Della.  They just got all crossed up.  Oh well, at least Della's new short 'do won't affect her nails. :P  Gift of Magi is a navy blue linear holo with gold flecks.  It's a true navy and doesn't have the violet tone of The Night Before.

I love Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, but I confess, the opening notes of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy always give me a mental picture of giggly, rotten little kids tiptoeing around at night to peak inside their Christmas presents. :P  But hey, there's nothing naughty about this Sugar Plum Fairy!  It's a medium-deep orchid purple with a lovely linear holo.  Yikes, this is yummy.

 

Polar Express is the most complex polish of the collection.  It's loaded in tiny blue and pink shimmer, which gives it a charcoal foil appearance indoors.  In the sun, it's a multicolored light show in a nearly black base.  It looks as wintry and magical as the ride aboard the famous Christmas train. 

Pretty Jelly's stunning A Novel Christmas collection is available on Etsy.  But, hey!  How would you like to win it? :)  Liz of Pretty Jelly is very graciously sponsoring my giveaway - one prize of the entire A Novel Christmas collection!  This giveaway is for US only and will run through midnight, 12/12/14.  Good luck on winning this beautiful set from Pretty Jelly!

As always, thank you for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3


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