In the Navy

I've spent the day making my apartment extra cozy and festive for a little get-together I'm having tomorrow night. I thought it'd be nice to have just a couple close friends over before we all go our separate ways for the holidays.

I'm still deciding on the perfect outfit for tomorrow (something casual, and comfortable for hanging around the house, but also fun and festive!), but I have recently found the perfect manicure for the season. I'm bored of the regular old red or burgundy nails I normally do this time of year, and while I became a big fan of black around Halloween, I wanted something that really represented that Christmas-feeling. Lately, I had been settling on a creamy pale pink color with sparkles (see here), because at least it represented snow (or even champagne...oooh), but I had grown bored of that too. Don't get me wrong though, I WILL be saving that idea for New Years Eve!

The other day, the exact color I needed hit me - Navy! I ran to Target specifically to buy some, and just my luck, Revlon's "Midnight Affair" was on a half price clearance sale! I guess no one else was into that color, but to me, it was perfect! I've been wearing it for a couple weeks now, and loving it, but for the little party tomorrow, I decided to add my sparkles.

I used ICE brand "Spit Fire" for the sparkles. Use your own creativity for how you want to do them. I like to paint just the tips, with sort of a jagged shape at the top. If you like perfectly thin, straight tips, or the whole nail painted, go for it! A lot of times, I like to just add sparkles to one random nail on each hand.

What are some of your favorite holiday-style ideas?

Little Things That Make Me Smile...

Later-than-usual post today. I've been running around trying to get all my work done before leaving town tomorrow morning, plus I had to squeeze in a run to the doctor, since I am really not feeling hardly any better after 4 days of being ill! Being sick already ruined Halloween, it'd be awful to have it ruin my cousin's wedding for me, too!
My doctor seems to think my symptoms point to a virus, but thankfully I've been hooked up with antibiotics just in case. I really don't want to be miserable during my whole trip. We'll see if the medication works, and if not, at least I've ruled out that possibility the it's something bacterial. Then it probably just means I need to let the virus run it's course....but, boy oh boy, do I hope these pills work.

This seems like a good time to concentrate on the little, simple, uncomplicated things that make me happy right now:

 Black nails. I think it's a "do" for Fall/Winter. What do you think?

 A seasonal snack: honey crisp apples in caramel sauce.

 Hot tea with a "honey spoon", brought back from Monticello in Virginia.

 Rediscovering old shoes, which make some pretty awesome Mary-Jane-like platform shoes for Fall. This is why I rarely throw anything away. ;)

Pick me ups

"Just-a-little-too-far-for-comfort-from-the-weekend-Wednesday" seems like a perfect day to focus on my favorite things to get me through a long work day, when I just can't seem to find the energy or motivation to get anything done.

 A bright new manicure.
I am loving this coral color, "blazed" from Wet n' Wild. I haven't bought any nail polish by them since I was about 17 years old, because it always seemed to chip after just a day or two. This was the exact color I was looking for, so I gave it a try any way. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it stays looking great for 3-4 days, and decent-looking (a.k.a. chips you can get away with) for about 5 days. Yay!

Wearing something fun to "the office".
Ok, so I work from home. But either way, some days it's fun to wear something that makes you feel good, even if you aren't going out. And if you do go to an office everyday, and you tend to wear the same, drab business wear, spice it up a bit! The easiest way is to add some color! You'll feel a little happiness every time you remember how cute you look today. :)

4pm coffee + dark chocolate .
Ok, so I ate my three dark chocolate Hershey's Kisses before I snagged a photo, but I promise you, they were there. They are a great little snack to keep around, and a somewhat healthy alternative to get your chocolate fix. The other day, I was really dragging and not feeling good at about 4pm. With two and a half hours to go until my boyfriend got home, more work to finish, and knowing I had some going-out plans ahead of me that night, I needed a boost. I brewed some coffee, curled up in my "girl-throne" (a.k.a. my big arm chair) for a few minutes and enjoyed my little luxurious snack before getting back on task, feeling much better.

A new atmosphere.
We recently got this great canvas of the Flat Iron building in New York City for the living room (IKEA, $149). It's HUGE, and I'm so glad to have that big wall finally filled with some art. It adds even more of a vintage/urban feel to the place, and I love the way the black and white goes with our green accent wall. We've only had it about a week, so it's definitely providing a pick-me-up everyday to be working in what feels like a brand new room. If you work in an office, try adding something new to decorate your work space! If you work from home as well, see if you can find a cute little piece of art, a flower vase, a new throw blanket for your sofa...whatever! Just a little accent piece to brighten your place and add a touch of "new-ness" can make you a bit more happy to be working in the same space day after day.


What special things do you use to get you through the work week??

Keep it fresh

Photo from Apartment34

It's only Wednesday, but to me it has already felt like a long week. How about you?
Try and keep some pep in your step mid-week. Wear something unexpected and up your glamor factor at work. Switch out your usual coffee for a cup of tea (or vice versa). Paint your nails a bright, happy color.

...I am going to try and take my own advice.

I've been spending this week doing my usual job duties, learning new work tasks for my "promotion", and getting my laptop organized and backed up before having it wiped this week. It should finally be rid of its nasty virus after that. Then maybe I wont go quite as insane while trying to work/blog on it when it decides to throw hissy fits. There will still be a level of insanity though, I'm sure. I'll do my best.

Hope you're hanging in there this week and keeping things fresh.

Little things that make me smile...

 Life's been pretty good lately. Here are some of the simple things I've been enjoying:

 Beautifully detailed sandals, which I got (new) at a yard sale for just $3.

A Cupid ring I found while cleaning out an old drawer. I had no memory of it!

Trading in my hot pink manicure for  pale pink with sparkles.

 A pretty new wallet (Walmart) that makes me happy every time I open my purse. It also forced me to totally clean out my old wallet and get my purse organized!

Handmade, reversible drink coasters from "PK Stuff" at Etsy.com. They look a little like my new wallet, don't they? I'm kind of obsessed with that sort of pattern lately. I was a little disillusioned when I first started to look for coasters and saw how expensive they were, even at places like Walmart. These are way prettier than anything I found in stores, and they were just $7 for four! Make sure you go check out the PK Stuff shop!

Therapy and Glitter

Loving. this. manicure.

I got the idea of using glitter on just one nail from Emily at Cupcakes and Cashmere. You can check out that specific post here. I varied her instructions by buying actual glittery nail polish (rather than a jar of glitter) and by painting the glitter on my thumb on one hand, and ring finger on the other. Mix it up in your own way and experiment with different colors! I am totally in love with this idea, and I'm thrilled with the nail polish I purchased for just this purpose. It was perfect. Here's what I used:

Fingers: One or two coats of Rimmel London 60 Seconds in "Stop Traffic", with Pure ICE in "Spit Fire" on the tips of two nails.

Toes: One coat of Pure ICE in "Feeling Hot", and when dry, one coat of Rimmel London French Manicure Pro in "French Lingerie".

I like topping one color with another for a totally custom shade. Just make sure your bottom coat is fully dry before adding anything on top.
A mani-pedi is awesome therapy for a stressful day, and you know me, I'm a DIY gal! This fun little manicure really perked up my spirits, and sometimes forgetting it's there, I get just a little smile on my face whenever I catch a glimpse of glitter.

Let me know if you try this, how you like it, and if you came up with any variations!