Month: January 2015

Mani Monday: Another Nail Fail

lifeintheme Uncategorized Tags: , , 3 Comments

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This is after less than 24 hours of wear. I must admit that my Monday posts are getting to be quite embarrassing. My nails do not usually look so Lindsay Lohanesque. (P.S. Remember when LiLo made it cool to go get a chipped manicure? P.P.S. Remember LiLo? I heard her name mentioned on the radio today and was honestly surprised that she still exists.) IMG_1340
There are some glitter nail polishes that are so dense that they are made for one night wear. This one was not advertised as such, but it does have an unusual amount of glitter. I may try to wear this one without a basecoat and topcoat like a high density glitter lacquer. Unlike last week’s Deborah Lippman polish, this one actually does looks very pretty on and does not have a horrible formula.

Normally, I would’ve redone my nails after such bad chipping, but I was busy figuring out what I should do with my hair for the screening of the film Old Fashioned, which my husband co-edited. You can watch the trailer here.

Here’s my huge hair before I styled it.
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I’ll let you see the results on the big day since I haven’t figured out what to do yet.

Do you have any ideas for my hair? Do you want to style my hair for me? (Please?)

Mani Monday: $20 Nail Polish???

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Would you pay $20 for nail polish? That’s how much Deborah Lippmann glitter nail polish costs.
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As much as I obsess over nail polish, I couldn’t shell out 20 clams for half an ounce of finger paint. I almost didn’t buy this bottle that I found at T.J. Maxx because it was $6.99. However, curiosity got the best of me. I really wanted to know what made a $20 bottle of nail polish so special. Plus, this color is called “Flash Dance.”

Do you want to know what makes this bottle of nail polish so special? It’s special because the formula won’t even last a full 24 hours.
IMG_1317Isn’t that terrible? If a nail polish costs $20, it should at least last a full day’s worth of wear (and maybe wash your dishes for you).

Flash Dance has a lumpy formula and  a matte finish. It took three coats of topcoat to make it shiny enough to appreciate the different tones of glitter. This is disappointing because I really was excited for my hands to look like the 2015 New Year’s ball.
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Have you ever had a mani as bad as this one? Let me know in the comments!

Weekend Watchlist

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Courtesy of tvguide.com

Courtesy of tvguide.com

It’s the weekend! It’s time to sit on our couches and watch stuff. After all, isn’t that the American dream?

I have a tradition of watching every Peanuts holiday special. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you haven’t already watched Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, then do so immediately here.

Courtesy of backtothefuture.com

Courtesy of backtothefuture.com

Also, since it is 2015, I feel that it is my duty to recommend that you watch Back to the Future Part II. If you are one of those people who cannot watch a trilogy out of order (ahem, me), then you better start watching them ASAP. If you don’t own Back to the Future on VHS or DVD, then you can either order the DVDs on Netflix or rent it on Amazon Instant.

The Oscar nominations were announced this week. Currently, there are only two nominees on Netflix, Virunga and Ida. I have not watched either of them yet, so I’ll talk about them later.

There is much controversy over the Oscars. All of the nominated actors are white. The last time this happened was in 1995. All of the nominated directors and screenwriters are men. All of the films nominated for best picture feature a male as the star, and only one of those stars is not white. (Need a visual aid?) The rest of the list doesn’t fare much better.

I want to say how disheartened I am by the lack of diversity of this list. However, since “Everything is Awesome,” a farcical song that brainwashes beings into not questioning the status quo, is nominated for best song, I’m not sure my lamentation will make any difference.

Manis, Movies, & Luke Wilson

lifeintheme Wildcard Wednesday Tags: , Leave a comment

I mentioned in my last post that blogging regularly is one of my New Year’s resolutions. Since my theme for my blog is themes, I have, of course, decided upon themes for each day of the week.

Mani Monday: A day to show off my newest nail polish find. These manicures will all be in accordance with my theme for the month. Since January’s theme is the New Year, expect a lot of glitter.

My New Year's Eve mani

My New Year’s Eve mani. Not the best color combo, but lots of festive glitter to commemorate the ball drop. 

Wildcard Wednesdays: A day reserved for whatever pops into my head on these days. I imagine that they will mostly consist of philosophical pop culture musings and amusing stories of bad things that have happened to me.

Weekend Watchlist (Fridays): Weekends are for relaxing, and I know that most of America spends it on the couch watching Netflix. I will recommend movies/shows based on the month’s theme.

Since it is 1:50am, it is technically Thursday. However, I am calling it Wednesday because I have not gone to bed yet and also because I have a Wildcard Wednesday story involving Luke Wilson.

I was leaving Target on a dark, drizzly night. Thus, I was being more cautious than usual on the one-way side street towards my house. As I neared the stop at the end of the road, I noticed a midnight-blue sports car trying to turn the wrong way into my road. I turned towards the curb and tried to stop quickly without skidding on the dark puddles underneath my wheels. My heart tried to keep up with my rising blood pressure as I watched the car Tokyo-drift around me, narrowly missing me. For a split second, I made eye contact with the driver. We were barely a foot apart. Deep-set eyes drilled into mine. I noticed how calm he was. I sat for a moment after he passed. I realized I was holding my breath.  I exhaled as I thought about what had just happened. I remembered the puppy dog eyes, the square chin, the modelesque woman in a shiny dress possessively touching his shoulder. Was that… Luke Wilson?

Cheating on My New Year’s Resolutions & My Theme for 2015

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I meant to begin blogging again right after the new year started. Blogging regularly is one of my New Year’s resolutions. I am not good at resolutions.

Another one of my New Year’s resolutions is to read the Bible in 90 days. I even cheated at this resolution. (I hate cheating, but I know how few of my New Year’s resolutions ever come to fruition). I began reading in Leviticus, where I had left off reading in December, instead of Genesis. I figured this head start would help me finish reading it by April. As of today, I am two days behind.

Only one of my New Year’s resolutions have ever come true. Last year, after many years of refusing to even make a New Year’s resolution, I decided that I needed to work on my attitude. I made a resolution to be less bitter and more forgiving.

This resolution was hard to live by, especially for a person who remembers every bad thing that has ever happened to her. However, the Holy Spirit was at work in me. This was not a pie-in-the-sky dream to win the lottery or become a hand model. This was a decision to be more like the person God wants me to be, so I received the benefit of supernatural help.

One of the reasons my New Year’s resolutions were never successful was that they were so nebulous. Last year I learned that breaking down my goals into practical steps is the key to success. Here is how I broke my resolution down:

  • Be Less Bitter
    • Forgive those who have hurt me
    • Pray for those who have hurt me
    • Do not judge people’s present actions based on past mistakes
  • Be More Forgiving
    • Think the best of others
    • Do not make assumptions about others
    • Humbly remember how many times I have been forgiven

Through God’s grace, I released the burden of bitterness and put on the yoke of forgiveness. It’s much lighter, and I’m much happier.

This year my resolution may sound less lofty. However, I think it is the next step for me in my spiritual walk. My goal this year is to reach out to people. Here is how I am breaking it down:

  • Reach Out to Others
    • Invite each family in my apartment building to dinner
    • Be on the lookout for ways to help others
    • Pray for my husband daily

Last year my theme was letting go. (Yes, Disney copied me.) This year my theme is thoughtfulness. I want to make an intentional effort to support and encourage those around me. (Also, I want to recreate the neighborly relations that I see on television shows from the 70’s.) Will you pray for me? What are your resolutions for 2015?