Instagram Snaps

Hello, stranger(s)! It’s been a while. The last few months have gone by at lightning speed. Juggling work and school became a little tricky. Aside from my full-time job, I took an extra gig tutoring after work, in addition to going to class every week. Every time I would come home late in the evenings from a day of _________ (fill in the blank: work; more work; and/or school), I could barely muster up the energy to do much beyond eating dinner on the couch and watching reruns of Family Guy & SVU, before eventually succumbing to sleep… only to do it all over again the next day. It was a sad existence. My poor blog became a tad neglected, but I’m here to make amends! I’ve been bad at documenting things via Instagram and the like, but here’s a little peek at what I’ve been doing since we last saw each other on this here blog (warning: excessive food pics ahead):

IMG_1041
IMG_1042IMG_1052Plus baking projects! I had the wonderful opportunity to make special bumble bee treats (inspired by Bakerella’s adorable bee pops) for a lovely little girl’s first birthday party and baked up Caramel Pecan cookies for my roommate’s fundraiser.
IMG_1051IMG_1037Happy weekend!

Spring Things

Today officially marks the first day of spring… although you’d never know with the temperatures stubbornly sitting in the mid 40s/50s.  The sun has actually been out around here for the past few days though, so that has been welcome (even if it’s a complete tease).  I work all day, so I will not have the opportunity to indulge in free Rita’s to mark the start of spring (boo), but that hasn’t stopped me from celebrating the beginning of one of my favorite seasons!  While dreaming of spring, I’ve amassed a bit of a collection of warmer weather must haves on Pinterest.  I can’t wait to ditch my bulky winter coat in favor of some of these light and colorful pieces that I’ve spotted online and in stores.  Target has been an absolute explosion of colors and patterns of late–it takes all of my willpower not to snatch various things up whenever I’m in there for something silly like cotton balls or milk.  I haven’t been able to justify purchasing anything from this wish list yet since I wouldn’t be able to give it much use, but I’ll definitely be snapping things up once the temperatures start to heat up a bit.

Spring Things

1. Merona bag, $39.99 | 2. J.Crew Factory t-shirt, $20.50 | 3. Windsor necklace, $10.90 | 4. H&M dress, $24.95 | 5. H&M dress, $17.95 | 6. Juicy Couture bracelet, $42.00 | 7. Monet pumps, $45.00 | 8. Merona pants, $27.99 | 9. Forever 21 sunglasses, $5.80 | 10. Pim + Larkin bracelet, $28.00 | 11. Mossimo sneakers, $16.99

Lazy Mani

I was out of commission last week after coming down with a nasty cold… and it was awful. I had gotten by pretty long without getting sick, so I was just fighting the inevitable when the exhaustion and aches started to settle in.  It took several days worth of tissues and a cocktail of cold meds before I was finally on the mend. As soon as I started feeling better, I decided to give myself a “Lazy Mani”.  The best and easiest manicure is the kind that requires the smallest amount of effort… which is where glitter nail polish comes into play.  Let’s face it, there is nothing complex about applying glitter nail polish—the drying time is relatively fast, you don’t have to prep your nails too much (other than a base coat) and you don’t have to worry about making mistakes because glitter is great at camouflaging any imperfections. This is my go-to mani when I’m pressed for time, but still want to do something with my nails. To celebrate my return to good health–and to finally freshen up my appearance after abandoning all efforts when I was sick–I used Nicole by OPI in “A Million Sparkles”, a mix of three different textures and colors (number 2). With glitter polish, I usually just apply a base, two coats of polish and then a top coat to seal it all in. Below, I’ve rounded up a few favorite shades of glitter polishes that I’ve used before, as well as a few that I’d like to try for my next Lazy Mani:
Lazy Mani
1. Essie, Set in Stones | 2. Nicole by OPI, A Million Sparkles | 3. Milani, Twinkle | 4. Milani, Lavender Fizz | 5. Sephora by OPI, G-Listen To Your Heart | 6. Essie, A Cut Above | 7. Nicole by OPI, Inner Sparkle | 8. Sephora by OPI, Be-Claus I Said So